Strengthening America's Schools Act of 2013 - Revises and reauthorizes programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).
Title I: College and Career Readiness for All Students - Part A: Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged - (Sec. 1111) Revises the school improvement program under part A of title I of the ESEA.
Maintains the requirement conditioning a state's receipt of funds under part A on its developing and implementing academic content and achievement standards and assessments that are applicable to all public elementary and secondary schools and school students in the state.
Requires states to adopt college and career ready academic: (1) content standards in reading or language arts and mathematics by the end of 2014, and (2) achievement standards in those disciplines by the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.
Requires college and career ready standards to be aligned with: (1) credit-bearing academic coursework at public institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the state, (2) relevant state career and technical education standards and the state performance measures identified in the state plan for career and technical education, and (3) appropriate career skills or state-developed standards that are voluntarily adopted by a significant number of states.
Requires the achievement standards to establish the level of performance expected for each grade level that demonstrates that the student has mastered the material in the state academic content standards for that grade level.
Requires states to adopt academic content and achievement standards in science by the end of 2014 that are aligned with the knowledge and skills needed to be college and career ready.
Requires states to adopt, by the close of 2015, high-quality English language proficiency standards that: (1) identify at least four levels of English proficiency, and (2) are aligned with their academic content standards in reading or language arts so that students can be reliably measured in those disciplines. Requires English learners (currently referred to as limited English proficient students) to be tested against those proficiency standards on an annual basis.
Allows states to adopt alternate academic achievement standards and assessments for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Requires the decision about which students should be measured against these standards to be made separately for each student in each subject assessed. Prohibits the number of students in a state who are being assessed in each grade level for each subject using the alternate assessment from exceeding 1% of the number of all students in that grade level in the state being assessed in that subject matter.
Directs states that use school improvement funds to support early childhood education to establish, or certify the existence of, early learning guidelines for preschool-aged children and early grade standards for children in kindergarten through grade three by the close of 2015.
Requires states, by the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, to adopt and implement statewide assessments that measure student achievement against: (1) the reading or language arts and mathematics standards annually in grades 3 through 8 and at least once during grades 10 through 12; and (2) the science standards at least once in grades 3 through 5, 6 through 9, and 10 through 12; (3) the English language proficiency standards; and (4) any alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
Requires the assessments in reading or language arts, mathematics, and science to: (1) measure whether each student is performing at the student's grade level, (2) determine the specific grade level at which each student is performing, and (3) measure each student's academic growth.
Allows states to develop and administer computer adaptive assessments for those subjects.
Allows the assessments in reading or language arts and mathematics to be administered through a single annual summative assessment or through multiple assessments during an academic year, provided the multiple assessments yield a summative score that reliably measures student academic growth.
Requires states to reduce duplicative assessments.
Requires each state receiving part A funds to prepare and disseminate an annual report card on the performance of each public elementary and secondary school in the state, each local educational agency (LEA) in the state, and the state as a whole. Requires the report cards to include: (1) specified student information in the aggregate and disaggregated and cross-tabulated by student subgroup, (2) class size information, (3) information on each school's categorization under the state accountability system, (4) school sports information, and (5) information on the number of students using early intervening services.
Requires LEAs to issue report cards that contain specified student information disaggregated by student subgroup.
Requires LEAs to provide parents with an equity report card for each school that includes: (1) student achievement data, disaggregated by student subgroup; (2) information on the school's funding by source; (3) for each high school, the graduation rate and the rate students enroll in college; (4) information on student participation in educational opportunities at the school; and (5) school climate information.
(Sec. 1113) Alters the formula LEAs are to use to: (1) rank the poverty of school attendance areas if school improvement funds are insufficient to serve all areas, and (2) calculate the number of low-income students in secondary schools.
Requires LEAs to reserve part A funds to serve homeless and foster care children. Allows reserved funds to be used to provide homeless children and youth with services not ordinarily provided to other children under part A.
(Sec. 1114) Amends provisions concerning schoolwide programs (programs that allow LEAs to consolidate school improvement funds to upgrade the entire educational program of schools) to allow the delivery of those programs by external providers that have expertise in using scientifically valid strategies and programs to improve teaching, learning, and schools.
Requires schoolwide programs to include reform strategies that provide: (1) a multi-tier system of supports and positive behavioral interventions and supports; and (2) programs, activities, courses, and professional development in the core academic subjects that are targeted toward assisting low-performing or at-risk children in meeting the academic content and achievement standards.
(Sec. 1115) Allows targeted assistance programs (programs that direct school improvement funds toward the children in a school who are failing or most at risk of failing) to include: (1) a multi-tier system of supports and positive behavioral interventions and supports; and (2) support for programs, activities, courses, and professional development in the core academic subjects that are targeted toward assisting those children in meeting the academic content and achievement standards.
(Sec. 1116) Eliminates the requirement that LEAs and their elementary and secondary schools make adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state performance standards or be subject to specified improvements, corrective action, or restructuring. Requires, instead, that each state accountability system:
Requires state accountability systems to include student performance in reading or language arts and mathematics. Allows states to include other subjects, such as science, for which they have adopted academic content and achievement standards.
Requires LEAs to ensure that each school that, after two consecutive years, has not met state performance targets for the same student subgroup develops and implements a locally designed intervention to improve student achievement in that subgroup.
Subjects schools to improvement strategies if they are identified as: (1) focus schools due to their having among the largest achievement or graduation gaps among student subgroups in the state; or (2) priority schools due to their status as the lowest achieving schools in the state, high schools with graduation rates below 60%, or focus schools for the six preceding consecutive years.
Identifies a school as a focus school, beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, if it is not identified as a priority school and is in the 10% of all: (1) public schools in the state with the greatest achievement gaps among the subgroups of poor, minority, disabled, and English learner students; or (2) public high schools in the state with the greatest graduation rate gaps among those student subgroups.
Requires each LEA that serves a focus school to develop and implement a measurable and data-driven correction plan to improve the performance of the school's low-achieving subgroups.
Continues a focus school's characterization as a focus school for the three years following its designation as such, unless it meets all of its performance targets or the state determines, after the second year, that it will meet those targets by the end of the following year.
Allows states to apply to the Secretary of Education (Secretary) for a waiver of the requirement to identify schools as focus schools if they determine that all of their schools that would be identified as such are performing at a satisfactory level.
Identifies a school as a priority school, beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, if it: (1) is in the lowest-achieving 5% of elementary schools in the state, (2) is in the lowest-achieving 5% of secondary schools in the state, (3) is a public high school with a graduation rate of less than 60%, or (4) has been a focus school for the six preceding consecutive years.
Allows states to apply to the Secretary for a waiver of the requirement to identify schools as priority schools due to their being within the lowest-achieving 5% of elementary or 5% of secondary schools if they determine that all of those schools are performing at a satisfactory level.
Authorizes a state, state law permitting, to take over a school and act as its LEA if the school has been identified as a priority school for the initial three-year identification period and is then re-identified as a priority school for a subsequent three-year period.
Requires LEAs receiving part A funds to conduct a data-driven needs analysis of each of their priority schools and use it to select and implement the most appropriate school improvement strategy to improve student performance at each school.
Requires LEAs that are implementing any of the school improvement strategies to provide: (1) school staff with ongoing training and performance evaluations; (2) students with instruction and instructional supports that meet their individual needs; and (3) the school with assistance in implementing positive behavioral interventions and supports, other early intervening services, and school based mental-health programs.
Identifies the school improvement strategies as: (1) the transformation strategy, (2) the turnaround strategy, (3) the whole school reform strategy, (4) the restart strategy, and (5) the school closure strategy.
Includes as part of the transformation strategy: (1) replacing the principal, if the principal has served in that role at the school for more than two years, with a principal that has had more training, experience, or success; (2) requiring instructional and leadership personnel to reapply for their positions; (3) requiring hiring at the school to be done through mutual consent; and (4) implementing schedules and strategies that provide increased learning time.
Includes as part of the turnaround strategy: (1) replacing the principal, if the principal has served in that role at the school for more than two years, with a principal that has had more training, experience, or success; (2) screening all teachers in the school and retaining not more than 65% of them; and (3) implementing schedules and strategies the provide increased learning time.
Identifies the whole school reform strategy as one undertaken in partnership with an external provider offering a school reform program that is based on at least a moderate level of evidence that it will have a statistically significant effect on student outcomes.
Includes as part of the restart strategy: (1) converting the school into a public charter, magnet, or innovative school; (2) allowing students of the former school to enroll in the new school; and (3) using a random lottery system to admit additional students if the new school has more applicants than it can accommodate.
Requires LEAs implementing the school closure strategy to enroll students who attended the closed school in higher-performing schools that are within reasonable proximity to the closed school. Allows school improvement funds to be used to support the costs the higher-performing schools incur in meeting the needs of these new students.
Allows states, with the Secretary's approval, to establish an alternative state-determined, evidence-based, school improvement strategy to be used by their LEAs, but prohibits funds under title I of the ESEA from being used for school vouchers.
Continues a priority school's characterization as a priority school for the three years following its designation as such, unless, after the second year, it has met all of its performance targets or the state determines that it will meet those targets by the end of the following year.
Requires LEAs to: (1) implement the restart or school closure strategy for schools that are re-classified as priority schools after their initial classification as such; and (2) allow students at priority schools to transfer to another public school that has not been identified as persistently low-achieving, unless that option is prohibited by state law.
(Sec. 1117) Repeals the school support and recognition program (a program that requires states to establish a statewide system of intensive and sustained support and improvement for LEAs and schools to increase the opportunity for students to meet the state's academic content and student academic achievement standards).
Requires teachers teaching a core academic subject in a program supported with school improvement funds to be highly qualified and certified to teach that subject area, but makes this requirement applicable only to new teachers if the state has fully implemented a professional growth and improvement system.
Allows LEAs that are unable to provide a small, rural, or remote school with a highly-qualified, on-site, classroom teacher for a core academic subject to use distance education provided by a teacher highly qualified in the subject, but only if a teacher highly qualified in another subject is present in the classroom to assist students during the distance education.
Excepts teachers of American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian language, culture, or history from the requirement that teachers be highly qualified. Allows states to require a local tribe or tribal organization to verify those teachers' competency.
Prohibits a state from requiring a school or LEA to spend a specific amount of funds for professional development activities under part A.
(Sec. 1118) Requires LEAs to conduct an annual survey of parents, family members, and school personnel and, on the basis of that survey, develop and implement an annual parent and family engagement plan to support the meaningful engagement of parents and other family members in children's education.
Provides that each plan shall establish parent engagement goals for the LEA and its schools and annual quantifiable performance benchmarks for such goals.
Requires LEAs to conduct an end-of-the-year survey of parents and school personnel and, on the basis of that survey and their progress in meeting their annual performance benchmarks, revise their parent and family engagement plan as needed.
Directs LEAs to: (1) establish a parent advisory board to assist them in developing, revising, and reviewing their parent and family engagement plan; and (2) reserve at least 2% of their part A allocation to assist schools in carrying out activities pursuant to that plan.
(Sec. 1120) Conditions an LEA's receipt of part A funds, beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, on the LEA showing its state that combined state and local per-pupil expenditures in each of its schools served under part A are not less than the average combined state and local per-pupil expenditures for each of its schools not served under that program.
Requires an LEA that serves all of its schools under part A to show its state that the average combined state and local per-pupil expenditures for its high-poverty schools were not less than those expenditures for its low-poverty schools.
Allows LEAs to meet these requirements on an LEA-wide or grade-span by grade-span basis.
Requires LEAs to exclude from these calculations state and local funds expended in any school for capital expenditures or the excess costs of providing services to English learners or disabled children.
Allows LEAs to satisfy comparability of education expenditure requirements by meeting expenditure requirements enacted by the state or LEA before this Act's enactment, provided those requirements provide the same or a higher standard of comparability than this Act's provisions.
(Sec. 1121) Requires LEAs to engage in specified activities with Head Start agencies, special education providers, and, if feasible, other early childhood education providers to ease the transition of children into elementary education.
(Sec. 1125) Replaces the school support and recognition program with a blue ribbon schools program that allows each state to annually identify the highest 5% of its schools as blue ribbon schools based on: (1) the percentage of their students who are meeting or exceeding state academic achievement standards in English or language arts and mathematics; (2) in the case of high schools, their graduation rates; (3) the performance of their student subgroups; (4) the percentage of their students who are meeting or exceeding state academic achievement standards or are achieving sufficient academic growth; and (5) school gains.
Allows states to provide each blue ribbon school with: (1) increased autonomy over its budget, staffing, and time; (2) flexibility in using funds provided to the school under the ESEA for any purpose allowed under the ESEA; and (3) a monetary award, through its LEA, if it agrees to use the reward to improve student achievement and provide technical assistance to the lowest-achieving schools in the state that are closest geographically to it.
Directs the Secretary, acting jointly with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), to designate exemplary early childhood education programs as centers of excellence in early childhood for a five-year term and award each of them a bonus grant to improve the quality of their program and others in their region. Requires eligible programs to have been nominated by their state Governor as centers of excellence and to serve children who are eligible to participate in the school lunch program. Requires the selection of at least one center of excellence in each state.
Requires the centers of excellence to use at least 15% of their bonus grant to disseminate best practices for achieving early academic success to other early childhood education programs in their state and to use the remainder for at least two of the following activities:
Authorizes the Secretary to identify and recognize exemplary schools, programs, and individuals, including through: (1) a Green Ribbon Schools program that recognizes excellence in reducing environmental impact, increasing health and wellness, and providing sustainability education; and (2) an award program recognizing excellence exhibited by classified school employees in the public school system.
(Sec. 1126) Directs the Secretary to award grants to states to develop, improve, or administer their college and career ready academic standards and assessments.
Directs the Secretary to award competitive grants to states to enhance such assessments by: (1) collaborating with IHEs or other entities, (2) using multiple measures of student achievement from multiple sources, (3) charting student progress over time, or (4) developing comprehensive assessment instruments.
(Sec. 1127) Provides that a state is free from all federal requirements under part A if the state chooses to not receive funding under that part.
Reauthorizes appropriations under part A of title I of the ESEA for FY2014-FY2018.
Part B: Pathways to College - (Sec. 1201) Replaces part B (Student Reading Skills Improvement Grants) of title I with a new part B (Pathways to College).
Establishes, under subpart 1 (Improving Secondary Schools) of part B, a program awarding competitive, matching, five-year grants to high-need LEAs that partner with IHEs, employers or industry-related organizations, and nonprofit organizations or qualified intermediaries to assist schools in implementing innovative and effective secondary school reform strategies.
Requires grantees to use up to 25% of their grant funds to:
Requires grantees to use at least 75% of their grant funds on certain efforts to: (1) reform secondary schools that have a graduation rate below 75% and are identified as low-performing schools, but not priority schools; and (2) improve the academic performance of students who attend middle schools that feed a majority of their students to those secondary schools.
Requires those secondary school reforms to include:
Establishes a program, under subpart 2 (Accelerated Learning) of part B, allotting grants to states, based on their share of low-income elementary and secondary school students, to cover part or all of the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) examination fee low-income students incur.
Directs the Secretary to award competitive matching grants to states, high-need LEAs, or partnerships between a public or nonprofit organization and a state or high-need LEA for activities that increase: (1) the number of teachers at high-need schools who are qualified to teach AP or IB courses, and (2) the number of students at high-need schools who pass the examination for such courses.
Gives priority, in awarding the competitive grants, to applicants that: (1) have a statewide or district-wide strategy for increasing the availability of AP or IB courses, and pre-AP or pre-IB courses, in high-need schools; (2) focus on increasing AP or IB courses in core academic subjects; and (3) target high-need schools.
Authorizes appropriations under part B's Pathways to College program for FY2014-FY2018.
Part C: Education of Migratory Children - (Sec. 1301) Amends part C (Education of Migratory Children) of title I, which provides grants to states for the education of migratory children.
(Sec. 1303) Alters the formula for determining each state's grant by considering, in addition to other factors, the average number of migratory children residing in each state the preceding three years, rather than the number of migratory children who resided in each state the previous year.
Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a procedure for monitoring the accuracy of estimates of the number of migratory children residing in each state.
(Sec. 1304) Gives program priority to migratory children who have made a move within the year and are failing or at risk of failing or who have dropped out of school.
(Sec. 1306) Requires migratory children to be given the opportunity to meet the same college and career readiness standards as other children.
(Sec. 1308) Adds international coordination as an authorized use of the grants currently awarded to states, LEAs, IHEs, and other entities for improved intrastate and interstate coordination of migrant education.
Allows the Secretary to provide technical assistance to states to support their efforts to meet the needs of migratory children.
(Sec. 1309) Requires each state that receives a grant under part C to: (1) annually report to the Secretary and make public certain data regarding the academic achievement of migratory students, and (2) assist the Secretary in determining the number of migratory children in such state through such procedures as the Secretary may require.
Requires the Secretary: (1) to evaluate the implementation and impact of the activities supported under part C, and (2) conduct a pilot study on the feasibility of using the National Assessment of Educational Progress for assessing and reporting on the academic achievement of migratory children in grades four and eight in reading and mathematics.
Reauthorizes appropriations under part C of title I of the ESEA for FY2014-FY2018.
Part D: Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk - (Sec. 1401) Amends part D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk) of title I.
(Sec. 1402) Requires the Secretary to reserve 0.5% of the amount appropriated for part D in any fiscal year to provide assistance to the Secretary of the Interior to provide educational services for at-risk Indian children, including Indian youth in correctional facilities operated by the Secretary of the Interior or by an Indian tribe.
(Sec. 1403) Requires states that desire grants under part D to establish: (1) procedures to ensure that students who have been placed in the juvenile justice system are promptly re-enrolled in secondary school or placed in re-entry programs that best meet their educational and social needs, (2) procedures for facilitating the transfer of credits that such students earned during placement, and (3) opportunities for those students to participate in higher education or career pathways.
(Sec. 1404) Allows states to use grant funds for the cost of testing children and youth for a recognized equivalent of a secondary school diploma.
(Sec. 1407) Requires the Secretary to evaluate the implementation and impact of the activities supported under part D.
(Sec. 1411) Authorizes LEAs to use part D funds on programs for at-risk Indian children and youth in their area.
(Sec. 1412) Requires correctional facilities that enter into an agreement with an LEA to provide services to children and youth under part D to: (1) work with the LEA and family members to develop an initial educational services and transition plan for children or youth upon their entry into the correctional facility, and (2) work with the LEA to facilitate the continued achievement of those children and youth upon their discharge from the correctional facility.
(Sec. 1413) Requires correctional facilities or institutions for delinquent children and youth to annually report: (1) the number of children and youth they have released who returned or did not return to school, (2) the number who obtained a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and (3) the number who obtained employment.
(Sec. 1414) Requires each state, LEA, and Indian tribe's evaluation of its part D program to assess the program's success in making children and youth college and career ready and able to graduate from high school in a timely manner.
(Sec. 1414) Redefines "at-risk" children or youth as school-aged individuals who: (1) are at risk of academic failure; and (2) have a drug or alcohol problem, are pregnant or are parents, have come into contact with the juvenile justice system or have been determined to have been neglected in the past, are gang members, or have dropped out of school in the past.
Reauthorizes appropriations under part D of title I of the ESEA for FY2014-FY2018.
Part E: Educational Stability of Children in Foster Care - (Sec. 1501) Replaces part E (National Assessment of Subchapter I) of title I with a new part E (Educational Stability of Children in Foster Care).
Requires states to develop and implement a plan to ensure that children who move to a new school attendance area due to being placed in foster care, changing their foster care placement, or leaving foster care: (1) enroll or remain in their school of origin and receive transportation to and from that school, unless it is determined to be in their best interest to attend a different school; (2) are immediately enrolled in a school once it is determined to be in their best interest to attend the school, even if they are unable to produce the records normally required for enrollment; and (3) have their school records maintained and available for immediate transfer to their new school.
Gives a child who leaves foster care the right to remain in his or her school of origin only for the remainder of the school year.
Requires states to ensure that foster children are able to: (1) preserve the credits or partial credits they earned at schools they previously attended, and (2) receive a secondary school diploma from one of the schools at which they were enrolled or through a state-issued secondary school diploma system.
Requires LEAs and state educational agencies to each designate an individual to oversee implementation of their part E obligations and serve as a point of contact for the child welfare agencies responsible for foster children.
Part F: General Provisions - (Sec. 1601) Eliminates parts F (Comprehensive School Reform), G (Advanced Placement Programs), and H (School Dropout Prevention) of title I of the ESEA.
Title II: Supporting Teacher and Principal Excellence - (Sec. 2101) Replaces title II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals) of the ESEA with a new title II (Supporting Teacher and Principal Excellence). Redesignates the Ready-to-Learn Television program (under subpart 3 of part D of title II) as the Ready-to-Learn program under part I of title IV of the ESEA. Redesignates subpart 5 (Teacher Liability Protection) of part C of title II as subpart 3 of part E of title IX (General Provisions) of the ESEA.
Strikes parts A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund), B (Mathematics and Science Partnerships), C (Innovation for Teacher Quality), and D (Enhancing Education Through Technology) of title II.
Establishes a new part A (Continuous Improvement and Support for Teachers and Principals) of title II. Directs the Secretary, under such program, to make formula grants to states and, through them, subgrants to LEAs to increase achievement for all students.
Requires LEAs applying for a subgrant to assure their state that they will create, or improve, and implement a professional growth and improvement system by a date identified by the LEA and approved by the state educational agency that shall not be later than the 2015-2016 school year.
Requires the LEAs to use their subgrant funds to address the achievement of students in focus schools, priority schools, and schools not meeting their performance targets through the development and provision of professional development to school staff.
Allows LEAs to use subgrant funds to implement strategies that lead to increased student achievement for all students, including:
Allocates part A grants to states and, through them, subgrants to LEAs pursuant to formulae that apportion: (1) 35% of the funding to states and 20% of the funding to LEAs based on their share of students aged 5 through 17 on the national and state level, respectively; and (2) 65% of the funding to states and 80% of the funding to LEAs based on their share of low-income students in that age group on the national and state level, respectively.
Requires states to use 95% of their part A grant for subgrants to LEAs. Requires states to use 2% to 5% of their grant to: (1) improve the performance and distribution of high quality principals and, at their discretion, other school leaders; and (2) provide technical assistance to LEAs to support the design and implementation of professional growth and improvement systems.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) continue research and development activities related to the education of gifted and talented students, (2) support a National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented that conducts research and serves as a national clearinghouse for best practices to improve the identification and education of such students, and (3) administer demonstration grants to programs that build and enhance the ability of elementary and secondary school personnel to support gifted and talented students.
Establishes a principal recruitment and training grant program to award renewable, matching grants to states, LEAs or educational service agencies, nonprofit organizations, IHEs, and partnerships of those entities to recruit, prepare, place, and support principals in eligible schools.
Defines "eligible schools" as high-need schools, priority schools, focus schools, schools with middle grades that feed students to high schools with low graduation rates, and rural schools served by high-need LEAs.
Requires grantees to work with experts and stakeholders to develop, during the first year of a grant, a leadership training program for principals, mentors, and other school leaders that prepares and supports them in leading effective school reform efforts in priority schools.
Makes grant renewal decisions dependent on the Secretary's evaluation of the extent to which the principals recruited, prepared, placed, or supported by the grantee have improved school-level student outcomes in eligible schools.
Establishes a new part B (Teacher Pathways to the Classroom) of title II. Directs the Secretary to award renewable, matching grants to eligible entities to:
Defines an "eligible entity" as: (1) a partnership of at least one IHE or nonprofit organization and a high-need LEA and at least one other LEA or state educational agency, or (2) an IHE or nonprofit organization experienced in preparing successful teachers and placing them in high-need schools.
Requires grantees to track the placement rate, retention rate, and performance in improving student achievement of teachers recruited and prepared by their programs. Permits the Secretary to renew a grant only if that data indicates that the teachers are successful in improving student achievement.
Requires the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences to: (1) evaluate the implementation and impact of the part B program; (2) identify best practices for recruiting, selecting, preparing, placing, retaining, and supporting teachers in high-need subjects or fields for high-need schools; and (3) disseminate research on best practices.
Establishes a new part C (Teacher Incentive Fund) of title II. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive renewable grants to states, LEAs, and IHEs or nonprofit organizations that partner with states or LEAs to develop, implement, improve, or expand strategies to increase the number of highly-effective teachers and principals serving in high-need schools.
Includes among the acceptable uses of grant funds: (1) paying bonuses and increased salaries to highly effective teachers or principals who work in high-need schools, (2) improving a professional growth and improvement system, (3) reforming the LEA's system of compensating teachers and principals, and (4) developing and implementing a human capital system.
Directs the Secretary to give grant priority to applicants that concentrate their proposed activities: (1) on high-need schools designated as priority schools, or (2) in a state or LEA that has developed a professional growth and improvement system.
Establishes a new part D of title II, entitled the Achievement Through Technology and Innovation Act of 2013 or the ATTAIN Act. Allots matching funds to states under part D on the basis of each state's share of funds under part A of title I of the ESEA.
Requires states to use: (1) 10% of part D funds for specified mandatory activities that include developing college and career ready academic content and achievement standards in technological literacy and assessing and tracking student performance in acquiring technological literacy, and (2) 80% of the remainder for formula subgrants to LEAs to improve teaching and learning through technology and 20% for competitive subgrants to LEAs for systemic education transformation through technology integration.
Requires LEAs to: (1) include a new or updated local long-range strategic educational technology plan in their applications, (2) use a specified percentage of each subgrant for teacher training, and (3) use each subgrant to acquire and apply technology to identify individual student learning needs and support personalized learning. Allows LEAs that receive funds for both programs to use all the funds for systemic school redesign through technology integration program activities.
Prohibits the use of part D funds to pay for computers or Internet access for schools that do not receive discounted telecommunication rates under the universal service program, unless the school has in place and enforces an Internet safety policy that includes the operation of a technology protection measure that blocks visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors.
Authorizes appropriations under title II of the ESEA for FY2014-FY2018.
Title III: Language and Academic Content Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students - (Sec. 3001) Revises title III (Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students) of the ESEA and renames it (Language and Academic Content Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students).
Changes the current references to "limited English proficient students" to "English learners."
Amends part A (English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act), which provides funding to states and, through them, subgrants to LEAs to improve the education of English learners.
Authorizes Indian tribes and educational entities that carry out programs in schools operated predominately for Native American children to use part A subgrants for Native American language immersion and restoration programs, which may be taught by traditional or tribal leaders.
Requires states to establish a performance target for the percentage of English learners they serve who are making progress in achieving English proficiency not more that five years after being identified as English learners. Requires states that fail to meet their performance target for two consecutive years to develop an improvement plan to meet the target.
Requires LEAs to: (1) enter into agreements with their state on local English proficiency performance targets, and (2) develop and implement an improvement plan to meet those targets if they fail to meet them for two consecutive years.
Directs states to: (1) require an LEA that fails to meet its performance target for three consecutive years to develop and implement a plan to modify its curriculum, program, and method of instruction; and (2) manage an LEA's subgrant funds for the lesser of four years or until its performance target is reached, if the LEA misses its performance target for a fourth consecutive year.
Requires states that fail to meet their performance targets for four consecutive years to: (1) modify their plan under part A and instructional methods, and (2) partner their low-performing LEAs with their high-performing LEAs that have met their local performance targets for the previous three years.
Revises the professional development grant program for English language instructors to allow IHEs or nonprofit organizations, in consortia with states or LEAs, to use the grants to support:
Directs the Secretary to establish an independent commission on the assessment and advancement of English learners, comprised of experts capable of providing the Secretary with advice regarding the educational advancement and development of English learners and their inclusion in state assessment and accountability systems.
Requires the Secretary to distribute English language acquisition technology innovation grants for the pursuit of breakthrough research and development in educational technology that benefits English learners.
Eliminates the Improving Language Instruction Educational Programs under part B of title III.
Authorizes appropriations under title III of the ESEA for FY2014-FY2018.
Title IV: Supporting Successful, Well-Rounded Students - (Sec. 4101) Replaces title IV (21st Century Schools) of the ESEA with a new title IV (Supporting Successful, Well-Rounded Students).
(Sec. 4102) Replaces part A (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities) of title IV with a new part A (Improving Literacy Instruction and Student Achievement).
Authorizes the Secretary, under subpart 1 (Improving Literacy Instruction) of part A, to award planning grants to states to complete comprehensive planning to carry out activities that improve literacy for children from birth through grade 12.
Requires grantees to form or designate a state literacy leadership team, composed of individuals having certain literacy expertise, to guide the development and implementation of the comprehensive, statewide literacy plan.
Directs the Secretary to award grants to states to implement their comprehensive literacy plans and to award competitive subgrants to: (1) LEAs and early childhood education providers that serve high-need children to support certain early literacy initiatives for children from birth through kindergarten entry; (2) LEAs that serve a high number or proportion of low-income children, children reading or writing below grade level, or priority schools to implement certain literacy initiatives for children in kindergarten through grade 12.
Includes among the literacy initiatives: (1) the acquisition and implementation of literacy assessments, (2) efforts targeting students reading and writing below grade level, (3) professional development opportunities for educators, and (4) family literacy services.
Requires state grantees to: (1) provide technical assistance to subgrantees, (2) work with the state literacy leadership team and IHEs to include evidence-based literacy methods in preservice courses for students preparing to teach children from birth through grade 12, (3) review and update state licensure or certification standards in literacy instruction, and (4) make information on promising child literacy improvement practices available to the public.
Awards the implementation grants to states: (1) on a competitive basis if funds appropriated under subpart 1 of part A fall below $500 million; and (2) otherwise on the basis of each state's share of low-income children under age 18.
Requires states to use at least: (1) 10% of the grant funds for state and local activities pertaining to children from birth through kindergarten entry, (2) 30% of the grant funds for state and local activities pertaining to children from kindergarten through grade 5, and (3) 30% of the grant funds for state and local activities pertaining to children from grades 6 through 12.
Directs the Secretary to arrange for an independent five-year evaluation of the grant and subgrant programs assisted under subpart 1 and make its findings and the results of additional research on literacy instruction available to literacy providers.
Establishes a new program under subpart 2 (Improving Literacy and College and Career Readiness Through Effective School Library Programs) of part A authorizing the Secretary to award competitive three-year grants to certain LEAs to develop and enhance effective school library programs. Makes LEAs or consortia of LEAs eligible for such grants only if: (1) at least 20% of their students are impoverished, or (2) their percentage of impoverished children is in the highest quartile among all LEAs in the state.
Defines an "effective school library program" as one that: (1) is staffed by a state sanctioned school librarian; (2) has up-to-date materials and technology, including broadband; (3) includes regular collaboration between teachers and school librarians concerning school reform efforts; and (4) supports the development of digital literacy skills.
Redesignates subpart 3 (Gun Possession) of part A of title IV as subpart 1 of a new part G (Miscellaneous Provisions) of title IX (General Provisions) of the ESEA.
(Sec. 4103) Moves part B (21st Century Community Learning Centers) to a new part F of title IV of the ESEA.
Creates a new part B (Improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Instruction and Student Achievement). Directs the Secretary, under subpart 1 (Improving STEM Instruction and Student Achievement) of part B, to allot formula grants to states and, through them, award competitive subgrants to high-need LEAs, educational service agencies serving such LEAs, or certain outside partners of those entities to improve preschool and elementary and secondary school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Defines those "outside partners" as nonprofit or community based organizations, businesses, IHEs, or educational service agencies that have expertise and a demonstrated record of success in improving STEM learning and engagement.
Allots such grants to states pursuant to a formula that takes into account each state's share of elementary and secondary school students and each state's share of such students who are low-income students.
Awards the grants to states on a competitive basis if this subpart's funding falls below $500 million. Authorizes the Secretary to award capacity-building grants to states to help them qualify for competitive grants.
Requires the grants to be used to: (1) increase the access to STEM courses of students who belong to groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields, (2) implement evidence-based programs of instruction based on high-quality standards and assessments in the STEM subjects, (3) provide professional development and other support systems to STEM educators, and (4) provide technical assistance to subgrantees and other high-need schools and LEAs to improve students' STEM achievement and narrow achievement gaps.
Requires the subgrants to be used for activities that include: (1) recruiting, supporting, evaluating, and training STEM teachers; (2) developing and improving high-quality STEM curricula and instructional supports to improve student achievement in those subjects; and (3) integrating STEM instruction with instruction in reading, English language arts, or other academic subjects.
Directs states to require subgrantees to obtain a commitment from one or more outside partners to match, from nonfederal funds, at least 15% of the subgrant funds.
Directs the Secretary to establish performance metrics and use those metrics to evaluate subpart 1 activities and identify best practices to improve STEM instruction.
Directs the Secretary, under subpart 2 (STEM Master Teacher Corps Program) of part B, to award competitive matching grants to consortia of high-need LEAs or states, acting in partnership with IHEs or nonprofit organizations to establish a STEM Master Teacher Corps program.
Requires grantees to:
Gives grant priority to applicants that intend to include: (1) large numbers of teachers in the STEM Master Teacher Corps; and (2) rural schools, particularly high-need rural schools, in the area they serve.
Requires grantees to ensure that at least 75% of their STEM Master Teacher Corps are teachers at high-need schools.
Authorizes the Secretary to award planning grants to such consortia to make plans to establish the STEM Master Teacher Corps program.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish performance metrics to evaluate the program; (2) identify optimal strategies for designing and advancing the program; and (3) identify best practices for developing, supporting, and retaining STEM teachers based on lessons learned from the program.
(Sec. 4104) Redesignates part C (Environmental Tobacco Smoke) of title IV as subpart 2 of the new part G of title IX. Establishes a new part C (Increasing Access to a Well-Rounded Education and Financial Literacy) of title IV.
Directs the Secretary, under subpart 1 (Increasing Access to a Well-Rounded Education) of part C, to allot formula grants to states that enter into partnerships with nonprofit organizations, IHEs, LEAs, educational service agencies, or other states to increase the access of low-income students, English learners, and disabled students to high-quality instruction in the arts, civics and government, economics, environmental education, financial literacy, foreign languages, geography, health education, history, music, physical education, or social studies. Requires grantees to do this by: (1) improving the knowledge and skills of teachers through professional growth and improvement systems and other instructional supports; and/or (2) building local capacity to develop and implement high-quality curricula, instructional supports, and assessments in those subjects. Authorizes grantees to award competitive subgrants to high-need LEAs or educational service agencies to engage in such activities.
Allots the grants to states pursuant to a formula that takes into account each state's share of elementary and secondary school students and each state's share of such students who are low-income students. Awards the grants on a competitive basis if this subpart's funding falls below $500 million. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish performance metrics and use those metrics to evaluate subpart 1 activities, and (2) identify best practices to improve such instruction.
Authorizes the Secretary, under subpart 2 (Financial Literacy Education) of part C (entitled the Financial Literacy for Students Act), to award matching grants to states to: (1) integrate financial literacy education into each of their public elementary and secondary schools that are eligible for school improvement funds under title I of the ESEA, and (2) train their secondary school financial literacy or entrepreneurship teachers to teach financial literacy in core academic subjects.
Prohibits states from using over 20% of their grant funds to train those teachers, develop curricula, and evaluate the impact of financial literacy or personal finance education on students' understanding of financial literacy concepts.
(Sec. 4105) Establishes a new part D (Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students) of title IV, under which the Secretary allots formula grants to states to: (1) develop, improve, and implement state reporting and information systems that measure conditions for learning, based on surveys of school students and staff; and (2) award competitive subgrants to LEAs or nonprofit organizations that use such measurement systems to make comprehensive improvements to school-level conditions for learning.
Allots such grants to states pursuant to a formula that takes into account each state's share of school improvement funds under part A of title I of the ESEA. Awards the grants on a competitive basis if this part's funding falls below $500 million.
Identifies conditions conducive to learning as those that: (1) promote physical activity, education, fitness, and nutrition; (2) promote mental health; (3) prevent violence, harassment, and substance abuse among students; and (4) promote safe and supportive schools and communities.
Conditions a state's grant eligibility on its: (1) having a statewide physical education requirement that is consistent with widely recognized standards; and (2) requiring its LEAs to establish policies that prevent and prohibit harassment in schools, notify students, parents, and educational professionals of prohibited conduct each year, and provide students and parents with grievance procedures that target such conduct.
Requires each state to ensure that of the aggregate subgrant funds they award under this program: (1) at least 20% are used for drug and violence prevention; (2) at least 20% are used to promote mental health; and (3) at least 20% are used to promote physical activity, education, fitness, and nutrition.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish performance metrics and use those metrics to evaluate part D activities; and (2) provide technical assistance to program applicants, grantees, and subgrantees.
Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to LEAs to fund certain actions they deem necessary to improve the learning environment at a school that has experienced a violent or traumatic crisis on campus. Requires LEAs to use such grants to: (1) acquire real property; (2) construct new facilities; or (3) renovate, repair, or alter existing facilities for an elementary and secondary school that has experienced such a crisis. Prohibits the grant from covering more than 50% of an LEA's cost in taking such actions.
(Sec. 4106) Establishes a new part E of title IV, entitled the Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2013.
Prohibits public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. Considers harassment to be a form of discrimination.
Prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing conduct made unlawful under this part.
Authorizes federal departments and agencies to enforce these prohibitions by cutting off the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating them. Allows aggrieved individuals to assert a violation of this part in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney's fees should they prevail. Authorizes the Attorney General to institute a civil action in any appropriate U.S. district court for a violation of this Act.
Deems an educational agency's or state's receipt of federal educational assistance for a program to constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity for conduct prohibited under this part regarding such program.
(Sec. 4107) Revises the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which this Act moves from part B of title IV to a new part F of title IV of the ESEA. (Currently, that program awards formula grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to LEAs, community-based organizations, and other public or private entities to carry out a broad array of before- and after-school activities that advance student academic achievement.)
Includes before- and after-school, summer learning, and expanded learning time activities in the program.
Requires the subgrants to be awarded to partnerships composed of high-need LEAs and public entities or nonprofit organizations experienced in designing and implementing before-school, after-school, summer learning, or expanded learning time activities.
Eliminates the requirement that the subgrants serve students who primarily attend schools that serve a high percentage of low-income students or schools eligible for participation in Schoolwide programs under part A of title I of the ESEA. (Schoolwide programs allow LEAs to consolidate school improvement funds to upgrade the entire educational program of schools that serve a high proportion of low-income families.) Requires, instead, that the subgrants serve students who primarily attend high-need schools and schools that are identified as focus or priority schools.
Allows the subgrant to be provided for a period of up to three years and, if the subgrantee meets certain performance standards established by the state, renewed for an additional two-year period.
Requires states to give priority to subgrant applications that: (1) are based on strong research evidence for improving student learning, (2) propose to serve the highest percentage of low-income students, (3) include specified partnership commitments, and (4) are submitted by entities that will provide matching funds.
(Sec. 4108) Establishes a new part G of title IV, entitled the Promise Neighborhoods Act of 2013.
Directs the Secretary, under new subpart 1 (Promise Neighborhood Partnership Grants), to award renewable, competitive, matching grants to nonprofit organizations to implement a comprehensive continuum of coordinated services and supports that engage community partners in improving the academic achievement, health and social development, and college and career readiness of children who live in distressed neighborhoods with schools identified as focus or priority schools.
Directs the Secretary, under new subpart 2 (Promise School Grants), to award renewable, competitive, matching grants to high-need LEAs that partner with nonprofit organizations or IHEs, and to Indian schools that partner with nonprofit organizations or IHEs, to implement school-centered strategies and integrated student supports that leverage community partnerships to improve student achievement and development in schools with high concentrations of low-income children. Gives priority to applicants that propose to: (1) include significant investments in high-quality early learning programs, and (2) give schools the operational flexibility to carry out grant activities.
Requires part G grantees to evaluate their programs continuously and improve them based on data and outcomes. Directs the Secretary to use certain performance metrics to determine the eligibility of part G grantees for continued funding and renewal of their grant. Directs the Secretary to evaluate this part's grant programs and disseminate research on best practices for improving the academic and developmental outcomes of children living in our most distressed communities.
(Sec. 4109) Establishes a new part H (Parent and Family Information and Resource Centers) of title IV.
Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive, matching, five-year grants to nonprofit organizations or consortia consisting of a nonprofit organization and a state or LEA to operate state parent and family information and resource centers.
Requires those centers to: