Strength in Diversity Act of 2021

IB Union Calendar No. 127 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 729 [Report No. 117–176] To establish the Strength in Diversity Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 2, 2021 Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. JONES, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. HORSFORD, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. EVANS, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. MENG, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. COOPER, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. RYAN, Mr. PAYNE, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. DELGADO, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BONAMICI, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CARSON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. KILMER, Mr. RUSH, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. LARSON of Con- necticut, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. VELA, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. STE- VENS, Ms. ROSS, Ms. WILD, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. COHEN, Mr. SABLAN, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. OMAR, Ms. DEAN, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, and Ms. CRAIG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor NOVEMBER 23, 2021 Additional sponsors: Mr. MRVAN, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. MANNING, Ms. CHU, Ms. BOURDEAUX, Mr. POCAN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MFUME, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. BOWMAN, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mrs. KIRK- PATRICK, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. BLUNT ROCH- ESTER, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. WELCH, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. TRONE, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. LYNCH, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 729 RH Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. WATERS, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. LIEU, Mr. KAHELE, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. SIRES, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CASE, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. SOTO, Mr. CORREA, Mr. NADLER, Ms. PLASKETT, and Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas NOVEMBER 23, 2021 Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 2, 2021] A BILL To establish the Strength in Diversity Program, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 729 RH 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 ‘‘Strength in Diversity 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 The purpose of this Act is to support the development, 7 implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive strategies 8 to address the effects of racial isolation or concentrated pov- 9 erty by increasing diversity, including racial diversity and 10 socioeconomic diversity, in covered schools. 11 SEC. 3. RESERVATION FOR NATIONAL AND STATE ACTIVI- 12 TIES. 13 (a) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may re- 14 serve not more than 5 percent of the amounts made avail- 15 able under section 9 for a fiscal year to carry out activities 16 of national significance relating to this Act, which may in- 17 clude— 18 (1) research, development, data collection, moni- 19 toring, technical assistance, evaluation, or dissemina- 20 tion activities; and 21 (2) the development and maintenance of best 22 practices for recipients of grants under section 4 and 23 other experts in the field of school diversity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 729 RH (b) STATE ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may reserve 1 not more than 10 percent of the amounts made available 2 under section 9 for a fiscal year for planning grants and 3 implementation grants made to State educational agencies 4 under section 4. 5 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 6 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made 8 available under section 9 and not reserved under sec- 9 tion 3 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award 10 grants in accordance with subsection (b) to eligible 11 entities to develop or implement plans to improve di- 12 versity and reduce or eliminate racial or socio- 13 economic isolation in covered schools. 14 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—The Secretary may, in 15 any fiscal year, award— 16 (A) planning grants to carry out the activi- 17 ties described in section 6(a); 18 (B) implementation grants to carry out the 19 activities described in section 6(b); or 20 (C) both such planning grants and imple- 21 mentation grants. 22 (b) AWARD BASIS.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 729 RH (1) CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING APPLICATIONS.— 1 The Secretary shall award grants under this section 2 on a competitive basis, based on— 3 (A) the quality of the application submitted 4 by an eligible entity under section 5; 5 (B) the likelihood, as determined by the Sec- 6 retary, that the eligible entity will use the grant 7 to improve student outcomes or outcomes on 8 other performance measures described in section 9 7; and 10 (C) the likelihood that the grant will lead to 11 a meaningful reduction in racial and economic 12 isolation for children in covered schools. 13 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 14 section, the Secretary shall give priority to the fol- 15 lowing eligible entities: 16 (A) First, to an eligible entity that sub- 17 mitted an application for a grant under the 18 Opening Doors, Expanding Opportunities pro- 19 gram described in the notice published by the 20 Department of Education in the Federal Register 21 on December 14, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 90343 et 22 seq.). 23 (B) Second, to an eligible entity that pro- 24 poses, in an application submitted under section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 729 RH 5, to use the grant to support a program that 1 addresses racial isolation. 2 (C) Third, to an eligible entity that pro- 3 poses, in an application submitted under section 4 5, to use the grant to support a program that ex- 5 tends beyond one local educational agency, such 6 as an inter-district or regional program. 7 (D) Fourth, to an eligible entity that dem- 8 onstrates meaningful coordination with local 9 housing agencies to increase access to schools that 10 have a disproportionately low number of low-in- 11 come students. 12 (c) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 13 (1) PLANNING GRANT.—A planning grant 14 awarded under this section shall be for a period of not 15 more than 1 year. 16 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—An implementa- 17 tion grant awarded under this section shall be for a 18 period of not more than 3 years, except that the Sec- 19 retary may extend an implementation grant for an 20 additional 2-year period if the eligible entity receiv- 21 ing the grant demonstrates to the Secretary that the 22 eligible entity is making significant progress, as de- 23 termined by the Secretary, on the program perform- 24 ance measures described in section 7. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 729 RH SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 1 In order to receive a grant under section 4, an eligible 2 entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 3 time and in such manner as the Secretary may require. 4 Such application shall include— 5 (1) a description of the program for which the el- 6 igible entity is seeking a grant, including— 7 (A) how the eligible entity proposes to use 8 the grant to improve the academic and life out- 9 comes of students in racial or socioeconomic iso- 10 lation in covered schools by supporting interven- 11 tions that increase diversity for students in such 12 covered schools; 13 (B) in the case of an implementation grant, 14 the implementation grant plan described in sec- 15 tion 6(b)(1); and 16 (C) evidence, or if such evidence is not 17 available, a rationale based on current research, 18 regarding how the program will increase diver- 19 sity; 20 (2) in the case of an eligible entity proposing to 21 use any of the grant to benefit covered schools that are 22 racially isolated, a description of how the eligible en- 23 tity will identify and define racial isolation; 24 (3) in the case of an eligible entity proposing to 25 use any portion of the grant to benefit high-poverty 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 729 RH covered schools, a description of how the eligible entity 1 will identify and define income level and socio- 2 economic status; 3 (4) a description of the plan of the eligible entity 4 for continuing the program after the grant period 5 ends; 6 (5) a description of how the eligible entity will 7 assess, monitor, and evaluate the impact of the activi- 8 ties funded under the grant on student achievement 9 and student enrollment diversity, and teacher diver- 10 sity; 11 (6) an assurance that the eligible entity has con- 12 ducted, or will conduct, robust parent and community 13 engagement, while planning for and implementing the 14 program, such as through— 15 (A) consultation with appropriate officials 16 from Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations ap- 17 proved by the Tribes located in the area served 18 by the eligible entity; 19 (B) consultation with other community en- 20 tities, including local housing or transportation 21 authorities; 22 (C) public hearings or other open forums to 23 inform the development of any formal strategy to 24 increase diversity; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 729 RH (D) outreach to parents and students, in a 1 language that parents and students can under- 2 stand, and consultation with students and fami- 3 lies in the targeted district or region that is de- 4 signed to ensure participation in the planning 5 and development of any formal strategy to in- 6 crease diversity; 7 (7) an estimate of the number of students that 8 the eligible entity plans to serve under the program 9 and the number of students to be served through addi- 10 tional expansion of the program after the grant pe- 11 riod ends; 12 (8) an assurance that the eligible entity will— 13 (A) cooperate with the Secretary in evalu- 14 ating the program, including any evaluation 15 that might require data and information from 16 multiple recipients of grants under section 4; 17 and 18 (B) engage in the best practices developed 19 under section 3(a)(2); 20 (9) an assurance that, to the extent possible, the 21 eligible entity has considered the potential implica- 22 tions of the grant activities on the demographics and 23 student enrollment of nearby covered schools not in- 24 cluded in the activities of the grant; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 729 RH (10) in the case of an eligible entity applying for 1 an implementation grant, a description of how the el- 2 igible entity will— 3 (A) implement, replicate, or expand a strat- 4 egy based on a strong or moderate level of evi- 5 dence (as described in subclause (I) or (II) of sec- 6 tion 8101(21)(A)(i) of the Elementary and Sec- 7 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8 7801(21)(A)(i))); or 9 (B) test a promising strategy to increase di- 10 versity in covered schools; 11 (11) in the case of an application by a consor- 12 tium of local educational agencies, a specification of 13 which agency is the lead applicant, and how the 14 grant funds will be divided among the school districts 15 served by such consortium; and 16 (12) in the case of an application by a State 17 educational agency, a demonstration that the agency 18 has procedures in place— 19 (A) to assess and prevent the redrawing of 20 school district lines in a manner that increases 21 racial or socioeconomic isolation; 22 (B) to assess the segregation impacts of new 23 school construction proposals and to prioritize 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 729 RH school construction funding that will foreseeably 1 increase racial and economic integration; and 2 (C) to include progress toward reduction of 3 racial and economic isolation as a factor in its 4 State plan under section 1111 of the Elementary 5 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 6 U.S.C. 6311). 7 SEC. 6. USES OF FUNDS. 8 (a) PLANNING GRANTS.—Each eligible entity that re- 9 ceives a planning grant under section 4 shall use the grant 10 to support students in covered schools through the following 11 activities: 12 (1) Completing a comprehensive assessment of, 13 with respect to the geographic area served by such eli- 14 gible entity— 15 (A) the educational outcomes and racial 16 and socioeconomic stratification of children at- 17 tending covered schools; 18 (B) an analysis of the location and capac- 19 ity of program and school facilities and the ade- 20 quacy of local or regional transportation infra- 21 structure; and 22 (C) teacher diversity in covered schools, and 23 plans for expanding teacher diversity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Nov 23, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H729.RH H729 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 729 RH (2) Developing and implementing a robust fam- 1 ily, student, and community engagement [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]