Innovation and Improvement

Innovation and Improvement For carrying out activities authorized by part G of title I, subpart 5 of part A and parts C and D of title II, parts B, C, and D of title V of the ESEA, and sections 14006 and 14007 of division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, as amended, $1,530,429,000: Provided, That the Secretary may use up to $550,000,000, which shall remain available for obligation through December 31, 2012, for section 14006 of division A of Public Law 111–5, as amended, to make awards (including on the basis of previously submitted applications) to States or to local educational agencies, or both, in accordance with the applicable requirements of that section, as determined by the Secretary, and may use up to 5 percent of such funds for technical assistance and evaluation of the activities carried out under that section: Provided further, That up to $149,700,000 shall be available for obligation through December 31, 2012 for section 14007 of division A of Public Law 111–5, and up to 5 percent of such funds may be used for technical assistance and the evaluation of activities carried out under such section: Provided further, That $300,000,000 of the funds for subpart 1 of part D of title V of the ESEA shall be for competitive grants to local educational agencies, including charter schools that are local educational agencies, or States, or partnerships of: (1) a local educational agency, a State, or both; and (2) at least one nonprofit organization to develop and implement performance-based compensation systems for teachers, principals, and other personnel in high-need schools: Provided further, That such performance-based compensation systems must consider gains in student academic achievement as well as classroom evaluations conducted multiple times during each school year among other factors and provide educators with incentives to take on additional responsibilities and leadership roles: Provided further, That recipients of such grants shall demonstrate that such performance-based compensation systems are developed with the input of teachers and school leaders in the schools and local educational agencies to be served by the grant: Provided further, That recipients of such grants may use such funds to develop or improve systems and tools (which may be developed and used for the entire local educational agency or only for schools served under the grant) that would enhance the quality and success of the compensation system, such as high-quality teacher evaluations and tools to measure growth in student achievement: Provided further, That applications for such grants shall include a plan to sustain financially the activities conducted and systems developed under the grant once the grant period has expired: Provided further, That up to 5 percent of such funds for competitive grants shall be available for technical assistance, training, peer review of applications, program outreach, and evaluation activities: Provided further, That of the funds available for part B of title V of the ESEA, the Secretary shall use not less than $23,000,000 to carry out activities under section 5205(b) and under subpart 2: Provided further, That of the funds available for subpart 1 of part B of title V of the ESEA, and notwithstanding section 5205(a), the Secretary may reserve up to $55,000,000 to make multiple awards to non-profit charter management organizations and other entities that are not for-profit entities for the replication and expansion of successful charter school models and shall reserve up to $11,000,000 to carry out the activities described in section 5205(a), including improving quality and oversight of charter schools and providing technical assistance and grants to authorized public chartering agencies in order to increase the number of high-performing charter schools: Provided further, That each application submitted pursuant to section 5203(a) shall describe a plan to monitor and hold accountable authorized public chartering agencies through such activities as providing technical assistance or establishing a professional development program, which may include evaluation, planning, training, and systems development for staff of authorized public chartering agencies to improve the capacity of such agencies in the State to authorize, monitor, and hold accountable charter schools: Provided further, That each application submitted pursuant to section 5203(a) shall contain assurances that State law, regulations, or other policies require that: (1) each authorized charter school in the State operate under a legally binding charter or performance contract between itself and the school’s authorized public chartering agency that describes the obligations and responsibilities of the school and the public chartering agency; conduct annual, timely, and independent audits of the school’s financial statements that are filed with the school’s authorized public chartering agency; and demonstrate improved student academic achievement; and (2) authorized public chartering agencies use increases in student academic achievement for all groups of students described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v) of the ESEA as the most important factor when determining to renew or revoke a school’s charter.