20 U.S.C. § 6303
Section 6303 · School improvement
Current version, with additions and removals from the January 8, 2002 version.
Each State shall reserve 2 percent of the amount the State receives under subpart 2 of part A of this subchapter for fiscal years 2002 and 2003, and 4 percent of the amount received under such subpart for fiscal years 2004 through 2007, to carry out subsection (b) of this section and to carry out the State's responsibilities under sections 6316 and 6317 of this title, including carrying out the State educational agency's statewide system of technical assistance and support for local educational agencies.
Of the amount reserved under subsection (a) of this section for any fiscal year, the State educational agency—
(1) shall allocate not less than 95 percent of that amount directly to local educational agencies for schools identified for school improvement, corrective action, and restructuring, for activities under section 6316(b) of this title; or
(2) may, with the approval of the local educational agency, directly provide for these activities or arrange for their provision through other entities such as school support teams or educational service agencies.
The State educational agency, in allocating funds to local educational agencies under this section, shall give priority to local educational agencies that—
(1) serve the lowest-achieving schools;
(2) demonstrate the greatest need for such funds; and
(3) demonstrate the strongest commitment to ensuring that such funds are used to enable the lowest-achieving schools to meet the progress goals in school improvement plans under section 6316(b)(3)(A)(v) of this title.
If, after consultation with local educational agencies in the State, the State educational agency determines that the amount of funds reserved to carry out subsection (b) of this section is greater than the amount needed to provide the assistance described in that subsection, the State educational agency shall allocate the excess amount to local educational agencies in accordance with—
(1) the relative allocations the State educational agency made to those agencies for that fiscal year under subpart 2 of part A of this subchapter; or
(2) section 6338(c) of this title.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the amount of funds reserved by the State educational agency under subsection (a) of this section in any fiscal year shall not decrease the amount of funds each local educational agency receives under subpart 2 1 below the amount received by such local educational agency under such subpart for the preceding fiscal year.
The State educational agency shall make publicly available a list of those schools that have received funds or services pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and the percentage of students from each school from families with incomes below the poverty line.
(1) Program authorized
The Secretary shall award grants to States to enable the States to provide subgrants to local educational agencies for the purpose of providing assistance for school improvement consistent with section 6316 of this title.
(2) State allotments
Such grants shall be allotted among States, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the outlying areas, in proportion to the funds received by the States, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the outlying areas, respectively, for the fiscal year under parts A, C, and D of this subchapter. The Secretary shall expeditiously allot a portion of such funds to States for the purpose of assisting local educational agencies and schools that were in school improvement status on the date preceding January 8, 2002.
(3) Reallocations
If a State does not receive funds under this subsection, the Secretary shall reallocate such funds to other States in the same proportion funds are allocated under paragraph (2).
(4) State applications
Each State educational agency that desires to receive funds under this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, and containing such information, as the Secretary shall reasonably require, except that such requirement shall be waived if a State educational agency submitted such information as part of its State plan under this part. Each State application shall describe how the State educational agency will allocate such funds in order to assist the State educational agency and local educational agencies in complying with school improvement, corrective action, and restructuring requirements of section 6316 of this title.
(5) Local educational agency grants
A grant to a local educational agency under this subsection shall be—
(A) of sufficient size and scope to support the activities required under sections 6316 and 6317 of this title, but not less than $50,000 and not more than $500,000 for each participating school;
(B) integrated with other funds awarded by the State under this chapter; and
(C) renewable for two additional 1-year periods if schools are meeting the goals in their school improvement plans developed under section 6316 of this title.
(6) Priority
The State, in awarding such grants, shall give priority to local educational agencies with the lowest-achieving schools that demonstrate—
(A) the greatest need for such funds; and
(B) the strongest commitment to ensuring that such funds are used to provide adequate resources to enable the lowest-achieving schools to meet the goals under school and local educational agency improvement, corrective action, and restructuring plans under section 6316 of this title.
(7) Allocation
A State educational agency that receives a grant under this subsection shall allocate at least 95 percent of the grant funds directly to local educational agencies for schools identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring to carry out activities under section 6316(b) of this title, or may, with the approval of the local educational agency, directly provide for these activities or arrange for their provision through other entities such as school support teams or educational service agencies.
(8) Administrative costs
A State educational agency that receives a grant award under this subsection may reserve not more than 5 percent of such grant funds for administration, evaluation, and technical assistance expenses.
(9) Local awards
Each local educational agency that applies for assistance under this subsection shall describe how it will provide the lowest-achieving schools the resources necessary to meet goals under school and local educational agency improvement, corrective action, and restructuring plans under section 6316 of this title.
To carry out subsection (b) and the State educational agency’s statewide system of technical assistance and support for local educational agencies, each State shall reserve the greater of—
7 percent of the amount the State receives under subpart 2 of part A; or
the sum of the amount the State—
reserved for fiscal year 2016 under this subsection, as in effect on the day before December 10, 2015; and
received for fiscal year 2016 under subsection (g), as in effect on the day before December 10, 2015.
Of the amount reserved under subsection (a) for any fiscal year, the State educational agency—
shall allocate not less than 95 percent of that amount to make grants to local educational agencies on a formula or competitive basis, to serve schools implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under section 6311(d) of this title; or
may, with the approval of the local educational agency, directly provide for these activities or arrange for their provision through other entities such as school support teams, educational service agencies, or nonprofit or for-profit external providers with expertise in using evidence-based strategies to improve student achievement, instruction, and schools; and
shall use the funds not allocated to local educational agencies under paragraph (1) to carry out this section, which shall include—
establishing the method, consistent with paragraph (1)(A), the State will use to allocate funds to local educational agencies under such paragraph, including ensuring—
the local educational agencies receiving an allotment under such paragraph represent the geographic diversity of the State; and
that allotments are of sufficient size to enable a local educational agency to effectively implement selected strategies;
monitoring and evaluating the use of funds by local educational agencies receiving an allotment under such paragraph; and
as appropriate, reducing barriers and providing operational flexibility for schools in the implementation of comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under section 6311(d) of this title.
The State educational agency shall award each subgrant under subsection (b) for a period of not more than 4 years, which may include a planning year.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a State from allocating subgrants under this section to a statewide school district, consortium of local educational agencies, or an educational service agency that serves schools implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities, if such entities are legally constituted or recognized as local educational agencies in the State.
To receive an allotment under subsection (b)(1), a local educational agency shall submit an application to the State educational agency at such time, in such form, and including such information as the State educational agency may require. Each application shall include, at a minimum—
a description of how the local educational agency will carry out its responsibilities under section 6311(d) of this title for schools receiving funds under this section, including how the local educational agency will—
develop comprehensive support and improvement plans under section 6311(d)(1) of this title for schools receiving funds under this section;
support schools developing or implementing targeted support and improvement plans under section 6311(d)(2) of this title, if funds received under this section are used for such purpose;
monitor schools receiving funds under this section, including how the local educational agency will carry out its responsibilities under clauses (iv) and (v) of section 6311(d)(2)(B) of this title if funds received under this section are used to support schools implementing targeted support and improvement plans;
use a rigorous review process to recruit, screen, select, and evaluate any external partners with whom the local educational agency will partner;
align other Federal, State, and local resources to carry out the activities supported with funds received under subsection (b)(1); and
as appropriate, modify practices and policies to provide operational flexibility that enables full and effective implementation of the plans described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 6311(d) of this title; and
an assurance that each school the local educational agency proposes to serve will receive all of the State and local funds it would have received in the absence of funds received under this section.
The State educational agency, in allocating funds to local educational agencies under this section, shall give priority to local educational agencies that—
serve high numbers, or a high percentage of, elementary schools and secondary schools implementing plans under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 6311(d) of this title;
demonstrate the greatest need for such funds, as determined by the State; and
demonstrate the strongest commitment to using funds under this section to enable the lowest-performing schools to improve student achievement and student outcomes.
If, after consultation with local educational agencies in the State, the State educational agency determines that the amount of funds reserved to carry out subsection (b) is greater than the amount needed to provide the assistance described in that subsection, the State educational agency shall allocate the excess amount to local educational agencies in accordance with—
the relative allocations the State educational agency made to those agencies for that fiscal year under subpart 2 of part A; or
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the amount of funds reserved by the State educational agency under subsection (a) for fiscal year 2018 and each subsequent fiscal year shall not decrease the amount of funds each local educational agency receives under subpart 2 of part A below the amount received by such local educational agency under such subpart for the preceding fiscal year.
The State shall include in the report described in section 6311(h)(1) of this title a list of all the local educational agencies and schools that received funds under this section, including the amount of funds each school received and the types of strategies implemented in each school with such funds.