A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965

SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.

``SECTION 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

``TITLE I--HELPING DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN MEET HIGH STANDARDS

``SEC. 1001. DECLARATION OF POLICY AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

``(a) Statement of Policy.--

``(1) In general.--The Congress declares it to be the policy of the United States that a high-quality education for all individuals and a fair and equal opportunity to obtain that education are a societal good, are a moral imperative, and improve the life of every individual, because the quality of our individual lives ultimately depends on the quality of the lives of others.

``(2) Additional policy.--The Congress further declares it to be the policy of the United States to expand the program authorized by this title over the fiscal years 1996 through 1999 by increasing funding for this title by at least $750,000,000 over baseline each fiscal year and thereby increasing the percentage of eligible children served in each fiscal year with the intent of serving all eligible children by fiscal year 2004.

``(b) Recognition of Need.--The Congress recognizes that--

``(1) although the achievement gap between disadvantaged children and other children has been reduced by half over the past two decades, a sizable gap remains, and many segments of our society lack the opportunity to become well educated;

``(2) the most urgent need for educational improvement is in schools with high concentrations of children from low-income families and achieving the National Education Goals will not be possible without substantial improvement in such schools;

``(3) educational needs are particularly great for low-achieving children in our Nation's highest-poverty schools, children with limited English proficiency, children of migrant workers, children with disabilities, Indian children, children who are neglected or delinquent, and young children and their parents who are in need of family-literacy services;

``(4) while title I and other programs funded under this Act contribute to narrowing the achievement gap between children in high-poverty and low-poverty schools, such programs need to become even more effective in improving schools in order to enable all children to achieve high standards; and

``(5) in order for all students to master challenging standards in core academic subjects as described in the third National Education Goal described in section 102(3) of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, students and schools will need to maximize the time spent on teaching and learning the core academic subjects.

``(c) What Has Been Learned Since 1988.--To enable schools to provide all children a high-quality education, this title builds upon the following learned information:

``(1) All children can master challenging content and complex problem-solving skills. Research clearly shows that children, including low-achieving children, can succeed when expectations are high and all children are given the opportunity to learn challenging material.

``(2) Conditions outside the classroom such as hunger, unsafe living conditions, homelessness, unemployment, violence, inadequate health care, child abuse, and drug and alcohol abuse can adversely affect children's academic achievement and must be addressed through the coordination of services, such as health and social services, in order for the Nation to meet the National Education Goals.

``(3) Use of low-level tests that are not aligned with schools' curricula fails to provide adequate information about what children know and can do and encourages curricula and instruction that focus on the low-level skills measured by such tests.

``(4) Resources are more effective when resources are used to ensure that children have full access to effective high-quality regular school programs and receive supplemental help through extended-time activities.

``(5) Intensive and sustained professional development for teachers and other school staff, focused on teaching and learning and on helping children attain high standards, is too often not provided.

``(6) Insufficient attention and resources are directed toward the effective use of technology in schools and the role technology can play in professional development and improved teaching and learning.

``(7) All parents can contribute to their children's success by helping at home and becoming partners with teachers so that children can achieve high standards.

``(8) Decentralized decisionmaking is a key ingredient of systemic reform. Schools need the resources, flexibility, and authority to design and implement effective strategies for bringing their children to high levels of performance.

``(9) Opportunities for students to achieve high standards can be enhanced through a variety of approaches such as public school choice and public charter schools.

``(10) Attention to academics alone cannot ensure that all children will reach high standards. The health and other needs of children that affect learning are frequently unmet, particularly in high-poverty schools, thereby necessitating coordination of services to better meet children's needs.

``(11) Resources provided under this title can be better targeted on the highest-poverty local educational agencies and schools that have children most in need.

``(12) Equitable and sufficient resources, particularly as such resources relate to the quality of the teaching force, have an integral relationship to high student achievement.

``(d) Statement of Purpose.--The purpose of this title is to enable schools to provide opportunities for children served to acquire the knowledge and skills contained in the challenging State content standards and to meet the challenging State performance standards developed for all children. This purpose shall be accomplished by--

``(1) ensuring high standards for all children and aligning the efforts of States, local educational agencies, and schools to help children served under this title to reach such standards;

``(2) providing children an enriched and accelerated educational program, including, when appropriate, the use of the arts, through schoolwide programs or through additional services that increase the amount and quality of instructional time so that children served under this title receive at least the classroom instruction that other children receive;

``(3) promoting schoolwide reform and ensuring access of children (from the earliest grades) to effective instructional strategies and challenging academic content that includes intensive complex thinking and problem-solving experiences;

``(4) significantly upgrading the quality of instruction by providing staff in participating schools with substantial opportunities for professional development;

``(5) coordinating services under all parts of this title with each other, with other educational services, and, to the extent feasible, with health and social service programs funded from other sources;

``(6) affording parents meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children at home and at school;

``(7) distributing resources, in amounts sufficient to make a difference, to areas and schools where needs are greatest;

``(8) improving accountability, as well as teaching and learning, by using State assessment systems designed to measure how well children served under this title are achieving challenging State student performance standards expected of all children; and

``(9) providing greater decisionmaking authority and flexibility to schools and teachers in exchange for greater responsibility for student performance.

SEC. 1002. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.