School Turnaround and Rewards Act of 2013 or the STAR Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to replace the school support and recognition program with a blue ribbon schools program that allows each state to annually identify the top 5% of its schools as blue ribbon schools based on: (1) the percentage of their students who are on track to college and career readiness for English or language arts and mathematics; (2) in the case of high schools, their graduation rates; (3) the performance of their student subgroups; (4) student growth; and (5) school gains.
Allows states to provide each blue ribbon school with: (1) increased autonomy over its budget, staffing, and time; (2) flexibility in using funds provided under the ESEA for any purpose allowed under the ESEA; and (3) a monetary award, through its local educational agency (LEA), if it agrees to use it to improve student achievement and provide technical assistance to the lowest-achieving schools in the state that have characteristics similar to it.
Requires states to identify their lowest-achieving schools each year, which include: (1) the lowest-achieving 5% of public high schools and the lowest-achieving 5% of public elementary and secondary schools that are not high schools, and (2) the public high schools that have less than a 60% graduation rate. Requires each state to notify the parents of students of a school's status as one of its lowest-achieving schools.
Requires states to compile a list of its schools identified as lowest-achieving that: (1) receive assistance under part A of title I of the ESEA, (2) are public high schools at least 50% of whose students are low-income students, or (3) are public high schools that have less than a 60% graduation rate. Requires the list to be made publicly available.
Identifies as persistently low-achieving those schools that have been on that list for two consecutive school years (for the 2013-2014 school year, a school on the list the preceding school year shall be so identified). Continues their characterization as such for five years following their identification.
Allows states to apply to the Secretary of Education for a waiver from the requirement to identify schools as persistently low-achieving if they determine that all of their schools are performing at a satisfactory level.
Requires LEAs receiving part A funds to conduct a data-driven needs analysis of each of their persistently low-achieving schools and use it to select and implement the most appropriate school improvement strategy to improve student performance at each school. Identifies the school improvement strategies as the transformation model, the restart model, the school closure model, and the turnaround model. Lists the activities that each strategy entails. Requires all of the strategies to provide: (1) school staff with ongoing training and performance evaluations, and (2) students with instruction and instructional supports that meet their individual needs.
Authorizes the Secretary to carry out activities of national significance to support state and local efforts to turn around persistently low-performing schools.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 578 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 578
To improve outcomes for students in persistently low-performing
schools, to create a culture of recognizing, rewarding, and replicating
educational excellence, to authorize school turnaround grants, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 14, 2013
Mrs. Hagan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve outcomes for students in persistently low-performing
schools, to create a culture of recognizing, rewarding, and replicating
educational excellence, to authorize school turnaround grants, 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 ``School Turnaround and Rewards Act of
2013'' or the ``STAR Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to--
(1) significantly improve outcomes for students in
persistently low-performing schools by--
(A) building the capacity of State educational
agencies and local educational agencies to improve
student academic achievement in low-performing and
persistently low-performing schools;
(B) supporting States and local educational
agencies in implementing school intervention models;
and
(C) targeting State and local supports and
strategies on the persistently lowest-performing
schools in each State; and
(2) create a culture of recognizing, rewarding, and
replicating educational excellence in every State by--
(A) providing financial and other incentives and
rewards to schools that are identified as Reward
Schools; and
(B) supporting State educational agency efforts to
identify, collect, and disseminate effective practices
for increasing student academic achievement used by
Reward Schools.
TITLE I--BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS
SEC. 101. BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS.
(a) In General.--Section 1117 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6317) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 1117. BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS.
``(a) Program Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to assist
States and local educational agencies in identifying and rewarding
high-performing public schools.
``(b) Blue Ribbon Schools.--
``(1) Identification of blue ribbon schools.--Each State
receiving a grant under this part may--
``(A) define the category of blue ribbon schools,
consistent with paragraph (2), for the State as part of
its State plan in section 1111(b); and
``(B) identify, for each school year, the schools
in the State that are blue ribbon schools for such
year.
``(2) Blue ribbon school criteria.--
``(A) In general.--If a State elects to carry out
this subsection, the State's blue ribbon schools shall
consist of the top 5 percent of the State's public
elementary schools and secondary schools, as designated
by the State based on--
``(i) the percentage of students who are on
track to college and career readiness, as
defined by the Secretary, for English or
language arts, and mathematics;
``(ii) in the case of high schools, the
school's graduation rates;
``(iii) the performance of each subgroup of
students, as defined by the Secretary;
``(iv) student growth, as defined by the
Secretary; and
``(v) school gains.
``(B) Noneligibility for blue ribbon status.--A
school identified under section 1116(b) for a year
shall not be eligible for blue ribbon school status for
the same year.
``(c) Rewards for Blue Ribbon Schools.--
``(1) In general.--Each State that defines and identifies
blue ribbon schools under subsection (b)(1) for a school year
may--
``(A) provide each blue ribbon school in the State
with increased autonomy over the school's budget,
staffing, and time;
``(B) allow each blue ribbon school to have
flexibility in the use of any funds provided to the
school under this Act for any purpose allowed under
this Act (notwithstanding any other provision of this
Act), as long as such use is consistent with the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101), and part B of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act; and
``(C) reserve not more than .5 percent of the funds
allotted to the State under subpart 2 and use such
reserved amounts to distribute rewards, on a
competitive basis, to local educational agencies that
serve 1 or more blue ribbon schools identified under
subsection (b) that receive funds under subpart 2 to
enable the local educational agencies to provide awards
to such blue ribbon schools that receive funds under
such subpart.
``(2) Use of rewards.--As a condition of receiving an award
from a local educational agency under this subsection, a blue
ribbon school shall agree to use the award funds to--
``(A) improve student achievement; and
``(B) provide technical assistance to the lowest-
achieving schools in the State that have
characteristics similar to the blue ribbon school.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $300,000,000 for fiscal year
2014 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding
fiscal years.''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by striking
the item relating to section 1117 and inserting the following:
``Sec. 1117. Blue ribbon schools.''.
TITLE II--SCHOOL TURNAROUND
SEC. 201. SCHOOL TURNAROUND.
Section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 6316) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i) Persistently Low-Achieving Schools.--
``(1) Lowest-achieving schools in the state.--
``(A) In general.--Each State receiving a grant
under this part shall, beginning in the 2013-2014
school year and every year thereafter, determine the
lowest-achieving schools in the State, which shall
include--
``(i) the lowest-achieving 5 percent of
public high schools, and the lowest-achieving 5
percent of public elementary schools and
secondary schools that are not high schools, in
the State, based on--
``(I) student performance on the
State academic assessments in reading
or language arts, and mathematics,
including student absolute performance;
``(II) in the case of high schools,
graduation rates; and
``(III) if the State so chooses--
``(aa) schoolwide gains;
and
``(bb) absolute student
performance; and
``(ii) the public high schools in the State
that have less than a 60-percent graduation
rate.
``(B) Data rule.--In identifying the lowest-
achieving schools under this paragraph, a State shall--
``(i) use data for the most recent year for
which data are available; or
``(ii) average data for the most recent 2-
to 3-year period for which data are available.
``(C) Parental notification.--Each year, a State
shall provide timely notification to all parents of
students enrolled in each school identified under
subparagraph (A) that the school is one of the State's
lowest-achieving schools for such year.
``(D) List of targeted low-achieving schools.--Each
year, the State shall--
``(i) compile a list of the schools
identified under subparagraph (A) that--
``(I) receive assistance under this
part;
``(II) are public high schools for
which not less than 50 percent of each
school's students are from low-income
families, as determined by the local
educational agency under section 1113;
or
``(III) are public high schools
that have less than a 60-percent
graduation rate;
``(ii) submit the list described in clause
(i) to the Secretary;
``(iii) distribute the list described in
clause (i) to the local educational agencies,
elementary schools, and secondary schools in
the State; and
``(iv) make such list publicly available,
including through the Internet.
``(2) Identification as persistently low-achieving.--
``(A) Identification.--For the 2013-2014 school
year, each State receiving a grant under this part
shall identify each school included on the list under
paragraph (1)(D)(i) for the preceding school year as a
persistently low-achieving school. For the 2014-2015
school year, and each subsequent school year, each such
State shall identify each school that has been included
on the list under such paragraph for the 2 preceding
consecutive school years as a persistently low-
achieving school.
``(B) 5-year period.--A school that is identified
by the State under subparagraph (A) shall be a
persistently low-achieving school for the 5-year period
following the school's identification, except as
provided in paragraph (6).
``(3) State waiver.--If a State determines that all schools
that would otherwise be considered to be in the lowest-
achieving 5 percent of schools under paragraph (1)(A)(i) are
actually performing at a satisfactory level of performance
based on the measures used by the State to identify
persistently low-achieving schools, the State may apply to the
Secretary to waive the requirements of this subsection.
``(4) Needs analysis.--Each local educational agency
receiving assistance under this part shall conduct a data-
driven needs analysis, which may involve an external partner
with expertise in conducting such needs analysis, of each
school identified under paragraph (2) by the State to determine
the most appropriate school improvement strategies to improve
student performance. Such needs analysis shall include--
``(A) a diagnostic review of data related to
students and instructional staff;
``(B) an analysis of the school governance,
curriculum, instruction, student supports, conditions
for learning, and parent and family engagement
practices relative to the needs of the student
population; and
``(C) the resources, which may include community-
based supports and early childhood education and care,
available at the school, local educational agency, and
community levels to meet student needs and support
improved student achievement and outcomes and the
implementation of any school improvement strategy.
``(5) State and local responsibilities.--
``(A) State responsibilities.--Each State receiving
a grant under this part shall ensure that a local
educational agency receiving assistance carries out the
requirements of subparagraph (B) for each persistently
low-achieving school in the State.
``(B) Local educational agency responsibilities.--
Each local educational agency receiving assistance
under this part shall, consistent with the State's
accountability system under section 1111, for each
school identified under paragraph (2) that it serves--
``(i) establish a process for selecting an
appropriate school improvement strategy for the
school that uses information from the needs
analysis under paragraph (4);
``(ii) select the school improvement
strategy to be used in each identified school
and the timeline for implementing the selected
school improvement strategy in such school;
``(iii) develop a detailed budget covering
the 5-year identification period, including
planned expenditures at the school level for
activities supporting full and effective
implementation of the selected school
improvement strategy;
``(iv) implement a school improvement
strategy at the school in accordance with the
requirements of paragraph (6);
``(v) use appropriate measures to monitor
the effectiveness of the implementation;
``(vi) review and select turnaround
partners to assist in implementing school
improvement strategies;
``(vii) align other Federal, State, and
local resources with the school improvement
strategy;
``(viii) provide the school with the
operational flexibility, including autonomy
over staffing, time, and budget, needed to
enable full and effective implementation of the
selected strategy, including through the
modification of practices or policies, if
necessary;
``(ix) collect and use data on an ongoing
basis to adjust implementation of the school
improvement strategy to improve student
achievement;
``(x) provide an assurance that the
implementation of the selected school
improvement strategy addresses the needs of all
the subgroups of students;
``(xi) take steps to sustain successful
reforms and practices after the school is no
longer identified under paragraph (2); and
``(xii) provide technical assistance and
other support to ensure effective
implementation of the school improvement
strategy in the school, which may include
assistance in--
``(I) data collection and analysis;
``(II) recruiting and retaining
staff;
``(III) teacher and principal
evaluation;
``(IV) professional development;
``(V) parent and family engagement;
``(VI) coordination of services
with early childhood education and care
providers;
``(VII) coordination of services to
address students' social, emotional,
and health needs; and
``(VIII) monitoring the
implementation of the school
improvement strategy selected under
paragraph (6).
``(C) State as local educational agency.--A State
may take over a persistently low-achieving school and
act as the local educational agency for purposes of
this subsection, if permitted under State law.
``(6) School improvement strategies.--
``(A) Required activities for all school
improvement strategies.--A local educational agency
implementing any strategies under this paragraph for a
school shall--
``(i) provide staff at the school with
ongoing professional development, consistent
with the needs analysis described in paragraph
(4);
``(ii) conduct regular evaluations for the
teachers and principals at the school that
provide specific feedback on areas of strength
and in need of improvement;
``(iii) provide time for collaboration
among instructional staff at the school to
improve student achievement;
``(iv) provide instructional staff at the
school with timely access to student data to
inform instruction and meet the academic needs
of individual students, which may include, in
elementary school, school readiness data;
``(v) collaborate with parents, the
community, teachers, and other school personnel
at the school on the selection and
implementation of the strategy;
``(vi) use data to identify and implement a
research-based instructional program that--
``(I) analyzes student progress and
performance and develops appropriate
interventions for students who are not
making adequate progress; and
``(II) provides differentiated
instruction and related instructional
supports;
``(vii) in the case of an elementary school
with kindergarten entry, consider the issue of
school readiness in such school by--
``(I) examining factors that
contribute to school readiness as part
of the needs analysis conducted under
paragraph (4); and
``(II) if school readiness is
identified in the needs analysis as an
area in need of improvement--
``(aa) coordinating with
appropriate early childhood
programs, such as programs
under the Child Care
Development and Block Grant Act
of 1990, the Head Start Act,
prekindergarten programs, and
other similar Federal, State,
and local programs, in order to
align instruction to better
prepare students for elementary
school; and
``(bb) developing a plan to
improve or expand early
childhood options which may
include the use of funds under
this part for such purposes;
``(viii) provide ongoing mechanisms for
parent and family engagement; and
``(ix) provide appropriate services and
supports for students as identified in the
school's needs analysis.
``(B) Strategies.--A local educational agency shall
identify a school improvement strategy for a school
from among the following strategies:
``(i) Transformation model.--A
transformation model is one in which the local
educational agency--
``(I) if the principal has led the
school for 2 or more years, replaces
the principal with a new principal who
has demonstrated effectiveness in
turning around a low-performing school;
``(II) uses rigorous, transparent,
and equitable evaluation systems to--
``(aa) identify and reward
school leaders, teachers, and
other staff who, in
implementing the model,
increase student achievement
and, if applicable, high school
graduation rates; and
``(bb) identify and remove
school leaders, teachers, and
other staff who, after ample
opportunities have been
provided for such individuals
to improve their professional
practice--
``(AA) do not
increase student
achievement;
``(BB) if
applicable, do not
increase high school
graduation rates; and
``(CC) have not
demonstrated
effectiveness according
to the local
educational agency's
evaluation system;
``(III) provides staff with
ongoing, high-quality, job-embedded
professional development that is
aligned with the school's instructional
program and evaluation system and
facilitates effective teaching and
learning, and supports the
implementation of school-reform
strategies;
``(IV) implements strategies, such
as financial incentives, increased
opportunities for promotion and career
growth, and more flexible work
conditions that are designed to
recruit, place, and retain staff with
the skills necessary to meet the needs
of the students in the school;
``(V) uses data to identify and
implement a research-based
instructional program that--
``(aa) is aligned with
State challenging academic
content standards and
challenging student academic
achievement standards; and
``(bb) has proven to raise
student academic achievement by
not less than 10 percent in 1
year;
``(VI) establishes schedules and
strategies that provide increased
learning time, which may include
offering full-day kindergarten or a
high-quality preschool program or using
a longer school day, week, or year that
increases the total number of school
hours for the school year at a school
by not fewer than 300 hours to
significantly increase the total number
of school hours to include additional
time for--
``(aa) instruction in core
academic subjects, instructions
in such core academic subjects
as, English, reading or
language arts, mathematics,
science, foreign languages,
civics and government,
economics, arts, history, and
geography; and
``(bb) instruction in other
subjects and enrichment
activities that contribute to a
well-rounded education, such as
physical education, service
learning, and experiential and
work-based learning
opportunities that are provided
by partnering, as appropriate,
with other organizations;
``(VII) promotes the continuous use
of student data to provide instruction
that meets the academic needs of
individual students, which may include,
in elementary school, individual
students' levels of school readiness;
``(VIII) establishes schedules and
strategies that provide increased
learning time, which may include
expanding the school program to offer
full-day kindergarten or a high-quality
preschool program;
``(IX) provides ongoing mechanisms
for family and community engagement;
``(X) gives the school sufficient
operational flexibility in programming,
staffing, budgeting, and scheduling to
fully implement a comprehensive
strategy designed to substantially
improve student achievement and, if
applicable, increase the graduation
rate;
``(XI) ensures that the school
receives ongoing, intensive technical
assistance and related support from the
local educational agency, the State
educational agency, or a designated
external lead partner organization; and
``(XII) provides appropriate
social-emotional and community-oriented
services and supports for students and,
at the discretion of the local
educational agency, uses not more than
10 percent of the funds available for
such school under this part to provide
services to meet those needs.
``(ii) Restart model.--A restart model is
one in which the local educational agency--
``(I) converts a school or closes
and reopens the school--
``(aa) under a charter
school operator, a charter
management organization, or an
education management
organization; or
``(bb) as an autonomous or
redesigned school;
``(II) implements a rigorous review
process to select such a charter school
operator, charter management
organization, or education management
organization, as applicable, which
includes an assurance from such
operator or organization that it will
make significant changes in the
leadership and staffing of the school;
and
``(III) enrolls in the school,
within the grades it serves, any former
student who wishes to attend the
school.
``(iii) School closure.--A school closure
model is one in which the local educational
agency--
``(I) closes a school and enrolls
the students who attended such school
in other public schools served by the
local educational agency that are
higher performing, provided the other
schools are within reasonable proximity
to the closed school; and
``(II) provides information, in a
timely fashion, in the appropriate
language, and prior to closing the
school, to children who attended such
closed school and their parents, about
high-quality educational options and
transition and support services.
``(iv) Turnaround model.--A turnaround
model is one in which the local educational
agency--
``(I) if the principal has led the
school for 2 or more years, replaces
the principal with a new principal who
has demonstrated effectiveness in
turning around a low-performing school;
``(II) gives the new principal
sufficient operational flexibility
(including over staffing, the school
day and school calendar, and budgeting)
to fully implement a comprehensive
approach to improve student outcomes;
``(III) using comprehensive
evaluation systems, including the use
of student achievement data to measure
the effectiveness of staff who can work
within the turnaround environment to
meet the needs of students--
``(aa) screens all existing
staff and retains not more than
50 percent of such staff; and
``(bb) requires the
principal to justify personnel
decisions, such as hiring,
dismissal, and providing
rewards, based on results of
such evaluations;
``(IV) provides staff with ongoing,
high-quality, job-embedded professional
development that is aligned with the
school's instructional program,
facilitates effective teaching and
learning, and supports the
implementation of school-reform
strategies;
``(V) adopts a new governance
structure for the school, which may
include requiring the school to report
to a new turnaround office in the local
educational agency or State educational
agency, hire a turnaround leader who
reports directly to the Superintendent
or Chief Academic Officer, or enter
into a multi-year agreement with the
local educational agency or State
educational agency to obtain added
flexibility in exchange for greater
accountability;
``(VI) uses data to identify and
implement a research-based
instructional program and promotes the
continuous use of data to evaluate
school improvement strategies and to
inform the differentiated instruction
in order to meet the academic needs of
individual students;
``(VII) encourages the use of
extended learning time partnerships;
``(VIII) establishes schedules and
strategies that provide increased
learning time, which may include
offering full-day kindergarten or a
high-quality preschool program or using
a longer school day, week, or year that
increases the total number of school
hours for the school year at a school
by not fewer than 300 hours to
significantly increase the total number
of school hours to include additional
time for--
``(aa) instruction in such
core academic subjects as
English, reading or language
arts, mathematics, science,
foreign languages, civics and
government, economics, arts,
history, and geography;
``(bb) instruction in other
subjects and enrichment
activities that contribute to a
well-rounded education, such as
physical education, service
learning, and experiential and
work-based learning
opportunities that are provided
by partnering, as appropriate,
with other organizations; and
``(cc) teachers to
collaborate, plan, and engage
in professional development
within and across grades and
subjects;
``(IX) provides ongoing mechanisms
for family and community engagement;
``(X) provides appropriate social-
emotional and community-oriented
services and supports for students; and
``(XI) may include any of the
strategies described in clause (i).
``(C) Using funds for comprehensive services to
address issues.--In implementing any of the school
intervention models described in subparagraph (B), the
local educational agency--
``(i) shall identify and address issues
that may contribute to low academic achievement
in those schools; and
``(ii) may use funds under this subsection
to provide comprehensive services to address
those issues and meet the full range of student
needs.
``(7) Reservation and allotments.--From the total amount
appropriated under paragraph (8), the Secretary may reserve not
more than 10 percent to carry out activities of national
significance, such as--
``(A) building State and local educational agency
turnaround capacity, including through technical
assistance and support, identification and
dissemination of best practices, and facilitating the
creation and operation of communities of practice;
``(B) supporting the use of school quality review
teams by making grants to State educational agencies,
consortia of such agencies, or partnerships of State
educational agencies or State consortia and public or
private nonprofit organizations to develop and
implement school quality review teams that review and
provide support and technical assistance to local
educational agencies and schools for activities such as
expanded learning time;
``(C) identifying and disseminating effective rural
turnaround practices, making available targeted
technical assistance, and expanding the availability
and capacity of turnaround partners that operate in
rural areas;
``(D) identifying schools and school improvement
partners that are effectively implementing school
intervention models and other effective strategies to
improve schools, and making information on those
schools available to State educational agencies, local
educational agencies, and schools in a manner that
facilitates replication of effective practices; and
``(E) other activities designed to support State
and local efforts to turn around persistently low-
performing schools.
``(8) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection
$600,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and such sums as may be
necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
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