Success in the Middle Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1828 To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous curriculum with effective supports so that students complete the middle grades prepared for success in secondary school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State and local educational agency policies and programs relating to the academic achievement of students in the middle grades, to develop and implement effective middle grades models for struggling students, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2021 Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself and Mr. SAN NICOLAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To provide grants to States to ensure that all students in the middle grades are taught an academically rigorous curriculum with effective supports so that students com- plete the middle grades prepared for success in secondary school and postsecondary endeavors, to improve State and local educational agency policies and programs relat- ing to the academic achievement of students in the mid- dle grades, to develop and implement effective middle grades models for struggling students, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1828 IH 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 ‘‘Success in the Middle 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Research shows that Federal funding for 8 students in middle school and high school, particu- 9 larly grades 6 through 12, is significantly lower than 10 funding for elementary and postsecondary students. 11 (2) International comparisons indicate that stu- 12 dents in the United States do not start out behind 13 students of other nations in mathematics and 14 science, but that they fall behind by the end of the 15 middle grades. 16 (3) Approximately 66 percent of students in 17 grade 8 read below the proficient level on the 2019 18 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Aver- 19 age reading scores were lower at grade 8 for all ra- 20 cial/ethnic groups compared to 2017 except for 21 Asian/Pacific Islander students. 22 (4) In mathematics, 37 percent of students in 23 grade 8 show skills at or above the proficient level 24 on the 2019 National Assessment of Educational 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1828 IH Progress, which is not a significant change since 1 2017. Nationwide, 19 percent of 8th grade public 2 school students in the Nation who took the mathe- 3 matics assessment had teachers who reported that a 4 lack of adequate instructional materials and supplies 5 was a moderate or serious problem. 6 (5) Evidence demonstrates substantial learning 7 loss for the Nation’s students, including students 8 from the middle grades, resulting from the COVID- 9 19 pandemic. Black and Hispanic students, in par- 10 ticular, were less likely to have access to the pre- 11 requisites of learning—devices, internet access, and 12 live contact with teachers. Left unaddressed, these 13 opportunity gaps could translate into wider achieve- 14 ment gaps. 15 (6) By grade 6, a student who attends school 16 less than 80 percent of the time, receives unsatisfac- 17 tory marks for mild but sustained misbehavior, or 18 who fails English or mathematics, has only a 10 to 19 20 percent chance of graduating on time. Without 20 effective interventions and proper supports, these 21 students are at risk of subsequent failure in sec- 22 ondary school, or of dropping out. 23 (7) According to Gallup, student engagement is 24 strong at the end of elementary school, with nearly 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1828 IH 3⁄4 of 5th graders (74%) reporting high levels of en- 1 gagement. But similar surveys have shown a gradual 2 and steady decline in engagement for older students, 3 with approximately 1⁄2 of students in middle school 4 reporting high levels of engagement. 5 (8) Student transitions from elementary school 6 to the middle grades and to secondary school are 7 often complicated by poor curriculum alignment, in- 8 adequate counseling services, and unsatisfactory 9 sharing of student performance and academic 10 achievement data between grades. 11 (9) Middle grades improvement strategies 12 should be tailored based on a variety of performance 13 indicators and data, so that— 14 (A) educators can create and implement 15 successful school improvement strategies to ad- 16 dress the needs of the middle grades; and 17 (B) teachers can provide effective instruc- 18 tion and adequate assistance to meet the needs 19 of at-risk students. 20 (10) Middle grade teachers face unique chal- 21 lenges due to the increased individual subject matter 22 focus of the curriculum combined with the physical, 23 intellectual, and emotional changes faced by early 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1828 IH adolescents transitioning from elementary school to 1 high school. 2 (11) Combining measures of academic achieve- 3 ment and motivation, social engagement, and self- 4 regulation—the behavioral domains essential for suc- 5 cess across the school and work continuum—pro- 6 vides a more holistic picture of students, including 7 their likelihood of enrolling in an institution of high- 8 er education following high school graduation. This 9 information, available in middle school, allows for 10 early identification of and intervention with students 11 who may be less likely to complete secondary school 12 and attend an institution of higher education. 13 (12) Appropriate academic accommodations, 14 age-appropriate discipline, access to assistive tech- 15 nology, and evidence-based interventions must be 16 used with students with disabilities, particularly in 17 the middle grades, as— 18 (A) the dropout rate for learning disabled 19 students is nearly 3 times the dropout rate of 20 all students; 21 (B) more than half of young adults with 22 learning disabilities have been involved in the 23 justice system; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1828 IH (C) students with disabilities have a grad- 1 uation rate nearly 20 percentage points lower 2 than the graduation rate for general education 3 students. 4 (13) Local educational agencies and State edu- 5 cational agencies often do not have the capacity to 6 provide support for school improvement strategies. 7 Successful models do exist for turning around low- 8 performing middle grades, and Federal support 9 should be provided to increase the capacity to apply 10 promising practices based on evidence from success- 11 ful schools. 12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘edu- 15 cational service agency’’, ‘‘elementary school’’, 16 ‘‘English learner’’, ‘‘evidence-based’’, ‘‘local edu- 17 cational agency’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, ‘‘high school’’, 18 ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ 19 have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 20 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 22 (2) CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM.—The term 23 ‘‘chronic absenteeism’’ means the percentage of indi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1828 IH vidual students missing 10 percent, or more, of the 1 days of school in a school year. 2 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 3 ty’’ means a partnership that includes— 4 (A) not less than 1 eligible local edu- 5 cational agency; and 6 (B) One of the following: 7 (i) An institution of higher education. 8 (ii) An educational service agency. 9 (iii) A nonprofit organization with 10 demonstrated expertise in high-quality 11 middle grades intervention. 12 (4) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 13 The term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ means 14 a local educational agency that serves not less than 15 1 eligible school. 16 (5) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligible 17 school’’ means an elementary school or secondary 18 school that contains not less than 2 successive 19 grades of grades 5 through 8 and for which— 20 (A) a high proportion of the middle grades 21 students attending such school will attend a 22 secondary school with a graduation rate of 67 23 percent or less; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1828 IH (B) more than 25 percent of the students 1 who finish grade 6 at such school, or the ear- 2 liest middle grade level at the school, exhibit 1 3 or more of the key risk factors and early risk 4 identification signs, including— 5 (i) student attendance below 90 per- 6 cent; 7 (ii) a failing grade in a mathematics 8 or reading or language arts course; 9 (iii) 2 failing grades in any courses; 10 and 11 (iv) out-of-school suspension or other 12 evidence of at-risk behavior; or 13 (C) more than 50 percent of the middle 14 grades students attending such school do not 15 perform at a proficient level on State student 16 academic assessments required under section 17 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)) 19 in mathematics or reading or language arts. 20 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 21 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 22 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 23 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1828 IH (7) MIDDLE GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 1 grades’’ means any of grades 5 through 8. 2 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of Education. 4 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 5 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 6 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 7 (10) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 8 ‘‘student with a disability’’ means a student who is 9 a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 10 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 11 (20 U.S.C. 1401). 12 TITLE I—MIDDLE GRADES 13 IMPROVEMENT 14 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 15 The purposes of this title are to— 16 (1) develop middle grade students’ social, emo- 17 tional, and academic competencies and deep content 18 knowledge to ensure they are equipped to think criti- 19 cally, solve problems, communicate effectively, col- 20 laborate with others, and be self-directed so that 21 they can enter high school on-track and graduate 22 from high school on time and ready for postsec- 23 ondary and career pathways; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1828 IH (2) provide student and teacher supports for 1 middle grades education, including funding and cur- 2 ricula, that align with the student and teacher sup- 3 ports provided for elementary school and secondary 4 school grades within and across local educational 5 agencies; 6 (3) provide resources to State educational agen- 7 cies and local educational agencies to collaboratively 8 develop and implement middle grade improvement 9 plans in order to deliver evidence-based support and 10 technical assistance to schools serving middle grade 11 students; 12 (4) provide resources for schools serving middle 13 grade students to develop positive learning commu- 14 nities where educators and students feel engaged, 15 and share high expectations of student success, as 16 exhibited by mutual respect, fair discipline ap- 17 proaches, and rigorous academic curriculum; and 18 (5) increase the capacity of States and local 19 educational agencies to develop effective, sustainable, 20 and replicable school improvement programs and 21 models and evidence-based or, when available, sci- 22 entifically valid student interventions for implemen- 23 tation by schools serving students in the middle 24 grades. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1828 IH SEC. 102. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL 1 AGENCIES FOR MIDDLE GRADES IMPROVE- 2 MENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 4 under section 107, the Secretary shall make grants under 5 this title for a fiscal year to each State educational agency 6 for which the Secretary has approved an application in 7 an amount equal to the allotment determined for such 8 agency under subsection (c) for such fiscal year. 9 (b) RESERVATIONS.—From the total amount made 10 available to carry out this title for a fiscal year, the Sec- 11 retary— 12 (1) shall reserve not more than 1 percent for 13 the Secretary of the Interior (on behalf of the Bu- 14 reau of Indian Education) and the outlying areas for 15 activities carried out in accordance with this section; 16 (2) shall reserve 1 percent to evaluate the effec- 17 tiveness of this title in achieving the purposes of this 18 title and ensuring that results are peer-reviewed and 19 widely disseminated, which may include hiring an 20 outside evaluator; and 21 (3) shall reserve 2 percent for technical assist- 22 ance and dissemination of best practices in middle 23 grades education to States and local educational 24 agencies. 25 (c) AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOTMENTS.— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:49 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1828.IH H1828 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1828 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 1 graph (2), of the total amount made available to 2 carry out this title for a fiscal year and not reserved 3 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall allot such 4 amount among the States in proportion to the num- 5 ber of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside within the 6 State and are from families with incomes below the 7 poverty level for the most recent fiscal year for 8 which satisfactory data are available, compared t [Text truncated for display. 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