1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Success in the Middle Act of 2023 . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Research shows that Federal funding for students in middle school and high school, particularly grades 6 through 12, is significantly lower than funding for elementary and postsecondary students. (2) International comparisons indicate that students in the United States do not start out behind students of other nations in mathematics and science, but that they fall behind by the end of the middle grades. (3) In reading, 31 percent of students in grade 8 read at or above the proficient level on the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Average reading scores were lower at grade 8 for most racial/ethnic groups compared to 2019. (4) In mathematics, 27 percent of students in grade 8 displayed skills at or above the proficient level on the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress. (5) Evidence demonstrates unfinished learning for the Nation’s students, including students from the middle grades, resulting from the COVID–19 pandemic. Black and Hispanic students, in particular, were less likely to have access to the prerequisites of learning—devices, internet access, and live contact with teachers. Left unaddressed, these opportunity gaps could translate into wider achievement gaps. (6) By grade 6, a student who attends school less than 80 percent of the time, receives unsatisfactory marks for mild but sustained misbehavior, or who fails English or mathematics, has only a 10 to 20 percent chance of graduating on time. Without effective interventions and proper supports, these students are at risk of subsequent failure in secondary school, or of dropping out. (7) According to Gallup, student engagement is strong at the end of elementary school, with nearly 3/4 of 5th graders (74%) reporting high levels of engagement. But similar surveys have shown a gradual and steady decline in engagement for older students, with approximately 1/2 of students in middle school reporting high