Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Student Success Act”.
Student Success Act
AN ACT
To support State and local accountability for public education, protect State and local authority, inform parents of the performance of their children's schools, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Table of contents
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 3 References
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.).
Sec. 4 Transition
Unless otherwise provided in this Act, any person or agency that was awarded a grant under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) prior to the date of the enactment of this Act shall continue to receive funds in accordance with the terms of such award, except that funds for such award may not continue more than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 5 Effective dates
In general— Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall be effective upon the date of the enactment of this Act.
Noncompetitive programs— With respect to noncompetitive programs under which any funds are allotted by the Secretary of Education to recipients on the basis of a formula, this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on October 1, 2015.
Competitive programs— With respect to programs that are conducted by the Secretary on a competitive basis, this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect with respect to appropriations for use under those programs for fiscal year 2016.
Impact Aid— With respect to title IV of the Act (20 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) (Impact Aid), this Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect with respect to appropriations for use under that title for fiscal year 2016.
Sec. 6 Authorization of appropriations
The Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 2 the following:
“3. Authorizations of appropriations
“(a) Title I
“(1) Part A—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part A of title I $16,245,163,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(2) Part B—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part B of title I $710,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(b) Title II—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out title II $2,788,356,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2021.
“(c) Title III
“(1) Part A
“(A) Subpart 1—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subpart 1 of part A of title III $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(B) Subpart 2—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subpart 2 of part A of title III $91,647,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(C) Subpart 3—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subpart 3 of part A of title III $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(2) Part B—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part B of title III $2,302,287,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(d) Title IV
“(1) Payments for Federal acquisition of real property—For the purpose of making payments under section 4002, there are authorized to be appropriated $66,813,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(2) Basic payments; payments for heavily impacted local educational agencies—For the purpose of making payments under section 4003(b), there are authorized to be appropriated $1,151,233,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(3) Payments for children with disabilities—For the purpose of making payments under section 4003(d), there are authorized to be appropriated $48,316,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(4) Construction—For the purpose of carrying out section 4007, there are authorized to be appropriated $17,406,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.
“(5) Facilities maintenance—For the purpose of carrying out section 4008, there are authorized to be appropriated $4,835,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019.”
Sec. 7 Sense of the Congress
Findings— The Congress finds as follows:
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act prohibits the Federal Government from mandating, directing, or controlling a State, local educational agency, or school’s curriculum, program of instruction, or allocation of State and local resources, and from mandating a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under such Act.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act prohibits the Federal Government from funding the development, pilot testing, field testing, implementation, administration, or distribution of any federally sponsored national test in reading, mathematics, or any other subject, unless specifically and explicitly authorized by law.
The Secretary of Education, through 3 separate initiatives, has created a system of waivers and grants that influence, incentivize, and coerce State educational agencies into implementing common national elementary and secondary standards and assessments endorsed by the Secretary.
The Race to the Top Fund encouraged and incentivized States to adopt Common Core State Standards developed by the National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
The Race to the Top Assessment grants awarded to the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SMARTER Balance) initiated the development of Common Core State Standards aligned assessments that will, in turn, inform and ultimately influence kindergarten through 12th-grade curriculum and instructional materials.
The conditional Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility waiver authority employed by the Department of Education coerced States into accepting Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments.
Sense of the Congress— It is the sense of the Congress that States and local educational agencies retain the rights and responsibilities of determining educational curriculum, programs of instruction, and assessments for elementary and secondary education.