Sec. 5101. Race to the Top
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Part A of title V (20 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: The purposes of this part are to provide incentives for States and high-need local educational agencies to implement comprehensive reforms and innovative strategies that are designed to lead to— significant improvements in outcomes for all students, including improvements in student readiness, student academic achievement, high school graduation rates, and rates of student enrollment, persistence, and completion in institutions of higher education; and significant reductions in achievement gaps between the groups of students described in section 1111(a)(2)(B)(x).
From amounts made available to carry out this part for a fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not more than 5 percent to carry out activities in accordance with this part related to technical assistance, evaluation, outreach, and dissemination. For each fiscal year for which funds are appropriated under this part and from such funds that are not reserved under section 5102, the Secretary shall, in accordance with paragraph (2), determine the educational goals that are the greatest priority for the United States and award grants, through a grant competition, to eligible entities to enable such eligible entities to carry out comprehensive reforms and innovative strategies in furtherance of such goals.
The Secretary shall determine the priorities for grants awarded through a grant competition under this part by selecting in advance of the application period— 1 or more categories of entities described in paragraph
(3)that may apply for and receive the grants through such grant competition; and 1 or more goals described in paragraph
(4)to be supported under the grants. The Secretary shall ensure that information regarding the selections of goals and categories of entities for the grants under this part for an upcoming grant competition is made widely available to eligible entities and that the eligible entities will have sufficient time to prepare a grant application based on the Secretary's decisions for the upcoming grant competition. The categories of entities that may be selected for grants under this part are the following: A State. A high-need local educational agency. A consortium of States. A consortium of high-need local educational agencies. The goals that the Secretary shall select to support through grants under this part are 1 or more of the following: Increasing the access of children from low-income families to highly rated teachers and school leaders, including by— developing and implementing a professional growth and improvement system; improving the effectiveness of teachers (including early childhood education educators) and school leaders, including through high-quality preparation, recruitment, professional development, evaluation, and other personnel policies; and ensuring that all teachers are prepared to effectively serve the needs of students who are children with disabilities or English learners, particularly through the general education curriculum. Strengthening the availability and use of high-quality and timely data to improve instructional practices, policies, and student outcomes. Implementing— elementary and secondary school academic standards that prepare students to be college and career ready, in accordance with section 1111(a)(1); and strategies that translate such standards into classroom practice, including in the areas of assessment, instructional materials, and professional development. Turning around the schools served by the eligible entity that are identified through a State's accountability and improvement system under subsection
(c)or
(d)of section 1116. Creating successful conditions for the creation, expansion, and replication of high-performing public charter schools and the creation of new, innovative, and highly autonomous public schools that will enroll a large percentage of students from low-income families. Providing more equitable State and local resources to high-poverty schools. Improving school readiness by— increasing the number and percentage of children from low-income families, in each age group of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, who are enrolled in high-quality early childhood education programs; and designing and implementing an integrated system of high-quality early childhood education programs and services that strengthens the coordination and collaboration among Federal, State, and local early childhood education programs. Each grant awarded under this part shall be for a period of not more than 4 years. Before receiving funding under any grant under this part for the second or any subsequent year of the grant, the eligible entity receiving the grant shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the eligible entity is— making progress in implementing the plan under section 5104(a)(3) at a rate that the Secretary determines will result in full implementation of the plan during the remainder of the grant period; and making progress, as measured by the annual performance measures and targets established by the eligible entity under section 5105, at a rate that the Secretary determines will result in reaching the targets and achieving the objectives of the grant, during the remainder of the grant period. The Secretary shall establish an interagency agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to jointly administer any grant competition for the goal of improving early childhood education, as described in subsection (a)(4)(G), and any grants issued under such grant competition. Each eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under this part shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. At a minimum, each such application shall include the following: Documentation of the eligible entity’s record, as applicable, in the areas to be measured by the performance measures identified by the Secretary under section 5105(2). Evidence of conditions of innovation and reform that the eligible entity has established and the eligible entity's plan for implementing additional conditions for innovation and reform, including— a description of how the eligible entity has identified and eliminated ineffective practices in the past, and its plan for doing so in the future; a description of how the eligible entity has identified and promoted effective practices in the past, and its plan for doing so in the future; and steps the eligible entity has taken and will take to eliminate statutory, regulatory, procedural, or other barriers to facilitate the full implementation of its proposed plan under paragraph (3). A comprehensive and coherent plan for using funds under this part, and other Federal, State, and local funds, to improve the eligible entity's performance on the performance measures identified under section 5105(2), including how the applicant will implement reforms and innovative strategies to achieve the goals selected by the Secretary under section 5103(a)(2). In the case of an eligible entity that is described in subparagraph
(A)or
(C)of section 5103(a)(3), evidence of collaboration among the eligible entity, local educational agencies in the State (including the local educational agencies participating in carrying out the plan under paragraph (3)), schools that are expected to benefit from the activities under the plan, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders, in developing and implementing the plan, including evidence of the commitment and capacity to implement such plan. In the case of an eligible entity described in subparagraph
(B)or
(D)of section 5103(a)(3), evidence of the eligible entity's collaboration with its school leaders, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders in developing the plan under paragraph (3), including evidence of the commitment and capacity to implement that plan. The eligible entity’s annual performance measures and targets, in accordance with the requirements of section 5105. The Secretary shall award grants under this part on a competitive basis, based on the quality of the applications submitted by eligible entities. The Secretary shall publish an explanation of how the application review process will ensure an equitable, transparent, and objective evaluation. In awarding grants under this part, the Secretary shall— give priority to any eligible entity described in subparagraph
(B)or
(D)of section 5103(a)(3) that serves a school designated with a school locale code of 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary; and for any grant competition under this part for the goal of improving early childhood education, as described in section 5103(a)(4)(G), give priority to any eligible entity that provides a full-day kindergarten program to all kindergarten students, or to all kindergarten students from low-income families, served by the eligible entity. Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this part shall establish, subject to approval by the Secretary, annual performance measures and targets for the programs and activities carried out under this part. Such performance measures and targets shall, at a minimum, track the eligible entity's progress in— implementing the plan described in section 5104(a)(3); and making progress on any other performance measure identified by the Secretary. Each eligible entity described in subparagraph
(A)or
(C)of section 5103(a)(3) that receives a grant under this part shall— except as provided in paragraph (3), use not less than 50 percent of the grant funds to award subgrants under paragraph
(2)to the local educational agencies that will participate in the plan for any purpose included in the eligible entity's plan described in section 5104(a)(3); and use any amount of the grant not distributed under subparagraph
(A)for any purpose included in the eligible entity's plan. For a fiscal year, the amount of a subgrant under paragraph (1)(A) for a local educational agency that will participate in the eligible entity's plan shall bear the same relation to the amount available for all such subgrants by the eligible entity for such year, as the amount made available to the local educational agency under part A of title I for the most recent year for which such data are available bears to the total amount made available for such year to all local educational agencies selected to participate in the eligible entity's plan. An eligible entity described in subparagraph
(A)or
(C)of section 5103(a)(3) that receives a grant under this part for the goal of improving early childhood education, as described in section 5103(a)(4)(G)— shall not be subject to the requirements of paragraph (1)(A); and may use grant funds to award subgrants to public or private nonprofit agencies and organizations for activities consistent with any purpose included in the eligible entity's plan described in section 5104(a)(3). Each local educational agency or public or private nonprofit agency or organization that receives a subgrant under paragraph (1)(A) or (3)(B) of subsection
(a)from an eligible entity shall use subgrant funds for any purpose included in the eligible entity's plan described in section 5104(a)(3), subject to any requirements of the eligible entity. Each eligible entity described in subparagraph
(B)or
(D)of section 5103(a)(3) that receives a grant under this part shall use such funds for any purpose included in the eligible entity's plan described in section 5104(a)(3). Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, grant or subgrant funds under this part shall only be used to fund a program or activity that is an allowable use of funds under another section of this Act (excluding this part and section 8007, as amended by section 8004 of the Strengthening America’s Schools Act of 2013 ), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, or the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, except that grant or subgrant funds for the goal of improving early childhood education, as described in section 5103(a)(4)(G), may also be used to fund a program or activity that is an allowable use of funds under the Head Start Act or the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990. Grant or subgrant funds under this part that are used to improve early childhood education programs shall not be used to carry out any of the following activities: Assessments that provide rewards or sanctions for individual children or teachers. A single assessment that is used as the primary or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. Evaluating children, other than for the purposes of improving instruction, classroom environment, professional development, or parent and family engagement, or program improvement. An eligible entity that receives a grant under this part shall submit to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, an annual report including, at a minimum— data on the eligible entity’s progress in achieving the targets for the annual performance measures and targets established under section 5105; and a description of the challenges the eligible entity has faced in implementing its program under this part, and how the eligible entity has addressed, or plans to address, such challenges. Each local educational agency and each public or private nonprofit agency or organization that receives a subgrant from an eligible entity under section 5106(a) shall submit to the eligible entity such information as the eligible entity may require to complete the annual report required by subsection (a). .
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- 20 USC 7201
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Sec. 5101
Race to the Top
Cite20 USC 7201
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