Bill > HR631

This bill, the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act (A PLUS Act), allows states to submit a declaration of intent to the Secretary of Education to combine certain federal education funds and manage their expenditure to advance the state's educational policy. The key provisions of the bill include: 1) Giving states and local communities flexibility to determine how to improve academic achievement and implement education reforms. 2) Reducing administrative costs and compliance burdens of federal education programs to focus resources on improving academic achievement. 3) Ensuring states and communities are accountable to the public for advancing the academic achievement of all students, especially disadvantaged children. 4) Allowing states to consolidate funding from various eligible federal education programs, except for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and use the funds for any educational purpose permitted by state law. 5) Requiring states to provide transparency on student achievement, use of federal funds, and efforts to improve educational opportunities for disadvantaged students. 6) Limiting administrative expenses for states operating under the declaration of intent to 1% of the federal funds, or 3% if the state does not include Title I Part A funds. 7) Requiring equitable participation of private school children and teachers in activities supported by the consolidated federal funds.