Teachers for the 21st Century Act

Summary: Teachers for the 21st Century Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide grants to up to ten high-need local educational agencies or eligible consortium, one in each of the ten regions established by the Department of Education, to establish or expand National Teachers Academies. 
Requires each Academy to promote teacher training, professional development and recruitment, and curriculum development. 
Sets forth eligibility requirements for grant awards and renewals. Lists permitted uses of grant funds. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Teachers for the 21st Century Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The dawn of the 21st century will place increased 
        demands upon our Nation's students that can only be met with 
        the proper instruction from qualified, experienced, and well-
        trained teachers. The teachers of the 21st century must not 
        only be well-versed in increasingly complex subject matters and 
        technologies, but also highly trained in the best techniques to 
        impart these skills to their students.
            (2) Teacher development resources are severely lacking in 
        the majority of school districts across the Nation, leaving 
        many teachers ill-prepared to meet the growing, modern 
        challenges of educating children in the age of a global 
        workforce. Spending less than 3 percent of their resources on 
        teacher development, many American schools have fallen far 
        behind the curve of most corporations and schools in other 
        industrialized nations.
            (3) Over the next 10 years, the Nation will face a 
        tremendous demand for 2,000,000 additional teachers resulting 
        from increased student enrollments and teacher attrition, which 
        will place many school districts in the precarious position of 
        choosing between quantity and quality. Already, the National 
        Commission on Teaching and America's Future has reported that 
        50,000 unqualified teachers have been hired annually on 
        emergency or substandard licenses to meet this growing demand.
            (4) Teacher shortages will unevenly impact high-need urban 
        and rural communities that have the most difficulty attracting 
        and retaining qualified teachers. The National Center for 
        Education Statistics reports that 39 percent of teachers in 
        these communities have neither a college major or minor in 
        their primary field of coursework.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to establish or expand 10 National 
Teachers Academies, one in each of the 10 regions established by the 
Department of Education and serving at least 1 high-need local 
education agency. The Academies will establish models for local 
educational agencies to improve teaching and learning by meeting the 
21st century challenges of recruiting and retaining qualified teachers, 
and giving teachers the tools they need to prepare their students for 
competition in a global workforce by--
            (1) assembling a team of ``master'' teachers to mentor and 
        train student teachers on how to provide quality instruction;
            (2) increasing the pool of ``master'' teachers by 
        partnering with education institutions that offer a range of 
        professional development opportunities including seminars, 
        institutes, or mini-research sabbaticals focused on the 
        knowledge and skills required in the 21st century;
            (3) providing 1 or more demonstration sites for research-
        based ``best practices'' in increasing student achievement, 
        classroom management and instruction, teacher mentoring, 
        training, and professional staff development;
            (4) increasing collaboration between elementary, secondary, 
        and university faculty to improve the intensity and quality of 
        clinical experiences for prospective teachers;
            (5) working with the regional national educational labs to 
        provide information obtained throughout the research and 
        development process to the Secretary for dissemination to 
        school districts across the Nation;
            (6) entering into a partnership between local educational 
        agencies, State educational agencies, institutions of higher 
        education, education foundations, professional development and 
        recruitment centers, parent groups, corporations, and community 
        organizations;
            (7) providing an opportunity for mid-career professionals 
        to obtain alternative teaching certification;
            (8) offering ongoing professional development opportunities 
        and support and providing opportunities for teachers to engage 
        in research on specific issues of teaching and learning, and 
        developing test curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and
            (9) providing students from disadvantaged communities with 
        challenging curriculum, quality instruction, and an overall 
        outstanding elementary and secondary education experience.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to provide grants to 
not more than 10 high-need local educational agencies or eligible 
consortium, one in each of the 10 regions established by the Department 
of Education, to establish or expand National Teachers Academies.
    (b) National Teachers Academy.--Each National Teachers Academy 
shall promote teacher training, professional development and 
recruitment, and curriculum development.

SEC. 5. GRANT AWARDS AND RENEWALS.

    (a) In General.--To be eligible to receive a grant award under this 
Act, a high-need local educational agency or eligible consortium 
shall--
            (1) submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
        such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
        may reasonably require;
            (2) describe how the agency--
                    (A) will recruit and hire a team of ``master'' 
                teachers to mentor and train student teachers regarding 
                the provision of quality instruction in high-need urban 
                and rural areas;
                    (B) will increase the pool of ``master'' teachers 
                by partnering with education institutions that offer a 
                range of professional development opportunities 
                including seminars, institutes, or mini-research 
                sabbaticals focused on the knowledge and skills 
                required in the 21st century;
                    (C) serve as a demonstration site for ``best 
                practices'' in classroom management and instruction, 
                teacher mentoring, training, and professional staff 
                development;
                    (D) increase collaboration between elementary, 
                secondary, and university faculty to improve the 
                intensity and quality of clinical experiences for 
                prospective teachers;
                    (E) make available knowledge obtained throughout 
                the research and development process to school 
                districts across the Nation;
                    (F) establish a consortium between local 
                educational agencies, State educational agencies, 
                institutions of higher education, education 
                foundations, professional development and recruitment 
                centers, parent groups, corporations, or community 
                organizations;
                    (G) provide an opportunity for mid-career 
                professionals to obtain alternative teaching 
                certification; and
                    (H) offer ongoing professional development 
                opportunities and support and provide opportunities for 
                teachers to engage in action research on specific 
                issues of teaching and learning, and develop test 
                curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and
            (2) provide an assurance that, either directly or through 
        private contributions, the agency will provide non-Federal 
        matching funds equal to not less than 25 percent of the amount 
        of the award for the first 2 years, 35 percent for the 3d and 
        4th years, and 50 percent for the 5th year.
    (b) Renewal.--The Secretary may award each grant for a period not 
to exceed 5 years. These awards may be renewed annually on a 
noncompetitive basis if the Secretary determines that--
            (1) the goals set forth in the application for the initial 
        grant request have been achieved;
            (2) there is promise of continuing progress;
            (3) the non-Federal share of project costs have been met; 
        and
            (4) a plan has been developed for continuing the Academy 
        after Federal funding is no longer available.

SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS.

    (a) Permitted Uses.--A high-need local educational agency or 
eligible consortium that receives a grant award under this Act shall 
use funds to establish or expand a National Teachers Academy in new or 
existing school facilities and to meet the operating costs of 
establishing such Academy, which may include--
            (1) reasonable startup and initial operating costs;
            (2) training costs related to staff development;
            (3) the costs to purchase books, materials and other 
        equipment, including new technology;
            (4) payment of personnel directly related to the operation 
        of the Academy;
            (5) recruitment costs including scholarship incentives;
            (6) participation in the activities of the consortium; and
            (7) any costs related to the construction, remodeling, or 
        renovation of the facilities to house each National Teachers 
        Academy.
    (b) Limitations.--The Secretary may limit the amounts of funds that 
may be used for remodeling and construction costs as such costs relate 
to the creation or expansion of each National Teachers Academy.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``high-need local educational agency'' means a 
        local educational agency that serves an elementary or secondary 
        school located in an area in which there is--
                    (A) a high percentage of individuals from families 
                with incomes below the poverty line as defined by the 
                Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually 
                in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community 
                Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) applicable 
                to a family of the size involved;
                    (B) a high percentage of secondary school teachers 
                who have neither a college major or minor in their 
                primary field of coursework; or
                    (C) a high teacher turnover rate.
            (2) The term ``National Teachers Academy'' means a teacher 
        training and professional development program conducted in at 
        least one elementary or secondary school that provides 
        prospective and novice teachers an opportunity to work under 
        the mentorship of master teachers in a laboratory-style 
        setting, and provides professional development opportunities 
        for veteran teachers and curriculum development services.
            (3) The term ``local educational agency'' has the same 
        meaning given such term in section 14101 of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).
            (4) The term ``master teacher'' means a teacher of 
        exceptional expertise and accomplishment who meets high 
        standards as defined by State law, the National Board for 
        Professional Teaching Standards, or the local educational 
        agency in its application for a grant under this Act.
            (5) The term ``eligible consortium'' means a consortium of 
        one or more high-need local educational agencies and one or 
        more institutions of higher education.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$75,000,000 for fiscal years 2000 and 2001, and $50,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004.