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Title V — State innovation and flexibility

S. 1101 · 113th Congress · Jun 6, 2013 · Lineage

V State innovation and flexibility

Sec. 501 Purposes

The purposes of this title are to—
(1)
support State, local, and tribal leadership and innovation in preparing all students to meet State-developed academic content standards and student academic achievement standards;
(2)
establish a process to permit State, local, and tribal educational leaders to implement alternative and innovative strategies to improve academic achievement for all students and otherwise meet the purposes of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);
(3)
provide States and local educational agencies with maximum flexibility in using Federal funds provided under this Act; and
(4)
direct the Secretary of Education to defer to State, local, and tribal judgments regarding how best to accomplish the purposes of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.).

Sec. 502 Transferability of funds

Section 6123 (20 U.S.C. 7305b) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in paragraph (1)—
(i)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “not more than 50 percent of the nonadministrative State funds” and inserting “all, or any lesser amount, of State funds”; and
(ii)
by striking subparagraphs (A) through (D) and inserting the following:

“(A) Any provision of title II.

“(B) Any provision of title IV.”

(B)
in paragraph (2), by striking “and subject to the 50 percent limitation described in paragraph (1)”; and
(2)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
in paragraph (1)—
(i)
in subparagraph (A), by striking “(except” and all that follows through “subparagraph (C))” and inserting “may transfer all, or any lesser amount, of the funds allocated to it”;
(ii)
by striking subparagraph (B);
(iii)
by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B); and
(iv)
in subparagraph (B), as redesignated by clause (iii), by striking “and subject to the percentage limitation described in subparagraph (A) or (B), as applicable”; and
(B)
in paragraph (2)—
(i)
by striking “subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)” and inserting “subparagraph (A) or (B)”; and
(ii)
by striking subparagraphs (A) through (D) and inserting the following:

“(A) Any provision of title II.

“(B) Any provision of title IV.”

Sec. 503 Waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements

Section 9401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7861) is amended—
(1)
by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:

“(a) In general

“(1) Request for waiver—A State educational agency, local educational agency (through a State educational agency), or Indian tribe that receives funds under a program authorized under this Act may submit a request to the Secretary to waive any statutory or regulatory requirement of this Act.

“(2) Receipt of waiver—Except as provided in subsection (c), the Secretary shall waive any statutory or regulatory requirement of this Act for a State educational agency, local educational agency, Indian tribe, or school (through a local educational agency), that submits a waiver request pursuant to this subsection.”

(2)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
in paragraph (1)—
(i)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “, which shall include a plan” after “waiver request to the Secretary”;
(ii)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “and how the waiving of those requirements will” and all that follows through the end, and inserting a semicolon;
(iii)
by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (F); and
(iv)
by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D), and inserting the following:

“(C) describes the methods the State educational agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe will use to—

“(i) monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of the plan; and

“(ii) assure regular evaluation and continuous improvement of the plan;

“(D) as applicable to the waiver request, includes information on how the State educational agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe will maintain and improve transparency in reporting to parents and the public on student achievement and school performance, including the achievement of students according to the student subgroups described in subclauses (I) through (IV) of section 1111(b)(2)(B)(viii); and”

(B)
in paragraph (2)(B)(i)(II), by striking “(on behalf of, and based on the requests of, local educational agencies)” and inserting “(on their own behalf, or on behalf of, and based on the requests of, local educational agencies in the State)”;
(C)
in paragraph (3)—
(i)
in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “or on behalf of local educational agencies in the State,” after “acting on its own behalf,”; and
(ii)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “reviewed by the State educational agency” and inserting “reviewed and approved by the State educational agency before being submitted to the Secretary”; and
(D)
by adding at the end the following:

“(4) Waiver determination, demonstration, and revision

“(A) In general—The Secretary shall approve a waiver request not more than 90 days after the date on which such request is submitted, unless the Secretary determines and demonstrates that—

“(i) the waiver request does not meet the requirements of this section; and

“(ii) the waiver is not permitted under subsection (c).

“(B) Waiver determination and revision—If the Secretary determines and demonstrates that the waiver request does not meet the requirements of this section, the Secretary shall—

“(i) immediately—

“(I) notify the State educational agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe of such determination; and

“(II) at the request of the State educational agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe, provide detailed reasons for such determination in writing;

“(ii) offer the State educational agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe an opportunity to revise and resubmit the waiver request not more than 60 days after the date of such determination; and

“(iii) if the Secretary determines that the resubmission does not meet the requirements of this section, at the request of the State educational agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe, conduct a public hearing not more than 30 days after the date of such resubmission.

“(C) Waiver disapproval—The Secretary may disapprove a waiver request if—

“(i) the State educational agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe has been notified and offered an opportunity to revise and resubmit the waiver request, as described under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (B); and

“(ii) the State educational agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe—

“(I) does not revise and resubmit the waiver request; or

“(II) revises and resubmits the waiver request, and the Secretary determines that such waiver request does not meet the requirements of this section after a hearing conducted under subparagraph (B)(iii).

“(D) External conditions—The Secretary shall not disapprove a waiver request under this section based on conditions outside the scope of the waiver request.”

(3)
in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), and (9);
(4)
in subsection (d)—
(A)
in the heading, by adding “; Limitations” after “Duration and Extension of Waiver”; and
(B)
by adding at the end the following:

“(3) Specific limitations—The Secretary shall not place any requirements on a State educational agency, local educational agency, or Indian tribe, as a condition of approval of a waiver request.”

(5)
by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:

“(e) Reports—A State educational agency, local educational agency, and Indian Tribe receiving a waiver under this section shall describe, as part of, and pursuant to, the required annual reporting under section 1111(e), the progress of schools covered under the provisions of such waiver toward increasing academic achievement.”

(6)
in subsection (f), by inserting “and the recipient of the waiver has failed to make revisions needed to carry out the purpose of the waiver,” after “has been inadequate to justify a continuation of the waiver”.

Sec. 504 Maintenance of effort

Section 9521 (20 U.S.C. 7901) is repealed.

Sec. 505 Plan approval process

Title IX (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“G Approval and disapproval of State plans and local applications

“9701. Approval and disapproval of State plans

“(a) Deemed approval—A plan submitted by a State pursuant to section 2104(d) or section 4103(d) shall be deemed to be approved by the Secretary unless the Secretary makes a written determination, prior to the expiration of the 120-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary received the plan, that the plan is not in compliance with section 2104(d) or section 4103(d), as applicable.

“(b) Disapproval process

“(1) In general—The Secretary shall not finally disapprove a plan submitted under section 2104(d) or section 4103(d), except after giving the State educational agency notice and an opportunity for a hearing.

“(2) Notification—If the Secretary finds that the plan is not in compliance, in whole or in part, with section 2104(d) or section 4103(d), as applicable, the Secretary shall—

“(A) give the State educational agency notice and an opportunity for a hearing; and

“(B) notify the State educational agency of the finding of noncompliance and, in such notification, shall—

“(i) cite the specific provisions in the plan that are not in compliance; and

“(ii) request additional information, only as to the noncompliant provisions, needed to make the plan compliant.

“(3) Response—If the State educational agency responds to the Secretary’s notification described in paragraph (2)(B) during the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the State educational agency received the notification, and resubmits the plan with the requested information described in paragraph (2)(B)(ii), the Secretary shall approve or disapprove such plan prior to the later of—

“(A) the expiration of the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the plan is resubmitted; or

“(B) the expiration of the 120-day period described in subsection (a).

“(4) Failure to respond—If the State educational agency does not respond to the Secretary’s notification described in paragraph (2)(B) during the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the State educational agency received the notification, such plan shall be deemed to be disapproved.

“9702. Approval and disapproval of local educational agency applications

“(a) Deemed approval—An application submitted by a local educational agency pursuant to section 2105(b) or section 4104(b) shall be deemed to be approved by the State educational agency unless the State educational agency makes a written determination, prior to the expiration of the 120-day period beginning on the date on which the State educational agency received the application, that the application is not in compliance with section 2105(b) or section 4104(b), as applicable.

“(b) Disapproval process

“(1) In general—The State educational agency shall not finally disapprove an application submitted under section 2105(b) or section 4104(b), except after giving the local educational agency notice and opportunity for a hearing.

“(2) Notification—If the State educational agency finds that the application is not in compliance, in whole or in part, with section 2105(b) or section 4104(b), as applicable, the State educational agency shall—

“(A) give the local educational agency notice and an opportunity for a hearing; and

“(B) notify the local educational agency of the finding of noncompliance, and in such notification, shall—

“(i) cite the specific provisions in the application that are not in compliance; and

“(ii) request additional information, only as to the noncompliant provisions, needed to make the application compliant.

“(3) Response—If the local educational agency responds to the State educational agency’s notification described in paragraph (2)(B) during the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the local educational agency received the notification, and resubmits the application with the requested information described in paragraph (2)(B)(ii), the State educational agency shall approve or disapprove such application prior to the later of—

“(A) the expiration of the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the application is resubmitted; or

“(B) the expiration of the 120-day period described in subsection (a).

“(4) Failure to respond—If the local educational agency does not respond to the State educational agency’s notification described in paragraph (2)(B) during the 45-day period beginning on the date on which the local educational agency received the notification, such application shall be deemed to be disapproved.”