H.R. 838 — A PLUS Act

This section states the purposes of the Act: (1) to provide states and local communities flexibility to improve academic achievement and implement education reforms; (2) to reduce administrative costs and compliance burdens of federal education programs to focus resources on improving academic achievement; and (3) to ensure states and communities are accountable to the public for advancing academic achievement of all students, especially disadvantaged children.

This section defines terms used in the Act as follows: (1) generally incorporates the meanings given in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), except as otherwise provided; (2) "accountability" as public schools being answerable to parents and other taxpayers for the use of public funds and regularly reporting student progress to parents and taxpayers; (3) "declaration of intent" as a decision by a state, as determined by state authorizing officials or by referendum, to assume full management responsibility for the expenditure of federal funds for certain eligible programs to advance the state's educational policy on a more comprehensive and effective basis; (4) "State" as defined in section 1122(e) of the ESEA; (5) "State Authorizing Officials" as the state officials who authorize the submission of a declaration of intent (or amendments thereto) on behalf of the state, including not less than two of the governor, highest elected education official (if any), or legislature; and (6) "State Designated Officer" as the person designated by the state authorizing officials to submit a declaration of intent (or amendments thereto) to the Secretary on behalf of the state and to serve as the state's point-of-contact for related responsibilities.

This section authorizes each state to submit a declaration of intent to the Secretary of Education to consolidate and manage federal funds for any program whose purpose aligns with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.)—i.e., to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education and to close educational achievement gaps—excluding programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.). Under such a declaration, states may use consolidated funds for any educational purpose permitted by state law; must modify or eliminate state fiscal and accounting barriers to enable local educational agencies and schools to consolidate federal, state, and local funds; and must include specified contents such as a program list, duration (not exceeding five years), and assurances on fiscal controls, civil rights compliance, advancing opportunities for the disadvantaged, parent accountability, and supplementing (not supplanting) state funding. The Secretary must review and recognize a declaration within 60 days of receipt unless it fails required contents, with automatic approval if no action is taken; states may amend declarations to expand or reduce program scope, modify duration, or make other changes, with program requirements reinstated for withdrawn programs on the specified effective date.

This section requires each state operating under a declaration of intent under this Act to inform parents and the public about its student achievement assessment system—demonstrating student progress relative to the state's proficiency standards for accountability purposes—and to establish an accountability system. Not later than one year after the effective date of such declaration and annually thereafter, the state must widely disseminate to parents and the public a report on student progress that includes (1) student performance data disaggregated as required under ESEA section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) (i.e., by subgroups such as major racial and ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged students, children with disabilities, and English learners); and (2) a description of the state's use of federal funds to improve academic achievement, reduce achievement gaps among student groups, and expand opportunities for disadvantaged students.

This section limits a state's administrative expenses under a declaration of intent to 1% of the aggregate amount of federal funds made available through the included eligible programs. If the declaration excludes part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (i.e., grants to local educational agencies for disadvantaged students), the limit increases to 3% of such aggregate funds.

This section requires each state consolidating and using funds pursuant to a declaration of intent under this Act to provide for the participation of private school children and teachers in the assisted activities in the same manner as under section 8501 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881). (That section generally requires state and local educational agencies receiving ESEA funds to consult with private school officials and provide private school children, teachers, and personnel with an equitable share of secular educational services and benefits, comparable to those for public school participants.)