§ 6661e. Tutorial Assistance Subgrants

(a) In general

(1) Subgrants

     Except as provided in paragraph (4), a State educational agency that receives a grant under section 6661b of this title shall make at least one subgrant on a competitive basis to—

     (A) local educational agencies that have at least one school in the geographic area served by the agency that—

     (i) is located in an area designated as an empowerment zone under part I of subchapter U of chapter 1 of title 26; or

     (ii) is located in an area designated as an enterprise community under part I of subchapter U of chapter 1 of title 26;

     (B) local educational agencies that have at least one school that is identified for school improvement under section 6317(c) of this title in the geographic area served by the agency;

     (C) local educational agencies with the largest, or second largest, number of children who are counted under section 6333(c) of this title, in comparison to all other local educational agencies in the State; or

     (D) local educational agencies with the highest, or second highest, school-age child poverty rate, in comparison to all other local educational agencies in the State.

For purposes of subparagraph (D), the term "school-age child poverty rate" means the number of children counted under section 6333(c) of this title who are living within the geographic boundaries of the local educational agency, expressed as a percentage of the total number of children aged 5–17 years living within the geographic boundaries of the local educational agency.

(2) Notification

(A) To local educational agencies

     A State educational agency shall provide notice to all local educational agencies within the State regarding the availability of the subgrants under this section.

(B) To providers and parents

     Not later than 30 days after the date on which the State educational agency provides notice under subparagraph (A), each local educational agency described in paragraph (1) shall, as a condition on the agency’s receipt of funds made available under subchapter I of this chapter, provide public notice to potential providers of tutorial assistance operating in the jurisdiction of the agency, and parents residing in such jurisdiction, regarding the availability of the subgrants under this section.

(3) Application

     A local educational agency that desires to receive a subgrant under this section shall submit an application to the State educational agency at such time, in such manner, and including such information as the agency may require. The application shall include an assurance that the local educational agency will use the subgrant funds to carry out the duties described in subsection (b) of this section for children enrolled in any school selected by the agency that (A) is described in paragraph (1)(A), (B) is described in paragraph (1)(B), (C) has the largest, or second largest, number of children who are counted under section 6333(c) of this title, in comparison to all other schools in the local educational agency, or (D) has the highest, or second highest, school-age child poverty rate (as defined in the second sentence of paragraph (1)), in comparison to all other schools in the local educational agency.

(4) Exception

     If no local educational agency within the State submits an application to receive a subgrant under this section within the 6-month period beginning on the date on which the State educational agency provided notice to the local educational agencies regarding the availability of the subgrants, the State educational agency may use funds otherwise reserved under ¹ 6661c(2) of this title for the purpose of providing local reading improvement subgrants under section 6661d of this title if the State educational agency certifies to the Secretary that the requirements of paragraph (2) have been met and each local educational agency in the State described in subparagraph (B) of such paragraph has demonstrated to the State educational agency that no provider of tutorial assistance described in such subparagraph requested the local educational agency to submit under paragraph (3) an application for a tutorial assistance subgrant.

¹ So in original. Probably should be followed by "section".

(b) Use of funds

(1) In general

     A local educational agency that receives a subgrant under this section shall carry out, using the funds provided under the subgrant, each of the duties described in paragraph (2).

(2) Duties

     The duties described in this paragraph are the provision of tutorial assistance in reading, before school, after school, on weekends, or during the summer, to children who have difficulty reading, using instructional practices based on scientifically based reading research, through the following:

     (A) The creation and implementation of objective criteria to determine in a uniform manner the eligibility of tutorial assistance providers and tutorial assistance programs desiring to provide tutorial assistance under the subgrant. Such criteria shall include the following:

     (i) A record of effectiveness with respect to reading readiness, reading instruction for children in kindergarten through 3d grade, and early childhood literacy, as appropriate.

     (ii) Location in a geographic area convenient to the school or schools attended by the children who will be receiving tutorial assistance.

     (iii) The ability to provide tutoring in reading to children who have difficulty reading, using instructional practices based on scientifically based reading research and consistent with the reading instructional methods and content used by the school the child attends.

     (B) The provision, to parents of a child eligible to receive tutorial assistance pursuant to this section, of multiple choices among tutorial assistance providers and tutorial assistance programs determined to be eligible under the criteria described in subparagraph (A). Such choices shall include a school-based program and at least one tutorial assistance program operated by a provider pursuant to a contract with the local educational agency.

     (C) The development of procedures—

     (i) for the provision of information to parents of an eligible child regarding such parents’ choices for tutorial assistance for the child;

     (ii) for considering children for tutorial assistance who are identified under subparagraph (D) and for whom no parent has selected a tutorial assistance provider or tutorial assistance program that give such parents additional opportunities to select a tutorial assistance provider or tutorial assistance program referred to in subparagraph (B); and

     (iii) that permit a local educational agency to recommend a tutorial assistance provider or tutorial assistance program in a case where a parent asks for assistance in the making of such selection.

     (D) The development of a selection process for providing tutorial assistance in accordance with this paragraph that limits the provision of assistance to children identified, by the school the child attends, as having difficulty reading, including difficulty mastering phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension.

     (E) The development of procedures for selecting children to receive tutorial assistance, to be used in cases where insufficient funds are available to provide assistance with respect to all children identified by a school under subparagraph (D), that—

     (i) give priority to children who are determined, through State or local reading assessments, to be most in need of tutorial assistance; and

     (ii) give priority, in cases where children are determined, through State or local reading assessments, to be equally in need of tutorial assistance, based on a random selection principle.

     (F) The development of a methodology by which payments are made directly to tutorial assistance providers who are identified and selected pursuant to this section and selected for funding. Such methodology shall include the making of a contract, consistent with State and local law, between the provider and the local educational agency. Such contract shall satisfy the following requirements:

     (i) It shall contain specific goals and timetables with respect to the performance of the tutorial assistance provider.

     (ii) It shall require the tutorial assistance provider to report to the local educational agency on the provider’s performance in meeting such goals and timetables.

     (iii) It shall specify the measurement techniques that will be used to evaluate the performance of the provider.

     (iv) It shall require the provider to meet all applicable Federal, State, and local health, safety, and civil rights laws.

     (v) It shall ensure that the tutorial assistance provided under the contract is consistent with reading instruction and content used by the local educational agency.

     (vi) It shall contain an agreement by the provider that information regarding the identity of any child eligible for, or enrolled in the program, will not be publicly disclosed without the permission of a parent of the child.

     (vii) It shall include the terms of an agreement between the provider and the local educational agency with respect to the provider’s purchase and maintenance of adequate general liability insurance.

     (viii) It shall contain provisions with respect to the making of payments to the provider by the local educational agency.

     (G) The development of procedures under which the local educational agency carrying out this paragraph—

     (i) will ensure oversight of the quality and effectiveness of the tutorial assistance provided by each tutorial assistance provider that is selected for funding;

     (ii) will provide for the termination of contracts with ineffective and unsuccessful tutorial assistance providers (as determined by the local educational agency based upon the performance of the provider with respect to the goals and timetables contained in the contract between the agency and the provider under subparagraph (F));

     (iii) will provide to each parent of a child identified under subparagraph (D) who requests such information for the purpose of selecting a tutorial assistance provider for the child, in a comprehensible format, information with respect to the quality and effectiveness of the tutorial assistance referred to in clause (i);

     (iv) will ensure that each school identifying a child under subparagraph (D) will provide upon request, to a parent of the child, assistance in selecting, from among the tutorial assistance providers who are identified pursuant to subparagraph (B) the provider who is best able to meet the needs of the child;

     (v) will ensure that parents of a child receiving tutorial assistance pursuant to this section are informed of their child’s progress in the tutorial program; and

     (vi) will ensure that it does not disclose the name of any child who may be eligible for tutorial assistance pursuant to this section, the name of any parent of such a child, or any other personally identifiable information about such a parent or child, to any tutorial assistance provider (excluding the agency itself), without the prior written consent of such parent.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title II, § 2256, as added Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(f) [title VIII, § 101(a)(2)], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–337, 2681–401.)

     This section is referred to in sections 6661b, 6661c, 6661g of this title.