20 U.S.C. § 6631: Purposes; definitions

to assist States, local educational agencies, and nonprofit organizations to develop, implement, improve, or expand comprehensive performance-based compensation systems or human capital management systems for teachers, principals, or other school leaders (especially for teachers, principals, or other school leaders in high-need schools) who raise student academic achievement and close the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students; and to study and review performance-based compensation systems or human capital management systems for teachers, principals, or other school leaders to evaluate the effectiveness, fairness, quality, consistency, and reliability of the systems. a local educational agency, including a charter school that is a local educational agency, or a consortium of local educational agencies; a State educational agency or other State agency designated by the chief executive of a State to participate under this subpart; the Bureau of Indian Education; or 1 or more agencies described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); and at least 1 nonprofit or for-profit entity. The term “high-need school” means a public elementary school or secondary school that is located in an area in which the percentage of students from families with incomes below the poverty line is 30 percent or more. by which a local educational agency makes and implements human capital decisions, such as decisions on preparation, recruitment, hiring, placement, retention, dismissal, compensation, professional development, tenure, and promotion; and that includes a performance-based compensation system. that differentiates levels of compensation based in part on measurable increases in student academic achievement; and differentiated levels of compensation, which may include bonus pay, on the basis of the employment responsibilities and success of effective teachers, principals, or other school leaders in hard-to-staff schools or high-need subject areas; and successful fulfillment of additional responsibilities or job functions, such as teacher leadership roles; and evidence of professional achievement and mastery of content knowledge and superior teaching and leadership skills.