text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Graduation Really Achieves Dreams 
  Act'' or the ``GRAD Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress makes the following findings:
              (1) The national secondary school graduation rate is only 
          70 percent. For the class of 2001, the national graduation rate 
          was only 51 percent for African-American students and 52 
          percent for Latino students.
              (2) In our Nation's high poverty urban districts, as few as 
          \1/3\ of students graduate from secondary school. In these 
          places, completion rates among certain disadvantaged groups of 
          students are often lower still.
              (3) In rural areas, where \1/3\ of American students attend 
          school, only 58.8 percent of students attend institutions of 
          higher education, compared with 68.2 percent of American 
          students from urban and suburban areas.
              (4) Each school day, approximately 3,000 secondary school 
          students drop out of school.
              (5) Alaska Natives have a substantially higher dropout rate 
          than all other students in Alaska as a group. The dropout rate 
          is 8.8 percent for Alaska Natives compared to 4.7 percent for 
          the 2001-2002 school year for other students in Alaska.
              (6) The 6,000,000 secondary students who make up the lowest 
          25 percent in terms of achievement scores are 3.5 times more 
          likely to drop out of secondary school than students in the 
          next highest quarter of academic achievement, and are 20 times 
          more likely to drop out than high achieving students.
              (7) Approximately 25 percent of secondary school students 
          are reading at below basic levels. The problem is even more 
          severe for poor students of color. The average minority or low-
          income 9th grader performs at only the 5th or 6th grade level 
          in reading.
              (8) During the 2002-2003 school year Alaska Benchmark 
          Examinations, significantly lower percentages of Alaska Natives 
          were proficient in reading, writing, and mathematics at each of 
          the 3 tested grade levels when compared to all other students. 
          These achievement gaps persist into secondary school, where 
          significantly lower percentages of Alaska Natives were 
          proficient in the subjects tested on the Alaska High School 
          Graduation Qualifying Examination in all grade levels where 
          that test was administered in 2002-2003 school year.
              (9) Achievement gaps persist across racial and 
          socioeconomic lines in rural schools. There are 2,500,000 poor 
          children in rural areas and the child poverty rate in some 
          rural areas is 2 to 3 times the national average.
              (10) Recruiting and retaining good teachers is an enormous 
          challenge in rural areas. The average salary in rural districts 
          is 13.4 percent lower than in nonrural areas, and teachers 
          often teach more than 1 subject, teach in poor working 
          conditions, live far from colleges, have little access to 
          training, and face geographic and social isolation.
              (11) Low graduation rates and college attendance rates are 
          evidence that, in the earlier grades, schools are not meeting 
          the fundamental achievement needs of low-income, minority, and 
          rural students.
              (12) Even those students who do graduate from secondary 
          schools and go on to college are struggling because they lack 
          the basic skills to succeed. Approximately 40 percent of all 4-
          year college students take a remedial course and 63 percent of 
          all community college students are assigned to at least 1 
          remedial course.
              (13) A small percentage of low-income students who manage 
          to enter college are able to complete a degree. Of students 
          from families in the bottom 20 percent in terms of income who 
          enter college, only 27 percent go on to complete a 2- or 4-year 
          college degree within 8 years.
              (14) Graduation rates impact early drop-out rates in the 
          military. The attrition rates in the military of both 
          individuals who are not secondary school graduates and GED 
          recipients are 8 percentage points higher than the attrition 
          rate of secondary school graduates. As a result, the Armed 
          Forces no longer accept secondary school dropouts and put less 
          value on alternative certificates.
              (15) Students who fail to graduate from secondary school 
          are more likely to engage in criminal activity than students 
          who graduate. A 1-percent increase in secondary school 
          graduation rates would save approximately $1,400,000,000 in 
          costs associated with incarceration, or about $2,100 for each 
          male secondary school graduate.
              (16) In today's workplace, nearly 8 in 10 adults with 
          baccalaureate degrees are employed, but for those who completed 
          secondary school only, the number falls to about 6 in 10. And 
          for students who dropped out of secondary school, the number 
          drops further to 4 in 10.
              (17) Employment projections indicate that jobs requiring 
          only a secondary school degree will grow by just 9 percent by 
          the year 2008, while those jobs requiring a bachelor's degree 
          will grow by 25 percent and those jobs requiring an associate's 
          degree will grow by 31 percent.
              (18) Personalization of the school environment has been 
          proven to increase success rates for low-performing secondary 
          school students. Nearly 50 percent of middle school youth and 
          40 percent of secondary school youth report feelings of 
          disengagement from school. Rates are even higher for teens and 
          minorities in urban schools. These feelings result in failure 
          to work hard, to seek assistance, or to take appropriate 
          courses.
              (19) Effective research-based education programs that 
          improve secondary school graduation rates are comprehensive in 
          nature and include interventions that begin in kindergarten or 
          earlier and span all the grades through grade 12.
  
  SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
  
      In this Act:
              (1) At-risk.--The term ``at-risk'' has the same meaning 
          given such term in section 1432 of the Elementary and Secondary 
          Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6472).
              (2) Feeder pattern.--The term ``feeder pattern'' means a 
          secondary school and the elementary schools and middle schools 
          that channel students into that secondary school.
              (3) Elementary school; secondary school.--The terms 
          ``elementary school'' and ``secondary school'' have the 
          meanings given such terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
          Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
              (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
          of Education.
  
  SEC. 4. PROJECT GRAD.
  
      (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
              (1) to provide support and assistance to programs 
          implementing integrated education reform services in order to 
          improve secondary school graduation, college attendance, and 
          college completion rates for at-risk students; and
              (2) to promote the establishment of new programs to 
          implement such integrated education reform services.
      (b) Grant Authorized.--The Secretary is authorized to award a grant 
  to Project GRAD USA (referred to in this Act as the ``grantee''), a 
  nonprofit educational organization that has as its primary purpose the 
  improvement of secondary school graduation, college attendance, and 
  college completion rates for at-risk students, to implement and sustain 
  the integrated education reform services described in subsection (d)(3) 
  at existing Project GRAD program sites and to promote the expansion of 
  Project GRAD programs to new sites.
      (c) Requirements of Grant Agreement.--The Secretary shall enter 
  into an agreement with the grantee that requires that the grantee 
  shall--
              (1) enter into subcontracts with nonprofit educational 
          organizations that serve a substantial number or percentage of 
          at-risk students (referred to in this Act as 
          ``subcontractors''), under which the subcontractors agree to 
          implement the programs described in subsection (d) and provide 
          matching funds for such programs;
              (2) directly carry out--
                      (A) activities to implement and sustain the 
                  reading, mathematics, classroom management, social 
                  service, and college access programs described in 
                  subsection (d)(3);
                      (B) activities to build the organizational and 
                  management capacity of the subcontractors to 
                  effectively implement and sustain the programs;
                      (C) activities for the purpose of improving and 
                  expanding the programs, including activities to further 
                  articulate a program for 1 or more grade levels and 
                  across grade levels, to tailor a program for a 
                  particular target audience, and to provide tighter 
                  integration across programs;
                      (D) activities for the purpose of implementing new 
                  Project GRAD program sites;
                      (E) activities for the purpose of promoting greater 
                  public awareness of integrated education reform 
                  services to improve secondary school graduation, 
                  college attendance, and college completion rates for 
                  at-risk students; and
                      (F) other activities directly related to improving 
                  secondary school graduation, college attendance, and 
                  college completion rates for at-risk students; and
              (3) use grant funds available under this Act to pay--
                      (A) to subcontractors the amount determined under 
                  subsection (f); and
                      (B) the costs associated with carrying out the 
                  activities described in paragraph (2).
      (d) Supported Programs.--
              (1) Designation.--The subcontractor programs referred to in 
          subsection (c)(1) shall be known as ``Project GRAD programs''.
              (2) Feeder patterns.--Each subcontractor shall implement a 
          Project GRAD program and shall, with the agreement of the 
          grantee--
                      (A) identify or establish not less than 1 feeder 
                  pattern of public schools; and
                      (B) provide the integrated educational reform 
                  services described in paragraph (3) at the identified 
                  feeder pattern or feeder patterns.
              (3) Integrated education reform services.--The services 
          provided through a Project GRAD program shall include--
                      (A) research-based programs in reading, 
                  mathematics, and classroom management;
                      (B) campus-based social services programs, 
                  including a systematic approach to increase family and 
                  community involvement in the schools served by the 
                  Project GRAD program;
                      (C) a college access program that includes--
                              (i) providing college scholarships for 
                          students who meet established criteria;
                              (ii) proven approaches for increasing 
                          student and family college awareness; and
                              (iii) assistance for such students in 
                          applying for higher education financial aid; 
                          and
                      (D) such other services identified by the grantee 
                  as necessary to increase secondary school graduation, 
                  college attendance, and college completion rates.
      (e) Grantee Use of Funds.--Of the funds made available under this 
  Act, not more than 8 percent, or $4,000,000, whichever is less, shall 
  be used by the grantee to pay for administration of the grant, with the 
  remainder of funds to be used for the purposes described in subsection 
  (c) (1) and (2).
      (f) Grantee Contribution and Matching Requirement.--
              (1) In general.--The grantee shall provide to each 
          subcontractor an average of $200 for each pupil served by the 
          subcontractor in the Project GRAD program, adjusted to take 
          into consideration--
                      (A) the resources available in the area where the 
                  subcontractor will implement the Project GRAD program; 
                  and
                      (B) the need for Project GRAD programs in such area 
                  to improve student outcomes, including reading and 
                  mathematics achievement and, where applicable, 
                  secondary school graduation, college attendance, and 
                  college completion rates.
              (2) Matching requirement.--Each subcontractor shall provide 
          funds for the Project GRAD program in an amount that is equal 
          to the amount received by the subcontractor from the grantee. 
          Such matching funds may be provided in cash or in kind, fairly 
          evaluated.
              (3) Waiver authority.--The grantee may waive, in whole or 
          in part, the requirement of paragraph (2) for a subcontractor, 
          if the subcontractor--
                      (A) demonstrates that the subcontractor would not 
                  otherwise be able to participate in the program; and
                      (B) enters into an agreement with the grantee with 
                  respect to the amount to which the waiver will apply.
              (4) Decrease in grantee share.--Based on the funds or 
          resources available to a subcontractor, the grantee may elect 
          to provide the subcontractor with an amount that is less than 
          the amount determined under paragraph (1).
      (g) Evaluation.--
              (1) Evaluation by the secretary.--The Secretary shall 
          select an independent entity to evaluate, every 3 years, the 
          performance of students who participate in a Project GRAD 
          program under this Act. The evaluation shall--
                      (A) be conducted using the strongest possible 
                  research design for determining the effectiveness of 
                  the Project GRAD programs funded under this Act; and
                      (B) compare reading and mathematics achievement 
                  and, where applicable, the secondary school graduation, 
                  college attendance, and college completion rates of 
                  students who participate in a Project GRAD program 
                  funded under this Act with those indicators for 
                  students of similar backgrounds who do not participate 
                  in such programs.
              (2) Evaluation by grantee and subcontractors.--
                      (A) In general.--The grantee shall require each 
                  subcontractor to prepare an in-depth report of the 
                  results and the use of funds of each Project GRAD 
                  program funded under this Act that includes--
                              (i) data on the reading and mathematics 
                          achievement of students involved in the Project 
                          GRAD program;
                              (ii) statistics on secondary school 
                          graduation, college attendance, and college 
                          completion rates; and
                              (iii) such financial reporting as required 
                          by the Secretary to review the effectiveness 
                          and efficiency of the program.
                      (B) Form of report.--The report shall be in a form 
                  and include such content as shall be determined by the 
                  grantee, in consultation with the Secretary or the 
                  entity selected by the Secretary to evaluate the 
                  Project GRAD programs in accordance with paragraph (1).
              (3) Availability of evaluations.--Copies of any evaluation 
          or report prepared under this subsection shall be made 
          available to--
                      (A) the Secretary;
                      (B) the chairperson and ranking member of the 
                  Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 
                  the Senate; and
                      (C) the chairperson and ranking member of the 
                  Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House 
                  of Representatives.
  
  SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  
      There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
  $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and such sums as may be necessary for 
  each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.
target: Graduation Really Achieves Dreams Act - GRAD Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to Project GRAD USA, a nonprofit educational organization for improving high school graduation and college attendance and completion rates for at-risk students, to provide technical assistance and support through subgrants to existing and new programs that implement a set of integrated education reform services.
  
  Requires the grantee to select only subgrantees that serve a substantial number or percentage of at-risk students. Requires the programs to identify one or more groups of public schools at which services will be provided through a feeder pattern through which elementary and secondary schools channel students having participated in program services into an identified high school. Requires program services to include: (1) research-based programs in reading, mathematics, and classroom management; (2) campus-based social services programs, including increasing family and community involvement in schools; (3) a college access program, including providing college scholarships for students who meet established criteria, increasing student and family college awareness, and assisting students to apply for college financial aid; and (4) other services the grantee identifies as necessary.
feat_title: A bill to provide for Project GRAD programs, and for other purposes.