Archive for September, 2004

SEC. 1001. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

The purpose of this title is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. This purpose can be accomplished by —

(1) ensuring that high-quality academic assessments, accountability systems, teacher preparation and training, curriculum, and instructional materials are aligned with challenging State academic standards so that students, teachers, parents, and administrators can measure progress against common expectations for student academic achievement;

(2) meeting the educational needs of low-achieving children in our Nation’s highest-poverty schools, limited English proficient children, migratory children, children with disabilities, Indian children, neglected or delinquent children, and young children in need of reading assistance;

(3) closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and nonminority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers;

(4) holding schools, local educational agencies, and States accountable for improving the academic achievement of all students, and identifying and turning around low-performing schools that have failed to provide a high-quality education to their students, while providing alternatives to students in such schools to enable the students to receive a high-quality education;

(5) distributing and targeting resources sufficiently to make a difference to local educational agencies and schools where needs are greatest;

(6) improving and strengthening accountability, teaching, and learning by using State assessment systems designed to ensure that students are meeting challenging State academic achievement and content standards and increasing achievement overall, but especially for the disadvantaged;

(7) providing greater decisionmaking authority and flexibility to schools and teachers in exchange for greater responsibility for student performance;

(8) providing children an enriched and accelerated educational program, including the use of schoolwide programs or additional services that increase the amount and quality of instructional time;

(9) promoting schoolwide reform and ensuring the access of children to effective, scientifically based instructional strategies and challenging academic content;

(10) significantly elevating the quality of instruction by providing staff in participating schools with substantial opportunities for professional development;

(11) coordinating services under all parts of this title with each other, with other educational services, and, to the extent feasible, with other agencies providing services to youth, children, and families; and

(12) affording parents substantial and meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children.

SEC. 1002. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY GRANTS- For the purpose of carrying out part A, there are authorized to be appropriated —

(1) $13,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

(2) $16,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

(3) $18,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;

(4) $20,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;

(5) $22,750,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and

(6) $25,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.

(b) READING FIRST-

(1) READING FIRST- For the purpose of carrying out subpart 1 of part B, there are authorized to be appropriated $900,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(2) EARLY READING FIRST- For the purpose of carrying out subpart 2 of part B, there are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(3) EVEN START- For the purpose of carrying out subpart 3 of part B, there are authorized to be appropriated $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(4) IMPROVING LITERACY THROUGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES- For the purpose of carrying out subpart 4 of part B, there are authorized to be appropriated $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(c) EDUCATION OF MIGRATORY CHILDREN- For the purpose of carrying out part C, there are authorized to be appropriated $410,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(d) PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS FOR YOUTH WHO ARE NEGLECTED, DELINQUENT, OR AT RISK- For the purpose of carrying out part D, there are authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(e) FEDERAL ACTIVITIES-

(1) SECTIONS 1501 AND 1502- For the purpose of carrying out sections 1501 and 1502, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(2) SECTION 1504-

(A) IN GENERAL- For the purpose of carrying out section 1504, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002 and for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(B) SPECIAL RULE- Of the funds appropriated pursuant to subparagraph (A), not more than 30 percent may be used for teachers associated with students participating in the programs described in subsections (a)(1), (b)(1), and (c)(1).

(f) COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL REFORM- For the purpose of carrying out part F, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(g) ADVANCED PLACEMENT- For the purposes of carrying out part G, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums for fiscal year 2002 and each 5 succeeding fiscal year.(h) SCHOOL DROPOUT PREVENTION- For the purpose of carrying out part H, there are authorized to be appropriated $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years, of which —

(1) up to 10 percent shall be available to carry out subpart 1 of part H for each fiscal year; and

(2) the remainder shall be available to carry out subpart 2 of part H for each fiscal year.

(i) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT- For the purpose of carrying out section 1003(g), there are authorized to be appropriated $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

SEC. 1003. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT.

(a) STATE RESERVATIONS- Each State shall reserve 2 percent of the amount the State receives under subpart 2 of part A for fiscal years 2002 and 2003, and 4 percent of the amount received under such subpart for fiscal years 2004 through 2007, to carry out subsection (b) and to carry out the State’s responsibilities under sections 1116 and 1117, including carrying out the State educational agency’s statewide system of technical assistance and support for local educational agencies.

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

(1) shall allocate not less than 95 percent of that amount directly to local educational agencies for schools identified for school improvement, corrective action, and restructuring, for activities under section 1116(b); or

(2) 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 or educational service agencies.

(c) PRIORITY- The State educational agency, in allocating funds to local educational agencies under this section, shall give priority to local educational agencies that —

(1) serve the lowest-achieving schools;

(2) demonstrate the greatest need for such funds; and

(3) demonstrate the strongest commitment to ensuring that such funds are used to enable the lowest-achieving schools to meet the progress goals in school improvement plans under section 1116 (b)(3)(A)(v).

(d) UNUSED FUNDS- If, 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 1126(c).

(e) SPECIAL RULE- Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the amount of funds reserved by the State educational agency under subsection (a) in any fiscal year shall not decrease the amount of funds each local educational agency receives under subpart 2 below the amount received by such local educational agency under such subpart for the preceding fiscal year.

(f) REPORTING- The State educational agency shall make publicly available a list of those schools that have received funds or services pursuant to subsection (b) and the percentage of students from each school from families with incomes below the poverty line.

(g) ASSISTANCE FOR LOCAL SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT-

(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED- The Secretary shall award grants to States to enable the States to provide subgrants to local educational agencies for the purpose of providing assistance for school improvement consistent with section 1116.

(2) STATE ALLOTMENTS- Such grants shall be allotted among States, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the outlying areas, in proportion to the funds received by the States, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the outlying areas, respectively, for the fiscal year under parts A, C, and D of this title. The Secretary shall expeditiously allot a portion of such funds to States for the purpose of assisting local educational agencies and schools that were in school improvement status on the date preceding the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

(3) REALLOCATIONS- If a State does not receive funds under this subsection, the Secretary shall reallocate such funds to other States in the same proportion funds are allocated under paragraph (2).

(4) STATE APPLICATIONS- Each State educational agency that desires to receive funds under this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, and containing such information, as the Secretary shall reasonably require, except that such requirement shall be waived if a State educational agency submitted such information as part of its State plan under this part. Each State application shall describe how the State educational agency will allocate such funds in order to assist the State educational agency and local educational agencies in complying with school improvement, corrective action, and restructuring requirements of section 1116.

(5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY GRANTS- A grant to a local educational agency under this subsection shall be —

(A) of sufficient size and scope to support the activities required under sections 1116 and 1117, but not less than $50,000 and not more than $500,000 for each participating school;

(B) integrated with other funds awarded by the State under this Act; and

(C) renewable for two additional 1-year periods if schools are meeting the goals in their school improvement plans developed under section 1116.

(6) PRIORITY- The State, in awarding such grants, shall give priority to local educational agencies with the lowest-achieving schools that demonstrate —

(A) the greatest need for such funds; and

(B) the strongest commitment to ensuring that such funds are used to provide adequate resources to enable the lowest-achieving schools to meet the goals under school and local educational agency improvement, corrective action, and restructuring plans under section 1116.

(7) ALLOCATION- A State educational agency that receives a grant under this subsection shall allocate at least 95 percent of the grant funds directly to local educational agencies for schools identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring to carry out activities under section 1116(b), or 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 or educational service agencies.

(8) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS- A State educational agency that receives a grant award under this subsection may reserve not more than 5 percent of such grant funds for administration, evaluation, and technical assistance expenses.

(9) LOCAL AWARDS- Each local educational agency that applies for assistance under this subsection shall describe how it will provide the lowest-achieving schools the resources necessary to meet goals under school and local educational agency improvement, corrective action, and restructuring plans under section 1116.

SEC. 1004. 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 title, 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- If the sum of the amounts appropriated for parts A, C, and D of this title is equal to or greater than $14,000,000,000, then the reservation described in subsection (a)(1) shall not exceed 1 percent of the amount the State would receive, if $14,000,000,000 were allocated among the States for parts A, C, and D of this title.

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