According to a recent study from the Education Testing Service, over half of the influential factors in student achievement come from outside the school walls. Special education relies on this community school partnership to ensure students with disabilities receive the critical transition and wrap around services they need. For exactly this reason, CEC is an original endorser of The Developing Innovative Partnerships and Learning Opportunities that Motivate Achievement (DIPLOMA) Act and applauds Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) for her support of this legislation. She will introduce the Act in the House of Representatives this week.
The DIPLOMA Act empowers states to award grants to local groups that are devoted to programs such as tutoring, extending learning services, health care and social support, with the goal of improving student achievement by offering additional community services.
The bill contains strong accountability measures, with independent evaluations to measure the results and identify best practices. It builds on successful community schools efforts already underway in many areas across the nation.
Specifically, the DIPLOMA Act provides states with funds to:
- Develop overarching strategic plans to enhance education and other childhood development measures
- Provide training, technical assistance, and professional development
- Administer competitive grants to local private/public partnerships
- Hold grant recipients accountable with results-based, independent evaluations
Local groups, consisting of at least one school district and one external partner organization would compete for funds to:
- Conduct assets and needs assessments, and create localized strategies for individual communities
- Coordinate and integrate existing funding streams into their efforts and outreach
- Provide children and youth with an array of opportunities and services including tutoring and dropout prevention programs, health services and increased numbers of specialized instructional support personnel
This legislation is a companion piece to S. 3595, the Senate version of the DIPLOMA Act introduced by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) earlier this summer.
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