20 U.S.C. § 6361

Current through P.L. 118-107 (published on www.congress.gov on 11/21/2024)

Section 6361 - Grants for State assessments and related activities

(a) Grants authorized

From amounts made available in accordance with section 6363 of this title, the Secretary shall make grants to State educational agencies to enable the States to carry out 1 or more of the following:

(1) To pay the costs of the development of the State assessments and standards adopted under section 6311(b) of this title, which may include the costs of working in voluntary partnerships with other States, at the sole discretion of each such State.

(2) If a State has developed the assessments adopted under section 6311(b) of this title, to administer those assessments or to carry out other assessment activities described in this part, such as the following:

(A) Ensuring the provision of appropriate accommodations available to English learners and children with disabilities to improve the rates of inclusion in regular assessments of such children, including professional development activities to improve the implementation of such accommodations in instructional practice.

(B) Developing challenging State academic standards and aligned assessments in academic subjects for which standards and assessments are not required under section 6311(b) of this title.

(C) Developing or improving assessments for English learners, including assessments of English language proficiency as required under section 6311(b)(2)(G) of this title and academic assessments in languages other than English to meet the State's obligations under section 6311(b)(2)(F) of this title.

(D) Ensuring the continued validity and reliability of State assessments.

(E) Refining State assessments to ensure their continued alignment with the challenging State academic standards and to improve the alignment of curricula and instructional materials.

(F) Developing or improving balanced assessment systems that include summative, interim, and formative assessments, including supporting local educational agencies in developing or improving such assessments.

(G) At the discretion of the State, refining science assessments required under section 6311(b)(2) of this title in order to integrate engineering design skills and practices into such assessments.

(H) Developing or improving models to measure and assess student progress or student growth on State assessments under section 6311(b)(2) of this title and other assessments not required under section 6311(b)(2) of this title.

(I) Developing or improving assessments for children with disabilities, including alternate assessments aligned to alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities described in section 6311(b)(2)(D) of this title, and using the principles of universal design for learning.

(J) Allowing for collaboration with institutions of higher education, other research institutions, or other organizations to improve the quality, validity, and reliability of State academic assessments beyond the requirements for such assessments described in section 6311(b)(2) of this title.

(K) Measuring student academic achievement using multiple measures of student academic achievement from multiple sources.

(L) Evaluating student academic achievement through the development of comprehensive academic assessment instruments (such as performance and technology-based academic assessments, computer adaptive assessments, projects, or extended performance task assessments) that emphasize the mastery of standards and aligned competencies in a competency-based education model.

(M) Designing the report cards and reports under section 6311(h) of this title in an easily accessible, user friendly-manner that cross-tabulates student information by any category the State determines appropriate, as long as such cross-tabulation-

(i) does not reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student; and

(ii) is derived from existing State and local reporting requirements.

(b) Rule of construction

Nothing in subsection (a)(2)(M) shall be construed as authorizing, requiring, or allowing any additional reporting requirements, data elements, or information to be reported to the Secretary unless such reporting, data, or information is explicitly authorized under this chapter.

(c) Annual report

Each State educational agency receiving a grant under this section shall submit an annual report to the Secretary describing the State's activities under the grant and the result of such activities.

20 U.S.C. § 6361

Pub. L. 89-10, title I, §1201, as added Pub. L. 114-95, §1201, 129 Stat. 1879.

EDITORIAL NOTES

PRIOR PROVISIONSA prior section 6361, Pub. L. 89-10, title I, §1201, as added Pub. L. 107-110, §101, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1535, stated purpose of former subpart 1 of this part, prior to the general amendment of this part by Pub. L. 114-95. Another prior section 6361, Pub. L. 89-10, title I, §1201, as added Pub. L. 103-382, §101, 108 Stat. 3578; amended Pub. L. 106-554, §1(a)(4) [div. B, title XVI, §1604(b)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A-328, stated purpose of Even Start family literacy program, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 107-110.A prior section 1201 of Pub. L. 89-10 was classified to section 2781 of this title, prior to the general amendment of Pub. L. 89-10 by Pub. L. 103-382.

STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES

EFFECTIVE DATESection 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 an Effective Date of 2015 Amendment note under section 6301 of this title.

Secretary: The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Education.
State educational agency: The term "State educational agency" means the agency primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary schools and secondary schools.
State: The term "State" means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying areas.
professional development: The term "professional development" means activities that-(A) are an integral part of school and local educational agency strategies for providing educators (including teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, and, as applicable, early childhood educators) with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable students to succeed in a well-rounded education and to meet the challenging State academic standards; and(B) are sustained (not stand-alone, 1-day, or short term workshops), intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused, and may include activities that-(i) improve and increase teachers'-(I) knowledge of the academic subjects the teachers teach;(II) understanding of how students learn; and(III) ability to analyze student work and achievement from multiple sources, including how to adjust instructional strategies, assessments, and materials based on such analysis;(ii) are an integral part of broad schoolwide and districtwide educational improvement plans;(iii) allow personalized plans for each educator to address the educator's specific needs identified in observation or other feedback;(iv) improve classroom management skills;(v) support the recruitment, hiring, and training of effective teachers, including teachers who became certified through State and local alternative routes to certification;(vi) advance teacher understanding of-(I) effective instructional strategies that are evidence-based; and(II) strategies for improving student academic achievement or substantially increasing the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers;(vii) are aligned with, and directly related to, academic goals of the school or local educational agency;(viii) are developed with extensive participation of teachers, principals, other school leaders, parents, representatives of Indian tribes (as applicable), and administrators of schools to be served under this chapter;(ix) are designed to give teachers of English learners, and other teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate language and academic support services to those children, including the appropriate use of curricula and assessments;(x) to the extent appropriate, provide training for teachers, principals, and other school leaders in the use of technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), so that technology and technology applications are effectively used in the classroom to improve teaching and learning in the curricula and academic subjects in which the teachers teach;(xi) as a whole, are regularly evaluated for their impact on increased teacher effectiveness and improved student academic achievement, with the findings of the evaluations used to improve the quality of professional development;(xii) are designed to give teachers of children with disabilities or children with developmental delays, and other teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and academic support services, to those children, including positive behavioral interventions and supports, multi-tier system of supports, and use of accommodations;(xiii) include instruction in the use of data and assessments to inform and instruct classroom practice;(xiv) include instruction in ways that teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, and school administrators may work more effectively with parents and families;(xv) involve the forming of partnerships with institutions of higher education, including, as applicable, Tribal Colleges and Universities as defined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)), to establish school-based teacher, principal, and other school leader training programs that provide prospective teachers, novice teachers, principals, and other school leaders with an opportunity to work under the guidance of experienced teachers, principals, other school leaders, and faculty of such institutions;(xvi) create programs to enable paraprofessionals (assisting teachers employed by a local educational agency receiving assistance under part A of subchapter I) to obtain the education necessary for those paraprofessionals to become certified and licensed teachers;(xvii) provide follow-up training to teachers who have participated in activities described in this paragraph that are designed to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned by the teachers are implemented in the classroom; and(xviii) where practicable, provide jointly for school staff and other early childhood education program providers, to address the transition to elementary school, including issues related to school readiness.
technology: The term "technology" means modern information, computer and communication technology products, services, or tools, including, the Internet and other communications networks, computer devices and other computer and communications hardware, software applications, data systems, and other electronic content (including multimedia content) and data storage.