Schools of the Future Act
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Schools of the Future Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive three- to five-year grants to eligible partnerships to implement and evaluate the results of technology-based learning practices, strategies, tools, or courses at rural schools.
Defines "eligible partnerships" as those composed of a school partner, a digital learning partner, and an evaluation partner.
Describes a "school partner" as a: (1) local educational agency, (2) charter school network that does not include virtual schools, (3) consortium of public elementary or secondary schools, (4) regional educational service provider, or (5) consortium of such entities.
Describes a "digital learning partner" as an institution of higher education, a nonprofit organization, or an organization with school development or turnaround experience.
Includes among the grant-funded technology-based learning practices, strategies, tools, or courses, those that: (1) personalize the learning experience, (2) aid and inform instruction, (3) meet the needs of students with specific educational needs, (4) help students develop 21st century skills, and (5) give students access to courses that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Requires each partnership's evaluation partner, after the third year of the grant, to evaluate the effect of the technology-based learning practices, strategies, tools, or courses on student achievement and its school partner's costs and savings.
Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, to: (1) evaluate the implementation and impact of the activities supported by this Act's grants, (2) identify best practices, and (3) disseminate research on best practices in school leadership.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 10, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 10, 2013: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
David Loebsack (D-IA) introduced it on December 10, 2013. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 10, 2013, 4657 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4657 days ago, on December 10, 2013.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers