High-Quality Education Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to states, or local educational agencies (LEAs) in states that do not receive such grants, to reduce the size of core curriculum classes in public elementary and secondary schools.
Requires such grants to be provided only to states or LEAs serving schools whose average core curriculum class size is greater than 18 students in kindergarten through grade 3, 22 students in grades 4 through 8, and 25 students in grades 9 through 12.
Requires grant funds to be used for: (1) constructing new classroom space; (2) hiring additional teachers; and (3) purchasing portable structures to replace administrative offices that are converted into classrooms.
Permits the Secretary to give grant priority to states or LEAs serving schools: (1) where over 17% of the students between age 4 and 18 are from impoverished families; or (2) whose average core curriculum class size is higher than the average core curriculum class size of schools served by other applicants.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 1649 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1649
To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to reduce the
size of core curriculum classes in public elementary and secondary
schools, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 19, 2009
Mr. Meek of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to reduce the
size of core curriculum classes in public elementary and secondary
schools, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``High-Quality Education Act of
2009''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Tennessee's wide-ranging and research-intensive STAR
project began in the mid-1980's when the Tennessee legislature
funded an initial 4-year study seeking to compare achievements
for early grade students who would be assigned randomly to a
standard-sized class, a standard-sized class with a teacher
aide, or a class with reduced size. Several new analyses of the
Tennessee STAR program show that reducing class size has both
immediate and long-term benefits.
(2) Research shows that the benefits of participating in
small classes increase from year to year, both in the early
grades when classes are small and in subsequent years when
students are placed in larger classes.
(3) Further, follow-up studies of the same students show
that high-school students who were in small classes in first
through third grades beginning in 1985 were less likely to be
held back a year or suspended compared with their peers from
larger classes.
(4) The students from small classes were found to be making
better grades in high school and taking more advanced courses.
(5) The State of Wisconsin passed legislation in 1995 to
phase in reduction of classes to 15 students in low-wealth
schools. A January 2003 study of that program, called SAGE,
revealed that average test scores in smaller first grade
classes increased 12 to 14 percent more than scores of students
in regular classes.
(6) Research further shows that at the end of fifth grade,
students who were in small classes in first through third
grades were about half a school year (5 months) ahead of
students from larger classes in all core subjects--reading,
language arts, math, and science.
(7) In 1999, the Department of Education reported that
studies have consistently identified a positive relationship
between reduced class size and improved student performance.
The National Assessment on Educational Progress, the Economic
Policy Institute, RAND, the Educational Testing Service, the
American Institute of Research, and many other respected
organizations have reached similar conclusions.
(8) In smaller classes, teachers spend more time on
instruction and less time on discipline problems, reporting
that they know their students better, know where each child is
in the learning process, and can provide more individualized
instruction.
(9) Smaller classes lead to better identification of
students who need special help, increased student participation
and engagement, improved student behavior, and reduced
retention of students in the same grade.
(10) Outcomes associated with small classes are the
foundation of safe schools: improved student behavior and human
relations skills, increased participation in schooling and
school-sanctioned events, increased sense of community in small
classes, and generally improved school climate where students,
teachers, and parents feel more comfortable.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to assist States to
proactively attempt to lower class size in order to provide students
and teachers with an educational environment more conducive to optimal
student performance.
SEC. 3. CLASS SIZE REDUCTION MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Grants.--The Secretary of Education may make grants to eligible
entities to reduce the size of core curriculum classes in public
elementary and secondary schools.
(b) Eligible Entity Defined.--In this section, the term ``eligible
entity'' means any State, or any local educational agency in a State
that is not a grantee under this section, that meets the following:
(1) The State or local educational agency has in effect a
class size reduction program that--
(A) applies to all public elementary and secondary
schools served by the State or local educational
agency, respectively; and
(B) may be targeted to specific school populations
based on need, socioeconomic factors, or school-age
population.
(2) The State or local educational agency has funding in
its annual budget specifically allocated for the program
described in paragraph (1).
(3) The average core curriculum class size at schools
served by the State or local educational agency--
(A) in kindergarten through third grade, is greater
than 18 students;
(B) in fourth through eighth grade, is greater than
22 students; or
(C) in ninth through twelfth grade, is greater than
25 students.
(c) Use of Funds.--The Secretary may not make a grant under this
section unless the grantee agrees to use the grant for the following:
(1) Constructing new classroom space.
(2) Hiring additional teachers.
(3) Purchasing portable structures to replace
administrative offices converted into classroom space.
(d) Restrictions.--The Secretary may not make a grant under this
section unless the grantee agrees that funds received under the grant
will not be used for any of the following:
(1) To pay any long-term financing obligations such as
bonding.
(2) To pay any administrative costs or fees.
(e) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary
may give priority to eligible entities that serve schools in which--
(1) more than 17 percent of the students older than 4 and
younger than 18 years of age are from families with incomes
below the poverty line; or
(2) the average core curriculum class size is higher,
particularly in the primary grades, than the average core
curriculum class size at schools served by other grant
applicants for the fiscal year.
(f) Matching Funds.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may not make a grant under
this section unless the grantee agrees to make available
(directly or through donations from public or private entities)
non-Federal contributions toward the costs of the activities
under the grant in an amount that is not less than $2 for each
$1 provided by the Secretary in the grant.
(2) Determination of amount contributed.--Non-Federal
contributions required in paragraph (1) may be in cash or in
kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or
services. Amounts provided by the Federal Government, or
services assisted or subsidized to any significant extent by
the Federal Government, may not be included in determining the
amount of such non-Federal contributions.
(g) Application.--
(1) Submission.--To seek a grant under this section, an
eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary in
such form, in such manner, and containing such information as
the Secretary may require.
(2) Contents.--An application for a grant under this
section shall include the following:
(A) Certification of the average core curriculum
class size at schools served by the eligible entity for
each of the grade ranges that--
(i) are described in subsection (b)(3); and
(ii) will be served by the entity's class
size reduction program.
(B) Certification of the eligible entity's actual
and expected expenditures for the entity's class size
reduction program for the fiscal year involved.
(C) A description of the eligible entity's class
size reduction program and the program's goals.
(D) A description of how the eligible entity
intends to use funds received under the grant.
(E) In the case of an eligible entity that has
already received a grant under this section, the
entity's progress in achieving the goals of its class
size reduction program, particularly relative to high
poverty areas.
(3) Deadline.--The Secretary shall establish a deadline for
the submission of applications for a grant under this section.
(h) Other Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``average core curriculum class size'' means
the number that is--
(A) equal to the sum of the number of students in
each core curriculum class (including for each school
term and period of instruction) divided by the total
number of such classes; and
(B) is based on the ratio of physical class rooms
to students, irrespective of the ratio of teachers to
students.
(2) The term ``core curriculum class'' means a class in any
of the following subjects:
(A) Mathematics.
(B) Science.
(C) Reading, language arts, or English, including
English for speakers of other languages.
(D) Social studies, including history, civics,
political science, government, geography, and
economics.
(E) Foreign language.
(3) The terms ``local educational agency'' and ``poverty
line'' have the meanings given those terms in section 9101 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(4) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Education.
(5) The term ``State'' includes the several States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa,
Guam, the Virgin Islands, any other territory or possession of
the United States, and any Indian tribe (as that term is
defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).
(i) Funding.--
(1) Biannual payments.--The Secretary shall make payments
to each grantee under this section on a biannual basis.
(2) Limitation.--For any fiscal year, the Secretary may not
make a payment to any grantee under this section in an amount
that exceeds the lesser of the following:
(A) An amount that is 20 percent of the total
amount appropriated to carry out this section for the
fiscal year.
(B) $200,000,000.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
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