[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 453 Introduced in House (IH)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 453
To establish a national demonstration program providing increased
flexibility for schools in order to promote improved educational
achievement for all students.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 1993
Mr. DeFazio (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Kopetski, and Ms. Furse)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a national demonstration program providing increased
flexibility for schools in order to promote improved educational
achievement for all students.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Educational Reform
and Flexibility Act of 1993'' or ``Ed-Flex''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
(1) historically, Federal education programs have addressed
the Nation's most pressing educational problems by providing
categorical assistance with detailed requirements relating to
the use of funds;
(2) while the approach described in paragraph (1) has
proven generally successful, some program requirements may
inadvertently impede educational achievement;
(3) the Nation's schools and teachers are being asked to
deal effectively with increasingly diverse educational needs
that current program structures may not be flexible enough to
address;
(4) Federal mandates often limit teachers' ability to
respond to individual student needs; and
(5) in order for this Nation to effectively compete in the
global economy, it is crucial for the Federal Government to
support programs that--
(A) result in improved educational achievement by
all students;
(B) promote the coordination of education and
related services that benefit and support children and
their families;
(C) enable teachers and schools to respond to the
needs of a diverse student population;
(D) provide flexibility to teachers and schools by
eliminating unnecessary regulation; and
(E) place an emphasis on program results rather
than on tracking resources.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this title to establish a
national demonstration program which--
(1) promotes improved educational achievement for all
students, especially those in affected programs, through
education reform;
(2) provides increased flexibility for schools and other
recipients in the use of Federal resources, in exchange for
greater accountability for achieving improved educational
performance;
(3) encourages collaboration among school and program
administrators, teachers, parents, local agencies, community
groups, and business leaders to develop more effective
educational programs that meet the needs of all students,
especially the disadvantaged, and those served by the affected
programs.
SEC. 3. FLEXIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN EDUCATION AND RELATED
SERVICES.
(a) In General.--Subpart 1 of Part C of the General Education
Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) is amended by adding after
section 421A a new section 421B to read as follows:
``flexibility and accountability in education and related services
``Sec. 421B. (a) Program Authorized.--
``(1) In general.--(A) The Secretary shall, in accordance
with this section, assist elementary and secondary schools and
other service providers to improve the achievement of all
students and other participants, but particularly disadvantaged
individuals, by authorizing waivers to not more than six
States, which have implemented comprehensive regulatory reform
plans, and no more than fifty local educational agencies in
each State.''
``(B)(i) In support of these projects, the Secretary is
authorized to waive any statutory or regulatory requirement
(except as provided in subsection (e) applicable to a program
described in clause (ii) that the Secretary determines may
impede the ability of a school or other service provider to
meet the special needs of such students and other individuals
in the most effective manner possible. The head of any other
Federal agency in accordance with the programs described in
clause (ii) is similarly authorized to waive such requirements
applicable to an elementary, secondary, or youth vocational
training program administered by such agency if the agency head
the Secretary agree that such a waiver would promote the
purpose of this section.
``(ii) The Secretary shall only waive a statutory or
regulatory requirement applicable to a program under--
``(I) chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965;
``(II) chapter 2 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965;
``(III) the Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and
Science Education Act;
``(IV) the Follow Through Act;
``(V) subtitle B of the title VII of the Stewart B.
McKinney Homeless Assistance Act; and
``(VI) the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied
Technology Education Act, except part H of title III
and funds allocated by States under section 232 of such
Act.
``(2) Project duration.--Projects conducted under this
section, and any waivers associated with such projects, shall
last no longer than three years, except that the Secretary may
extend a project and any associated waivers for an additional
two years if the Secretary determines that the project is
making substantial progress in meeting its goals.
``(3) Termination.--The Secretary shall terminate a project
and its associated waivers if the Secretary, at any time,
determines it is not making acceptable progress toward meeting
its goals. The head of any other Federal agency who has granted
waivers under this section shall determine whether to extend or
terminate those waivers, but the Secretary shall have exclusive
authority to extend or terminate the project.
``(b) Eligibility.--
``(1) In general.--Each project that involves elementary of
secondary schools shall include the participation of a local
educational agency and at least two schools.
``(2) Grade and program requirement.--To the extent
possible, each grade and academic program in a participating
school shall participate in the project.
``(c) Applications.--A local educational agency, wishing to conduct
a project under this section, shall submit an application to the State
educational agency for approval. The State educational agency shall
then transmit approved applications to the Secretary. Each application
shall be submitted within two years of enactment and include a plan
that--
``(1) describes the purposes and overall expected outcomes
of the project;
``(2) identifies, for each school or site participating in
the project, those impediments to improved educational outcomes
that would be removed by the proposed waivers;
``(3) identifies the Federal programs to be included in the
project, the Federal statutory or regulatory requirements to be
waived, and the purpose and duration of the requested waivers;
``(4) describes the State and local requirements that will
be waived, the purpose of such waivers, and, if such
requirements will not have been waived before the project
begins, when those waivers will be obtained and take effect;
``(5) demonstrates the State has been made an effort to
waive substantial requirements pertaining to the local
educational agency;
``(6) describes specific, measurable, educational
improvement goals for each school or other site in the project
and for each school year of the project, including--
``(A) goals for improving the achievement of all
participants, including disadvantaged individuals, with
respect to achievement in basic and advanced skills;
``(B) goals that reflect the broad purposes of each
program for which a waiver is sought; and
``(C) an explanation of how the applicant will
measure progress in meeting the goals set for each
school or site in the project for disadvantaged
individuals participating in the project;
``(7) incorporates the comments of the Governor; and
``(8) for projects involving elementary or secondary
schools--
``(A) identifies the schools to be included in the
project and describes the student population at each
school, including--
``(i) current data regarding the
achievement of the disadvantaged students as
well as other students; and
``(ii) the number of students who--
``(I) are of limited English
proficiency as defined in section
7003(a)(1) of the Bilingual Education
Act;
``(II) are children with
disabilities, as defined in section
602(a)(1) of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act;
``(III) are currently or formerly
migratory;
``(IV) are educationally deprived,
for the purposes of chapter 1 of title
I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965; and
``(V) are eligible for a free or
reduced price school lunch;
``(B) describes specific goals for enhancing
coordination between the regular education program
available to all students and the programs serving
disadvantaged students;
``(C) if fewer than all the schools in a local
educational agency will participate in a project,
describes the expected educational outcomes for
disadvantaged students in schools that do not
participate, and how those outcome will be assessed;
``(D) describes how school administrators,
teachers, staff, and parents (including parents of
educationally disadvantaged children) have been or will
be, involved in the planning, development, and
implementation of the goals and program for each
participating school; and
``(E) contains goals for students targeted by the
programs described in clause (ii) of section 421B(a)
(1)(B) which are comparable to or exceed existing goals
under such programs.
``(d) Approval of Projects.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall approve applications
from no more than six States which have implemented
comprehensive regulatory reform, and no more than fifty local
educational agencies in each State, after considering--
``(A) the comprehensiveness of the project,
including the types of students, schools, programs, and
activities to be included;
``(B) the extent to which the provisions for which
waivers are sought impede educational improvement;
``(C) the State and local requirements that will be
waived for the project;
``(D) the significance and feasibility of the
proposed project's goals for each participating school
or site;
``(E) the quality of the plan for ensuring
accountability for the proposed plan's activities and
goals; and
``(F) the comments of the Governors.
``(2) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult with the
heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, if any, in
determining whether to approve a project. Each such agency head
shall notify the Secretary of any waivers granted by such
agency head as part of such project.
``(3) Distribution of projects.--The Secretary shall ensure
that, to the extent feasible, projects assisted under this
section are geographically distributed, and equitably
distributed among urban, suburban, and rural areas, as well as
large and small schools.
``(e) Allocation of Federal Funds; Restriction on Waivers.--
``(1) Allocation of federal funds.--Federal funds under any
program that are used to support a project under this section
shall be allocated to local educational agencies and other
recipients within the local educational agency in accordance
with the statutory and regulatory requirements that govern the
operation of that program, except that, for the purpose of such
a project, the Secretary (or the head of any other Federal
agency) may extend the duration of, and provide continuation
funding to, a project chosen on a competitive basis that a
participating agency is conducting.
``(2) Restriction on waivers.--Neither the Secretary nor
the head of any other Federal agency shall waive under this
section any statutory or regulatory requirement in awarding a
grant after the date of enactment to a service provider within
the local educational agency or other applicant participating
in a project under this section.
``(3) Special rule.--Neither the Secretary nor, where
applicable, the head of any other Federal agency shall waive
under this section any statutory or regulatory requirement--
``(A) under section 438 and 439 of the General
Education Provisions Act;
``(B) under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, or title
II of the Americans with Disabilities Act;
``(C) under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act; or
``(D) relating to--
``(i) supplement not supplant existing
funds;
``(ii) maintenance of effort;
``(iii) comparability; or
``(iv) the equitable participation of
students attending private schools.
``(f) Reports and Evaluations.--
``(1) Project reports.--Each project shall submit, not
later than ninety days after the end of each year of the
project, an annual report to the Secretary that--
``(A) summarizes the principal activities of the
project;
``(B) contains school-by-school and other data, as
described in the project plan, that show the extent to
which the project is meeting its overall goals,
including its goals for improving the achievement of
all participants, particularly disadvantaged
individuals, with respect to achievement in basic and
advanced skills, and is meeting the goals for each
school or other site;
``(C) describes the impact of the project on
disadvantaged children in schools, if any, that are not
participating in the demonstration;
``(D) describes the effectiveness of efforts to
coordinate programs and services for children and their
families as appropriate; and
``(E) provides information on or comparable data
regarding the programs described in clause (ii) of
section 428B(a)(1)(B) of achievement levels of students
served pursuant to such programs previously
demonstrated over the preceding three years compared
with children or students served under this title.
``(2) Secretary's report.--The Secretary shall submit a
report to the Congress every two years that summarizes and
analyzes the project reports required by paragraph (1).
``(3) Evaluation reports.--At the end of the six year
period described in this section, and at such interim points as
the Secretary deems appropriate, the Secretary shall provide to
Congress an independent evaluation of the projects assisted
under this title, as well as an evaluation of the program
assisted under this section by the Department of Education and
other affected Federal agencies. Such reports may include
recommendations for amendments to program statutes that are
based on the experience of projects that successfully raise
educational achievement by eliminating or modifying statutory
or regulatory provisions that impede educational improvement.
``(g) Definition.--For the purpose of this section, the term
disadvantaged students' includes students of limited english
proficiency, children with disabilities, students who are currently or
formerly migratory, and students who are educationally deprived.
``(h) Budget Neutrality.--The authority provided by this section
shall not be exercised in a manner that, for any fiscal year, increases
total obligations or outlays of discretionary appropriations for
programs subject to such authority, or that increases total obligations
or outlays of funding for all direct-spending programs subject to such
authority over those that would have occurred absent such authority.''.
(b) Sunset Provision.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
be effective during the six year period beginning on the date of
enactment of this Act.
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