SEC. 1007

ELIGIBLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREAS

 

 

Section Summary

 In this section, ESSA updated several sections fro, HCLB in regards to eligible school attendance areas.

The first noted update is around Ranking. A new paragraph outlining (3)Ranking replaces NCLB text. Paragraph 5 is also new with the removal of NCLB text and the addition of (5)Measures.

Other updates include:

(2) in subsection (b)(1)(D)(i), by striking ``section
        1120A(c)'' and inserting ``section 1118(c)''; and
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
                following:
            ``(3) Reservation of funds.--

(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``school
                improvement, corrective action, and restructuring under
                section 1116(b)'' and inserting ``comprehensive support
                and improvement activities or targeted support and
                improvement activities under section 1111(d)''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Early childhood education.--A local educational agency
        may reserve funds made available to carry out this section to
        provide early childhood education programs for eligible
        children.''.


ESSA Update

SEC. 1007. ELIGIBLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREAS.

    Section 1113 (20 U.S.C. 6313) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
                following:
            ``(3) Ranking order.--

[[Page 129 STAT. 1860]]

                    ``(A) Ranking.--Except as provided in subparagraph
                (B), if funds allocated in accordance with subsection
                (c) are insufficient to serve all eligible school
                attendance areas, a local educational agency shall--
                          ``(i) annually rank, without regard to grade
                      spans, such agency's eligible school attendance
                      areas in which the concentration of children from
                      low-income families exceeds 75 percent from
                      highest to lowest according to the percentage of
                      children from low-income families; and
                          ``(ii) serve such eligible school attendance
                      areas in rank order.
                    ``(B) Exception.--A local educational agency may
                lower the threshold in subparagraph (A)(i) to 50 percent
                for high schools served by such agency.''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the
                following:
            ``(5) Measures.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
                subparagraph (B), a local educational agency shall use
                the same measure of poverty, which measure shall be the
                number of children aged 5 through 17 in poverty counted
                in the most recent census data approved by the
                Secretary, the number of children eligible for a free or
                reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell
                National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), the
                number of children in families receiving assistance
                under the State program funded under part A of title IV
                of the Social Security Act, or the number of children
                eligible to receive medical assistance under the
                Medicaid Program, or a composite of such indicators, 
                with respect to all school attendance areas in the local
                educational agency--
                          ``(i) to identify eligible school attendance
                      areas;
                          ``(ii) to determine the ranking of each area; 
                      and
                          ``(iii) to determine allocations under
                      subsection (c).
                    ``(B) Secondary schools.--For measuring the number
                of students in low-income families in secondary schools, 
                the local educational agency shall use the same measure
                of poverty, which shall be--
                          ``(i) the measure described under subparagraph
                      (A); or
                          ``(ii) subject to meeting the conditions of
                      subparagraph (C), an accurate estimate of the
                      number of students in low-income families in a
                      secondary school that is calculated by applying
                      the average percentage of students in low-income
                      families of the elementary school attendance areas
                      as calculated under subparagraph (A) that feed
                      into the secondary school to the number of
                      students enrolled in such school.
                    ``(C) Measure of poverty.--The local educational
                agency shall have the option to use the measure of
                poverty described in subparagraph (B)(ii) after--
                          ``(i) conducting outreach to secondary schools
                      within such agency to inform such schools of the
                      option to use such measure; and
                          ``(ii) a majority of such schools have
                      approved the use of such measure.'';

[[Page 129 STAT. 1861]]

            (2) in subsection (b)(1)(D)(i), by striking ``section
        1120A(c)'' and inserting ``section 1118(c)''; and
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
                following:
            ``(3) Reservation of funds.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A local educational agency shall
                reserve such funds as are necessary under this part, 
                determined in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C), 
                to provide services comparable to those provided to
                children in schools funded under this part to serve--
                          ``(i) homeless children and youths, including
                      providing educationally related support services
                      to children in shelters and other locations where
                      children may live;
                          ``(ii) children in local institutions for
                      neglected children; and
                          ``(iii) if appropriate, children in local
                      institutions for delinquent children, and
                      neglected or delinquent children in community day
                      programs.
                    ``(B) Method of determination.--The share of funds
                determined under subparagraph (A) shall be determined--
                          ``(i) based on the total allocation received
                      by the local educational agency; and
                          ``(ii) prior to any allowable expenditures or
                      transfers by the local educational agency.
                    ``(C) Homeless children and youths.--Funds reserved
                under subparagraph (A)(i) may be--
                          ``(i) determined based on a needs assessment
                      of homeless children and youths in the local
                      educational agency, taking into consideration the
                      number and needs of homeless children and youths
                      in the local educational agency, and which needs
                      assessment may be the same needs assessment as
                      conducted under section 723(b)(1) of the McKinney-
                      Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
                      11433(b)(1)); and
                          ``(ii) used to provide homeless children and
                      youths with services not ordinarily provided to
                      other students under this part, including
                      providing--
                                    ``(I) funding for the liaison
                                designated pursuant to section
                                722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                                11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)); and
                                    ``(II) transportation pursuant to
                                section 722(g)(1)(J)(iii) of such Act
                                (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(iii)).'';
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``school
                improvement, corrective action, and restructuring under
                section 1116(b)'' and inserting ``comprehensive support
                and improvement activities or targeted support and
                improvement activities under section 1111(d)''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Early childhood education.--A local educational agency
        may reserve funds made available to carry out this section to
        provide early childhood education programs for eligible
        children.''.


NCLB Text

``SEC. 1113. <<NOTE: 20 USC 6313.>>  ELIGIBLE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREAS.

    ``(a) Determination.--
            ``(1) In general.--A local educational agency shall use
        funds received under this part only in eligible school
        attendance areas.
            ``(2) Eligible school attendance areas.--For the purposes of
        this part--
                    ``(A) the term `school attendance area' means, in
                relation to a particular school, the geographical area
                in which the children who are normally served by that
                school reside; and
                    ``(B) the term `eligible school attendance area' 
                means a school attendance area in which the percentage
                of children from low-income families is at least as high
                as the percentage of children from low-income families
                served by the local educational agency as a whole.
            ``(3) Ranking order.--If funds allocated in accordance with
        subsection (c) are insufficient to serve all eligible school
        attendance areas, a local educational agency shall--
                    ``(A) annually rank, without regard to grade spans, 
                such agency's eligible school attendance areas in which
                the concentration of children from low-income families
                exceeds 75 percent from highest to lowest according to
                the percentage of children from low-income families; and
                    ``(B) serve such eligible school attendance areas in
                rank order.
            ``(4) Remaining funds.--If funds remain after serving all
        eligible school attendance areas under paragraph (3), a local
        educational agency shall--
                    ``(A) annually rank such agency's remaining eligible
                school attendance areas from highest to lowest either by
                grade span or for the entire local educational agency
                according to the percentage of children from low-income
                families; and
                    ``(B) serve such eligible school attendance areas in
                rank order either within each grade-span grouping or
                within the local educational agency as a whole.
            ``(5) Measures.--The local educational agency shall use the
        same measure of poverty, which measure shall be the number of
        children ages 5 through 17 in poverty counted in the most recent
        census data approved by the Secretary, the number of children
        eligible for free and reduced priced lunches under the Richard
        B. Russell National School Lunch Act, the number of children in
        families receiving assistance under the State program funded
        under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, or the
        number of children eligible to receive medical assistance under
        the Medicaid program, or a composite of such indicators, with
        respect to all school attendance areas in the local educational
        agency--
                    ``(A) to identify eligible school attendance areas;
                    ``(B) to determine the ranking of each area; and
                    ``(C) to determine allocations under subsection (c).

[[Page 115 STAT. 1470]]

            ``(6) Exception.--This subsection shall not apply to a local
        educational agency with a total enrollment of less than 1,000
        children.
            ``(7) Waiver for desegregation plans.--The Secretary may
        approve a local educational agency's written request for a
        waiver of the requirements of subsections (a) and (c), and
        permit such agency to treat as eligible, and serve, any school
        that children attend with a State-ordered, court-ordered school
        desegregation plan or a plan that continues to be implemented in
        accordance with a State-ordered or court-ordered desegregation
        plan, if--
                    ``(A) the number of economically disadvantaged
                children enrolled in the school is at least 25 percent
                of the school's total enrollment; and
                    ``(B) the Secretary determines on the basis of a
                written request from such agency and in accordance with
                such criteria as the Secretary establishes, that
                approval of that request would further the purposes of
                this part.

    ``(b) Local Educational Agency Discretion.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), a
        local educational agency may--
                    ``(A) designate as eligible any school attendance
                area or school in which at least 35 percent of the
                children are from low-income families;
                    ``(B) use funds received under this part in a school
                that is not in an eligible school attendance area, if
                the percentage of children from low-income families
                enrolled in the school is equal to or greater than the
                percentage of such children in a participating school
                attendance area of such agency;
                    ``(C) designate and serve a school attendance area
                or school that is not eligible under this section, but
                that was eligible and that was served in the preceding
                fiscal year, but only for 1 additional fiscal year; and
                    ``(D) elect not to serve an eligible school
                attendance area or eligible school that has a higher
                percentage of children from low-income families if--
                          ``(i) the school meets the comparability
                      requirements of section 1120A(c);
                          ``(ii) the school is receiving supplemental
                      funds from other State or local sources that are
                      spent according to the requirements of section
                      1114 or 1115; and
                          ``(iii) the funds expended from such other
                      sources equal or exceed the amount that would be
                      provided under this part.
            ``(2) Special rule.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(D), the
        number of children attending private elementary schools and
        secondary schools who are to receive services, and the
        assistance such children are to receive under this part, shall
        be determined without regard to whether the public school
        attendance area in which such children reside is assisted under
        subparagraph (A).

    ``(c) Allocations.--
            ``(1) In general.--A local educational agency shall allocate
        funds received under this part to eligible school attendance
        areas or eligible schools, identified under subsections (a) and

[[Page 115 STAT. 1471]]

        (b), in rank order, on the basis of the total number of children
        from low-income families in each area or school.
            ``(2) Special rule.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
                subparagraph (B), the per-pupil amount of funds
                allocated to each school attendance area or school under
                paragraph (1) shall be at least 125 percent of the per-
                pupil amount of funds a local educational agency
                received for that year under the poverty criteria
                described by the local educational agency in the plan
                submitted under section 1112, except that this paragraph
                shall not apply to a local educational agency that only
                serves schools in which the percentage of such children
                is 35 percent or greater.
                    ``(B) Exception.--A local educational agency may
                reduce the amount of funds allocated under subparagraph
                (A) for a school attendance area or school by the amount
                of any supplemental State and local funds expended in
                that school attendance area or school for programs that
                meet the requirements of section 1114 or 1115.
            ``(3) Reservation.--A local educational agency shall reserve
        such funds as are necessary under this part to provide services
        comparable to those provided to children in schools funded under
        this part to serve--
                    ``(A) homeless children who do not attend
                participating schools, including providing educationally
                related support services to children in shelters and
                other locations where children may live;
                    ``(B) children in local institutions for neglected
                children; and
                    ``(C) if appropriate, children in local institutions
                for delinquent children, and neglected or delinquent
                children in community day school programs.
            ``(4) Financial incentives and rewards reservation.--A local
        educational agency may reserve such funds as are necessary from
        those funds received by the local educational agency under title
        II, and not more than 5 percent of those funds received by the
        local educational agency under subpart 2, to provide financial
        incentives and rewards to teachers who serve in schools eligible
        under this section and identified for school improvement, 
        corrective action, and restructuring under section 1116(b) for
        the purpose of attracting and retaining qualified and effective
        teachers.