Make Education Local Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2263 To allow a State to submit a State management decision to the Secretary of Education to combine certain funds to improve the academic achieve- ment of students. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 10, 2019 Mrs. LESKO (for herself, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. GOSAR, and Mr. SCHWEIKERT) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu- cation and Labor A BILL To allow a State to submit a State management decision to the Secretary of Education to combine certain funds to improve the academic achievement of students. 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; PURPOSE; DEFINITIONS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Make Education Local Act of 2019’’. 5 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are as fol- 6 lows: 7 (1) To give States and local communities added 8 flexibility and control to determine how to improve 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2263 IH academic achievement and implement education pol- 1 icy. 2 (2) To reduce the administrative costs and com- 3 pliance burden of Federal education programs in 4 order to focus Federal resources on improving aca- 5 demic achievement. 6 (3) To ensure that States and communities are 7 accountable to the public and to parents for advanc- 8 ing the academic achievement of all students, espe- 9 cially disadvantaged children. 10 (c) DEFINITIONS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro- 12 vided, the terms used in this Act have the meanings 13 given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 14 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 15 7801 et seq.). 16 (2) OTHER TERMS.—In this Act: 17 (A) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The term ‘‘ac- 18 countability’’ means that public schools are an- 19 swerable to parents and other taxpayers for the 20 use of public funds and shall report student 21 academic progress to parents and taxpayers 22 regularly. 23 (B) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the 24 meaning given such term in section 1122(e) of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2263 IH the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 1 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6332(e)). 2 (C) STATE MANAGEMENT DECISION.—The 3 term ‘‘State management decision’’ means a de- 4 cision by a State, as determined by State Au- 5 thorizing Officials or by referendum, to assume 6 full management responsibility for the expendi- 7 ture of Federal funds for certain eligible pro- 8 grams for the purpose of advancing, on a more 9 comprehensive and effective basis, the edu- 10 cational policy of such State. 11 (D) STATE AUTHORIZING OFFICIALS.—The 12 term ‘‘State Authorizing Officials’’ means the 13 State officials who shall authorize the submis- 14 sion of a State management decision, and any 15 amendments thereto, on behalf of the State. 16 Such officials shall include not less than two of 17 the following: 18 (i) The governor of the State. 19 (ii) The highest elected education offi- 20 cial of the State, if any. 21 (iii) The legislature of the State. 22 (E) STATE DESIGNATED OFFICER.—The 23 term ‘‘State Designated Officer’’ means the 24 person designated by the State Authorizing Of- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2263 IH ficials to submit to the Secretary, on behalf of 1 the State, a State management decision, and 2 any amendments thereto, and to function as the 3 point-of-contact for the State for the Secretary 4 and others relating to any responsibilities aris- 5 ing under this Act. 6 SEC. 2. STATE MANAGEMENT DECISION. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each State is authorized to sub- 8 mit to the Secretary a State management decision permit- 9 ting the State to receive Federal funds on a consolidated 10 basis to manage the expenditure of such funds to advance 11 the educational policy of the State. 12 (b) PROGRAMS ELIGIBLE FOR CONSOLIDATION AND 13 PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS.— 14 (1) SCOPE.—A State may choose to include 15 within the scope of the State management decision 16 of the State any program for which Congress makes 17 funds available to the State if the program is for a 18 purpose described in the Elementary and Education 19 Secondary Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301). A State 20 may not include any program funded pursuant to 21 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 22 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). 23 (2) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds made available to 24 a State pursuant to a State management decision 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2263 IH under this Act shall be used for any educational pur- 1 pose permitted by State law of the State submitting 2 a State management decision. 3 (3) REMOVAL OF FISCAL AND ACCOUNTING 4 BARRIERS.—Each State educational agency that op- 5 erates under a State management decision under 6 this Act may modify or eliminate State fiscal and ac- 7 counting barriers that prevent local educational 8 agencies and schools from easily consolidating funds 9 from other eligible Federal, State, and local sources 10 in order to improve educational opportunities and re- 11 duce unnecessary fiscal and accounting require- 12 ments. 13 (c) CONTENTS OF DECISION.—Each State manage- 14 ment decision shall contain— 15 (1) a list of eligible programs that are subject 16 to the State management decision; 17 (2) an assurance that the submission of the 18 State management decision has been authorized by 19 the State Authorizing Officials, specifying the iden- 20 tity of the State Designated Officer; 21 (3) the duration of the State management deci- 22 sion; 23 (4) an assurance that the State will use fiscal 24 control and fund accounting procedures; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2263 IH (5) an assurance that the State will meet the 1 requirements of applicable Federal civil rights laws 2 in carrying out the State management decision and 3 in consolidating and using the funds under the State 4 management decision; 5 (6) an assurance that in implementing the 6 State management decision the State will seek to ad- 7 vance educational opportunities for the disadvan- 8 taged; 9 (7) a description of the plan for maintaining di- 10 rect accountability to parents and other citizens of 11 the State; 12 (8) an assurance that in implementing the 13 State management decision, the State will seek to 14 use Federal funds to supplement, rather than sup- 15 plant, State education funding; and 16 (9) a description of how the State will address 17 persistently failing public schools. 18 (d) MINIMUM DURATION.—The duration of the State 19 management decision shall— 20 (1) be greater than or equal to 5 years; and 21 (2) be less than or equal to 10 years. 22 (e) REVIEW, IMPLEMENTATION, AND RECOGNITION 23 BY THE SECRETARY.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2263 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review 1 the State management decision received from the 2 State Designated Officer not more than 60 days 3 after the date of receipt of such decision, and shall 4 approve, with respect to permitting the State to re- 5 ceive the funds described in subsection (a), such 6 State management decision unless the State man- 7 agement decision fails to meet the requirements 8 under subsection (c). 9 (2) RECOGNITION BY OPERATION OF LAW.—If 10 the Secretary fails to take action within the time 11 specified in paragraph (1), the State management 12 decision, as submitted, shall be deemed to be ap- 13 proved. 14 (f) AMENDMENT TO STATE MANAGEMENT DECI- 15 SION.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The State Authorizing Offi- 17 cials may direct the State Designated Officer to sub- 18 mit amendments to a State management decision 19 that is in effect. Such amendments shall be sub- 20 mitted to the Secretary and considered by the Sec- 21 retary in accordance with subsection (e). 22 (2) AMENDMENTS AUTHORIZED.—A State man- 23 agement decision that is in effect may be amended 24 to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 2263 IH (A) expand the scope of such State man- 1 agement decision to encompass additional eligi- 2 ble programs; 3 (B) reduce the scope of such State man- 4 agement decision by excluding coverage of a 5 Federal program included in the original State 6 management decision; 7 (C) modify the duration of such State 8 management decision; or 9 (D) achieve such other modifications as the 10 State Authorizing Officials deem appropriate. 11 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment shall 12 specify an effective date. Such effective date shall 13 provide adequate time to assure full compliance with 14 Federal program requirements relating to an eligible 15 program that has been removed from the coverage of 16 the State management decision by the proposed 17 amendment. 18 (4) TREATMENT OF PROGRAM FUNDS WITH- 19 DRAWN FROM STATE MANAGEMENT DECISION.—Be- 20 ginning on the effective date of an amendment exe- 21 cuted under paragraph (2)(B), each program re- 22 quirement of each program removed from the State 23 management decision shall apply to the State’s use 24 of funds made available under the program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 2263 IH SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY FOR RESULTS OF PUBLIC EDU- 1 CATION. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each State operating under a 3 State management decision under this Act shall inform 4 parents and the general public regarding the student 5 achievement assessment system, demonstrating student 6 progress relative to the State’s determination of student 7 proficiency, as described in paragraph (2), for the purpose 8 of public accountability to parents and taxpayers. 9 (b) ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The State shall determine 11 and establish an accountability system to ensure ac- 12 countability under this Act. 13 (2) ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.—Any account- 14 ability system established by a State pursuant para- 15 graph (1) shall— 16 (A) be focused on the academic achieve- 17 ment of students; and 18 (B) include a system, as determined by the 19 State, of evaluating the academic achievement 20 and progress of students. 21 (c) REPORT ON STUDENT PROGRESS.—Not later 22 than 1 year after the effective date of the State manage- 23 ment decision, and annually thereafter, a State shall, in 24 a format acceptable to such State, disseminate widely to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 2263 IH parents and the general public a report that describes stu- 1 dent progress. The report shall include— 2 (1) student performance data disaggregated by 3 various student groups, as determined by the State; 4 (2) a description of other high-quality school 5 options available to parents in the State; and 6 (3) a description of how the State has used 7 Federal funds to improve academic achievement, re- 8 duce achievement disparities between various stu- 9 dent groups, and improve educational opportunities. 10 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 12 (b), the amount that a State with a State management 13 decision may expend for administrative expenses shall be 14 limited to 1 percent of the aggregate amount of Federal 15 funds made available to the State through the eligible pro- 16 grams included within the scope of such State manage- 17 ment decision. 18 (b) STATES NOT CONSOLIDATING FUNDS UNDER 19 PART A OF TITLE I.—If the State management decision 20 does not include within its scope part A of title I of the 21 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 22 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.), the amount spent by the State on 23 administrative expenses shall be limited to 3 percent of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 2263 IH the aggregate amount of Federal funds made available to 1 the State pursuant to such State management decision. 2 SEC. 5. EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 3 Each State consolidating and using funds pursuant 4 to a State management decision under this Act shall pro- 5 vide for the participation of private school children and 6 teachers in the activities assisted under the State manage- 7 ment decision in the same manner as participation is pro- 8 vided to private school children and teachers under section 9 8501 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 10 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881). 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2263.IH H2263 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS