Strength in Diversity Act of 2020

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2639 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To establish the Strength in Diversity Program, and for other purposes. 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 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 The purpose of this Act is to support the develop- 7 ment, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive 8 strategies to address the effects of racial isolation or con- 9 centrated poverty by increasing diversity, including racial 10 diversity and socioeconomic diversity, in covered schools. 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2639 RFS SEC. 3. RESERVATION FOR NATIONAL AND STATE ACTIVI- 1 TIES. 2 (a) NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may re- 3 serve not more than 5 percent of the amounts made avail- 4 able under section 10 for a fiscal year to carry out activi- 5 ties of national significance relating to this Act, which may 6 include— 7 (1) research, development, data collection, mon- 8 itoring, technical assistance, evaluation, or dissemi- 9 nation activities; and 10 (2) the development and maintenance of best 11 practices for recipients of grants under section 4 and 12 other experts in the field of school diversity. 13 (b) STATE ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may reserve 14 not more than 10 percent of the amounts made available 15 under section 10 for a fiscal year for planning grants and 16 implementation grants made to State educational agencies 17 under section 4. 18 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 19 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made 21 available under section 10 and not reserved under 22 section 3 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award 23 grants in accordance with subsection (b) to eligible 24 entities to develop or implement plans to improve di- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2639 RFS versity and reduce or eliminate racial or socio- 1 economic isolation in covered schools. 2 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—The Secretary may, in 3 any fiscal year, award— 4 (A) planning grants to carry out the activi- 5 ties described in section 6(a); 6 (B) implementation grants to carry out the 7 activities described in section 6(b); or 8 (C) both such planning grants and imple- 9 mentation grants. 10 (b) AWARD BASIS.— 11 (1) CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING APPLICA- 12 TIONS.—The Secretary shall award grants under 13 this section on a competitive basis, based on— 14 (A) the quality of the application sub- 15 mitted by an eligible entity under section 5; 16 (B) the likelihood, as determined by the 17 Secretary, that the eligible entity will use the 18 grant to improve student outcomes or outcomes 19 on other performance measures described in 20 section 7; and 21 (C) the likelihood that the grant will lead 22 to a meaningful reduction in racial and eco- 23 nomic isolation for children in covered schools. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2639 RFS (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 1 section, the Secretary shall give priority to the fol- 2 lowing eligible entities: 3 (A) First, to an eligible entity that sub- 4 mitted an application for a grant under the 5 Opening Doors, Expanding Opportunities pro- 6 gram described in the notice published by the 7 Department of Education in the Federal Reg- 8 ister on December 14, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 9 90343 et seq.). 10 (B) Second, to an eligible entity that pro- 11 poses, in an application submitted under section 12 5, to use the grant to support a program that 13 addresses racial isolation. 14 (C) Third, to an eligible entity that pro- 15 poses, in an application submitted under section 16 5, to use the grant to support a program that 17 extends beyond one local educational agency, 18 such as an inter-district or regional program. 19 (D) Fourth, to an eligible entity that dem- 20 onstrates meaningful coordination with local 21 housing agencies to increase access to schools 22 that have a disproportionately low number of 23 low-income students. 24 (c) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2639 RFS (1) PLANNING GRANT.—A planning grant 1 awarded under this section shall be for a period of 2 not more than 1 year. 3 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—An implemen- 4 tation grant awarded under this section shall be for 5 a period of not more than 3 years, except that the 6 Secretary may extend an implementation grant for 7 an additional 2-year period if the eligible entity re- 8 ceiving the grant demonstrates to the Secretary that 9 the eligible entity is making significant progress, as 10 determined by the Secretary, on the program per- 11 formance measures described in section 7. 12 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 13 In order to receive a grant under section 4, an eligible 14 entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 15 time and in such manner as the Secretary may require. 16 Such application shall include— 17 (1) a description of the program for which the 18 eligible entity is seeking a grant, including— 19 (A) how the eligible entity proposes to use 20 the grant to improve the academic and life out- 21 comes of students in racial or socioeconomic 22 isolation in covered schools by supporting inter- 23 ventions that increase diversity for students in 24 such covered schools; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2639 RFS (B) in the case of an implementation 1 grant, the implementation grant plan described 2 in section 6(b)(1); and 3 (C) evidence, or if such evidence is not 4 available, a rationale based on current research, 5 regarding how the program will increase diver- 6 sity; 7 (2) in the case of an eligible entity proposing to 8 use any of the grant to benefit covered schools that 9 are racially isolated, a description of how the eligible 10 entity will identify and define racial isolation; 11 (3) in the case of an eligible entity proposing to 12 use any portion of the grant to benefit high-poverty 13 covered schools, a description of how the eligible en- 14 tity will identify and define income level and socio- 15 economic status; 16 (4) a description of the plan of the eligible enti- 17 ty for continuing the program after the grant period 18 ends; 19 (5) a description of how the eligible entity will 20 assess, monitor, and evaluate the impact of the ac- 21 tivities funded under the grant on student achieve- 22 ment and student enrollment diversity; 23 (6) an assurance that the eligible entity has 24 conducted, or will conduct, robust parent and com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 HR 2639 RFS munity engagement, while planning for and imple- 1 menting the program, such as through— 2 (A) consultation with appropriate officials 3 from Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations ap- 4 proved by the Tribes located in the area served 5 by the eligible entity; 6 (B) consultation with other community en- 7 tities, including local housing or transportation 8 authorities; 9 (C) public hearings or other open forums 10 to inform the development of any formal strat- 11 egy to increase diversity; and 12 (D) outreach to parents and students, in a 13 language that parents and students can under- 14 stand, and consultation with students and fami- 15 lies in the targeted district or region that is de- 16 signed to ensure participation in the planning 17 and development of any formal strategy to in- 18 crease diversity; 19 (7) an estimate of the number of students that 20 the eligible entity plans to serve under the program 21 and the number of students to be served through ad- 22 ditional expansion of the program after the grant 23 period ends; 24 (8) an assurance that the eligible entity will— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 HR 2639 RFS (A) cooperate with the Secretary in evalu- 1 ating the program, including any evaluation 2 that might require data and information from 3 multiple recipients of grants under section 4; 4 and 5 (B) engage in the best practices developed 6 under section 3(2); 7 (9) an assurance that, to the extent possible, 8 the eligible entity has considered the potential impli- 9 cations of the grant activities on the demographics 10 and student enrollment of nearby covered schools 11 not included in the activities of the grant; 12 (10) in the case of an eligible entity applying 13 for an implementation grant, a description of how 14 the eligible entity will— 15 (A) implement, replicate, or expand a 16 strategy based on a strong or moderate level of 17 evidence (as described in subclause (I) or (II) 18 of section 8101(21)(A)(i) of the Elementary 19 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 20 U.S.C. 7801(21)(A)(i))); or 21 (B) test a promising strategy to increase 22 diversity in covered schools; 23 (11) in the case of an application by a consor- 24 tium of local educational agencies, a specification of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 HR 2639 RFS which agency is the lead applicant, and how the 1 grant funds will be divided among the school dis- 2 tricts served by such consortium; and 3 (12) in the case of an application by a State 4 education agency, a demonstration that the agency 5 has procedures in place— 6 (A) to assess and prevent the redrawing of 7 school district lines in a manner that increases 8 racial or socioeconomic isolation; 9 (B) to assess the segregation impacts of 10 new school construction proposals and to 11 prioritize school construction funding that will 12 foreseeably increase racial and economic inte- 13 gration; and 14 (C) to include progress toward reduction of 15 racial and economic isolation as a factor in its 16 State plan under section 1111 of the Elemen- 17 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 18 U.S.C. 6311). 19 SEC. 6. USES OF FUNDS. 20 (a) PLANNING GRANTS.—Each eligible entity that re- 21 ceives a planning grant under section 4 shall use the grant 22 to support students in covered schools through the fol- 23 lowing activities: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 HR 2639 RFS (1) Completing a comprehensive assessment of, 1 with respect to the geographic area served by such 2 eligible entity— 3 (A) the educational outcomes and racial 4 and socioeconomic stratification of children at- 5 tending covered schools; 6 (B) an analysis of the location and capac- 7 ity of program and school facilities and the ade- 8 quacy of local or regional transportation infra- 9 structure; and 10 (C) teacher diversity in covered schools, 11 and plans for expanding teacher diversity. 12 (2) Developing and implementing a robust fam- 13 ily, student, and community engagement plan, in- 14 cluding, where feasible, public hearings or other 15 open forums that would precede and inform the de- 16 velopment of a formal strategy to improve diversity 17 in covered schools. 18 (3) Developing options, including timelines and 19 cost estimates, for improving diversity in covered 20 schools, such as weighted lotteries, revised feeder 21 patterns, school boundary redesign, or regional co- 22 ordination. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 HR 2639 RFS (4) Developing an implementation plan based 1 on community preferences among the options devel- 2 oped under paragraph (3). 3 (5) Building the capacity to collect and analyze 4 data that provide information for transparency, con- 5 tinuous improvement, and evaluation. 6 (6) Developing an implementation plan to com- 7 ply with a court-ordered school desegregation plan. 8 (7) Engaging in best practices developed under 9 section 3(2). 10 (8) If applicable, developing an implementation 11 plan to replace entrance exams or other competitive 12 application procedures with methods of student as- 13 signment to promote racial and socioeconomic diver- 14 sity. 15 (b) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 16 (1) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT PLAN.—Each eli- 17 gible entity that receives an implementation grant 18 under section 4 shall implement a high-quality plan 19 to support students in covered schools that in- 20 cludes— 21 (A) a comprehensive set of strategies de- 22 signed to improve academic outcomes for all 23 students, particularly students of color and low- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 HR 2639 RFS income students, by increasing diversity in cov- 1 ered schools; 2 (B) evidence of strong family and commu- 3 nity support for such strategies, including evi- 4 dence that the eligible entity has engaged in 5 meaningful family and community outreach ac- 6 tivities; 7 (C) goals to increase diversity in covered 8 schools over the course of the grant period; 9 (D) collection and analysis of data to pro- 10 vide transparency and support continuous im- 11 provement throughout the grant period; and 12 (E) a rigorous method of evaluation of the 13 effectiveness of the program. 14 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT ACTIVITIES.— 15 Each eligible entity that receives an implementation 16 grant under section 4 may use the grant to carry 17 out one or more of the following activities: 18 (A) Recruiting, hiring, or training addi- 19 tional teachers, administrators, school coun- 20 selors, and other instructional and support staff 21 in new, expanded, or restructured covered 22 schools, or other professional development ac- 23 tivities for staff and administrators. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2639.RFS H2639 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 [Text truncated for display. 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