20 U.S.C. § 7231

Current through P.L. 118-106 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/04/2024)

Section 7231 - Findings and purpose

(a) Findings

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Magnet schools are a significant part of the Nation's effort to achieve voluntary desegregation in our Nation's schools.

(2) The use of magnet schools has increased dramatically since the inception of the magnet schools assistance program under this chapter, with approximately 2,500,000 students nationwide attending such schools, of whom more than 69 percent are non-white.

(3) Magnet schools offer a wide range of distinctive programs that have served as models for school improvement efforts.

(4) It is in the best interests of the United States-

(A) to continue the Federal Government's support of local educational agencies that are implementing court-ordered desegregation plans and local educational agencies that are voluntarily seeking to foster meaningful interaction among students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, beginning at the earliest stage of such students' education;

(B) to ensure that all students have equitable access to a high quality education that will prepare all students to function well in a technologically oriented and a highly competitive economy comprised of people from many different racial and ethnic backgrounds; and

(C) to continue to desegregate and diversify schools by supporting magnet schools, recognizing that segregation exists between minority and nonminority students as well as among students of different minority groups.

(5) Desegregation efforts through magnet school programs are a significant part of our Nation's effort to achieve voluntary desegregation in schools and help to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students.

(b) Purpose

The purpose of this part is to assist in the desegregation of schools served by local educational agencies by providing financial assistance to eligible local educational agencies for-

(1) the elimination, reduction, or prevention of minority group isolation in elementary schools and secondary schools with substantial proportions of minority students, which shall include assisting in the efforts of the United States to achieve voluntary desegregation in public schools;

(2) the development, implementation, and expansion of magnet school programs that will assist local educational agencies in achieving systemic reforms and providing all students the opportunity to meet challenging State academic standards;

(3) the development, design, and expansion of innovative educational methods and practices that promote diversity and increase choices in public elementary schools and public secondary schools and public educational programs;

(4) courses of instruction within magnet schools that will substantially strengthen the knowledge of academic subjects and the attainment of tangible and marketable career, technological, and professional skills of students attending such schools;

(5) improving the capacity of local educational agencies, including through professional development, to continue operating magnet schools at a high performance level after Federal funding for the magnet schools is terminated; and

(6) ensuring that all students enrolled in the magnet school programs have equitable access to high quality education that will enable the students to succeed academically and continue with postsecondary education or employment.

20 U.S.C. § 7231

Pub. L. 89-10, title IV, §4401, formerly title V, §5301, as added Pub. L. 107-110, §501, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1806; renumbered title IV, §4401, and amended Pub. L. 114-95, §§4001(b)(3)(A), (B), (D)(i), 4401(1), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 1967, 2014.

EDITORIAL NOTES

PRIOR PROVISIONSA prior section 7231, Pub. L. 89-10, title V, §5201, as added Pub. L. 103-382, §101, 108 Stat. 3695, set forth short title and findings for the Women's Educational Equity Act of 1994, prior to the general amendment of former subchapter V of this chapter by Pub. L. 107-110.A prior section 4401 of Pub. L. 89-10 was classified to section 3121 of this title, prior to the general amendment of Pub. L. 89-10 by Pub. L. 103-382.

AMENDMENTS2015-Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 114-95, §4401(1)(A), substituted "2,500,000" for "2,000,000" and "69" for "65".Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 114-95, §4401(1)(B)(i), substituted ", implementation, and expansion" for "and implementation" and "standards" for "content standards and student academic achievement standards".Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 114-95, §4401(1)(B) (ii), substituted ", design, and expansion" for "and design".Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 114-95, §4401(1)(B) (iii), substituted "career" for "vocational". Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 114-95, §4401(1)(B) (iv), struck out "productive" before "employment".

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.

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.