20 USC 6303 - School improvement

Collapse to view only § 6303. School improvement

§ 6301. Statement of purpose
§ 6302. Authorization of appropriations
§ 6303. School improvement
§ 6303a. Whole-school reform strategy
§ 6303b. Direct student services
§ 6304. State administration

§ 6301. Statement of purpose

The purpose of this subchapter is to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title I, § 1001, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title I, § 101, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1439; amended Pub. L. 114–95, title I, § 1001, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1814.)

§ 6302. Authorization of appropriations

(a) Local educational agency grants

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the activities described in part A—

(1) $15,012,317,605 for fiscal year 2017;

(2) $15,457,459,042 for fiscal year 2018;

(3) $15,897,371,442 for fiscal year 2019; and

(4) $16,182,344,591 for fiscal year 2020.

(b) State assessments

(d) Prevention and intervention programs for children and youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk

(e) Federal activities

(f) Sense of Congress regarding adjustments to authorizations of appropriations provided in this chapter for future budget agreements

(Pub. L. 89–10, title I, § 1002, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title I, § 101, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1440; amended Pub. L. 114–95, title I, § 1002, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1814.)

§ 6303. School improvement

(a) State reservationsTo carry out subsection (b) and the State educational agency’s statewide system of technical assistance and support for local educational agencies, each State shall reserve the greater of—

(1) 7 percent of the amount the State receives under subpart 2 of part A; or

(2) the sum of the amount the State—

(A) reserved for fiscal year 2016 under this subsection, as in effect on the day before December 10, 2015; and

(B) received for fiscal year 2016 under subsection (g), as in effect on the day before December 10, 2015.

(b) UsesOf the amount reserved under subsection (a) for any fiscal year, the State educational agency—

(1)

(A) shall allocate not less than 95 percent of that amount to make grants to local educational agencies on a formula or competitive basis, to serve schools implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under section 6311(d) of this title; or

(B) may, with the approval of the local educational agency, directly provide for these activities or arrange for their provision through other entities such as school support teams, educational service agencies, or nonprofit or for-profit external providers with expertise in using evidence-based strategies to improve student achievement, instruction, and schools; and

(2) shall use the funds not allocated to local educational agencies under paragraph (1) to carry out this section, which shall include—

(A) establishing the method, consistent with paragraph (1)(A), the State will use to allocate funds to local educational agencies under such paragraph, including ensuring—

(i) the local educational agencies receiving an allotment under such paragraph represent the geographic diversity of the State; and

(ii) that allotments are of sufficient size to enable a local educational agency to effectively implement selected strategies;

(B) monitoring and evaluating the use of funds by local educational agencies receiving an allotment under such paragraph; and

(C) as appropriate, reducing barriers and providing operational flexibility for schools in the implementation of comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under section 6311(d) of this title.

(d) Rule of construction

(e) ApplicationTo receive an allotment under subsection (b)(1), a local educational agency shall submit an application to the State educational agency at such time, in such form, and including such information as the State educational agency may require. Each application shall include, at a minimum—

(1) a description of how the local educational agency will carry out its responsibilities under section 6311(d) of this title for schools receiving funds under this section, including how the local educational agency will—

(A) develop comprehensive support and improvement plans under section 6311(d)(1) of this title for schools receiving funds under this section;

(B) support schools developing or implementing targeted support and improvement plans under section 6311(d)(2) of this title, if funds received under this section are used for such purpose;

(C) monitor schools receiving funds under this section, including how the local educational agency will carry out its responsibilities under clauses (iv) and (v) of section 6311(d)(2)(B) of this title if funds received under this section are used to support schools implementing targeted support and improvement plans;

(D) use a rigorous review process to recruit, screen, select, and evaluate any external partners with whom the local educational agency will partner;

(E) align other Federal, State, and local resources to carry out the activities supported with funds received under subsection (b)(1); and

(F) as appropriate, modify practices and policies to provide operational flexibility that enables full and effective implementation of the plans described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 6311(d) of this title; and

(2) an assurance that each school the local educational agency proposes to serve will receive all of the State and local funds it would have received in the absence of funds received under this section.

(f) PriorityThe State educational agency, in allocating funds to local educational agencies under this section, shall give priority to local educational agencies that—

(1) serve high numbers, or a high percentage of, elementary schools and secondary schools implementing plans under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 6311(d) of this title;

(2) demonstrate the greatest need for such funds, as determined by the State; and

(3) demonstrate the strongest commitment to using funds under this section to enable the lowest-performing schools to improve student achievement and student outcomes.

(g) Unused fundsIf, after consultation with local educational agencies in the State, the State educational agency determines that the amount of funds reserved to carry out subsection (b) is greater than the amount needed to provide the assistance described in that subsection, the State educational agency shall allocate the excess amount to local educational agencies in accordance with—

(1) the relative allocations the State educational agency made to those agencies for that fiscal year under subpart 2 of part A; or

(2)section 6338(c) of this title.

(h) Special rule

(i) Reporting

(Pub. L. 89–10, title I, § 1003, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title I, § 101, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1442; amended Pub. L. 114–95, title I, § 1003, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1815.)

§ 6303a. Whole-school reform strategy

Funds available for school improvement grants for fiscal year 2014 and thereafter may be used by a local educational agency to implement a whole-school reform strategy for a school using an evidence-based strategy that ensures whole-school reform is undertaken in partnership with a strategy developer offering a whole-school reform program that is based on at least a moderate level of evidence that the program will have a statistically significant effect on student outcomes, including at least one well-designed and well-implemented experimental or quasi-experimental study.

(Pub. L. 114–113, div. H, title III, Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 2627.)

§ 6303b. Direct student services

(a) State reservation

(1) In general

(A) States

(B) ConsultationA State educational agency shall consult under subparagraph (A) with local educational agencies that include—

(i) suburban, rural, and urban local educational agencies;

(ii) local educational agencies serving a high percentage of schools identified by the State for comprehensive support and improvement under section 6311(c)(4)(D)(i) of this title; and

(iii) local educational agencies serving a high percentage of schools implementing targeted support and improvement plans under section 6311(d)(2) of this title.

(2) Program administration

(b) Awards

(1) In general

(2) PriorityIn making such awards, the State educational agency shall prioritize awards to local educational agencies serving the highest percentage of schools, as compared to other local educational agencies in the State—

(A) identified by the State for comprehensive support and improvement under section 6311(c)(4)(D)(i) of this title; or

(B) implementing targeted support and improvement plans under section 6311(d)(2) of this title.

(1) may use not more than 1 percent of its award for outreach and communication to parents about available direct student services described in paragraph (3) in the local educational agency and State;

(2) may use not more than 2 percent of its award for administrative costs related to such direct student services;

(3) shall use the remainder of the award to pay the costs associated with one or more of the following direct student services—

(A) enrollment and participation in academic courses not otherwise available at a student’s school, including—

(i) advanced courses; and

(ii) career and technical education coursework that—(I) is aligned with the challenging State academic standards; and(II) leads to industry-recognized credentials that meet the quality criteria established by the State under section 3153(a) of title 29;

(B) credit recovery and academic acceleration courses that lead to a regular high school diploma;

(C) activities that assist students in successfully completing postsecondary level instruction and examinations that are accepted for credit at institutions of higher education (including Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses), which may include reimbursing low-income students to cover part or all of the costs of fees for such examinations;

(D) components of a personalized learning approach, which may include high-quality academic tutoring; and

(E) in the case of a local educational agency that does not reserve funds under section 6311(d)(1)(D)(v) of this title, transportation to allow a student enrolled in a school identified for comprehensive support and improvement under section 6311(c)(4)(D)(i) of this title to transfer to another public school (which may include a charter school) that has not been identified by the State under such section; and

(4) in paying the costs associated with the direct student services described in paragraph (3), shall—

(A) first, pay such costs for students who are enrolled in schools identified by the State for comprehensive support and improvement under section 6311(c)(4)(D)(i) of this title;

(B) second, pay such costs for low-achieving students who are enrolled in schools implementing targeted support and improvement plans under section 6311(d)(2) of this title; and

(d) ApplicationA local educational agency desiring to receive an award under subsection (b) shall submit an application to the State educational agency at such time and in such manner as the State educational agency shall require. At a minimum, each application shall describe how the local educational agency will—

(1) provide adequate outreach to ensure parents can exercise a meaningful choice of direct student services for their child’s education;

(2) ensure parents have adequate time and information to make a meaningful choice prior to enrolling their child in a direct student service;

(3) in the case of a local educational agency offering public school choice under this section, ensure sufficient availability of seats in the public schools the local educational agency will make available for public school choice options;

(4) prioritize services to students who are lowest-achieving;

(5) select providers of direct student services, which may include one or more of—

(A) the local educational agency or other local educational agencies;

(B) community colleges or other institutions of higher education;

(D) community-based organizations; or

(E) in the case of high-quality academic tutoring, a variety of providers of such tutoring that are selected and approved by the State and appear on the State’s list of such providers required under subsection (e)(2);

(6) monitor the provision of direct student services; and

(7) publicly report the results of direct student service providers in improving relevant student outcomes in a manner that is accessible to parents.

(e) Providers and schoolsA State educational agency that reserves an amount under subsection (a) shall—

(1) ensure that each local educational agency that receives an award under this section and intends to provide public school choice under subsection (c)(3)(E) can provide a sufficient number of options to provide a meaningful choice for parents;

(2) compile and maintain an updated list of State-approved high-quality academic tutoring providers that—

(A) is developed using a fair negotiation and rigorous selection and approval process;

(B) provides parents with meaningful choices;

(D) includes only providers that—

(i) have a demonstrated record of success in increasing students’ academic achievement;

(ii) comply with all applicable Federal, State, and local health, safety, and civil rights laws; and

(iii) provide instruction and span that is secular, neutral, and non-ideological;

(3) ensure that each local educational agency receiving an award is able to provide an adequate number of high-quality academic tutoring options to ensure parents have a meaningful choice of services;

(4) develop and implement procedures for monitoring the quality of services provided by direct student service providers; and

(5) establish and implement clear criteria describing the course of action for direct student service providers that are not successful in improving student academic outcomes, which, for a high-quality academic tutoring provider, may include a process to remove State approval under paragraph (2).

(Pub. L. 89–10, title I, § 1003A, as added Pub. L. 114–95, title I, § 1004, Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1817.)

§ 6304. State administration

(a) In general

Except as provided in subsection (b), to carry out administrative duties assigned under parts A, C, and D of this subchapter, each State may reserve the greater of—

(1) 1 percent of the amounts received under such parts; or

(2) $400,000 ($50,000 in the case of each outlying area).

(b) Exception

(Pub. L. 89–10, title I, § 1004, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title I, § 101, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1444.)