Part I – General Provisions

SEC. 1901. FEDERAL REGULATIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may issue such regulations as are necessary to reasonably ensure that there is compliance with this title.

(b) NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING PROCESS-

(1) IN GENERAL- Before publishing in the Federal Register proposed regulations to carry out this title, the Secretary shall obtain the advice and recommendations of representatives of Federal, State, and local administrators, parents, teachers, paraprofessionals, and members of local school boards and other organizations involved with the implementation and operation of programs under this title.

(2) MEETINGS AND ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE- Such advice and recommendations may be obtained through such mechanisms as regional meetings and electronic exchanges of information.

(3) PROPOSED REGULATIONS- After obtaining such advice and recommendations, and before publishing proposed regulations, the Secretary shall —

(A) establish a negotiated rulemaking process on, at a minimum, standards and assessments;

(B) select individuals to participate in such process from among individuals or groups that provided advice and recommendations, including representation from all geographic regions of the United States, in such numbers as will provide an equitable balance between representatives of parents and students and representatives of educators and education officials; and

(C) prepare a draft of proposed policy options that shall be provided to the individuals selected by the Secretary under subparagraph (B) not less than 15 days before the first meeting under such process.

(4) PROCESS- Such process —

(A) shall be conducted in a timely manner to ensure that final regulations are issued by the Secretary not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; and

(B) shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, but shall otherwise follow the provisions of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990 (5 U.S.C. 561 et seq.).

(5) EMERGENCY SITUATION- In an emergency situation in which regulations to carry out this title must be issued within a very limited time to assist State educational agencies and local educational agencies with the operation of a program under this title, the Secretary may issue proposed regulations without following such process but shall, immediately thereafter and before issuing final regulations, conduct regional meetings to review such proposed regulations.

(c) LIMITATION- Regulations to carry out this part may not require local programs to follow a particular instructional model, such as the provision of services outside the regular classroom or school program.

SEC. 1902. AGREEMENTS AND RECORDS.

(a) AGREEMENTS- All published proposed regulations shall conform to agreements that result from negotiated rulemaking described in section 1901 unless the Secretary reopens the negotiated rulemaking process or provides a written explanation to the participants involved in the process explaining why the Secretary decided to depart from, and not adhere to, such agreements.

(b) RECORDS- The Secretary shall ensure that an accurate and reliable record of agreements reached during the negotiations process is maintained.

SEC. 1903. STATE ADMINISTRATION.

(a) RULEMAKING-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each State that receives funds under this title shall —

(A) ensure that any State rules, regulations, and policies relating to this title conform to the purposes of this title and provide any such proposed rules, regulations, and policies to the committee of practitioners created under subsection (b) for review and comment;

(B) minimize such rules, regulations, and policies to which the State’s local educational agencies and schools are subject;

(C) eliminate or modify State and local fiscal accounting requirements in order to facilitate the ability of schools to consolidate funds under schoolwide programs; and

(D) identify any such rule, regulation, or policy as a State-imposed requirement.

(2) SUPPORT AND FACILITATION- State rules, regulations, and policies under this title shall support and facilitate local educational agency and school-level systemic reform designed to enable all children to meet the challenging State student academic achievement standards.

(b) COMMITTEE OF PRACTITIONERS-

(1) IN GENERAL- Each State educational agency that receives funds under this title shall create a State committee of practitioners to advise the State in carrying out its responsibilities under this title.

(2) MEMBERSHIP- Each such committee shall include —

(A) as a majority of its members, representatives from local educational agencies;

(B) administrators, including the administrators of programs described in other parts of this title;

(C) teachers, including vocational educators;

(D) parents;

(E) members of local school boards;

(F) representatives of private school children; and

(G) pupil services personnel.

(3) DUTIES- The duties of such committee shall include a review, before publication, of any proposed or final State rule or regulation pursuant to this title. In an emergency situation where such rule or regulation must be issued within a very limited time to assist local educational agencies with the operation of the program under this title, the State educational agency may issue a regulation without prior consultation, but shall immediately thereafter convene the State committee of practitioners to review the emergency regulation before issuance in final form.

SEC. 1904. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY SPENDING AUDITS.

(a) AUDITS- The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct audits of not less than 6 local educational agencies that receive funds under part A in each fiscal year to determine more clearly and specifically how local educational agencies are expending such funds. Such audits —

(1) shall be conducted in 6 local educational agencies that represent the size, ethnic, economic, and geographic diversity of local educational agencies; and

(2) shall examine the extent to which funds have been expended for academic instruction in the core curriculum and activities unrelated to academic instruction in the core curriculum, such as the payment of janitorial, utility, and other maintenance services, the purchase and lease of vehicles, and the payment for travel and attendance costs at conferences.

(b) REPORT- Not later than 3 months after the completion of the audits under subsection (a) each year, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report on each audit to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate.

SEC. 1905. PROHIBITION AGAINST FEDERAL MANDATES, DIRECTION, OR CONTROL.

Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Federal Government to mandate, direct, or control a State, local educational agency, or school’s specific instructional content, academic achievement standards and assessments, curriculum, or program of instruction.

SEC. 1906. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION ON EQUALIZED SPENDING.

Nothing in this title shall be construed to mandate equalized spending per pupil for a State, local educational agency, or school.

SEC. 1907. STATE REPORT ON DROPOUT DATA.

Not later than 1 year after a State educational agency receives funds under this title, the agency shall report to the Secretary and statewide, all school district data regarding annual school dropout rates in the State disaggregated by race and ethnicity according to procedures that conform with the National Center for Education Statistics’ Common Core of Data.

SEC. 1908. REGULATIONS FOR SECTIONS 1111 AND 1116.

The Secretary shall issue regulations for sections 1111 and 1116 not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.’.

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