S 283 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

113th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

1st SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

S. 283CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to invest in innovation for education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

February 12, 2013CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. BEGICH (for himself and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to invest in innovation for education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Investing in Innovation for Education Act of 2013’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. INVESTING IN INNOVATION.

(a) In General- Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘PART D--INVESTING IN INNOVATION

‘SEC. 4401. PURPOSES.

‘The purposes of this part are to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) fund the identification, development, evaluation, and expansion of innovative, evidence-based practices, programs, and strategies in order to significantly--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) increase student academic achievement and decrease achievement gaps;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) increase high school graduation rates;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) increase college enrollment rates and rates of college persistence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) improve teacher and school leader effectiveness; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) increase the identification of innovative educational strategies in rural areas; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) support the rapid development, expansion, and adoption of tools and resources that improve the efficiency, effectiveness, or pace of adoption of such educational practices, programs, and strategies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4402. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

‘The Secretary may reserve not more than 10 percent of the funds appropriated under section 4408 for each fiscal year to carry out activities of national significance, which activities may include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) capacity building;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) technical assistance, including to applicants from rural areas;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) pre-application workshops and web-based seminars for potential applicants, including applicants from rural areas;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) the recruitment of peer-reviewers, including individuals with a background in rural education, to participate in the review of applications submitted under section 4404;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) dissemination of best practices developed with grant funds provided under this part, including best practices developed with grant funds in rural areas;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) carrying out prize awards consistent with section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(7) entering into partnerships with other agencies, nonprofits, and the private sector to carry out advanced research and development activities, including research and activities in rural areas.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4403. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED; LENGTH OF GRANTS; PRIORITIES.

‘(a) Program Authorization- The Secretary shall use funds made available to carry out this part to award grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational agencies, educational service agencies, and nonprofit organizations that propose to provide support to 1 or more public schools or local educational agencies, or both, consistent with section 4405.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Duration of Grants- The Secretary shall award grants under this part for a period of not more than 3 years, and may extend such grants for an additional 2-year period if the grantee demonstrates to the Secretary that it is making significant progress on the program performance measures identified in section 4406.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Rural Areas- The Secretary shall ensure that not less than 25 percent of the funds awarded under subsection (a) for any fiscal year are for projects that meet both of the following requirements:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) The grantee is--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) a local educational agency with an urban-centric district locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) a consortium of such local educational agencies; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) an educational service agency or a nonprofit organization with demonstrated expertise in serving students from rural areas.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) A majority of the schools to be served by the project are designated with a school locale code of 41, 42, or 43, or a combination of such codes, as determined by the Secretary.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(d) Priorities- In awarding grants under this part, the Secretary may give priority to an eligible entity that includes, in its application under section 4404, a plan to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) improve early learning outcomes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) support college access and success;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) support family and community engagement;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) address the unique learning needs of students with disabilities or English language learners;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) support the effective use of education technology to improve teaching and learning;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) improve the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(7) serve schools in rural local educational agencies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Standards of Evidence- The Secretary shall set standards for the quality of evidence that an applicant shall provide in order to demonstrate that the activities the applicant proposes to carry out with funds under this part are likely to succeed in improving student outcomes or outcomes on other performance measures. These standards may include any of the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) Strong evidence that the activities proposed by the applicant will have a statistically significant effect on student academic achievement, student growth, or outcomes on other performance measures.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) Moderate evidence that the activities proposed by the applicant will improve student academic achievement, student growth, or outcomes on other performance measures.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) A rationale based on research findings or a reasonable hypothesis that the activities proposed by the applicant will improve student academic achievement, student growth, or outcomes on other performance measures.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4404. APPLICATIONS.

‘(a) Applications-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- Each local educational agency, educational service agency, or nonprofit organization that desires to receive a grant under this part shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME- The Secretary shall ensure that prospective applicants are provided a reasonable period of time in which to prepare and submit their applications.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Contents- At a minimum, each application shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) describe the project for which the applicant is seeking a grant and how the evidence supporting that project meets the standards of evidence established by the Secretary under section 4403(e);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) describe how the applicant will address at least 1 of the areas described in section 4405(a)(1);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) provide an estimate of the number of students that the applicant plans to serve under the proposed project, including the percentage of those students who are from low-income families, and the number of students to be served through additional expansion after the grant ends;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) demonstrate that the applicant has established 1 or more partnerships with private organizations, nonprofit organizations, or community-based organizations, and that the partner or partners will provide matching funds, except that the Secretary may waive the matching funds requirement, on a case-by-case, upon a showing of exceptional circumstances, such as the difficulty of raising matching funds for a project to serve a rural area;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) describe the applicant’s plan for continuing the proposed project after funding under this part ends;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) if the applicant is a local educational agency--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) document the local educational agency’s record during the previous 3 years in--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) increasing student achievement, including achievement for each subgroup described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) decreasing achievement gaps; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) demonstrate how the local educational agency has made significant improvements in other outcomes, as applicable, on the performance measures described in section 4406;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(7) if the applicant is a nonprofit organization--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) provide evidence that the nonprofit organization has helped at least 1 school or local educational agency, during the previous 3 years, significantly--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) increase student achievement, including achievement for each subgroup described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) reduce achievement gaps; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) describe how the nonprofit organization has helped at least 1 school or local educational agency make a significant improvement, as applicable, in other outcomes on the performance measures described in section 4406;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(8) if the applicant is an educational service agency--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) provide evidence that the agency has helped at least 1 school or local educational agency, during the previous 3 years, significantly--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) increase student achievement, including achievement for each subgroup described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) reduce achievement gaps; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) describe how the agency has helped at least 1 school or local educational agency make a significant improvement, as applicable, in other outcomes on the performance measures described in section 4406;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(9) provide a description of the applicant’s plan for independently evaluating the effectiveness of activities carried out with funds under this part;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(10) provide an assurance that the applicant will--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) cooperate with cross-cutting evaluations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) make evaluation data available to third parties for validation and further study; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) participate in communities of practice; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(11) if the applicant is a nonprofit organization that intends to make subgrants, consistent with section 4405(b), provide an assurance that the applicant will apply paragraphs (1) through (10), as appropriate, in the applicant’s selection of subgrantees and in its oversight of those subgrants.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Criteria for Evaluating Applications- The Secretary shall award grants under this part on a competitive basis, based on the quality of the applications submitted and, consistent with the standards established under section 4403(e), each applicant’s likelihood of achieving success in improving student outcomes or outcomes on other performance measures.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4405. USES OF FUNDS.

‘(a) Uses of Funds- Each local educational agency, educational service agency, or nonprofit organization that receives a grant under this part--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) shall use the grant funds to address, at a minimum, 1 of the following areas of school innovations:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) Improving the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders and promoting equity in the distribution of effective teachers and school leaders.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) Strengthening the use of data to improve teaching and learning.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) Providing high-quality instruction based on rigorous standards that build toward college and career readiness and measuring students’ mastery using high-quality assessments aligned to those standards.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) Turning around the lowest-performing schools.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) Any other area of school innovation, as determined by the Secretary;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) shall use those funds to develop or expand strategies to improve the performance of high-need students on the performance measures described in section 4406; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) may use the grant funds for an independent evaluation, as required by section 4404(b)(9), of the innovative practices carried out with the grant.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Authority to Subgrant- A nonprofit organization that receives a grant under this part may use the grant funds to make subgrants to other entities to provide support to 1 or more schools or local educational agencies. Any such entity shall comply with the requirements of this part relating to grantees, as appropriate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4406. PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

‘The Secretary shall establish performance measures for the programs and activities carried out under this part. These measures, at a minimum, shall track the grantee’s progress in--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) improving outcomes for each subgroup described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) that is served by the grantee on measures, including, as applicable, by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) increasing student achievement and decreasing achievement gaps;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) increasing high school graduation rates;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) increasing college enrollment rates and rates of college persistence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) improving teacher and school leader effectiveness;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) improving school readiness; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(F) any other indicator as the Secretary or grantee may determine; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) implementing its project in rural schools, as applicable.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4407. REPORTING; ANNUAL REPORT.

‘A local educational agency, educational service agency, or nonprofit organization that receives a grant under this part shall submit to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, an annual report that includes, among other things, information on the applicant’s progress on the performance measures established under section 4406, and the data supporting that progress.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 4408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 4304 the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘Part D--Investing in Innovation

‘Sec. 4401. Purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4402. National activities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4403. Program authorized; length of grants; priorities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4404. Applications.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4405. Uses of funds.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4406. Performance measures.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4407. Reporting; annual report.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘Sec. 4408. Authorization of appropriations.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink