20 U.S. Code § 9871 - Alignment of secondary school graduation requirements with the demands of 21st century postsecondary endeavors and support for P–16 education data systems

(a) Purpose

It is the purpose of this section—

(1) to promote more accountability with respect to preparation for higher education, the 21st century workforce, and the Armed Forces, by aligning—

(A) student knowledge, student skills, State academic content standards and assessments, and curricula, in elementary and secondary education, especially with respect to mathematics, science, reading, and, where applicable, engineering and technology; with

(B) the demands of higher education, the 21st century workforce, and the Armed Forces;

(2) to support the establishment or improvement of statewide P–16 education data systems that—

(A) assist States in improving the rigor and quality of State academic content standards and assessments;

(B) ensure students are prepared to succeed in—

(i) academic credit-bearing coursework in higher education without the need for remediation;

(ii) the 21st century workforce; or

(iii) the Armed Forces; and

(3) enable [1] States to have valid and reliable information to inform education policy and practice.

(b) Definitions

In this section:

(1) P–16 education

The term “P–16 education” means the educational system from preschool through the conferring of a baccalaureate degree.

(2) Statewide partnership

The term “statewide partnership” means a partnership that—

(A) shall include—

(i) the Governor of the State or the designee of the Governor;

(ii) the heads of the State systems for public higher education, or, if such a position does not exist, not less than 1 representative of a public degree-granting institution of higher education;

(iii) a representative of the agencies in the State that administer Federal or State-funded early childhood education programs;

(iv) not less than 1 representative of a public community college;

(v) not less than 1 representative of a technical school;

(vi) not less than 1 representative of a public secondary school;

(vii) the chief State school officer;

(viii) the chief executive officer of the State higher education coordinating board;

(ix) not less than 1 public elementary school teacher employed in the State;

(x) not less than 1 early childhood educator in the State;

(xi) not less than 1 public secondary school teacher employed in the State;

(xii) not less than 1 representative of the business community in the State; and

(xiii) not less than 1 member of the Armed Forces; and

(B) may include other individuals or representatives of other organizations, such as a school administrator, a faculty member at an institution of higher education, a member of a civic or community organization, a representative from a private institution of higher education, a dean or similar representative of a school of education at an institution of higher education or a similar teacher certification or licensure program, or the State official responsible for economic development.

(c) Grants authorized

The Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to States to enable each such State to work with a statewide partnership—

(1) to promote better alignment of content knowledge requirements for secondary school graduation with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education, the 21st century workforce, or the Armed Forces; or

(2) to establish or improve a statewide P–16 education data system.

(d) Period of grants; non-renewability

(1) Grant period

The Secretary shall award a grant under this section for a period of not more than 3 years.

(2) Non-renewability

The Secretary shall not award a State more than 1 grant under this section.

(e) Authorized activities

(1) Grants for P–16 alignment

Each State receiving a grant under subsection (c)(1)—

(A) shall use the grant funds for—

(i) identifying and describing the content knowledge and skills students who enter institutions of higher education, the workforce, and the Armed Forces need to have in order to succeed without any remediation based on detailed requirements obtained from institutions of higher education, employers, and the Armed Forces;

(ii) identifying and making changes that need to be made to a State’s secondary school graduation requirements, academic content standards, academic achievement standards, and assessments preceding graduation from secondary school in order to align the requirements, standards, and assessments with the knowledge and skills necessary for success in academic credit-bearing coursework in postsecondary education, in the 21st century workforce, and in the Armed Forces without the need for remediation;

(iii) convening stakeholders within the State and creating a forum for identifying and deliberating on education issues that—

(I) involve preschool through grade 12 education, postsecondary education, the 21st century workforce, and the Armed Forces; and

(II) transcend any single system of education’s ability to address; and

(iv) implementing activities designed to ensure the enrollment of all elementary school and secondary school students in rigorous coursework, which may include—

(I) specifying the courses and performance levels necessary for acceptance into institutions of higher education; and

(II) developing or providing guidance to local educational agencies within the State on the adoption of curricula and assessments aligned with State academic content standards, which assessments may be used as measures of student academic achievement in secondary school as well as for entrance or placement at institutions of higher education, including through collaboration with institutions of higher education in, or State educational agencies serving, other States; and

(B) may use the grant funds for—

(i) developing and making available specific opportunities for extensive professional development for teachers, paraprofessionals, principals, and school administrators, including collection and dissemination of effective teaching practices to improve instruction and instructional support mechanisms;

(ii) identifying changes in State academic content standards, academic achievement standards, and assessments for students in grades preceding secondary school in order to ensure such standards and assessments are appropriately aligned and adequately reflect the content needed to prepare students to enter secondary school;

(iii) developing a plan to provide remediation and additional learning opportunities for students who are performing below grade level to ensure that all students will have the opportunity to meet secondary school graduation requirements;

(iv) identifying and addressing teacher certification needs; or

(v) incorporating 21st century learning skills into the State plan, which skills shall include critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, global awareness, and business and financial literacy.

(2) Grants for statewide P–16 education data systems

(A) Establishment of system

Each State that receives a grant under subsection (c)(2) shall establish a statewide P–16 education longitudinal data system that—

(i) provides each student, upon enrollment in a public elementary school or secondary school in the State, with a unique identifier, such as a bar code, that—

(I) does not permit a student to be individually identified by users of the system; and

(II) is retained throughout the student’s enrollment in P–16 education in the State; and

(ii) meets the requirements of subparagraphs (B) through (E).

(B) Improvement of existing system

Each State that receives a grant under subsection (c)(2) for the improvement of a statewide P–16 education data system may employ, coordinate, or revise an existing statewide data system to establish a statewide longitudinal P–16 education data system that meets the requirements of subparagraph (A), if the statewide longitudinal P–16 education data system produces valid and reliable data.

(C) Privacy and access to data

(i) In general

Each State that receives a grant under subsection (c)(2) shall implement measures to—

(I) ensure that the statewide P–16 education data system meets the requirements of section 1232g of this title (commonly known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974);

(II) limit the use of information in the statewide P–16 education data system by institutions of higher education and State or local educational agencies or institutions to the activities set forth in paragraph (1) or State law regarding education, consistent with the purposes of this subchapter;

(III) prohibit the disclosure of personally identifiable information except as permitted under section 1232g of this title and any additional limitations set forth in State law;

(IV) keep an accurate accounting of the date, nature, and purpose of each disclosure of personally identifiable information in the statewide P–16 education data system, a description of the information disclosed, and the name and address of the person, agency, institution, or entity to whom the disclosure is made, which accounting shall be made available on request to parents of any student whose information has been disclosed;

(V) notwithstanding section 1232g of this title, require any non-governmental party obtaining personally identifiable information to sign a data use agreement prior to disclosure that—

(aa) prohibits the party from further disclosing the information;

(bb) prohibits the party from using the information for any purpose other than the purpose specified in the agreement; and

(cc) requires the party to destroy the information when the purpose for which the disclosure was made is accomplished;

(VI) maintain adequate security measures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the statewide P–16 education data system, such as protecting a student record from identification by a unique identifier;

(VII) where rights are provided to parents under this clause, provide those rights to the student instead of the parent if the student has reached the age of 18 or is enrolled in a postsecondary educational institution; and

(VIII) ensure adequate enforcement of the requirements of this clause.

(ii) Use of unique identifiers

(I) Governmental use of unique identifiers

It shall be unlawful for any Federal, State, or local governmental agency to use the unique identifiers employed in the statewide P–16 education data systems for any purpose other than as authorized by Federal or State law regarding education, or to deny any individual any right, benefit, or privilege provided by law because of such individual’s refusal to disclose the individual’s unique identifier.

(II) Regulations

Not later than 180 days after August 9, 2007, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations governing the use by governmental and non-governmental entities of the unique identifiers employed in statewide P–16 education data systems, including, where necessary, regulations requiring States desiring grants for statewide P–16 education data systems under this section to implement specified measures, with the goal of safeguarding individual privacy to the maximum extent practicable consistent with the uses of the information authorized in this Act or other Federal or State law regarding education.

(D) Required elements of a statewide P–16 education data system

The State shall ensure that the statewide P–16 education data system includes the following elements:

(i) Preschool through grade 12 education and postsecondary education

With respect to preschool through grade 12 education and postsecondary education—

(I) a unique statewide student identifier that does not permit a student to be individually identified by users of the system;

(II) student-level enrollment, demographic, and program participation information;

(III) student-level information about the points at which students exit, transfer in, transfer out, drop out, or complete P–16 education programs;

(IV) the capacity to communicate with higher education data systems; and

(V) a State data audit system assessing data quality, validity, and reliability.

(ii) Preschool through grade 12 education

With respect to preschool through grade 12 education—

(I) yearly test records of individual students with respect to assessments under section 6311(b)(2) of this title;

(II) information on students not tested by grade and subject;

(III) a teacher identifier system with the ability to match teachers to students;

(IV) student-level transcript information, including information on courses completed and grades earned; and

(V) student-level college readiness test scores.

(iii) Postsecondary education

With respect to postsecondary education, data that provide—

(I) information regarding the extent to which students transition successfully from secondary school to postsecondary education, including whether students enroll in remedial coursework; and

(II) other information determined necessary to address alignment and adequate preparation for success in postsecondary education.

(E) Functions of the statewide P–16 education data system

In implementing the statewide P–16 education data system, the State shall—

(i) identify factors that correlate to students’ ability to successfully engage in and complete postsecondary-level general education coursework without the need for prior developmental coursework;

(ii) identify factors to increase the percentage of low-income and minority students who are academically prepared to enter and successfully complete postsecondary-level general education coursework; and

(iii) use the data in the system to otherwise inform education policy and practice in order to better align State academic content standards, and curricula, with the demands of postsecondary education, the 21st century workforce, and the Armed Forces.

(f) Application

(1) In general

Each State desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(2) Application contents

Each application submitted under this section shall specify whether the State application is for the conduct of P–16 education alignment activities, or the establishment or improvement of a statewide P–16 education data system. The application shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(A) A description of the activities and programs to be carried out with the grant funds and a comprehensive plan for carrying out the activities.

(B) A description of how the concerns and interests of the larger education community, including parents, students, teachers, teacher educators, principals, and preschool administrators [2] will be represented in carrying out the authorized activities described in subsection (e).

(C) In the case of a State applying for funding for P–16 education alignment, a description of how the State will provide assistance to local educational agencies in implementing rigorous State academic content standards, substantive curricula, remediation, and acceleration opportunities for students, as well as other changes determined necessary by the State.

(D) In the case of a State applying for funding to establish or improve a statewide P–16 education data system—

(i) a description of the privacy protection and enforcement measures that the State has implemented or will implement pursuant to subsection (e)(2)(C), and assurances that these measures will be in place prior to the establishment or improvement of the statewide P–16 education data system; and

(ii) an assurance that the State will continue to fund the statewide P–16 education data system after the end of the grant period.

(g) Supplement not supplant

Grant funds provided under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other Federal, State, and local funds available to carry out the authorized activities described in subsection (e).

(h) Matching requirement

Each State that receives a grant under this section shall provide, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount of the grant, in cash or in kind, to carry out the activities supported by the grant.

(i) Rule of construction

(1) No raw data requirement

Nothing in this section shall be construed to require States to provide raw data to the Secretary.

(2) Private or home schools

Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any private school that does not receive funds or services under this Act or any home school, whether or not the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under State law, including imposing new requirements for students educated through a home school seeking admission to institutions of higher education.

(j) Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $120,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012.

(Pub. L. 110–69, title VI, § 6201, formerly § 6401, Aug. 9, 2007, 121 Stat. 668; renumbered § 6201 and amended Pub. L. 111–358, title X, §§ 1002(b)(3), 1003(c), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 4048, 4049; Pub. L. 114–95, title IX, § 9215(i)(4), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 2168.)

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[1]  So in original. Probably should be “to enable”.

[2]  So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act, referred to in subsecs. (e)(2)(C)(ii)(II) and (i)(2), is Pub. L. 110–69, Aug. 9, 2007, 121 Stat. 572, known as the America COMPETES Act, and also as the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 9801 of this title and Tables.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 6201 of Pub. L. 110–69 was classified to section 9851 of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 111–358.

Amendments

2015—Subsec. (e)(2)(D)(ii)(I). Pub. L. 114–95, which directed amendment of section 6401(e)(2)(D)(ii)(I) of Pub. L. 110–69 by substituting “yearly test records of individual students with respect to assessments under section 6311(b)(2) of this title” for “yearly test records of individual students with respect to assessments under section 6311(b) of this title”, was executed to this section to reflect the probable intent of Congress and the renumbering of section 6401 of Pub. L. 110–69 as this section.

2011—Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 111–358, § 1003(c), amended subsec. (j) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2009.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2015 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title.