[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2828 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2828
To provide for educational opportunities for all students in State
public school systems, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 17, 2006
Mr. Dodd (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Clinton, Mr.
Lautenberg, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Landrieu, and Mr.
Menendez) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for educational opportunities for all students in State
public school systems, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Student Bill of Rights''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Findings and purposes.
TITLE I--ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
Sec. 101. State public school systems.
Sec. 102. Fundamentals of educational opportunity.
TITLE II--STATE ACCOUNTABILITY
Sec. 201. State accountability plan.
Sec. 202. Consequences of failure to meet requirements.
TITLE III--REPORT TO CONGRESS AND THE PUBLIC
Sec. 301. Annual report on State public school systems.
TITLE IV--REMEDY
Sec. 401. Civil action for enforcement.
TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 501. Definitions.
Sec. 502. Rulemaking.
Sec. 503. Construction.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) A high-quality, highly competitive education for all
students is imperative for the economic growth and productivity
of the United States, for its effective national defense, and
to achieve the historical aspiration to be one Nation of equal
citizens. It is therefore necessary and proper to overcome the
nationwide phenomenon of State public school systems that do
not meet the requirements of section 101(a), in which high-
quality public schools typically serve high-income communities
and poor-quality schools typically serve low-income, urban,
rural, and minority communities.
(2) In 2005, the National Academies found in their report
``Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing
America for a Brighter Economic Future'' that the inadequate
preparation of kindergarten through grade 12 students in
science and mathematics, including the significant lack of
teachers qualified to teach these subjects, threatens the
economic prosperity of the United States. When students do not
receive quality mathematics and science preparation in
kindergarten through grade 12, they are not prepared to take
advanced courses in these subjects at the postsecondary level,
leaving the United States with a critical shortage of
scientists and engineers--a shortfall being filled by
professionals from other countries.
(3) There exists in the States a significant educational
opportunity gap for low-income, urban, rural, and minority
students characterized by the following:
(A) Continuing disparities within States in
students' access to the fundamentals of educational
opportunity described in section 102.
(B) Highly differential educational expenditures
(adjusted for cost and need) among school districts
within States.
(C) Radically differential educational achievement
among students in school districts within States as
measured by the following:
(i) Achievement in mathematics, reading or
language arts, and science on State academic
assessments required under section 1111(b)(3)
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) and on the
National Assessment of Educational Progress.
(ii) Advanced placement courses taken.
(iii) SAT and ACT test scores.
(iv) Dropout rates and graduation rates.
(v) College-going and college-completion
rates.
(4) As a consequence of this educational opportunity gap,
the quality of a child's education depends largely upon where
the child's family can afford to live, and the detriments of
lower quality education are imposed particularly on--
(A) children from low-income families;
(B) children living in urban and rural areas; and
(C) minority children.
(5) Since 1785, Congress, exercising the power to admit new
States under section 3 of article IV of the Constitution (and
previously, the Congress of the Confederation of States under
the Articles of Confederation), has imposed upon every State,
as a fundamental condition of the State's admission, that the
State provide for the establishment and maintenance of systems
of public schools open to all children in such State.
(6) Over the years since the landmark ruling in Brown v.
Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483, 493 (1954), when a unanimous
Supreme Court held that ``the opportunity of an education . . .
, where the State has undertaken to provide it, is a right
which must be made available to all on equal terms'', courts in
44 States have heard challenges to the establishment,
maintenance, and operation of State public school systems that
are separate and not educationally adequate.
(7) In 1970, the Presidential Commission on School Finance
found that significant disparities in the distribution of
educational resources existed among school districts within
States because the States relied too significantly on local
district financing for educational revenues, and that reforms
in systems of school financing would increase the Nation's
ability to serve the educational needs of all children.
(8) In 1999, the National Research Council of the National
Academy of Sciences published a report entitled ``Making Money
Matter, Financing America's Schools'', which found that the
concept of funding adequacy, which moves beyond the more
traditional concepts of finance equity to focus attention on
the sufficiency of funding for desired educational outcomes, is
an important step in developing a fair and productive
educational system.
(9) In 2001, the Executive Order establishing the
President's Commission on Educational Resource Equity declared,
``A quality education is essential to the success of every
child in the 21st century and to the continued strength and
prosperity of our Nation. . . . [L]ong-standing gaps in access
to educational resources exist, including disparities based on
race and ethnicity.'' (Exec. Order No. 13190, 66 Fed. Reg. 5424
(2001)).
(10) According to the Secretary of Education, as stated in
a letter (with enclosures) from the Secretary to States dated
January 19, 2001--
(A) racial and ethnic minorities continue to suffer
from lack of access to educational resources, including
``experienced and qualified teachers, adequate
facilities, and instructional programs and support,
including technology, as well as . . . the funding
necessary to secure these resources''; and
(B) these inadequacies are ``particularly acute in
high-poverty schools, including urban schools, where
many students of color are isolated and where the
effect of the resource gaps may be cumulative. In other
words, students who need the most may often receive the
least, and these students often are students of
color.''.
(11) In the amendments made by the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001, Congress--
(A)(i) required each State to establish standards
and assessments in mathematics, reading or language
arts, and science; and
(ii) required schools to ensure that all students
are proficient in mathematics, reading or language
arts, and science not later than 12 years after the end
of the 2001-2002 school year, and held schools
accountable for the students' progress; and
(B) required each State to describe how the State
will help local educational agencies and schools to
develop the capacity to improve student academic
achievement.
(12) The standards and accountability movement will succeed
only if, in addition to standards and accountability, all
schools have access to the educational resources necessary to
enable students to achieve.
(13) Raising standards without ensuring access to
educational resources may in fact exacerbate achievement gaps
and set children up for failure.
(14) According to the World Economic Forum's Global
Competitiveness Report 2001-2002, the United States ranks last
among developed countries in the difference in the quality of
schools available to rich and poor children.
(15) The persistence of pervasive inadequacies in the
quality of education provided by State public school systems
effectively deprives millions of children throughout the United
States of the opportunity for an education adequate to enable
the children to--
(A) acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for
responsible citizenship in a diverse democracy,
including the ability to participate fully in the
political process through informed electoral choice;
(B) meet challenging student academic achievement
standards; and
(C) be able to compete and succeed in a global
economy.
(16) Each State government has ultimate authority to
determine every important aspect and priority of the public
school system that provides elementary and secondary education
to children in the State, including whether students throughout
the State have access to the fundamentals of educational
opportunity described in section 102.
(17) Because a well educated populace is critical to the
Nation's political and economic well-being and national
security, the Federal Government has a substantial interest in
ensuring that States provide a high-quality education by
ensuring that all students have access to the fundamentals of
educational opportunity described in section 102 to enable the
students to succeed academically and in life.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are the following:
(1) To further the goals of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (as amended by the No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001), by holding States accountable for providing all
students with access to the fundamentals of educational
opportunity described in section 102.
(2) To ensure that all students in public elementary
schools and secondary schools receive educational opportunities
that enable such students to--
(A) acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for
responsible citizenship in a diverse democracy,
including the ability to participate fully in the
political process through informed electoral choice;
(B) meet challenging student academic achievement
standards; and
(C) be able to compete and succeed in a global
economy.
(3) To end the pervasive pattern of States maintaining
public school systems that do not meet the requirements of
section 101(a).
TITLE I--ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
SEC. 101. STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS.
(a) Requirements.--Each State receiving Federal financial
assistance for elementary or secondary education shall ensure that the
State's public school system provides all students within the State
with an education that enables the students to acquire the knowledge
and skills necessary for responsible citizenship in a diverse
democracy, including the ability to participate fully in the political
process through informed electoral choice, to meet challenging student
academic achievement standards, and to be able to compete and succeed
in a global economy, through--
(1) the provision of fundamentals of educational
opportunity described in section 102, at adequate or ideal
levels as defined by the State under section 201(a)(1)(A) to
students at each public elementary school and secondary school
in the State;
(2) the provision of educational services in school
districts that receive funds under part A of title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311
et seq.) that are, taken as a whole, at least comparable to
educational services provided in school districts not receiving
such funds; and
(3) compliance with any final Federal or State court order
in any matter concerning the adequacy or equitableness of the
State's public school system.
(b) Determinations Concerning State Public School Systems.--Not
later than October 1 of each year, the Secretary shall determine
whether each State maintains a public school system that meets the
requirements of subsection (a). The Secretary may make a determination
that a State public school system does not meet such requirements only
after providing notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
(c) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish and make available to
the general public (including by means of the Internet) the
determinations made under subsection (b).
SEC. 102. FUNDAMENTALS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.
The fundamentals of educational opportunity are the following:
(1) Highly qualified teachers, principals, and academic
support personnel.--
(A) Highly qualified teachers.--Instruction from
highly qualified teachers in core academic subjects.
(B) Highly qualified principals.--Leadership,
management, and guidance from principals who meet State
certification standards.
(C) Highly qualified academic support personnel.--
Necessary additional academic support in reading or
language arts, mathematics, and other core academic
subjects from personnel who meet applicable State
standards.
(2) Rigorous academic standards, curricula, and methods of
instruction.--Rigorous academic standards, curricula, and
methods of instruction, as measured by the extent to which each
school district succeeds in providing high-quality academic
standards, curricula, and methods of instruction to students in
each public elementary school and secondary school within the
district.
(3) Small class sizes.--Small class sizes, as measured by--
(A) the average class size and the range of class
sizes; and
(B) the percentage of elementary school classes
with 17 or fewer students.
(4) Textbooks, instructional materials, and supplies.--
Textbooks, instructional materials, and supplies, as measured
by--
(A) the average age and quality of textbooks,
instructional materials, and supplies used in core
academic subjects; and
(B) the percentage of students who begin the school
year with school-issued textbooks, instructional
materials, and supplies.
(5) Library resources.--Library resources, as measured by--
(A) the size and qualifications of the library's
staff, including whether the library is staffed by a
full-time librarian certified under applicable State
standards;
(B) the size (relative to the number of students)
and quality (including age) of the library's collection
of books and periodicals; and
(C) the library's hours of operation.
(6) School facilities and computer technology.--
(A) Quality school facilities.--Quality school
facilities, as measured by--
(i) the physical condition of school
buildings and major school building features;
(ii) environmental conditions in school
buildings; and
(iii) the quality of instructional space.
(B) Computer technology.--Computer technology, as
measured by--
(i) the ratio of computers to students;
(ii) the quality of computers and software
available to students;
(iii) Internet access;
(iv) the quality of system maintenance and
technical assistance for the computers; and
(v) the number of computer laboratory
courses taught by qualified computer
instructors.
(7) Quality guidance counseling.--Qualified guidance
counselors, as measured by the ratio of students to qualified
guidance counselors who have been certified under an applicable
State or national program.
TITLE II--STATE ACCOUNTABILITY
SEC. 201. STATE ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN.
(a) General Plan.--
(1) Contents.--Each State receiving Federal financial
assistance for elementary and secondary education shall
annually submit to the Secretary a plan, developed by the State
educational agency, in consultation with local educational
agencies, teachers, principals, pupil services personnel,
administrators, other staff, and parents, that contains the
following:
(A) A description of 2 levels of high access
(adequate and ideal) to each of the fundamentals of
educational opportunity described in section 102 that
measure how well the State, through school districts,
public elementary schools, and public secondary
schools, is achieving the purposes of this Act by
providing children with the resources they need to
succeed academically and in life.
(B) A description of a third level of access
(basic) to each of the fundamentals of educational
opportunity described in section 102 that measures how
well the State, through school districts, public
elementary schools, and public secondary schools, is
achieving the purposes of this Act by providing
children with the resources they need to succeed
academically and in life.
(C) A description of the level of access of each
school district, public elementary school, and public
secondary school in the State to each of the
fundamentals of educational opportunity described in
section 102, including identification of any such
schools that lack high access (as described in
subparagraph (A)) to any of the fundamentals.
(D) An estimate of the additional cost, if any, of
ensuring that the system meets the requirements of
section 101(a).
(E) Information stating the percentage of students
in each school district, public elementary school, and
public secondary school in the State that are
proficient in mathematics, reading or language arts,
and science, as measured through assessments
administered as described in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(v)
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(v)).
(F) Information stating whether each school
district, public elementary school, and public
secondary school in the State is making adequate yearly
progress, as defined under section 1111(b)(2) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)).
(G)(i) For each school district, public elementary
school, and public secondary school in the State,
information stating--
(I) the number and percentage of children
counted under section 1124(c) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6333(c)); and
(II) the number and percentage of students
described in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)).
(ii) For each such school district, information
stating whether the district is an urban, mixed, or
rural district (as defined by the National Center for
Education Statistics).
(2) Levels of access.--For purposes of the plan submitted
under paragraph (1)--
(A) in defining basic, adequate, and ideal levels
of access to each of the fundamentals of educational
opportunity, each State shall consider, in addition to
the factors described in section 102, the access
available to students in the highest-achieving decile
of public elementary schools and secondary schools, the
unique needs of low-income, urban and rural, and
minority students, and other educationally appropriate
factors; and
(B) the levels of access described in subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall be aligned with the
challenging academic content standards, challenging
student academic achievement standards, and high-
quality academic assessments required under the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6301 et seq.).
(3) Information.--The State shall annually disseminate to
parents, in an understandable and uniform format, the
descriptions, estimate, and information described in paragraph
(1).
(b) Accountability and Remediation.--
(1) Accountability.--If the Secretary determines under
section 101(b) that a State maintains a public school system
that fails to meet the requirements of section 101(a)(1), the
plan submitted under subsection (a)(1) shall--
(A) demonstrate that the State has developed and is
implementing a single, statewide State accountability
system that will be effective in ensuring that the
State makes adequate yearly progress under this Act (as
defined by the State in a manner that annually reduces
the number of public elementary schools and secondary
schools in the State without high access (as described
in subsection (a)(1)(A)) to each of fundamentals of
educational opportunity described in section 102);
(B) demonstrate, based on the levels of access
described in paragraph (1) what constitutes adequate
yearly progress of the State under this Act toward
providing all students with high access to the
fundamentals of educational opportunity described in
section 102; and
(C) ensure--
(i) the establishment of a timeline for
that adequate yearly progress that includes
interim yearly goals for the reduction of the
number of public elementary schools and
secondary schools in the State without high
access to each of the fundamentals of
educational opportunity described in section
102; and
(ii) that not later than 12 years after the
end of the 2005-2006 school year, each public
elementary school in the State shall have
access to each of the fundamentals of
educational opportunity described in section
102.
(2) Remediation.--If the Secretary determines under section
101(b) that a State maintains a public school system that fails
to meet the requirements of section 101(a)(2), not later than 1
year after the Secretary makes the determination, the State
shall include in the plan submitted under subsection (a)(1) a
strategy to remediate the conditions that caused the Secretary
to make such determination, not later than the end of the
second school year beginning after submission of the plan.
(c) Amendments.--A State may amend the plan submitted under
subsection (a)(1) to improve the plan or to take into account
significantly changed circumstances.
(d) Disapproval.--The Secretary may disapprove the plan submitted
under subsection (a)(1) (or an amendment to such a plan) if the
Secretary determines, after notice and opportunity for hearing, that
the plan (or amendment) is inadequate to meet the requirements
described in subsections (a) and (b).
(e) Waiver.--
(1) In general.--A State may request, and the Secretary may
grant, a waiver of the requirements of subsections (a) and (b)
for 1 year for exceptional circumstances, such as a precipitous
decrease in State revenues, or another circumstance that the
Secretary determines to be exceptional, that prevents a State
from complying with the requirements of subsections (a) and
(b).
(2) Contents of waiver request.--A State that requests a
waiver under paragraph (1) shall include in the request--
(A) a description of the exceptional circumstance
that prevents the State from complying with the
requirements of subsections (a) and (b); and
(B) a plan that details the manner in which the
State will comply with such requirements by the end of
the waiver period.
SEC. 202. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Interim Yearly Goals.--
(1) In general.--For a fiscal year and a State described in
section 201(b)(1), the Secretary shall withhold from the State
2.75 percent of funds otherwise available to the State for the
administration of Federal elementary and secondary education
programs, for each covered goal that the Secretary determines
the State is not meeting during that year.
(2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``covered
goal'', used with respect to a fiscal year, means an interim
yearly goal described in section 201(b)(1)(C)(i) that is
applicable to that year or a prior fiscal year.
(b) Consequences of Nonremediation.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, if the Secretary determines that a State required to
include a strategy under section 201(b)(2) continues to maintain a
public school system that does not meet the requirements of section
101(a)(2) at the end of the second school year described in section
201(b)(2), the Secretary shall withhold from the State not more than
33\1/3\ percent of funds otherwise available to the State for the
administration of programs authorized under the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) until the
Secretary determines that the State maintains a public school system
that meets the requirements of section 101(a)(2).
(c) Consequences of Noncompliance With Court Orders.--If the
Secretary determines under section 101(b) that a State maintains a
public school system that fails to meet the requirements of section
101(a)(3), the Secretary shall withhold from the State not more than
33\1/3\ percent of funds otherwise available to the State for the
administration of programs authorized under the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.).
(d) Disposition of Funds Withheld.--
(1) Determination.--Not later than 1 year after the
Secretary withholds funds from a State under this section, the
Secretary shall determine whether the State has corrected the
condition that led to the withholding.
(2) Disposition.--
(A) Correction.--If the Secretary determines under
paragraph (1), that the State has corrected the
condition that led to the withholding, the Secretary
shall make the withheld funds available to the State to
use for the original purpose of the funds during 1 or
more fiscal years specified by the Secretary.
(B) Noncorrection.--If the Secretary determines
under paragraph (1), that the State has not corrected
the condition that led to the withholding, the
Secretary shall allocate the withheld funds to public
school districts, public elementary schools, or public
secondary schools in the State that are most adversely
affected by the condition that led to the withholding,
to enable the districts or schools to correct the
condition during 1 or more fiscal years specified by
the Secretary.
(3) Availability.--Amounts made available or allocated
under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) shall remain
available during the fiscal years specified by the Secretary
under that subparagraph.
TITLE III--REPORT TO CONGRESS AND THE PUBLIC
SEC. 301. ANNUAL REPORT ON STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS.
(a) Annual Report to Congress.--Not later than October 1 of each
year, beginning the year after completion of the first full school year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report that includes a full and complete analysis of the
public school system of each State.
(b) Contents of Report.--The analysis conducted under subsection
(a) shall include the following:
(1) Public school system information.--The following
information related to the public school system of each State:
(A) The number of school districts, public
elementary schools, public secondary schools, and
students in the system.
(B)(i) For each such school district and school--
(I) information stating the number and
percentage of children counted under section
1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)); and
(II) the number and percentage of students,
disaggregated by groups described in section
1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(3)(C)(xiii)).
(ii) For each such district, information stating
whether the district is an urban, mixed, or rural
district (as defined by the National Center for
Education Statistics).
(C) The average per-pupil expenditure (both in
actual dollars and adjusted for cost and need) for the
State and for each school district in the State.
(D) Each school district's decile ranking as
measured by achievement in mathematics, reading or
language arts, and science on State academic
assessments required under section 1111(b)(3) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)) and on the National Assessment of
Educational Progress.
(E) For each school district, public elementary
school, and public secondary school--
(i) the level of access (as described in
section 201(a)(1)) to each of the fundamentals
of educational opportunity described in section
102;
(ii) the percentage of students that are
proficient in mathematics, reading or language
arts, and science, as measured through
assessments administered as described in
section 1111(b)(3)(C)(v) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(3)(C)(v)); and
(iii) whether the school district or school
is making adequate yearly progress--
(I) as defined under section
1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)); and
(II) as defined by the State under
section 201(b)(1)(A).
(F) For each State, the number of public elementary
schools and secondary schools that lack, and names of
each such school that lacks, high access (as described
in section 201(a)(1)(A)) to any of the fundamentals of
educational opportunity described in section 102.
(G) For the year covered by the report, a summary
of any changes in the data required in subparagraphs
(A) through (F) for each of the preceding 3 years
(which may be based on such data as are available, for
the first 3 reports submitted under subsection (a)).
(H) Such other information as the Secretary
considers useful and appropriate.
(2) State actions.--For each State that the Secretary
determines under section 101(b) maintains a public school
system that fails to meet the requirements of section 101(a), a
detailed description and evaluation of the success of any
actions taken by the State, and measures proposed to be taken
by the State, to meet the requirements.
(3) State plans.--A copy of each State's most recent plan
submitted under section 201(a)(1).
(4) Relationship between compliance and achievement.--An
analysis of the relationship between meeting the requirements
of section 101(a) and improving student academic achievement,
as measured on State academic assessments required under
section 1111(b)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)).
(c) Scope of Report.--The report required under subsection (a)
shall cover the school year ending in the calendar year in which the
report is required to be submitted.
(d) Submission of Data to Secretary.--Each State receiving Federal
financial assistance for elementary and secondary education shall
submit to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as the
Secretary may reasonably require, such data as the Secretary determines
to be necessary to make a determination under section 101(b) and to
submit the report under this section. Such data shall include the
information used to measure the State's success in providing the
fundamentals of educational opportunity described in section 102.
(e) Failure To Submit Data.--If a State fails to submit the data
that the Secretary determines to be necessary to make a determination
under section 101(b) regarding whether the State maintains a public
school system that meets the requirements of section 101(a)--
(1) such State's public school system shall be deemed not
to have met the applicable requirements until the State submits
such data and the Secretary is able to make such determination
under section 101(b); and
(2) the Secretary shall provide, to the extent practicable,
the analysis required in subsection (a) for the State based on
the best data available to the Secretary.
(f) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish and make available to
the general public (including by means of the Internet) the report
required under subsection (a).
TITLE IV--REMEDY
SEC. 401. CIVIL ACTION FOR ENFORCEMENT.
A student or parent of a student aggrieved by a violation of this
Act may bring a civil action against the appropriate official in an
appropriate Federal district court seeking declaratory or injunctive
relief to enforce the requirements of this Act, together with
reasonable attorney's fees and the costs of the action.
TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Referenced terms.--The terms ``elementary school'',
``secondary school'', ``local educational agency'', ``highly
qualified'', ``core academic subjects'', ``parent'', and
``average per-pupil expenditure'' have the meanings given those
terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) Federal elementary and secondary education programs.--
The term ``Federal elementary and secondary education
programs'' means programs providing Federal financial
assistance for elementary or secondary education, other than
programs under the following provisions of law:
(A) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
(B) Title III of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.).
(C) The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
(D) The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771
et seq.).
(3) Public school system.--The term ``public school
system'' means a State's system of public elementary and
secondary education.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico.
SEC. 502. RULEMAKING.
The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out this Act.
SEC. 503. CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require a jurisdiction to
increase its property tax or other tax rates or to redistribute
revenues from such taxes.
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