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Title II — State Activities and Grant Program

S. 4936 · 116th Congress · Dec 1, 2020 · Lineage

II State Activities and Grant Program

Sec. 201 State plan and enforcement

(a)
State requirements— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and every two years thereafter, each State educational agency that receives Federal financial assistance shall provide to the Secretary—
(1)
a written assurance that—
(A)
all programs located in such State have been notified of the requirements of this Act;
(B)
all program personnel of such State educational agency have received training with respect to such requirements;
(C)
parents of students served by such State educational agency have been notified of the requirements, rights, and remedies available under this Act; and
(D)
the notification required under subparagraph (C) is publicly available on the website of the State educational agency; and
(2)
a school climate report that includes a description of—
(A)
the policies and procedures of the State educational agency with respect exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions in such schools;
(B)
how the State educational agency plans to implement, is implementing, or has implemented positive behavioral interventions and supports and other models to address student behavior and reduce the use of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions in the public elementary schools and secondary schools of such State; and
(C)
efforts of the State educational agency to ensure program personnel receive the supports and training necessary to implement the interventions, supports, and other models described in subparagraph (B).
(b)
Local educational agency requirements— Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less than once every two years thereafter, each local educational agency shall submit to the State educational agency a report that includes the information the State educational agency determines necessary to comply with the requirements of subsection (a).
(c)
Report— Not later than two years after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less than once every two years thereafter, the Secretary shall—
(1)
submit to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report summarizing the findings of the reports under subsection (a)(2); and
(2)
make the reports described in paragraph (1) publicly available.
(d)
Enforcement—
(1)
In general—
(A)
Use of remedies— If a State educational agency fails to comply with subsection (a), the Secretary shall carry out at least one of the following:
(i)
Withhold, in whole or in part, further payments under an applicable program (as such term is defined in section 400(c) of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221(c))) in accordance with section 455 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1234d).
(ii)
Enter into a compliance agreement in accordance with section 457 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1234f).
(iii)
Issue a complaint to compel compliance of the State educational agency through a cease and desist order, in the same manner the Secretary is authorized to take such action under section 456 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1234e).
(B)
Cessation of withholding of funds— If the Secretary determines (whether by certification or other appropriate evidence) that a State educational agency that is subject to the withholding of payments under subparagraph (A)(i) has cured the failure providing the basis for the withholding of payments within one year from the date on which such payments were first withheld, the Secretary shall—
(i)
cease the withholding of payments with respect to the State educational agency under such subparagraph; and
(ii)
reimburse all the withheld payments under such subparagraph to such State educational agency.
(2)
Withheld funds— The funds appropriated or made available for the payments that were withheld under paragraph (1)(A)(i) shall be available for expenditure to that program for not longer than one year from the date upon which the determination in paragraph (1)(B) was made.
(3)
Rule of construction— Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the Secretary’s authority under the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.).

Sec. 202 Grant authority

(a)
In general— From the amount appropriated under section 306, the Secretary may award grants to State educational agencies to improve school climate and culture by implementing positive behavioral interventions and supports and other models to address student behavior and reduce the use of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions in public elementary schools and secondary schools.
(b)
Duration of grant—
(1)
In general— A grant under this section shall be awarded to a State educational agency for a three-year period.
(2)
Reapplication— At the end of a grant period described in paragraph (1), a State educational agency desiring a subsequent grant under this section may be eligible for such grant if such State educational agency—
(A)
submits an application under subsection (c); and
(B)
demonstrates—
(i)
that such State educational agency effectively used grant funds to carry out the required activities under subsection (e) during the previous grant period; and
(ii)
with respect to such State educational agency, a decrease in at least one of the following:
(I)
Exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions, including in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and expulsions.
(II)
School-related arrests.
(III)
Referrals of students to law enforcement.
(3)
Data— A State educational agency shall, with respect to the data used under paragraph (2)(B)(ii)—
(A)
cross-tabulate such data and disaggregate by race, gender, disability, and English learner; and
(B)
redact all personally identifiable information from such data.
(c)
Application—
(1)
In general— Each State educational agency desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may require, including—
(A)
information on how the State educational agency will carry out the required activities specified in subsection (e);
(B)
a description of how the State educational agency will improve school climate and culture by reducing the use of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions;
(C)
a description of how the State educational agency will implement positive behavioral interventions and supports and other models to address student behavior and reduce the use of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions; and
(D)
a description of how the State educational agency will develop and implement high-quality training for program personnel designed to improve school climate and culture and increase the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports and other models to address student behavior and reduce the use of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions.
(2)
Priority— In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to State educational agencies—
(A)
with a high percentage of in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, school-related arrests, and referrals of students to law enforcement;
(B)
that lack positive behavioral interventions and supports and other models to improve school climate and culture; or
(C)
that are in most need of assistance relating to improving school climate and culture by reducing the use of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions, as determined by the Secretary.
(d)
Authority To make subgrants—
(1)
In general— A State educational agency receiving a grant under this section may use such grant funds to award subgrants, on a competitive basis in accordance with subsection (e)(2), to local educational agencies.
(2)
Application— A local educational agency desiring to receive a subgrant under this section shall submit an application to the applicable State educational agency at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the State educational agency may require, including the information described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of subsection (c)(1).
(e)
Required activities—
(1)
In general— A State educational agency receiving a grant, or a local educational agency receiving a subgrant, under this section shall use such grant or subgrant funds to carry out the following:
(A)
Developing and implementing high-quality training for program personnel designed to—
(i)
improve school climate and culture;
(ii)
increase use of positive behavioral interventions and supports and other models to address student behavior; and
(iii)
reduce the use of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions and the discriminatory and disproportionate impact such practices have on students based on their race, ethnicity, gender, or disability.
(B)
Providing technical assistance to improve school climate and culture by implementing positive behavioral interventions and supports and other models to address student behavior and reduce the use of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions, such as restorative justice interventions, trauma-informed care, crisis and de-escalation interventions, implicit bias training, and culturally responsive teaching.
(C)
Researching, developing, implementing, and evaluating models, policies, and procedures to reduce the use of exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions in public elementary and secondary schools.
(2)
Priority— A State educational agency or local educational agency shall prioritize carrying out the activities specified in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1) in public elementary schools and secondary schools—
(A)
in which a disproportionately high percentage of students who have been subjected to disciplinary proceedings or have otherwise experienced the application of such a school’s discipline policies, practices, and procedures, relative to such school’s total student population, are students of color or students with disabilities (as defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401));
(B)
with a high percentage of in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, school-related arrests, and referrals of students to law enforcement;
(C)
that lack positive behavioral interventions and supports and other models to improve school climate and culture; or
(D)
that have demonstrated meaningful community engagement in selecting models to improve school climate and culture.
(f)
Evaluation and report—
(1)
Local educational agency reports— Each local educational agency receiving a subgrant under this section shall, at the end of the subgrant period for such subgrant, prepare and submit to the State educational agency a report that—
(A)
evaluates the progress of the local educational agency toward carrying out the required activities under subsection (e); and
(B)
includes any additional information the State educational agency determines necessary to complete the report required under paragraph (2).
(2)
State educational agency reports— Each State educational agency receiving a grant under this section shall, at the end of the three-year grant period for such grant, prepare and submit to the Secretary a report that—
(A)
evaluates the State’s progress toward carrying out the required activities under subsection (e);
(B)
includes data on the impact of the grant program on school climate and culture during such grant period, including, with respect to the State educational agency, data on the prevalence of, and increase or decrease in—
(i)
exclusionary and aversive discipline practices or interventions, including in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and expulsions;
(ii)
school-related arrests; and
(iii)
student referrals to law enforcement;
(C)
includes the number of high-quality school climate and culture trainings conducted for program personnel during such grant period;
(D)
describes the models implemented to improve school climate and culture during such grant period;
(E)
specifies the number of subgrants made under subsection (d) and the local educational agencies that were awarded such subgrants; and
(F)
includes such information as the Secretary may require.
(3)
Data— A State educational agency shall, with respect to the data described in paragraph (2)(B)—
(A)
cross-tabulate and disaggregate the data in the same manner as under subsection (b)(3)(A); and
(B)
redact all personally identifiable information from such data.
(4)
Publication— The Secretary shall make each report under paragraph (2) publicly available on the website of the Department.
(g)
Funds available for the Department of the Interior— From the amount appropriated under section 306, the Secretary shall allocate—
(1)
0.5 percent of such funds to the Secretary of the Interior for activities under this section with respect to schools operated or funded by the Department of the Interior, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe; and
(2)
0.5 of such funds for activities under this section with respect to schools operated in the outlying areas, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe.