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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 26, 2015
Community Partnerships in Education Act
Amends the school improvement program under part A of title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to:
allow states and local educational agencies (LEAs) to measure students' attainment of 21st Century skills (such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration) in assessing students' progress toward state academic performance standards;
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require LEAs to describe the data-sharing agreements they have entered into with other agencies and organizations; and
prioritize the provision of school improvement funds to LEAs with the lowest-achieving schools that demonstrate a commitment to involving community partners and intermediary organizations in school improvement efforts.
Amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to:
allow states to measure students' attainment of 21st century skills in assessing the career and technical education programs funded under such Act,
require states to include community partners and intermediary organizations in the development of their plans for career and technical education programs,
require career and technical education providers to describe how they will involve such entities in their programs, and
require those providers to develop and implement data-sharing agreements with other agencies and organizations.
Amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to:
require local workforce development boards to include representatives of community partners and intermediary organizations;
require local workforce development plans to describe the data-sharing agreements that the local board has entered into with other agencies and organizations;
allow state workforce development program performance indicators to include assessments of students' acquisition of 21st Century skills;
include the development of 21st Century skills as an element of the youth workforce investment activities and adult and dislocated worker training services funded by local workforce development programs; and
require states providing funding to adult education and literacy providers under the Act to consider the extent to which those providers coordinate their activities with other education, training, and social service resources in the community, including through data-sharing arrangements.
Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to:
require TRIO program providers to work, to the extent practicable, with community partners and intermediary organizations;
require the Secretary of Education to encourage TRIO program providers to enter into data-sharing agreements with other agencies and organizations;
require the Secretary to consider students' acquisition of 21st Century skills in assessing TRIO program effectiveness;
include community partners and intermediary organizations in the partnerships for grants under the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate programs (GEAR UP);
require GEAR UP providers, to the extent feasible, to enter into data-sharing agreements with other organizations or agencies; and
include among GEAR UP activities those that improve the number of participating students who acquire 21st Century skills.
Requires secondary and postsecondary high school equivalency programs and college assistance migrant programs to: (1) be implemented in partnership with community partners and with the involvement of intermediary organizations, and (2) include data-sharing agreements between program grantees and other organizations or agencies. Includes as part of the high school equivalency program activities that enable students to acquire 21st Century skills.
People & committees
Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] · D–RI
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jan 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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