Student Bill of Rights

Bill: 110-s-2189
Sponsor: Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT]
Introduced: 2007-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance
Administrative remedies
Arts, Culture, Religion
Books
Civics education
Civil actions and liability
Class size
Commerce
Computer software
Computers
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Curricula
Democracy
Department of Education
Economics and Public Finance
Educational accountability
Educational counseling
Educational equalization
Educational planning
Educational research
Educational statistics
Educational technology
Electronic government information
Elementary and secondary education
Elementary education
Environmental Protection
Families
Federal aid to education
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Housing and Community Development
Industrial production
Injunctions
Internet
Judicial opinions
Labor and Employment
Labor productivity
Language arts
Law
Legal fees
Mathematics
Parent-school relationships
Periodicals
Public schools
Reading
Rural education
School administration
School buildings
School districts
School libraries
School personnel
Science, Technology, Communications
Scientific education
Secondary education
Standards
Students
Teachers
Teaching
Teaching materials
Textbooks
Urban affairs
Urban education

Summary:
action_date: 2007-10-17
text: 
Student Bill of Rights - Directs the Secretary of Education to make annual determinations as to whether each state's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. Requires such education to enable students to: (1) acquire knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship; (2) meet challenging academic achievement standards; and (3) compete and succeed in a global economy.
 
Requires each system to do so by: (1) providing specified fundamentals of educational opportunity to students at each public elementary and secondary school; (2) providing educational services in school districts that receive funds for disadvantaged students that are at least comparable to educational services provided in school districts not receiving such funds; and (3) complying with any final federal or state court order in any matter concerning the adequacy or equitableness of the system. 
Requires each state receiving federal financial assistance for elementary and secondary education to submit an accountability plan to the Secretary annually. 
Requires withholding of specified portions of its federal funding for administrative expenses if a system: (1) fails to meet a yearly interim goal; (2) does not remedy, after two school years, a failure to provide comparable educational services to schools that receive funds for disadvantaged children; or (3) does not comply with a court order. 
Allows students or parents aggrieved by violations of this Act to bring civil actions for enforcement in federal district courts.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S13000-13003)
action_date: 2007-10-17
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S13000)
action_date: 2007-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate