TRUE EQUITY Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 779 To provide for a Federal partnership to ensure educational equity and quality. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Mr. TRONE (for himself, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. MFUME, Mr. BROWN, Mr. SAR- BANES, and Mr. RUPPERSBERGER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To provide for a Federal partnership to ensure educational equity and quality. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transformational Re- 4 forms and Updates to Ensure Educational Quality and 5 Urgent Investments in Today’s Youth Act of 2021’’ or the 6 ‘‘TRUE EQUITY Act’’. 7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 8 Congress finds the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 779 IH (1) The fate of our Nation and the opportuni- 1 ties it creates for our children and grandchildren to 2 enjoy successful careers and rewarding lives depends 3 on the quality, equal access, and effectiveness of pre- 4 kindergarten through twelfth grade education in 5 every local school district across the country. 6 (2) Our education systems must prepare stu- 7 dents to compete in an interconnected, global econ- 8 omy. 9 (3) Despite the current combinations of Fed- 10 eral, State, and local funding and innovative edu- 11 cational policies, States with historically well re- 12 garded kindergarten through grade 12 education 13 systems may find their students falling behind their 14 peers nationally and internationally. In Maryland, a 15 State with a historically well regarded kindergarten 16 through grade 12 education system, fourth and 17 eighth graders placed in the middle of the pack na- 18 tionally in reading and math scores on the National 19 Assessment of Education Progress. 20 (4) The United States as a whole scored well 21 down the second quartile among students from 72 22 countries on the Programme for International Stu- 23 dent Assessment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 779 IH (5) Even in States with reading and math 1 scores higher than the national average, there may 2 be significant and persistent racial, ethnic, and in- 3 come disparity gaps between students of color and 4 low-income students compared to their higher in- 5 come and white peers. 6 (6) These same disparities carry into college en- 7 rollment, with fewer students of color and low-in- 8 come students enrolling in college than their higher 9 income and white peers. 10 (7) The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) health 11 pandemic forced the physical closure of schools na- 12 tionwide in March 2020, moving students from the 13 classroom to online learning. The public health ne- 14 cessity to turn to online learning further exacerbated 15 the significant and persistent racial, ethnic, and in- 16 come disparity learning gaps as students struggled 17 to access educational technology devices and the 18 internet. 19 (8) At the start of online learning, Maryland 20 school districts reported that on average, nearly 25 21 percent of Maryland students had not logged into 22 their new online classrooms or picked up paper work 23 packets, falling out of sight and behind their peers. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 779 IH (9) Millions of children are falling further be- 1 hind as a result of opportunity gaps that fail to pro- 2 vide students with ready access to individualized in- 3 struction, healthy meals, mental health counseling 4 services, and hands on career training programs. 5 (10) In order to address these inequities in edu- 6 cation and harm caused by COVID-19, certain 7 States, including Maryland, have researched and 8 proposed bold, transformative Federal, State, and 9 local funding and policy changes to their pre-kinder- 10 garten through twelfth grade education systems, 11 with five main policy recommendations under the 12 Maryland Commission on Innovation & Excellence in 13 Education that include the following: 14 (A) Investing in high-quality early child- 15 hood education and care through a significant 16 expansion of full day pre-school, to be free for 17 all low-income three- and four-year-olds, so that 18 all children have the opportunity to begin kin- 19 dergarten ready to learn. 20 (B) Investing in teachers and school lead- 21 ers by elevating the standards and status of the 22 teaching profession, including a performance- 23 based career ladder and salaries comparable to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 779 IH other fields with similar education require- 1 ments. 2 (C) Creating a world-class instructional 3 system with an internationally benchmarked 4 curriculum that enables most students to 5 achieve ‘‘college and career ready’’ status by 6 10th grade and then pursue pathways that in- 7 clude early college, Advanced Placement 8 courses, or a rigorous technical education lead- 9 ing to industry-recognized credentials and high 10 paying jobs. 11 (D) Providing supports to students that 12 need it the most with broad and sustained sup- 13 port for schools serving high concentrations of 14 poverty, with after school and summer academic 15 programs and student access to needed health 16 and social services. 17 (E) Ensuring excellence for all through an 18 accountability-oversight board that has the au- 19 thority to ensure transformative education sys- 20 tem recommendations are successfully imple- 21 mented and produce the desired improvements 22 in student achievement. 23 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 24 It is the sense of Congress that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 779 IH (1) no matter a child’s zip code, they deserve 1 equal access to a quality, public pre-kindergarten 2 through twelfth grade education; 3 (2) no inequities in student achievement, college 4 enrollment, or Federal, State, and local funding 5 should be tolerated; 6 (3) the Federal Government should live up to 7 its original commitment in 1975 under the Individ- 8 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 9 1400 et seq.) to provide 40 percent of the cost to 10 educate children with disabilities and assist State 11 educational agencies and local educational agencies 12 in providing a free appropriate public education; and 13 (4) the Federal Government should be an active 14 partner with State educational agencies and local 15 educational agencies that are willing to modify poli- 16 cies and commit additional State and local resources 17 to address education inequities. 18 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 21 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 22 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 23 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 779 IH (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Education. 2 (3) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 3 ‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 4 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 5 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 6 TITLE I—EARLY CHILDHOOD 7 EDUCATION 8 SEC. 101. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION GRANT PRO- 9 GRAM. 10 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 12 single grant, on a competitive basis, to an eligible 13 State to enable the State to carry out the authorized 14 activities described in subsection (c). 15 (2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—In this section, the term 16 ‘‘eligible State’’ means a State— 17 (A) that has established a State Oversight 18 Board as described in section 501; and 19 (B) that commits to educational equity. 20 (3) DURATION; RENEWAL.—The grant awarded 21 under this section shall be for a 2-year duration, and 22 may be renewed by the Secretary for not more than 23 4 additional 2-year periods if the State Oversight 24 Board of the State determines that the State has 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 779 IH met the educational equity goals of the State, as de- 1 scribed in section 501. 2 (4) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—If the Sec- 3 retary does not renew a grant awarded under this 4 section to a State for an additional 2-year period for 5 failure to meet the educational equity goals of the 6 State, the State shall provide, from non-Federal 7 sources, amounts for such 2-year period that are not 8 less than the sum of the grant amount provided by 9 the Secretary and the matching funds provided by 10 the State under subsection (d) for the initial 2-year 11 grant period. 12 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible State that desires to 13 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica- 14 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 15 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 16 require, including providing the State’s educational equity 17 goals and the accountability consequences for the State 18 and local educational agencies in the State if the State 19 Oversight Board determines that the State or a local edu- 20 cational agency fails to meet the educational equity goals 21 of the State, including the potential withholding of funds, 22 as described in section 501. 23 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 779 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State that re- 1 ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant 2 funds to carry out activities authorized under the 3 following provisions: 4 (A) Section 619 and part C of the Individ- 5 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 6 1419 and 1431 et seq.). 7 (B) Paragraphs (1)(B)(i), (5)(A), and 8 (5)(B) of section 640(a) of the Head Start Act 9 (42 U.S.C. 9835(1)(B)(i), (5)(A), and (5)(B)). 10 (C) Section 9212 of the Every Student 11 Succeeds Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 note). 12 (2) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible State that re- 13 ceives a grant under this section may use the grant 14 funds to award subgrants to local educational agen- 15 cies to carry out the activities described in para- 16 graph (1). 17 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH PROGRAMS.—In using 18 grant funds provided under this section or subgrant 19 funds provided under paragraph (2) to carry out the 20 activities described in paragraph (1), the eligible 21 State or local educational agency shall comply with 22 the requirements of the programs under which such 23 activities are authorized. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 779 IH (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Each eligible State 1 that receives a grant under this section shall provide, from 2 non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 200 percent of 3 the amount of the grant (which may be provided in cash 4 or in kind) to carry out the activities supported by the 5 grant. 6 (e) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible 7 State shall use Federal funds received under this section 8 only to supplement the funds that would, in the absence 9 of such Federal funds, be made available from State and 10 local sources for activities described in subsection (c), and 11 not to supplant such funds. 12 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 13 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec- 14 tion— 15 (1) $275,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 16 (2) $288,750,000 for fiscal year 2022; 17 (3) $303,187,500 for fiscal year 2023; 18 (4) $318,346,875 for fiscal year 2024; 19 (5) $334,264,219 for fiscal year 2025; 20 (6) $350,977,430 for fiscal year 2026; 21 (7) $368,526,301 for fiscal year 2027; 22 (8) $386,952,616 for fiscal year 2028; 23 (9) $406,300,247 for fiscal year 2029; and 24 (10) $426,615,259 for fiscal year 2030. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 779 IH TITLE II—HIGH-QUALITY AND DI- 1 VERSE TEACHERS AND LEAD- 2 ERS 3 SEC. 201. HIGH-QUALITY AND DIVERSE TEACHERS AND 4 LEADERS GRANT PROGRAM. 5 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 7 single grant, on a competitive basis, to an eligible 8 State to enable the State to carry out the authorized 9 activities described in subsection (c). 10 (2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—In this section, the term 11 ‘‘eligible State’’ means a State— 12 (A) that has established a State Oversight 13 Board as described in section 501; and 14 (B) that commits to educational equity. 15 (3) DURATION; RENEWAL.—The grant awarded 16 under this section shall be for a 2-year duration, and 17 may be renewed by the Secretary for not more than 18 4 additional 2-year periods if the State Oversight 19 Board of the State determines that the State has 20 met the educational equity goals of the State, as de- 21 scribed in section 501. 22 (4) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—If the Sec- 23 retary does not renew a grant awarded under this 24 section to a State for an additional 2-year period for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:28 Feb 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H779.IH H779 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 779 IH failure to meet the educational equity goals of the 1 State, the State shall provide, from non-Federal 2 sources, amounts for such 2-year period that are not 3 less than the sum of the grant amount provided by 4 the Secretary and the matching funds provided by 5 the State under subsection (d) for the initial 2-year 6 grant period. 7 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible State that desires to 8 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica- 9 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 10 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 11 require, including providing the State’s educational equity 12 goals and the accountability consequences for the State 13 and local educational agencies in the State if the State 14 Oversight Board determines that the State or a local edu- 15 cati [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]