Learning Opportunity and Achievement Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4831 To provide resources for States, State educational agencies, local educational agencies, educators, school leaders, and others to measure and address instructional loss in students in kindergarten through grade 12. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 21 (legislative day, OCTOBER 19), 2020 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. CASEY, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To provide resources for States, State educational agencies, local educational agencies, educators, school leaders, and others to measure and address instructional loss in stu- dents in kindergarten through grade 12. 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 ‘‘Learning Opportunity 4 and Achievement Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 It is the purpose of this Act to provide resources for 7 States, State educational agencies, local educational agen- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4831 IS cies, educators, school leaders, and others to measure and 1 address instructional loss in students in kindergarten 2 through grade 12. 3 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Children in every State were affected by 6 school closures during the 2019–2020 school year, 7 which resulted in fewer instructional days for the 8 Nation’s 56,400,000 students in Kindergarten 9 through grade 12, and caused instructional loss for 10 these students. 11 (2) Instructional loss for certain students, in- 12 cluding Black and Hispanic students, low-income 13 students, children with disabilities, English learners, 14 Native students, migratory students, students expe- 15 riencing homelessness, children and youth in foster 16 care, and others, could be especially severe, com- 17 pounding existing opportunity and achievement 18 gaps. 19 (3) Instructional loss for students who lack ac- 20 cess to broadband connectivity and mobile devices, 21 or who otherwise lack access to high-quality remote 22 learning, remote instruction, and conducive learning 23 environments, could also be severe. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4831 IS (4) Before the coronavirus pandemic, oppor- 1 tunity and achievement gaps between Black and 2 Hispanic students and White students deprived the 3 economy of the United States of between 4 $310,000,000,000 and $525,000,000,000 per year 5 in productivity, equivalent to 2 percent to 4 percent 6 of gross domestic product. Furthermore, achieve- 7 ment gaps between low-income students and high-in- 8 come students deprived the United States economy 9 of between $400,000,000,000 and $670,000,000,000 10 per year in productivity, equivalent to 3 percent to 11 5 percent of gross domestic product. 12 (5) Preliminary estimates indicate students will 13 return for the 2020–2021 school year with roughly 14 70 percent of learning gains in reading relative to a 15 typical school year, and, in some grades, with less 16 than 50 percent of learning gains in mathematics, 17 nearly a full year behind where they would have 18 been under normal circumstances. 19 (6) The average instructional loss due to recent 20 school closures could be 7 months for all students, 21 10.3 months for Black students, 9.2 months for His- 22 panic students, and more than a year for low-income 23 students. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4831 IS (7) Students in Kindergarten through grade 12 1 in the United States could lose between $61,000 and 2 $82,000 in lifetime earnings solely due to corona- 3 virus-related instructional loss. 4 (8) Coronavirus-related instructional loss could 5 result in reduced annual earnings for White students 6 ($1,348 per year), but even further reduced earnings 7 for Black students ($2,186 per year) and Hispanic 8 students ($1,809 per year), resulting in 9 $98,800,000,000 in reduced earnings per year. 10 (9) Instructional loss caused by school closures 11 and disruptions in learning could further compound 12 learning, achievement, and opportunity gaps, reduce 13 lifetime earnings, and harm competitiveness between 14 the United States and other countries that mitigated 15 the pandemic. 16 (10) The pandemic has created new challenges 17 for education, but educators have performed admi- 18 rably and adjusted accordingly to educate students. 19 However, more resources are needed to make sure 20 the Nation’s 3,700,000 educators have the necessary 21 tools to address instructional loss in students, espe- 22 cially at-risk or marginalized students. 23 (11) Specifically, more resources are needed to 24 support evidence-based approaches to professional 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4831 IS development that will help educators in their efforts 1 to more effectively use technology, address equity 2 gaps in learning, and provide personalized instruc- 3 tion within continually changing learning environ- 4 ments. 5 (12) Research has shown that, among other 6 things, effective professional development for edu- 7 cators should be collaborative, job-embedded, con- 8 tent-based, and sustained. 9 (13) Research has also shown that effective 10 professional development for educators should be in- 11 tensive, provide opportunities for coaching and ex- 12 pert support, and offer opportunities for feedback. 13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 14 In this Act: 15 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘Depart- 16 ment’’, ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘evidence-based’’, ‘‘in- 17 stitution of higher education’’, ‘‘local educational 18 agency’’, ‘‘outlying area’’, ‘‘paraprofessional’’, ‘‘pro- 19 fessional development’’, ‘‘school leader’’, ‘‘secondary 20 school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State edu- 21 cational agency’’ have the meanings given those 22 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 23 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4831 IS (2) ALASKA NATIVE AND ALASKA NATIVE ORGA- 1 NIZATION.—The terms ‘‘Alaska Native’’ and ‘‘Alas- 2 ka Native organization’’ have the meanings given 3 those terms in section 6306 of the Elementary and 4 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7546). 5 (3) AT-RISK OR MARGINALIZED STUDENTS.— 6 The term ‘‘at-risk or marginalized students’’ means 7 students in elementary or secondary school who 8 are— 9 (A) low-income students; 10 (B) minority students; 11 (C) children with disabilities; 12 (D) English learners; 13 (E) migratory students; 14 (F) homeless children and youth; or 15 (G) children or youth in foster care. 16 (4) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 17 ‘‘child with a disability’’ has the meaning given that 18 term in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabil- 19 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401). 20 (5) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—The 21 term ‘‘community-based organization’’ means a pub- 22 lic or private nonprofit organization with dem- 23 onstrated effectiveness that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4831 IS (A) is representative of a community or 1 significant segments of a community; and 2 (B) provides educational or related services 3 to individuals in the community. 4 (6) DISTANCE LEARNING.—The term ‘‘distance 5 learning’’ means the transmission of educational or 6 instructional programming to geographically dis- 7 persed individuals and groups via telecommuni- 8 cations or physical materials that is aligned to the 9 requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). 11 (7) ENGLISH LEARNER.—The term ‘‘English 12 learner’’ has the meaning given that term in section 13 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 14 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 15 (8) HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTH.—The 16 term ‘‘homeless children and youth’’ has the mean- 17 ing given the term ‘‘homeless children or youths’’ in 18 section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist- 19 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 20 (9) HYBRID LEARNING.—The term ‘‘hybrid 21 learning’’ means any combination of distance and in- 22 person learning where distance learning represents a 23 substantial component of the instructional model. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4831 IS (10) MIGRATORY CHILD.—The term ‘‘migratory 1 child’’ means a child or youth who made a qualifying 2 move (as defined in section 1309 of the Elementary 3 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 4 6399) in the preceding 36 months— 5 (A) as a migratory agricultural worker or 6 a migratory fisher (as those terms are defined 7 in such section); or 8 (B) with, or to join, a parent or spouse 9 who is a migratory agricultural worker or a mi- 10 gratory fisher (as those terms are defined in 11 such section). 12 (11) NATIVE HAWAIIAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN 13 COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION AND NATIVE HA- 14 WAIIAN EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION.—The terms 15 ‘‘Native Hawaiian’’, ‘‘Native Hawaiian community- 16 based organization’’ and ‘‘Native Hawaiian edu- 17 cational organization’’ have the meanings given 18 those terms in section 6207 of the Elementary and 19 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517). 20 (12) NATIVE STUDENTS.—The term ‘‘Native 21 students’’ means students in elementary or sec- 22 ondary school who are American Indian, Alaska Na- 23 tive, or Native Hawaiian. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4831 IS (13) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 1 means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of 2 Management and Budget and revised annually in ac- 3 cordance with section 673(2) of the Community 4 Services Block Grant Act) applicable to a family of 5 the size involved. 6 SEC. 5. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO ADDRESS IN- 7 STRUCTIONAL LOSS IN STUDENTS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro- 9 priated, and there are appropriated, out of any amounts 10 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 11 $2,250,000,000 to carry out part A of title II of the Ele- 12 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 13 6611 et seq.) for fiscal year 2022, of which, not less than 14 10 percent shall be used for activities under that part for 15 school leaders (as such term is defined in that Act). 16 (b) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided by 18 this section are designated as an emergency require- 19 ment pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay- 20 As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 21 (2) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, 22 this section is designated as an emergency require- 23 ment pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4831 IS 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on 1 the budget for fiscal year 2018. 2 SEC. 6. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 3 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts made 4 available under subsection (d), the Secretary shall award 5 grants, on a competitive basis, to States to enable States 6 to provide funds to local educational agencies for supple- 7 mental professional development opportunities for edu- 8 cators, paraprofessionals, specialized instructional support 9 personnel, and school leaders regarding how to effectively 10 deliver distance learning and hybrid learning models. 11 (b) APPLICATION.—Not later than 30 days after the 12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall request 13 applications for grants under this section. Each State de- 14 siring a grant under this section shall submit an applica- 15 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 16 containing such information as the Secretary may reason- 17 ably require, including— 18 (1) a plan to ensure that local educational 19 agencies use evidence-based approaches to profes- 20 sional development, and approaches that are collabo- 21 rative, job-embedded, content-based, and sustained 22 in duration; 23 (2) a description of how the local educational 24 agencies in the State provide evidence-based profes- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4831 IS sional development, at the time the application is 1 submitted; and 2 (3) a description of how the State will ensure 3 that local educational agencies use grant funds to 4 provide evidence-based professional development— 5 (A) focused on distance learning and hy- 6 brid learning; 7 (B) that supports at-risk and marginalized 8 students, including low-income students, minor- 9 ity students, children with disabilities, English 10 learners, migratory students, homeless children 11 and youth, and children or youth in foster care; 12 and 13 (C) that is collaborative, job-embedded, 14 content-based, and sustained in duration. 15 (c) USES OF FUNDS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a grant 17 under this section shall use grant funds to provide 18 funds to local educational agencies for supplemental 19 professional development opportunities for edu- 20 cators, paraprofessionals, specialized instructional 21 support personnel, and school leaders regarding how 22 to effectively deliver distance learning and hybrid 23 learning models. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4831.IS S4831 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4831 IS (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A State may re- 1 serve not more than 10 percent of grant funds for 2 administrative costs. 3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 5 $50,000,000. 6 SEC. 7. TRAINING RESOURCE GRANTS. 7 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts made 8 available under subsection (e), the Secretary sha [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]