Professional Development Reform Act

Summary: Professional Development Reform Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a new program for the professional development of elementary and secondary school teachers. 
Directs the Secretary of Education to make program allotments to applicant State educational agencies (SEAs) according to a specified formula.  Requires an SEA to reserve not more than five percent of its allotment to support programs to provide effective leadership and mentoring training to school administrators and teachers.  Allows an SEA also to reserve the following portions of its allotment: (1) two percent for technical assistance and information dissemination to schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) for professional development activities aligned with State standards for content, student performance, and teaching excellence; and (2) two percent for evaluation of effectiveness, in certain respects, of professional development provided by schools and LEAs, and for administrative costs.  Requires SEAs to allocate to eligible applicant LEAs all allotment funds not so reserved. 
Bases an LEA's eligibility for such allocations on its eligibility for assistance for basic LEA programs to help disadvantaged children meet high standards.  Requires each recipient LEA to use its allocation to carry out specified types of professional development activities in the schools it serves that have the highest percentages of students living in poverty.  Provides for continuation of funding under specified conditions. 
Directs the Secretary to reserve not more than five percent of the amount appropriated under this Act for each fiscal year for: (1) a national evaluation, including State evaluation reports and a report to Congress; and (2) dissemination activities, including a national database or clearinghouse. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Professional 
Development Reform Act''.
    (b) Amendments.--Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating part E as part F; and
            (2) by inserting after part D the following:

                   ``PART E--PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

``SEC. 2351. PURPOSES.

    ``The purposes of this part are as follows:
            ``(1) To improve the academic achievement of students by 
        providing every student with a well-prepared teacher.
            ``(2) To provide every new teacher with structured support, 
        including a qualified and trained mentor, to facilitate the 
        transition into successful teaching.
            ``(3) To ensure that every teacher is given the assistance, 
        tools, and professional development opportunities, throughout 
        the teacher's career, to help the teacher teach to the highest 
        academic standards and help students succeed.
            ``(4) To provide training to prepare and support principals 
        to serve as instructional leaders and to work with teachers to 
        create a school climate that fosters excellence in teaching and 
        learning.
            ``(5) To transform, strengthen, and improve professional 
        development from a fragmented, one-shot approach to sustained, 
        high quality, and intensive activities that--
                    ``(A) are collaborative, content-centered, 
                standards-based, results-driven, and embedded in the 
                daily work of the school;
                    ``(B) allow teachers regular opportunities to 
                practice and reflect upon their teaching and learning; 
                and
                    ``(C) are responsive to teacher needs.

``SEC. 2252. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this part:
            ``(1) Professional development.--The term `professional 
        development' means effective professional development that--
                    ``(A) is sustained, high quality, intensive, and 
                comprehensive;
                    ``(B) is content-centered, collaborative, school-
                embedded, tied to practice, focused on student work, 
                supported by research, and aligned with and designed to 
                help elementary school or secondary school students 
                meet challenging State content standards and 
                challenging State student performance standards;
                    ``(C) includes structured induction activities that 
                provide ongoing and regular support to new teachers in 
                the initial years of their careers;
                    ``(D) includes sustained in-service activities to 
                improve elementary school or secondary school teaching 
                in the core academic subjects, to integrate technology 
                into the curriculum, to improve understanding and the 
                use of student assessments, to improve classroom 
                management skills, to address the specific needs of 
                diverse students, including limited English proficient 
                students, individuals with disabilities, and 
                economically disadvantaged individuals, and to 
                encourage and provide instruction on how to work with 
                and involve parents to foster student achievement; and
                    ``(E) includes sustained onsite training 
                opportunities that provide active learning and 
                observational opportunities for elementary school or 
                secondary school teachers to model effective practice.
            ``(2) Administrator.--The term `administrator' means a 
        school principal or superintendent.

``SEC. 2353. STATE ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.

    ``From the amount appropriated under section 2361 that is not 
reserved under section 2360 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make 
an allotment to each State educational agency having an application 
approved under section 2354 in an amount that bears the same relation 
to the amount appropriated under section 2361 that is not reserved 
under section 2360 for the fiscal year as the amount the State 
educational agency received under part A of title I for the fiscal year 
bears to the amount received under such part by all States for the 
fiscal year.

``SEC. 2354. STATE APPLICATIONS.

    ``Each State educational agency desiring an allotment under section 
2353 for a fiscal year shall submit to the Secretary an application at 
such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 
Secretary may require. The application shall include--
            ``(1) a description of the strategy to be used to implement 
        State activities described in section 2355;
            ``(2) a description of how the State educational agency 
        will assist local educational agencies in transforming, 
        strengthening, and improving professional development;
            ``(3) a description of how the activities described in 
        section 2355 and the assistance described in paragraph (2) will 
        assist the State in achieving the State's goals for 
        comprehensive education reform, will help all students meet 
        challenging State content standards and challenging State 
        student performance standards, and will help all teachers meet 
        State standards for teaching excellence;
            ``(4) a description of the manner in which the State 
        educational agency will ensure, consistent with the State's 
comprehensive education reform plan policies, or statutes, that funds 
provided under this part will be effectively coordinated with all 
Federal and State professional development funds and activities, 
including funds and activities under this title, titles I, III, VI, and 
VII, title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965, section 307 of the 
Department of Education Appropriations Act, 1999, and the Goals 2000: 
Educate America Act; and
            ``(5) a description of--
                    ``(A) how the State educational agency will collect 
                and utilize data for evaluation of the activities 
                carried out by local educational agencies under this 
                part, including collecting baseline data in order to 
                measure changes in the professional development 
                opportunities provided to teachers and measure 
                improvements in teaching practice and student 
                performance; and
                    ``(B) the specific performance measures the State 
                educational agency will use to determine the need for 
                technical assistance described in section 2355(2) and 
                to make a continuation of funding determination under 
                section 2358.

``SEC. 2355. STATE ACTIVITIES.

    ``From the amount allotted to a State educational agency under 
section 2353 for a fiscal year, the State educational agency--
            ``(1) shall reserve not more than 5 percent to support, 
        directly or through grants to or contracts with institutions of 
        higher education, educational nonprofit organizations, 
        professional associations of administrators, or other entities 
        that are responsive to the needs of administrators and 
        teachers, programs that--
                    ``(A) provide effective leadership training--
                            ``(i) to encourage highly qualified 
                        individuals to become administrators; and
                            ``(ii) to develop and enhance instructional 
                        leadership, school management, parent 
                        involvement, mentoring, and staff evaluation 
                        skills of administrators; and
                    ``(B) provide effective leadership and mentor 
                training--
                            ``(i) to encourage highly qualified and 
                        effective teachers to become mentors; and
                            ``(ii) to develop and enhance the mentoring 
                        and peer coaching skills of such qualified and 
                        effective teachers;
            ``(2) may reserve not more than 2 percent for providing 
        technical assistance and dissemination of information to 
        schools and local educational agencies to help the schools and 
        local educational agencies implement effective professional 
        development activities that are aligned with challenging State 
        content standards, challenging State student performance 
        standards, and State standards for teaching excellence; and
            ``(3) may reserve not more than 2 percent for evaluating 
        the effectiveness of the professional development provided by 
        schools and local educational agencies under this part in 
        improving teaching practice, increasing the academic 
        achievement of students, and helping students meet challenging 
        State content standards and challenging State student 
        performance standards, and for administrative costs.

``SEC. 2356. LOCAL PROVISIONS.

    ``(a) Allocations to Local Educational Agencies.--Each State 
educational agency receiving an allotment under section 2353 for a 
fiscal year shall make an allocation from the allotted funds that are 
not reserved under section 2355 for the fiscal year to each local 
educational agency in the State that is eligible to receive assistance 
under part A of title I for the fiscal year in an amount that bears the 
same relation to the allotted funds that are not reserved under section 
2355 as the amount the local educational agency received under such 
part for the fiscal year bears to the amount all local educational 
agencies in all States received under such part for the fiscal year.
    ``(b) Applications.--Each local educational agency desiring a grant 
under this part shall submit an application to the State educational 
agency at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
information as the State educational agency may require. The 
application shall include--
            ``(1) a description of how the local educational agency 
        plans--
                    ``(A) to work with schools served by the local 
                educational agency that are described in section 2357 
                to carry out the local activities described in section 
                2357; and
                    ``(B) to meet the purposes described in section 
                2351;
            ``(2) a description of the manner in which the local 
        educational agency will ensure that--
                    ``(A) the grant funds will be used--
                            ``(i) to provide teachers with the 
                        knowledge and skills necessary to teach 
                        students to be proficient or advanced in 
                        challenging State content standards and 
                        challenging State student performance 
                        standards, and any local education reform plans 
                        or policies; and
                            ``(ii) to help teachers meet standards for 
                        teaching excellence; and
                    ``(B) funds provided under this part will be 
                effectively coordinated with all Federal, State, and 
                local professional development funds and activities;
            ``(3) a description of the local educational agency's 
        strategy for--
                    ``(A) selecting and training highly qualified 
                mentors (utilizing teachers certified by the National 
                Board for Professional Teaching Standards and teachers 
                granted advanced certification as a master or mentor 
                teacher by the State, where possible), for matching 
                such mentors (from the new teachers' teaching 
                disciplines) with the new teachers; and
                    ``(B) providing release time for the teachers 
                (utilizing highly qualified substitute teachers and 
                high quality retired teachers, where possible);
            ``(4) a description of how the local educational agency 
        will collect and analyze data on the quality and impact of 
        activities carried out in schools under this part, and the 
        specific performance measures the local educational agency will 
        use in the local educational agency's evaluation process;
            ``(5) a description of the local educational agency's plan 
        to develop and carry out the activities described in section 
        2357 with the extensive participation of administrators, 
        teachers, parents, and the partnering institution described in 
        section 2357(4); and
            ``(6) a description of the local educational agency's 
        strategy to ensure that there is schoolwide participation in 
        the schools to be served.

``SEC. 2357. LOCAL ACTIVITIES.

    ``Each local educational agency receiving an allocation under this 
part shall use the allocation to carry out professional development 
activities in schools served by the local educational agency that have 
the highest percentages of students living in poverty, as measured in 
accordance with section 1113(a)(5), including--
            ``(1) mentoring, team teaching, and peer observation and 
        coaching;
            ``(2) dedicated time for collaborative lesson planning and 
        curriculum development meetings;
            ``(3) consultation with exemplary teachers and short- and 
        long-term visits to other classrooms and schools;
            ``(4) partnering with institutions of higher education and, 
        where appropriate, educational nonprofit organizations, for 
        joint efforts in designing the sustained professional 
        development opportunities, for providing advanced content area 
        courses and other assistance to improve the content knowledge 
        and pedagogical practices of teachers, and, where appropriate, 
        for providing training to address areas of teacher and 
        administrator shortages;
            ``(5) providing release time (including compensation for 
        mentor teachers and substitute teachers as necessary) for 
        activities described in this section; and
            ``(6) developing professional development networks, through 
        Internet links, where available, that--
                    ``(A) provide a forum for interaction among 
                teachers and administrators; and
                    ``(B) allow the exchange of information regarding 
                advances in content and pedagogy.

``SEC. 2358. CONTINUATION OF FUNDING.

    ``Each local educational agency or school that receives funding 
under this part shall be eligible to continue to receive the funding 
after the third year the local educational agency or school receives 
the funding if the local educational agency or school demonstrates that 
the local educational agency or school has--
            ``(1) improved student performance;
            ``(2) increased participation in sustained professional 
        development; and
            ``(3) made significant progress toward at least 1 of the 
        following:
                    ``(A) Reducing the number of out-of-field 
                placements and teachers with emergency credentials.
                    ``(B) Improving teaching practice.
                    ``(C) Reducing the new teacher attrition rate for 
                the local educational agency or school.
                    ``(D) Increasing partnerships and linkages with 
                institutions of higher education.

``SEC. 2359. SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.

    ``Funds made available under this part shall be used to supplement 
and not supplant other Federal, State, and local funds expended to 
carry out activities relating to teacher programs or professional 
development.

``SEC. 2360. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

    ``(a) Reservation.--The Secretary shall reserve not more than 5 
percent of the amount appropriated under section 2361 for each fiscal 
year for the national evaluation described in subsection (b) and the 
dissemination activities described in subsection (c).
    ``(b) National Evaluation.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for an 
        annual, independent, national evaluation of the activities 
        assisted under this part not later than 3 years after the date 
        of enactment of the Professional Development Reform Act. The 
        evaluation shall include information on the impact of the 
        activities assisted under this part on student performance.
            ``(2) State reports.--Each State receiving an allotment 
        under this part shall submit to the Secretary the results of 
        the evaluation described under section 2355(3).
            ``(3) Report to congress.--The Secretary annually shall 
        submit to Congress a report that describes the information in 
        the national evaluation and the State reports.
    ``(c) Dissemination.--The Secretary shall collect and broadly 
disseminate information (including creating and maintaining a national 
database or clearinghouse) to help States, local educational agencies, 
schools, teachers, and institutions of higher education learn about 
effective professional development policies, practices, and programs, 
data projections of teacher and administrator supply and demand, and 
available teaching and administrator opportunities.

``SEC. 2361. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
$1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may be necessary 
for each of the fiscal years 2001 through 2004.''.