US Codex
Pub. L.
Notes

Title V — State Innovation and Local Flexibility

114th Congress · Approved Dec 10, 2015 · 129 Stat. 1802

TITLE V State Innovation and Local Flexibility

SEC. 5001. General Provisions.

(a)
Title VI Redesignations.— Title VI (20 U.S.C. 7301 et seq.) is redesignated as title V and further amended—
(1)
by redesignating sections 6121 through 6123 as sections 5101 through 5103, respectively;
(2)
by redesignating sections 6201 and 6202 as sections 5201 and 5202, respectively;
(3)
by redesignating sections 6211 through 6213 as sections 5211 through 5213, respectively;
(4)
by redesignating sections 6221 through 6224 as sections 5221 through 5224, respectively; and
(5)
by redesignating sections 6231 through 6234 as sections 5231 through 5234, respectively.
(b)
Structural and Conforming Amendments.— Title V (as redesignated by subsection (a) of this section) is further amended—
(1)
in part A, by striking subparts 1, 3, and 4;
(2)
by striking “ section 6212” each place it appears and inserting “ section 5212”;
(3)
by striking “ section 6223” each place it appears and inserting “ section 5223”; and
(4)
by striking “ section 6234” each place it appears and inserting “ section 5234”.

SEC. 5002. Funding Transferability for State and Local Educational Agencies.

Part A of title V, as redesignated and amended by section 5001 of this Act, is further amended—
(1)
in the part heading, by striking “ improving academic achievement” and inserting “ funding transferability for state and local educational agencies”;
(2)
by striking “ Subpart 2—Funding Transferability for State and Local Educational Agencies”;
(3)
by striking “ subpart” each place it appears and inserting “ part”;
(4)
by amending section 5102 to read as follows:

“SEC. 5102. PURPOSE.

“The purpose of this part is to allow States and local educational agencies the flexibility to target Federal funds to the programs and activities that most effectively address the unique needs of States and localities.”

(5)
in section 5103—
(A)
in subsection (a)—
(i)
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) Part A of title II.

“(B) Part A of title IV.

“(C) Section 4202(c)(3).”

; and

(ii)
by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following;

“(2) Additional funds.—In accordance with this part, a State may transfer any funds allotted to the State under a provision listed in paragraph (1) for a fiscal year to its allotment under any other of the following provisions:

“(A) Part A of title I.

“(B) Part C of title I.

“(C) Part D of title I.

“(D) Part A of title III.

“(E) Part B.”

(B)
in subsection (b)—
(i)
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 subparagraphs (B) and (C) and inserting:

“(B) Additional funds.—In accordance with this part, a local educational agency may transfer any funds allotted to such agency under a provision listed in paragraph (2) for a fiscal year to its allotment under any other of the following provisions:

“(i) Part A of title I.

“(ii) Part C of title I.

“(iii) Part D of title I.

“(iv) Part A of title III.

“(v) Part B.”

(ii)
in paragraph (2)—
(I)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 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) Part A of title II.

“(B) Part A of title IV.”

(C)
by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:

“(c) No Transfer of Certain Funding.—A State or local educational agency may not transfer under this part to any other program any funds allotted or allocated to it for the following provisions:

“(1) Part A of title I.

“(2) Part C of title I.

“(3) Part D of title I.

“(4) Part A of title III.

“(5) Part B.”

; and

(D)
in subsection (e)(2), by striking “ section 9501” and inserting “ section 8501”.

SEC. 5003. Rural Education Initiative.

Part B of title V, as redesignated and amended by section 5001 of this Act, is further amended—
(1)
in section 5211—
(A)
in subsection (a)(1), by striking subparagraphs (A) through (E) and inserting the following:

“(A) Part A of title I.

“(B) Part A of title II.

“(C) Title III.

“(D) Part A or B of title IV.”

(B)
in subsection (b)(1)—
(i)
in subparagraph (A)(ii)—
(I)
by striking “ school” before “ locale code”; and
(II)
by striking “ 7 or 8, as determined by the Secretary; or” and inserting “ 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary;”;
(ii)
in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting “ ; or”; and
(iii)
by adding at the end the following:

“(C) the local educational agency is a member of an educational service agency that does not receive funds under this subpart and the local educational agency meets the requirements of this part.”

; and

(C)
in subsection (c), by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and inserting the following:

“(1) Part A of title II.

“(2) Part A of title IV.”

(2)
in section 5212—
(A)
in subsection (a), by striking paragraphs (1) through (5) and inserting the following:

“(1) Part A of title I.

“(2) Part A of title II.

“(3) Title III.

“(4) Part A or B of title IV.”

(B)
in subsection (b)—
(i)
by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

“(1) Allocation.—

“(A) In general.—Except as provided in paragraphs (3) and (4), the Secretary shall award a grant under subsection (a) to a local educational agency eligible under section 5211(b) for a fiscal year in an amount equal to the initial amount determined under paragraph (2) for the fiscal year minus the total amount received by the agency under the provisions of law described in section 5211(c) for the preceding fiscal year.

“(B) Special determination.—For a local educational agency that is eligible under section 5211(b)(1)(C) and is a member of an educational service agency, the Secretary may determine the award amount by subtracting from the initial amount determined under paragraph (2), an amount that is equal to that local educational agency’s per-pupil share of the total amount received by the educational service agency under the provisions described in section 5211(c), as long as a determination under this subparagraph would not disproportionately affect any State.”

(ii)
by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

“(2) Determination of initial amount.—

“(A) In general.—The initial amount referred to in paragraph (1) is equal to $100 multiplied by the total number of students in excess of 50 students, in average daily attendance at the schools served by the local educational agency, plus $20,000, except that the initial amount may not exceed $60,000.

“(B) Special rule.—For any fiscal year for which the amount made available to carry out this part is $265,000,000 or more, subparagraph (A) shall be applied—

“(i) by substituting ‘$25,000’ for ‘$20,000’; and

“(ii) by substituting ‘$80,000’ for ‘$60,000’.”

; and

(iii)
by adding at the end the following:

“(4) Hold harmless.—For a local educational agency that is not eligible under this subpart due to amendments made by the Every Student Succeeds Act to section 5211(b)(1)(A)(ii) but met the eligibility requirements under section 6211(b) as such section was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the agency shall receive—

“(A) for fiscal year 2017, 75 percent of the amount such agency received for fiscal year 2015;

“(B) for fiscal year 2018, 50 percent of the amount such agency received for fiscal year 2015; and

“(C) for fiscal year 2019, 25 percent of the amount such agency received for fiscal year 2015.”

; and

(C)
by striking subsection (d);
(3)
by striking section 5213;
(4)
in section 5221—
(A)
in subsection (a), by striking “ section 6222(a)” and inserting “ section 5222(a)”;
(B)
in subsection (b)—
(i)
in paragraph (1)—
(I)
by striking “ (A) 20 percent” and inserting “ (A)(i) 20 percent”;
(II)
by redesignating subparagraph (B) as clause (ii);
(III)
in clause (ii) (as redesignated by subclause (II))—
(aa)
by striking “ school” before “ locale code”;
(bb)
by striking “ 6, 7, or 8” and inserting “ 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43”; and
(cc)
by striking the period at the end and inserting “ ; or”; and
(IV)
by adding at the end the following:

“(B) the agency meets the criteria established in clause (i) of subparagraph (A) and the Secretary, in accordance with paragraph (2), grants the local educational agency’s request to waive the criteria described in clause (ii) of such subparagraph.”

(ii)
by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
(iii)
by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

“(2) Certification.—The Secretary shall determine whether to waive the criteria described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) based on a demonstration by the local educational agency, and concurrence by the State educational agency, that the local educational agency is located in an area defined as rural by a governmental agency of the State.”

(C)
in subsection (c)(1) by striking “ Bureau of Indian Affairs” and inserting “ Bureau of Indian Education”;
(5)
in section 5222(a), by striking paragraphs (1) through (7) and inserting the following:

“(1) Activities authorized under part A of title I.

“(2) Activities authorized under part A of title II.

“(3) Activities authorized under title III.

“(4) Activities authorized under part A of title IV.

“(5) Parental involvement activities.”

(6)
in section 5223—
(A)
in subsection (a), by striking “ at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information” and inserting “ at such time and in such manner”; and
(B)
by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:

“(b) Contents.—Each application submitted under subsection (a) shall include information on—

“(1) program objectives and outcomes for activities under this subpart, including how the State educational agency or specially qualified agency will use funds to help all students meet the challenging State academic standards;

“(2) if the State educational agency will competitively award grants to eligible local educational agencies, as described in section 5221(b)(3)(A), the application under the section shall include—

“(A) the methods and criteria the State educational agency will use to review applications and award funds to local educational agencies on a competitive basis; and

“(B) how the State educational agency will notify eligible local educational agencies of the grant competition; and

“(3) a description of how the State educational agency will provide technical assistance to eligible local educational agencies to help such agencies implement the activities described in section 5222.”

(7)
in section 5224—
(A)
by striking the section heading and all that follows through “ Each” and inserting the following: “ report.—Each”;
(B)
by striking subsections (b) through (e);
(C)
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting “ or specially qualified agency” after “ Each State educational agency”;
(D)
by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

“(1) if the report is submitted by a State educational agency, the method the State educational agency used to award grants to eligible local educational agencies, and to provide assistance to schools, under this subpart;”

; and

(E)
by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:

“(3) the degree to which progress has been made toward meeting the objectives and outcomes described in the application submitted under section 5223, including having all students in the State or the area served by the specially qualified agency, as applicable, meet the challenging State academic standards.”

(8)
by inserting after section 5224 the following:

“SEC. 5225. CHOICE OF PARTICIPATION.

“(a) In General.—If a local educational agency is eligible for funding under both this subpart and subpart 1, such local educational agency may receive funds under either this subpart or subpart 1 for a fiscal year, but may not receive funds under both subparts for such fiscal year.

“(b) Notification.—A local educational agency eligible for funding under both this subpart and subpart 1 shall notify the Secretary and the State educational agency under which of such subparts the local educational agency intends to receive funds for a fiscal year by a date that is established by the Secretary for the notification.”

; and

(9)
in section 5234, by striking “ $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years,” and inserting “ $169,840,000 for each of the fiscal years 2017 through 2020,”.

SEC. 5004. General Provisions.

Part C of title V, as redesignated by section 5001 of this Act, is amended to read as follows:

“PART C— GENERAL PROVISIONS

“SEC. 5301. PROHIBITION AGAINST FEDERAL MANDATES, DIRECTION, OR CONTROL.

“Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Federal Government to mandate, direct, or control a State, local educational agency, or school’s specific instructional content, academic standards and assessments, curriculum, or program of instruction, as a condition of eligibility to receive funds under this Act.

“SEC. 5302. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION ON EQUALIZED SPENDING.

“Nothing in this title shall be construed to mandate equalized spending per pupil for a State, local educational agency, or school.”

SEC. 5005. Review Relating to Rural Local Educational Agencies.

(a)
Review and Report.— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall—
(1)
review the organization, structure, and process and procedures of the Department of Education for administering its programs and developing policy and regulations, in order to—
(A)
assess the methods and manner through which, and the extent to which, the Department of Education takes into account, considers input from, and addresses the unique needs and characteristics of rural schools and rural local educational agencies; and
(B)
determine actions that the Department of Education can take to meaningfully increase the consideration and participation of rural schools and rural local educational agencies in the development and execution of the processes, procedures, policies, and regulations of the Department of Education;
(2)
make public a preliminary report containing the information described in paragraph (1) and provide Congress and the public with 60 days to comment on the proposed actions described in paragraph (1)(B); and
(3)
issue a final report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, which shall describe the final actions developed pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) after taking into account the comments submitted under paragraph (2).
(b)
Implementation.— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall—
(1)
carry out each action described in the report under subsection (a)(3); or
(2)
in a case in which an action is not carried out, provide a written explanation to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives of why the action was not carried out.