TRUE EQUITY Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3149 To provide for a Federal partnership to ensure educational equity and quality. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 6, 2020 Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To provide for a Federal partnership to ensure educational equity and quality. 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 ‘‘Transformational Re- 4 forms and Updates to Ensure Educational Quality and 5 Urgent Investments in Today’s Youth Act of 2019’’ or the 6 ‘‘TRUE EQUITY Act’’. 7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 8 Congress finds the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3149 IS (1) The fate of our Nation and the opportuni- 1 ties it creates for our children and grandchildren to 2 enjoy successful careers and rewarding lives depends 3 on the quality, equal access, and effectiveness of pre- 4 kindergarten through twelfth grade education in 5 every local school district across the country. 6 (2) Our education systems must prepare stu- 7 dents to compete in an interconnected, global econ- 8 omy. 9 (3) Despite the current combinations of Fed- 10 eral, State, and local funding and innovative edu- 11 cational policies, States with historically well re- 12 garded kindergarten through grade 12 education 13 systems may find their students falling behind their 14 peers nationally and internationally. In Maryland, a 15 State with a historically well regarded kindergarten 16 through grade 12 education system, fourth and 17 eighth graders placed in the middle of the pack na- 18 tionally in reading and math scores on the National 19 Assessment of Education Progress. 20 (4) The United States as a whole scored well 21 down the second quartile among students from 72 22 countries on the Programme for International Stu- 23 dent Assessment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3149 IS (5) Even in States with reading and math 1 scores higher than the national average, there may 2 be significant and persistent racial, ethnic, and in- 3 come disparity gaps between students of color and 4 low-income students compared to their higher in- 5 come and White peers. 6 (6) These same disparities carry into college en- 7 rollment, with fewer students of color and low-in- 8 come students enrolling in college than their higher 9 income and White peers. 10 (7) In order to address these inequities in edu- 11 cation, certain States, including Maryland, have re- 12 searched and proposed bold, transformative Federal, 13 State, and local funding and policy changes to their 14 pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade education 15 systems, with five main policy recommendations 16 under the Maryland Commission on Innovation & 17 Excellence in Education that include the following: 18 (A) Investing in high-quality early child- 19 hood education and care through a significant 20 expansion of full day pre-school, to be free for 21 all low-income three- and four-year-olds, so that 22 all children have the opportunity to begin kin- 23 dergarten ready to learn. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3149 IS (B) Investing in teachers and school lead- 1 ers by elevating the standards and status of the 2 teaching profession, including a performance- 3 based career ladder and salaries comparable to 4 other fields with similar education require- 5 ments. 6 (C) Creating a world-class instructional 7 system with an internationally benchmarked 8 curriculum that enables most students to 9 achieve ‘‘college and career ready’’ status by 10 10th grade and then pursue pathways that in- 11 clude early college, Advanced Placement 12 courses, or a rigorous technical education lead- 13 ing to industry-recognized credentials and high 14 paying jobs. 15 (D) Providing supports to students that 16 need it the most with broad and sustained sup- 17 port for schools serving high concentrations of 18 poverty, with after school and summer academic 19 programs and student access to needed health 20 and social services. 21 (E) Ensuring excellence for all through an 22 accountability-oversight board that has the au- 23 thority to ensure transformative education sys- 24 tem recommendations are successfully imple- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3149 IS mented and produce the desired improvements 1 in student achievement. 2 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 3 It is the sense of Congress that— 4 (1) no matter a child’s zip code, they deserve 5 equal access to a quality, public pre-kindergarten 6 through twelfth grade education; 7 (2) no inequities in student achievement, college 8 enrollment, or Federal, State, and local funding 9 should be tolerated; 10 (3) the Federal Government should live up to 11 its original commitment in 1975 under the Individ- 12 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 13 1400 et seq.) to provide 40 percent of the cost to 14 educate children with disabilities and assist State 15 educational agencies and local educational agencies 16 in providing a free appropriate public education; and 17 (4) the Federal Government should be an active 18 partner with State educational agencies and local 19 educational agencies that are willing to modify poli- 20 cies and commit additional State and local resources 21 to address education inequities. 22 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this Act: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3149 IS (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 1 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 2 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 3 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 4 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 5 the Secretary of Education. 6 (3) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 7 ‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 8 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 9 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 10 TITLE I—EARLY CHILDHOOD 11 EDUCATION 12 SEC. 101. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION GRANT PRO- 13 GRAM. 14 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 16 single grant, on a competitive basis, to an eligible 17 State to enable the State to carry out the authorized 18 activities described in subsection (c). 19 (2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—In this section, the term 20 ‘‘eligible State’’ means a State— 21 (A) that has established a State Oversight 22 Board as described in section 501; and 23 (B) that commits to educational equity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3149 IS (3) DURATION; RENEWAL.—The grant awarded 1 under this section shall be for a 2-year duration, and 2 may be renewed by the Secretary for not more than 3 4 additional 2-year periods if the State Oversight 4 Board of the State determines that the State has 5 met the educational equity goals of the State, as de- 6 scribed in section 501. 7 (4) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—If the Sec- 8 retary does not renew a grant awarded under this 9 section to a State for an additional 2-year period for 10 failure to meet the educational equity goals of the 11 State, the State shall provide, from non-Federal 12 sources, amounts for such 2-year period that are not 13 less than the sum of the grant amount provided by 14 the Secretary and the matching funds provided by 15 the State under subsection (d) for the initial 2-year 16 grant period. 17 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible State that desires to 18 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica- 19 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 20 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 21 require, including providing the State’s educational equity 22 goals and the accountability consequences for the State 23 and local educational agencies in the State if the State 24 Oversight Board determines that the State or a local edu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3149 IS cational agency fails to meet the educational equity goals 1 of the State, including the potential withholding of funds, 2 as described in section 501. 3 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State that re- 5 ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant 6 funds to carry out activities authorized under the 7 following provisions: 8 (A) Section 619 and part C of the Individ- 9 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 10 1419 and 1431 et seq.). 11 (B) Paragraphs (1)(B)(i), (5)(A), and 12 (5)(B) of section 640(a) of the Head Start Act 13 (42 U.S.C. 9835(1)(B)(i), (5)(A), and (5)(B)). 14 (C) Section 9212 of the Every Student 15 Succeeds Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 note). 16 (2) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible State that re- 17 ceives a grant under this section may use the grant 18 funds to award subgrants to local educational agen- 19 cies to carry out the activities described in para- 20 graph (1). 21 (3) COMPLIANCE WITH PROGRAMS.—In using 22 grant funds provided under this section or subgrant 23 funds provided under paragraph (2) to carry out the 24 activities described in paragraph (1), the eligible 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3149 IS State or local educational agency shall comply with 1 the requirements of the programs under which such 2 activities are authorized. 3 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Each eligible State 4 that receives a grant under this section shall provide, from 5 non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 200 percent of 6 the amount of the grant (which may be provided in cash 7 or in kind) to carry out the activities supported by the 8 grant. 9 (e) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible 10 State shall use Federal funds received under this section 11 only to supplement the funds that would, in the absence 12 of such Federal funds, be made available from State and 13 local sources for activities described in subsection (c), and 14 not to supplant such funds. 15 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 16 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this sec- 17 tion— 18 (1) $275,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 19 (2) $288,750,000 for fiscal year 2021; 20 (3) $303,187,500 for fiscal year 2022; 21 (4) $318,346,875 for fiscal year 2023; 22 (5) $334,264,219 for fiscal year 2024; 23 (6) $350,977,430 for fiscal year 2025; 24 (7) $368,526,301 for fiscal year 2026; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3149 IS (8) $386,952,616 for fiscal year 2027; 1 (9) $406,300,247 for fiscal year 2028; and 2 (10) $426,615,259 for fiscal year 2029. 3 TITLE II—HIGH-QUALITY AND DI- 4 VERSE TEACHERS AND LEAD- 5 ERS 6 SEC. 201. HIGH-QUALITY AND DIVERSE TEACHERS AND 7 LEADERS GRANT PROGRAM. 8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 10 single grant, on a competitive basis, to an eligible 11 State to enable the State to carry out the authorized 12 activities described in subsection (c). 13 (2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—In this section, the term 14 ‘‘eligible State’’ means a State— 15 (A) that has established a State Oversight 16 Board as described in section 501; and 17 (B) that commits to educational equity. 18 (3) DURATION; RENEWAL.—The grant awarded 19 under this section shall be for a 2-year duration, and 20 may be renewed by the Secretary for not more than 21 4 additional 2-year periods if the State Oversight 22 Board of the State determines that the State has 23 met the educational equity goals of the State, as de- 24 scribed in section 501. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3149 IS (4) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—If the Sec- 1 retary does not renew a grant awarded under this 2 section to a State for an additional 2-year period for 3 failure to meet the educational equity goals of the 4 State, the State shall provide, from non-Federal 5 sources, amounts for such 2-year period that are not 6 less than the sum of the grant amount provided by 7 the Secretary and the matching funds provided by 8 the State under subsection (d) for the initial 2-year 9 grant period. 10 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible State that desires to 11 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica- 12 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 13 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 14 require, including providing the State’s educational equity 15 goals and the accountability consequences for the State 16 and local educational agencies in the State if the State 17 Oversight Board determines that the State or a local edu- 18 cational agency fails to meet the educational equity goals 19 of the State, including the potential withholding of funds, 20 as described in section 501. 21 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State that re- 23 ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jan 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3149.IS S3149 aiking on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3149 IS funds to carry out activities authorized under the 1 following provisions: 2 (A) Section 2101 of the Elementary and 3 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 4 6611). 5 (B) Subpart 1 of part B of title II of the 6 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631 et seq.). 8 (C) Sections 2242, 2243, and 2245 of the 9 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 10 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6672, 6673, and 6675). 11 (D) Section 3131 of the Elementary and 12 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 13 6861). 14 (E) Subparts 1 and 2 of part D of the In- 15 dividuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq. and 1461 et seq.). 17 (2) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible State that re- 18 ceives a grant under this sec [Text truncated for display. 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