To authorize the Secretary of Education to establish a competitive demonstration grant program to provide funds for local educational agencies in order to increase the effectiveness of substitute teaching, and for other purposes.

Summary: Substitute Teaching Improvement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive demonstration grants to high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) or partnerships between such LEAs and institutions of higher education or nonprofit education organizations for the establishment of comprehensive training programs to increase the effectiveness of substitute teaching.

Requires LEAs to use such grants to: (1) train substitute teachers; (2) train principals and permanent teachers in effectively integrating substitute teachers into school operations; (3) develop a resource kit for substitute teachers; and (4) collect data on substitute teachers and practices for managing substitute teachers in participating districts.

Directs the Secretary to commission an independent evaluation of the prevalence of substitute teaching and current state and local efforts to improve its effectiveness.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Substitute Teaching Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) As much as one full year of a child's elementary and 
        secondary education is taught by substitute teachers.
            (2) Less than one in four school districts provide training 
        for substitute teachers.
            (3) No training is given to substitute teachers in 77 
        percent of school districts in the United States.
            (4) Over half (56 percent) of school districts never have a 
        face-to-face interview with substitute teaching candidates.
            (5) Poorly trained substitute teachers have a negative 
        impact on student academic performance and achievement.
            (6) Schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged 
        populations are more likely to be taught by less qualified 
        permanent teachers and under-prepared substitute teachers.
            (7) Nine out of the ten lowest-ranked States in National 
        Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing allowed 
        substitute teachers with only a high school diploma to teach in 
        their schools.
            (8) In fact, in 28 States, principals may hire anyone with 
        a high school diploma or a general equivalency diploma (GED) 
        who is age 18 years of age or older.
            (9) Schools with lower academic achievement are twice as 
        likely to allow less qualified substitutes in the classroom.
            (10) On any given day in the United States, more than 
        270,000 classes are taught by substitute teachers.
            (11) Formal training of substitute teachers has been shown 
        to improve the quality of education, lower school district 
        liability, reduce the number of student and faculty complaints, 
        and increase retention rates of substitute teachers.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 
              SUBSTITUTE TEACHING.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Education is authorized to make 
competitive demonstration grants to eligible local educational agencies 
for the purposes of--
            (1) increasing the effectiveness of substitute teaching 
        through a comprehensive training program for substitute 
        teachers, principals, permanent classroom teachers, and 
        district managers of substitute teachers; and
            (2) evaluating the effectiveness of the program.
    (b) Eligible Local Educational Agency.--In this Act, the term 
``eligible local educational agency'' means--
            (1) a high-need local educational agency; or
            (2) a partnership of a high-need local educational agency 
        and an institution of higher education, or non-profit education 
        organization.

SEC. 4. USE OF FUNDS.

    A local educational agency that receives a grant under section 3 
shall use the funds made available through the grant--
            (1) to train substitute teachers in--
                    (A) classroom management;
                    (B) effective teaching strategies that address a 
                variety of student learning needs and styles;
                    (C) teacher professionalism; and
                    (D) educational laws and issues;
            (2) to train principals and permanent teachers in 
        effectively integrating substitute teachers in school 
        operations, such as--
                    (A) best practices in recruiting and retaining 
                substitutes;
                    (B) best practices in preparing students for 
                substitutes;
                    (C) proper planning and follow-up for substitutes; 
                and
                    (D) use of permanent substitutes;
            (3) to develop a resource kit for substitute teachers that 
        contains--
                    (A) short whole-class critical thinking activities;
                    (B) independent student activities; and
                    (C) teacher-directed activities and lessons 
                organized by subject matter; and
            (4) to collect data on substitute teachers and the 
        practices for managing substitute teachers in participating 
        districts, including information on the--
                    (A) demand for substitute teachers;
                    (B) qualifications of substitute teachers;
                    (C) number and percentage of substitute teachers 
                that receive some form of training prior to entering 
                the classroom; and
                    (D) number of complaints registered against 
                substitute teachers.

SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND REPORTS.

    (a) Study on Substitute Teaching.--Not later than 120 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall 
commission a national independent evaluation of the prevalence of 
substitute teaching and current State and local efforts to improve the 
effectiveness of substitute teaching and their impact on student 
achievement. The Secretary shall report the findings of the evaluation 
to the Congress not later than two years after the date on which the 
study is commissioned.
    (b) Impact of Funded Programs.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date on which the last demonstration grant made under section 3 
expires, the Secretary of Education shall submit a report to the 
Congress describing the impact on student achievement of programs 
funded under this Act.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$5,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for 
fiscal years 2009 through 2012.