GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

SEC. 204. (a) In order to achieve the purposes of this part, the Secretary is authorized, during the period of October 1, 1979, through September 30, 1983, to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, State and local educational agencies, and other public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions to carry out planning, research, development, demonstrations (including training of leadership personnel, evaluation, and dissemination, as described in sections 205 through 209), except that no grant may be made under this part to other than a public or nonprofit private agency, organization, or institution.

(b) The Secretary may provide to such agencies, organizations, and institutions, either directly or through grants or contracts, technical assistance related to the purposes of this part.

(20 U.S.C. 2884) Enacted Nov. 1, 1978, P.L. 95-561, sec. 201, 92 Stat. 2202.

INSTRUCTION IN BASIC SKILLS

SEC. 205. The Secretary shall provide assistance, in accordance with section 204, for activities designed to demonstrate improved delivery of instructional services in the areas of reading, mathematics, and oral and written communication, including

(1) assessment of schoolwide needs to identify the instructional needs of children in basic skills;

(2) establishing learning goals and objectives for each school; (3) the development of comprehensive programs to address the needs through the use of resources available under this part and other resources from local, State, and Federal programs;

(4) the demonstration of techniques for coordinating the efforts of local agencies, organizations, and institutions, to improve achievement in basic skills;

(5) preservice training programs for teaching personnel including teacher aides and other ancillary educational personnel, and in-service training and development programs, designed to enable such personnel to improve their ability to teach basic skills; and

(6) active involvement of teachers, teacher aides, administrators, and other educational personnel to improve their ability to utilize available resources to carry out the purposes of this part.

(20 U.S.C. 2885) Enacted Nov. 1, 1978, P.L. 95-561, sec. 201, 92 Stat. 2202, 2203.

PARENTAL PARTICIPATION IN BASIC SKILLS INSTRUCTION

SEC. 206. The Secretary, in accordance with section 204, shall support activities designed to enlist the assistance of parents and volunteers working with schools to improve the skills of children in reading, mathematics, and oral and written communication. The activities which may be supported under this section include

(1) the development and dissemination of materials that, with appropriate training, parents may use in the home to improve their children's performance in those skills; and

(2) to voluntary training activities for parents to encourage them to assist their children in developing basic skills.

(20 U.S.C. 2886) Enacted Nov. 1, 1978, P.L. 95-561, sec. 201, 92 Stat. 2203.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN BASIC SKILLS INSTRUCTION

SEC. 207. The Secretary, in accordance with section 204, shall support development and demonstration activities related to the improved use of television and other technology to contribute to the instruction of children in reading, mathematics, and written and oral communication. The activities authorized under this section shall be designed to expand the variety and improve the quality of instructional efforts involving the use of technology. The activities which may be supported under this section include

(1) the development and acquisition of educational programing, including audio and video materials distributed through broadcast, cable, tape, film, cassettes, or other means that provide instruction in basic skills in an effective manner;

(2) the development and acquisition of instructional materials that supplement educational programing described in clause (1) of this section in order to improve its effectiveness in the school, the home, and other learning environments;

(3) the development and acquisition of materials to assist teachers in relating such programing, or similar public or commerical programs of educational value, to instruction in the classroom;

(4) the training of teachers, administrators, and other instructional personnel in the use of educational technology;

(5) assistance to teachers, administrators, and other instructional personnel for experimentation with new technological approaches to instruction; and

(6) distribution of information about, and promotion of the use of, such programing and technology in the classroom and other learning environments.

(20 U.S.C. 2887) Enacted Nov. 1, 1978, P.L. 95-561, sec. 201, 92 Stat. 2203, 2204.

INVOLVEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES AND PRIVATE

ORGANIZATIONS

SEC. 208. (a) The Secretary shall provide assistance and information to State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and private agencies, organizations, and institutions (such as labor unions, volunteer organizations, and business associations) to support the efforts of such agencies, organizations, and institutions to stimulate children, youths, and adults to improve their achievement in basic skills. The activities which may be supported under this section include

(1) programs to motivate children to improve their reading skills through the distribution to children of books;

(2) instructional programs and voluntary tutorial programs to provide individual assistance outside of the school to children, youths, and adults with instruction needs;

(3) community efforts to encourage individuals to improve their performance in basic skills; and

(4) the establishment of programs for lending or selling books to children, youths, and adults.

(b) Activities supported under subsection (a)(2) may be known as reading academies.

(20 U.S.C. 2888) Enacted Nov. 1, 1978, P.L. 95-561, sec. 201, 92 Stat. 2204.

COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO BASIC

SKILLS PROGRAMS

SEC. 209. The Secretary is authorized to use funds appropriated under this part to collect and analyze information concerning the results of activities carried out under this title and under part C of title IV, including information on the activities which have been successful in improving the achievement of students in the basic skills. Such funds may also be used to disseminate that information to State and local educational agencies and other interested public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions.

(20 U.S.C. 2889) Enacted Nov. 1, 1978, P.L. 95-561, sec. 201, 92 Stat. 2204.

COORDINATION

SEC. 210. The Secretary shall establish effective and efficient procedures for coordination between the programs assisted under this part and other parts of this title, with programs assisted under title I and title IV of this Act, title V of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and other such Federal programs that support efforts to improve the basic skills of children, youth and adults.

(20 U.S.C. 2890) Enacted Nov. 1, 1978, P.L. 95-561, sec. 201, 92 Stat. 2204.

PART B-STATE BASIC SKILLS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

SEC. 221. It is the purpose of this part to provide financial assistance to States to enable them

(1) to develop comprehensive and systematic statewide plans for improving achievement in the basic skills, to coordinate available resources for elementary and secondary education, and to provide financial assistance to improve the instruction so that all children are able to master the basic skills of reading, mathematics, and effective communication, both written and oral;

(2) to provide assistance to local agencies in the development and implementation of comprehensive programs to improve basic skills proficiency and instruction in the elementary and secondary schools;

(3) to develop means by which parents working with the schools can contribute to improving the educational achievement of their children;

(4) to provide State leadership in the planning, execution, and evaluation of basic skills instructional programs in elementary and secondary schools; and

(5) to arrange for and assist in the training of educational staff, including special reading and mathematics personnel and specialists needed in programs assisted under this part.

(20 U.S.C. 2901) Enacted Nov. 1, 1978, P.L. 95-561, sec. 201, 92 Stat. 2204, 2205.

AGREEMENTS WITH STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES

SEC. 222. (a) Any State which desires to receive grants under this part shall, through its State educational agency, enter into an agreement with the Secretary, in such detail as the Secretary deems necessary, which

(1) designates the State educational agency as the agency for administration of the agreement;

(2) provides for a process of active and continuing consultation with the State educational agency, by persons broadly representative of the educational resources of the State and of the general public, including persons representative of—

(A) public and private nonprofit elementary and secondary schoolchildren,

(B) institutions of higher education,

(C) parents of elementary and secondary schoolchildren, (D) areas of professional competence relating to basic skills instruction in reading and mathematics,

(E) classroom teachers in the State, and

(F) local administrators including principals and superintendents,

to advise the State educational agency on the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive State program for improving basic skills;

(3) describes the basic skills instructional programs in elementary and secondary schools for which assistance is sought under this part and procedures for giving priority to basic skills programs which are already receiving Federal financial assistance and show reasonable promise of achieving success;

(4) sets forth criteria for achieving an equitable distribution of that part of the assistance under this part which is made available to local educational agencies pursuant to the second sentence of subsection (b) of this section, which criteria shall

(A) take into account the size of the population to be served, beginning with preschool, the relative needs of pupils in different population groups within the State for the program authorized by this part, and the financial ability of the local educational agency serving such pupils, and

(B) assure that such distribution shall include grants to local educational agencies having high concentrations of children with low reading or mathematics proficiency; (5) provides for the coordination and evaluation of programs assisted under this part;

(6) provides for technical assistance and support services for local educational agencies participating in the program;

(7) makes provision for the dissemination to the educational community and the general public of information about the objectives of the program and results in the course of its implementation;

(8) provides for making a report, at least once every three years, and such other reports, in such form and containing information, as the Secretary may reasonably require to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and to carry out his other functions under this part;

(9) provides that not more than 5 per centum of the amount allotted to the State under this part for any fiscal year may be retained by the State educational agency for purposes of administering the agreement;

(10) provides that programs assisted under this part shall be of sufficient size, scope, and quality so as to give reasonable promise of substantial progress toward achieving the purposes of this part; and

(11) provides that Federal funds expended under the program will supplement the level of State and local funds that would be available for such programs in the absence of Federal assistance and in no event will supplant such State and local funds.

(b) Grants for projects to carry out the purposes of this part may be made to local educational agencies (subject to the provision of subsection (c) relating to the participation of private elementary and secondary school pupils), institutions of higher education, and other public and nonprofit agencies and institutions. Not less than 70 per centum of the amount allotted to a State under this part for any fiscal year shall be made available by the State for grants to local educational agencies within that State.

(c) The provisions of section 130(a) of this Act relating to the participation of children enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools shall apply to programs assisted under this part.

(d) Each application by a local educational agency within a State for assistance under this part shall be developed in conjunction with teachers and building administrators in such district. The application shall set forth a systematic strategy for improving basic skills instruction in the local district which provides for the planning and implementation of comprehensive basic skills instructional programs at the school building level. The school level programs shall address the needs of all students and shall utilize, in a coordinated fashion, resources available from all Federal, State, and local sources. Teachers, administrators, and parents shall be involved in the development of the comprehensive school level programs. Such programs shall include—

(1) diagnostic assessment to identify the needs of all the children in the school;

(2) the establishment of learning goals and objectives for the school;

(3) to the extent practicable, preservice training and inservice training and development programs for teaching and administrative personnel, including teacher-aides and other ancillary educational personnel, designed to enable such personnel to improve their ability to teach students the basic skills; (4) activities designed to enlist the support of parents to aid in the instruction of their children at home and school;

(5) procedures for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the program, including a program of periodic testing of basic skills achievement and the publication of test results on basic skills