,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bhc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #ab1 #bjac ,mr4 ,begich 7for himself and ,mr4 ,leahy7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife to invest in innovation for education4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,investing in ,innovation for ,education ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,investing in innovation 7a7 ,in ,general ,title ,,iv of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #gaja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 ,d ,investing in innovation #ddja4 ,purposes ,the purposes of this part are to-- 7#a7 fund the identification1 development1 evaluation1 and expansion of innovative1 evidence-based practices1 programs1 and strategies in order to significantly-- 7,a7 increase student academic achievement and decrease achievement gaps2 7,b7 increase high school graduation rates2 7,c7 increase college enrollment rates and rates of college persistence2 7,d7 improve teacher and school leader effectiveness2 and 7,e7 increase the identification of innovative educational strategies in rural areas2 and 7#b7 support the rapid development1 expansion1 and adoption of tools and resources that improve the efficiency1 effectiveness1 or pace of adoption of such educational practices1 programs1 and strategies4 #ddjb4 ,national activities ,the ,secretary may reserve not more than #aj percent of the funds appropriated under section #ddjh for each fiscal year to carry out activities of national significance1 which activities may include-- 7#a7 capacity building2 7#b7 technical assistance1 including to applicants from rural areas2 7#c7 pre-application workshops and web-based seminars for potential applicants1 including applicants from rural areas2 7#d7 the recruitment of peer-reviewers1 including individuals with a background in rural education1 to participate in the review of applications submitted under section #ddjd2 7#e7 dissemination of best practices developed with grant funds provided under this part1 including best practices developed with grant funds in rural areas2 7#f7 carrying out prize awards consistent with section #bd of the ,stevenson-,wydler ,technology ,innovation ,act of #aihj 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #cgai72 and 7#g7 entering into partnerships with other agencies1 nonprofits1 and the private sector to carry out advanced research and development activities1 including research and activities in rural areas4 #ddjc4 ,program authorized2 length of grants2 priorities 7a7 ,program ,authorization ,the ,secretary shall use funds made available to carry out this part to award grants1 on a competitive basis1 to local educational agencies1 educational service agencies1 and nonprofit organizations that propose to provide support to #a or more public schools or local educational agencies1 or both1 consistent with section #ddje4 7b7 ,duration of ,grants ,the ,secretary shall award grants under this part for a period of not more than #c years1 and may extend such grants for an additional #b-year period if the grantee demonstrates to the ,secretary that it is making significant progress on the program performance measures identified in section #ddjf4 7c7 ,rural areas ,the ,secretary shall ensure that not less than #be percent of the funds awarded under subsection 7a7 for any fiscal year are for projects that meet both of the following requirements3 7#a7 ,the grantee is-- 7,a7 a local educational agency with an urban-centric district locale code of #cb1 #cc1 #da1 #db1 or #dc1 as determined by the ,secretary2 7,b7 a consortium of such local educational agencies2 or 7,c7 an educational service agency or a nonprofit organization with demonstrated expertise in serving students from rural areas4 7#b7 ,a majority of the schools to be served by the project are designated with a school locale code of #da1 #db1 or #dc1 or a combination of such codes1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7d7 ,priorities ,in awarding grants under this part1 the ,secretary may give priority to an eligible entity that includes1 in its application under section #ddjd1 a plan to-- 7#a7 improve early learning outcomes2 7#b7 support college access and success2 7#c7 support family and community engagement2 7#d7 address the unique learning needs of students with disabilities or ,english language learners2 7#e7 support the effective use of education technology to improve teaching and learning2 7#f7 improve the teaching and learning of science1 technology1 engineering1 or mathematics2 or 7#g7 serve schools in rural local educational agencies4 7e7 ,standards of ,evidence ,the ,secretary shall set standards for the quality of evidence that an applicant shall provide in order to demonstrate that the activities the applicant proposes to carry out with funds under this part are likely to succeed in improving student outcomes or outcomes on other performance measures4 ,these standards may include any of the following3 7#a7 ,strong evidence that the activities proposed by the applicant will have a statistically significant effect on student academic achievement1 student growth1 or outcomes on other performance measures4 7#b7 ,moderate evidence that the activities proposed by the applicant will improve student academic achievement1 student growth1 or outcomes on other performance measures4 7#c7 ,a rationale based on research findings or a reasonable hypothesis that the activities proposed by the applicant will improve student academic achievement1 student growth1 or outcomes on other performance measures4 #ddjd4 ,applications 7a7 ,applications 7#a7 ,in general ,each local educational agency1 educational service agency1 or nonprofit organization that desires to receive a grant under this part shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may reasonably require4 7#b7 ,reasonable period of time ,the ,secretary shall ensure that prospective applicants are provided a reasonable period of time in which to prepare and submit their applications4 7b7 ,contents ,at a minimum1 each application shall-- 7#a7 describe the project for which the applicant is seeking a grant and how the evidence supporting that project meets the standards of evidence established by the ,secretary under section #ddjc7;e72 7#b7 describe how the applicant will address at least #a of the areas described in section #ddje7;a77#a72 7#c7 provide an estimate of the number of students that the applicant plans to serve under the proposed project1 including the percentage of those students who are from low-income families1 and the number of students to be served through additional expansion after the grant ends2 7#d7 demonstrate that the applicant has established #a or more partnerships with private organizations1 nonprofit organizations1 or community-based organizations1 and that the partner or partners will provide matching funds1 except that the ,secretary may waive the matching funds requirement1 on a case-by-case1 upon a showing of exceptional circumstances1 such as the difficulty of raising matching funds for a project to serve a rural area2 7#e7 describe the applicant's plan for continuing the proposed project after funding under this part ends2 7#f7 if the applicant is a local educational agency-- 7,a7 document the local educational agency's record during the previous #c years in-- 7i7 increasing student achievement1 including achievement for each subgroup described in section #aaaa7;b77#b77;,c77v72 and 7ii7 decreasing achievement gaps2 and 7,b7 demonstrate how the local educational agency has made significant improvements in other outcomes1 as applicable1 on the performance measures described in section #ddjf2 7#g7 if the applicant is a nonprofit organization-- 7,a7 provide evidence that the nonprofit organization has helped at least #a school or local educational agency1 during the previous #c years1 significantly-- 7i7 increase student achievement1 including achievement for each subgroup described in section #aaaa7;b77#b77;,c77v72 and 7ii7 reduce achievement gaps2 and 7,b7 describe how the nonprofit organization has helped at least #a school or local educational agency make a significant improvement1 as applicable1 in other outcomes on the performance measures described in section #ddjf2 7#h7 if the applicant is an educational service agency-- 7,a7 provide evidence that the agency has helped at least #a school or local educational agency1 during the previous #c years1 significantly-- 7i7 increase student achievement1 including achievement for each subgroup described in section #aaaa7;b77#b77;,c77v72 and 7ii7 reduce achievement gaps2 and 7,b7 describe how the agency has helped at least #a school or local educational agency make a significant improvement1 as applicable1 in other outcomes on the performance measures described in section #ddjf2 7#i7 provide a description of the applicant's plan for independently evaluating the effectiveness of activities carried out with funds under this part2 7#aj7 provide an assurance that the applicant will-- 7,a7 cooperate with cross-cutting evaluations2 7,b7 make evaluation data available to third parties for validation and further study2 and 7,c7 participate in communities of practice2 and 7#aa7 if the applicant is a nonprofit organization that intends to make subgrants1 consistent with section #ddje7;b71 provide an assurance that the applicant will apply paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#aj71 as appropriate1 in the applicant's selection of subgrantees and in its oversight of those subgrants4 7c7 ,criteria for evaluating applications ,the ,secretary shall award grants under this part on a competitive basis1 based on the quality of the applications submitted and1 consistent with the standards established under section #ddjc7;e71 each applicant's likelihood of achieving success in improving student outcomes or outcomes on other performance measures4 #ddje4 ,uses of funds 7a7 ,uses of funds ,each local educational agency1 educational service agency1 or nonprofit organization that receives a grant under this part-- 7#a7 shall use the grant funds to address1 at a minimum1 #a of the following areas of school innovations3 7,a7 ,improving the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders and promoting equity in the distribution of effective teachers and school leaders4 7,b7 ,strengthening the use of data to improve teaching and learning4 7,c7 ,providing high-quality instruction based on rigorous standards that build toward college and career readiness and measuring students' mastery using high-quality assessments aligned to those standards4 7,d7 ,turning around the lowest-performing schools4 7,e7 ,any other area of school innovation1 as determined by the ,secretary2 7#b7 shall use those funds to develop or expand strategies to improve the performance of high-need students on the performance measures described in section #ddjf2 and 7#c7 may use the grant funds for an independent evaluation1 as required by section #ddjd7;b77#i71 of the innovative practices carried out with the grant4 7b7 ,authority to subgrant ,a nonprofit organization that receives a grant under this part may use the grant funds to make subgrants to other entities to provide support to #a or more schools or local educational agencies4 ,any such entity shall comply with the requirements of this part relating to grantees1 as appropriate4 #ddjf4 ,performance measures ,the ,secretary shall establish performance measures for the programs and activities carried out under this part4 ,these measures1 at a minimum1 shall track the grantee's progress in-- 7#a7 improving outcomes for each subgroup described in section #aaaa7;b77#b77;,c77v7 that is served by the grantee on measures1 including1 as applicable1 by-- 7,a7 increasing student achievement and decreasing achievement gaps2 7,b7 increasing high school graduation rates2 7,c7 increasing college enrollment rates and rates of college persistence2 7,d7 improving teacher and school leader effectiveness2 7,e7 improving school readiness2 and 7,f7 any other indicator as the ,secretary or grantee may determine2 and 7#b7 implementing its project in rural schools1 as applicable4 #ddjg4 ,reporting2 annual report ,a local educational agency1 educational service agency1 or nonprofit organization that receives a grant under this part shall submit to the ,secretary1 at such time and in such manner as the ,secretary may require1 an annual report that includes1 among other things1 information on the applicant's progress on the performance measures established under section #ddjf1 and the data supporting that progress4 #ddjh4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part #ejj1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjad and such sums as may be necessary for each of the #e succeeding fiscal years4 4 7b7 ,table of contents ,the table of contents in section #b of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #dcjd the following3 ,part ,d--,investing in ,innovation ,sec4 #ddja4 ,purposes4 ,sec4 #ddjb4 ,national activities4 ,sec4 #ddjc4 ,program authorized2 length of grants2 priorities4 ,sec4 #ddjd4 ,applications4 ,sec4 #ddje4 ,uses of funds4 ,sec4 #ddjf4 ,performance measures4 ,sec4 #ddjg4 ,reporting2 annual report4 ,sec4 #ddjh4 ,authorization of appropriations4 4