§ 6311. State plans

§ 6311. State plans

(a) Filing for grants

(1) In general For any State desiring to receive a grant under this part, the State educational agency shall file with the Secretary a plan that is—

(A) developed by the State educational agency with timely and meaningful consultation with the Governor, members of the State legislature and State board of education (if the State has a State board of education), local educational agencies (including those located in rural areas), representatives of Indian tribes located in the State, teachers, principals, other school leaders, charter school leaders (if the State has charter schools), specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, administrators, other staff, and parents; and

(B) is coordinated with other programs under this chapter, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (20 U.S.C. 701 et seq.),11 So in original. Probably should be “(29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.),”. the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.),22 So in original. Probably should be “9857 et seq.),”. the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.), the Education 33 So in original. Probably should be “Educational”. Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9601 et. seq.), the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9621 et seq.), the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.), and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 3271 et seq.).

(2) Limitation Consultation required under paragraph (1)(A) shall not interfere with the timely submission of the plan required under this section.

(3) Consolidated plan A State plan submitted under paragraph (1) may be submitted as part of a consolidated plan under section 7842 of this title.

(4) Peer review and Secretarial approval

(A) In general The Secretary shall—

(i) establish a peer-review process to assist in the review of State plans;

(ii) establish multidisciplinary peer-review teams and appoint members of such teams—

(I) who are representative of—

(aa) parents, teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and the community (including the business community); and

(bb) researchers who are familiar with—

(AA) the implementation of academic standards, assessments, or accountability systems; and

(BB) how to meet the needs of disadvantaged students, children with disabilities, and English learners, the needs of low-performing schools, and other educational needs of students;

(II) that include, to the extent practicable, majority representation of individuals who, in the most recent 2 years, have had practical experience in the classroom, school administration, or State or local government (such as direct employees of a school, local educational agency, or State educational agency); and

(III) who represent a regionally diverse cross-section of States;

(iii) make available to the public, including by such means as posting to the Department’s website, the list of peer reviewers who have reviewed State plans under this section;

(iv) ensure that the peer-review teams consist of varied individuals so that the same peer reviewers are not reviewing all of the State plans;

(v) approve a State plan not later than 120 days after its submission, unless the Secretary meets the requirements of clause (vi);

(vi) have the authority to disapprove a State plan only if—

(I) the Secretary—

(aa) determines how the State plan fails to meet the requirements of this section;

(bb) immediately provides to the State, in writing, notice of such determination, and the supporting information and rationale to substantiate such determination;

(cc) offers the State an opportunity to revise and resubmit its State plan, and provides the State—

(AA) technical assistance to assist the State in meeting the requirements of this section;

(BB) in writing, all peer-review comments, suggestions, recommendations, or concerns relating to its State plan; and

(CC) a hearing, unless the State declines the opportunity for such hearing; and

(II) the State—

(aa) does not revise and resubmit its State plan; or

(bb) in a case in which a State revises and resubmits its State plan after a hearing is conducted under subclause (I)(cc)(CC), or after the State has declined the opportunity for such a hearing, the Secretary determines that such revised State plan does not meet the requirements of this section.

(B) Purpose of peer review The peer-review process shall be designed to—

(i) maximize collaboration with each State;

(ii) promote effective implementation of the challenging State academic standards through State and local innovation; and

(iii) provide transparent, timely, and objective feedback to States designed to strengthen the technical and overall quality of the State plans.

(C) Standard and nature of review Peer reviewers shall conduct an objective review of State plans in their totality and out of respect for State and local judgments, with the goal of supporting State- and local-led innovation and providing objective feedback on the technical and overall quality of a State plan.

(D) Prohibition Neither the Secretary nor the political appointees of the Department, may attempt to participate in, or influence, the peer-review process.

(5) Public review All written communications, feedback, and notifications under this subsection shall be conducted in a manner that is transparent and immediately made available to the public on the Department’s website, including—

(A) plans submitted or resubmitted by a State;

(B) peer-review guidance, notes, and comments and the names of the peer reviewers (once the peer reviewers have completed their work);

(C) State plan determinations by the Secretary, including approvals or disapprovals; and

(D) notices and transcripts of hearings under this section.

(6) Duration of the plan

(A) In general Each State plan shall—

(i) remain in effect for the duration of the State’s participation under this part; and

(ii) be periodically reviewed and revised as necessary by the State educational agency to reflect changes in the State’s strategies and programs under this part.

(B) Additional information

(i) In general If a State makes significant changes to its plan at any time, such as the adoption of new challenging State academic standards or new academic assessments under subsection (b), or changes to its accountability system under subsection (c), such information shall be submitted to the Secretary in the form of revisions or amendments to the State plan.

(ii) Review of revised plans The Secretary shall review the information submitted under clause (i) and approve changes to the State plan, or disapprove such changes in accordance with paragraph (4)(A)(vi), within 90 days, without undertaking the peer-review process under such paragraph.

(iii) Special rule for standards If a State makes changes to its challenging State academic standards, the requirements of subsection (b)(1), including the requirement that such standards need not be submitted to the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A), shall still apply.

(7) Failure to meet requirements If a State fails to meet any of the requirements of this section, the Secretary may withhold funds for State administration under this part until the Secretary determines that the State has fulfilled those requirements.

(8) Public comment Each State shall make the State plan publicly available for public comment for a period of not less than 30 days, by electronic means and in an easily accessible format, prior to submission to the Secretary for approval under this subsection. The State, in the plan it files under this subsection, shall provide an assurance that public comments were taken into account in the development of the State plan.

(b) Challenging academic standards and academic assessments

(1) Challenging State academic standards

(A) In general Each State, in the plan it files under subsection (a), shall provide an assurance that the State has adopted challenging academic content standards and aligned academic achievement standards (referred to in this chapter as “challenging State academic standards”), which achievement standards shall include not less than 3 levels of achievement, that will be used by the State, its local educational agencies, and its schools to carry out this part. A State shall not be required to submit such challenging State academic standards to the Secretary.

(B) Same standards Except as provided in subparagraph (E), the standards required by subparagraph (A) shall—

(i) apply to all public schools and public school students in the State; and

(ii) with respect to academic achievement standards, include the same knowledge, skills, and levels of achievement expected of all public school students in the State.

(C) Subjects The State shall have such academic standards for mathematics, reading or language arts, and science, and may have such standards for any other subject determined by the State.

(D) Alignment

(i) In general Each State shall demonstrate that the challenging State academic standards are aligned with entrance requirements for credit-bearing coursework in the system of public higher education in the State and relevant State career and technical education standards.

(ii) Rule of construction Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize public institutions of higher education to determine the specific challenging State academic standards required under this paragraph.

(E) Alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities

(i) In general The State may, through a documented and validated standards-setting process, adopt alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, provided those standards—

(I) are aligned with the challenging State academic content standards under subparagraph (A);

(II) promote access to the general education curriculum, consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.);

(III) reflect professional judgment as to the highest possible standards achievable by such students;

(IV) are designated in the individualized education program developed under section 614(d)(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(3)) for each such student as the academic achievement standards that will be used for the student; and

(V) are aligned to ensure that a student who meets the alternate academic achievement standards is on track to pursue postsecondary education or employment, consistent with the purposes of Public Law 93–112 [29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.], as in effect on July 22, 2014.

(ii) Prohibition on any other alternate or modified academic achievement standards A State shall not develop, or implement for use under this part, any alternate academic achievement standards for children with disabilities that are not alternate academic achievement standards that meet the requirements of clause (i).

(F) English language proficiency standards Each State plan shall demonstrate that the State has adopted English language proficiency standards that—

(i) are derived from the 4 recognized domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing;

(ii) address the different proficiency levels of English learners; and

(iii) are aligned with the challenging State academic standards.

(G) Prohibitions

(i) Standards review or approval A State shall not be required to submit any standards developed under this subsection to the Secretary for review or approval.

(ii) Federal control The Secretary shall not have the authority to mandate, direct, control, coerce, or exercise any direction or supervision over any of the challenging State academic standards adopted or implemented by a State.

(H) Existing standards Nothing in this part shall prohibit a State from revising, consistent with this section, any standards adopted under this part before or after December 10, 2015.

(2) Academic assessments

(A) In general Each State plan shall demonstrate that the State educational agency, in consultation with local educational agencies, has implemented a set of high-quality student academic assessments in mathematics, reading or language arts, and science. The State retains the right to implement such assessments in any other subject chosen by the State.

(B) Requirements The assessments under subparagraph (A) shall—

except that such disaggregation shall not be required in the case of a State, local educational agency, or a school in which the number of students in a subgroup is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student;

(i) except as provided in subparagraph (D), be—

(I) the same academic assessments used to measure the achievement of all public elementary school and secondary school students in the State; and

(II) administered to all public elementary school and secondary school students in the State;

(ii) be aligned with the challenging State academic standards, and provide coherent and timely information about student attainment of such standards and whether the student is performing at the student’s grade level;

(iii) be used for purposes for which such assessments are valid and reliable, consistent with relevant, nationally recognized professional and technical testing standards, objectively measure academic achievement, knowledge, and skills, and be tests that do not evaluate or assess personal or family beliefs and attitudes, or publicly disclose personally identifiable information;

(iv) be of adequate technical quality for each purpose required under this chapter and consistent with the requirements of this section, the evidence of which shall be made public, including on the website of the State educational agency;

(v)

(I) in the case of mathematics and reading or language arts, be administered—

(aa) in each of grades 3 through 8; and

(bb) at least once in grades 9 through 12;

(II) in the case of science, be administered not less than one time during—

(aa) grades 3 through 5;

(bb) grades 6 through 9; and

(cc) grades 10 through 12; and

(III) in the case of any other subject chosen by the State, be administered at the discretion of the State;

(vi) involve multiple up-to-date measures of student academic achievement, including measures that assess higher-order thinking skills and understanding, which may include measures of student academic growth and may be partially delivered in the form of portfolios, projects, or extended performance tasks;

(vii) provide for—

(I) the participation in such assessments of all students;

(II) the appropriate accommodations, such as interoperability with, and ability to use, assistive technology, for children with disabilities (as defined in section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(3))), including students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, and students with a disability who are provided accommodations under an Act other than the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), necessary to measure the academic achievement of such children relative to the challenging State academic standards or alternate academic achievement standards described in paragraph (1)(E); and

(III) the inclusion of English learners, who shall be assessed in a valid and reliable manner and provided appropriate accommodations on assessments administered to such students under this paragraph, including, to the extent practicable, assessments in the language and form most likely to yield accurate data on what such students know and can do in academic content areas, until such students have achieved English language proficiency, as determined under subparagraph (G);

(viii) at the State’s discretion—

(I) be administered through a single summative assessment; or

(II) be administered through multiple statewide interim assessments during the course of the academic year that result in a single summative score that provides valid, reliable, and transparent information on student achievement or growth;

(ix) notwithstanding clause (vii)(III), provide for assessments (using tests in English) of reading or language arts of any student who has attended school in the United States (not including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) for 3 or more consecutive school years, except that if the local educational agency determines, on a case-by-case individual basis, that academic assessments in another language or form would likely yield more accurate and reliable information on what such student knows and can do, the local educational agency may make a determination to assess such student in the appropriate language other than English for a period that does not exceed 2 additional consecutive years, provided that such student has not yet reached a level of English language proficiency sufficient to yield valid and reliable information on what such student knows and can do on tests (written in English) of reading or language arts;

(x) produce individual student interpretive, descriptive, and diagnostic reports, consistent with clause (iii), regarding achievement on such assessments that allow parents, teachers, principals, and other school leaders to understand and address the specific academic needs of students, and that are provided to parents, teachers, and school leaders, as soon as is practicable after the assessment is given, in an understandable and uniform format, and to the extent practicable, in a language that parents can understand;

(xi) enable results to be disaggregated within each State, local educational agency, and school by—

(I) each major racial and ethnic group;