Success in the Middle Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1704 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 4, 2019 Mr. WHITEHOUSE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 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 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1704 IS 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 2019’’. 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 65 percent of students in 17 grade 8 read below the proficient level on the 2017 18 National Assessment of Educational Progress. A lit- 19 tle over one-third of students in grade 8 in the 20 United States, and approximately 5 percent of such 21 students who are English learners, can read with 22 proficiency, according to the 2017 National Assess- 23 ment of Educational Progress. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1704 IS (4) In mathematics, 37 percent of students in 1 grade 8 show skills at or above the proficient level 2 on the 2017 National Assessment of Educational 3 Progress. However, the percentage of students in 4 grade 4 at or above the proficient level on such As- 5 sessment was 40 percent. In grade 8, the gaps be- 6 tween the average mathematics scores of White and 7 Black students and between White and Hispanic 8 students were approximately as wide in 2017 as in 9 2015. 10 (5) By grade 6, a student who attends school 11 less than 80 percent of the time, receives unsatisfac- 12 tory marks for mild but sustained misbehavior, or 13 who fails English or mathematics, has only a 10 to 14 20 percent chance of graduating on time. Without 15 effective interventions and proper supports, these 16 students are at risk of subsequent failure in sec- 17 ondary school, or of dropping out. 18 (6) Approximately 55 percent of students in 19 grades 5 through 12 are engaged in the learning 20 process, while 28 percent are unengaged or mentally 21 checked out and 17 percent are actively disengaged 22 and feel negatively about school, according to a 2013 23 Gallup Student Poll. Additionally, 54 percent of stu- 24 dents are hopeful, while 32 percent feel stuck and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1704 IS 14 percent feel discouraged, about their future suc- 1 cess at school and beyond. 2 (7) Student transitions from elementary school 3 to the middle grades and to secondary school are 4 often complicated by poor curriculum alignment, in- 5 adequate counseling services, and unsatisfactory 6 sharing of student performance and academic 7 achievement data between grades. 8 (8) Middle grades improvement strategies 9 should be tailored based on a variety of performance 10 indicators and data, so that— 11 (A) educators can create and implement 12 successful school improvement strategies to ad- 13 dress the needs of the middle grades; and 14 (B) teachers can provide effective instruc- 15 tion and adequate assistance to meet the needs 16 of at-risk students. 17 (9) Middle grade teachers face unique chal- 18 lenges due to the increased individual subject matter 19 focus of the curriculum combined with the physical, 20 intellectual, and emotional changes faced by early 21 adolescents transitioning from elementary school to 22 high school. 23 (10) Combining measures of academic achieve- 24 ment and motivation, social engagement, and self- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1704 IS regulation—the behavioral domains essential for suc- 1 cess across the school and work continuum—pro- 2 vides a more holistic picture of students, including 3 their likelihood of enrolling in an institution of high- 4 er education following high school graduation. This 5 information, available in middle school, allows for 6 early identification of and intervention with students 7 who may be less likely to complete secondary school 8 and attend an institution of higher education. 9 (11) Appropriate academic accommodations, 10 age-appropriate discipline, access to assistive tech- 11 nology, and evidence-based interventions must be 12 used with students with disabilities, particularly in 13 the middle grades, as— 14 (A) the dropout rate for learning disabled 15 students is nearly 3 times the dropout rate of 16 all students; 17 (B) more than half of young adults with 18 learning disabilities have been involved in the 19 justice system; and 20 (C) students with disabilities have a grad- 21 uation rate nearly 20 percentage points lower 22 than the graduation rate for general education 23 students. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1704 IS (12) Local educational agencies and State edu- 1 cational agencies often do not have the capacity to 2 provide support for school improvement strategies. 3 Successful models do exist for turning around low- 4 performing middle grades, and Federal support 5 should be provided to increase the capacity to apply 6 promising practices based on evidence from success- 7 ful schools. 8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 9 In this Act: 10 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘edu- 11 cational service agency’’, ‘‘elementary school’’, 12 ‘‘English learner’’, ‘‘evidence-based’’, ‘‘local edu- 13 cational agency’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, ‘‘high school’’, 14 ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’ 15 have the meanings given the terms in section 8101 16 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 18 (2) CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM.—The term 19 ‘‘chronic absenteeism’’ means the percentage of indi- 20 vidual students missing 10 percent, or more, of the 21 days of school in a school year. 22 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 23 ty’’ means a partnership that includes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1704 IS (A) not less than 1 eligible local edu- 1 cational agency; and 2 (B)(i) an institution of higher education; 3 (ii) an educational service agency; or 4 (iii) a nonprofit organization with dem- 5 onstrated expertise in high-quality middle 6 grades intervention. 7 (4) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 8 The term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ means 9 a local educational agency that serves not less than 10 1 eligible school. 11 (5) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligible 12 school’’ means an elementary school or secondary 13 school that contains not less than 2 successive 14 grades of grades 5 through 8 and for which— 15 (A) a high proportion of the middle grades 16 students attending such school will attend a 17 secondary school with a graduation rate of 67 18 percent or less; 19 (B) more than 25 percent of the students 20 who finish grade 6 at such school, or the ear- 21 liest middle grade level at the school, exhibit 1 22 or more of the key risk factors and early risk 23 identification signs, including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1704 IS (i) student attendance below 90 per- 1 cent; 2 (ii) a failing grade in a mathematics 3 or reading or language arts course; 4 (iii) 2 failing grades in any courses; 5 and 6 (iv) out-of-school suspension or other 7 evidence of at-risk behavior; or 8 (C) more than 50 percent of the middle 9 grades students attending such school do not 10 perform at a proficient level on State student 11 academic assessments required under section 12 1111(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)) 14 in mathematics or reading or language arts. 15 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 16 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 19 (7) MIDDLE GRADES.—The term ‘‘middle 20 grades’’ means any of grades 5 through 8. 21 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 the Secretary of Education. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1704 IS (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 1 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 2 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 3 (10) STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 4 ‘‘student with a disability’’ means a student who is 5 a child with a disability, as defined in section 602 6 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 7 (20 U.S.C. 1401). 8 TITLE I—MIDDLE GRADES 9 IMPROVEMENT 10 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 11 The purposes of this title are to— 12 (1) develop middle grade students’ social, emo- 13 tional, and academic competencies and deep content 14 knowledge to ensure they are equipped to think criti- 15 cally, solve problems, communicate effectively, col- 16 laborate with others, and be self-directed so that 17 they can enter high school on-track and graduate 18 from high school on time and ready for postsec- 19 ondary and career pathways; 20 (2) provide student and teacher supports for 21 middle grades education, including funding and cur- 22 ricula, that align with the student and teacher sup- 23 ports provided for elementary school and secondary 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1704 IS school grades within and across local educational 1 agencies; 2 (3) provide resources to State educational agen- 3 cies and local educational agencies to collaboratively 4 develop and implement middle grade improvement 5 plans in order to deliver evidence-based support and 6 technical assistance to schools serving middle grade 7 students; 8 (4) provide resources for schools serving middle 9 grade students to develop positive learning commu- 10 nities where educators and students feel engaged, 11 and share high expectations of student success, as 12 exhibited by mutual respect, fair discipline ap- 13 proaches, and rigorous academic curriculum; and 14 (5) increase the capacity of States and local 15 educational agencies to develop effective, sustainable, 16 and replicable school improvement programs and 17 models and evidence-based or, when available, sci- 18 entifically valid student interventions for implemen- 19 tation by schools serving students in the middle 20 grades. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1704 IS 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 02:50 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1704.IS S1704 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1704 IS (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 to 9 the number of such individuals who reside in all 10 such States for that fiscal year, determined in ac- 11 cordance with section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elemen- 12 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 13 U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A)). 14 (2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS. 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