Transition to Teaching Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Transition to Teaching Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) School districts will need to hire more than 2,000,000 
        teachers in the next decade. The need for teachers in the areas 
        of mathematics, science, foreign languages, special education, 
        and bilingual education, and for those able to teach in high-
        poverty school districts will be particularly high. To meet 
        this need, talented Americans of all ages should be recruited 
        to become successful, qualified teachers.
            (2) Nearly 28 percent of teachers of academic subjects have 
        neither an undergraduate major nor minor in their main 
        assignment fields. This problem is more acute in high-poverty 
        schools, where the out-of-field percentage is 39 percent.
            (3) The Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) 
        ranked United States high school seniors last among 16 
        countries in physics and next to last in mathematics. It is 
        also evident, mainly from the TIMSS data, that based on 
        academic scores, a stronger emphasis needs to be placed on the 
        academic preparation of our children in mathematics and 
        science.
            (4) One-fourth of high-poverty schools find it very 
        difficult to fill bilingual teaching positions, and nearly half 
        of public school teachers have students in their classrooms for 
        whom English is a second language.
            (5) Many career-changing professionals with strong content-
        area skills are interested in a teaching career, but need 
        assistance in getting the appropriate pedagogical training and 
        classroom experience.
            (6) The Troops to Teachers model has been highly successful 
        in linking high-quality teachers to teach in high-poverty 
        districts.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to address the need of high-poverty 
school districts for highly qualified teachers in particular subject 
areas, such as mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual 
education, and special education, needed by those school districts, 
by--
            (1) continuing and enhancing the Troops to Teachers model 
        for recruiting and supporting the placement of such teachers; 
        and
            (2) recruiting, preparing, placing, and supporting career-
        changing professionals who have knowledge and experience that 
        will help them become such teachers.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    (a) Authority.--Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary is 
authorized to use funds appropriated under subsection (c) for each 
fiscal year to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to 
institutions of higher education and public and private nonprofit 
agencies or organizations to carry out programs authorized by this Act.
    (b) Troops to Teachers.--
            (1) In general.--Before making awards under subsection (a) 
        for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall first--
                    (A) consult with the Secretary of Defense and the 
                Secretary of Transportation regarding the appropriate 
                amount of funding needed to continue and enhance the 
                Troops to Teachers program; and
                    (B) upon agreement, transfer that amount to the 
                Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support 
                (DANTES) to carry out the Troops to Teachers program.
            (2) Continuation of program.--The Secretary may enter into 
        a written agreement with the Departments of Defense and 
        Transportation, or take such other steps as the Secretary 
        determines are appropriate to ensure effective continuation of 
        the Troops to Teachers program.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated $18,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2000 through 2005.

SEC. 5. APPLICATION.

    Each applicant that desires an award under section 4(a) shall 
submit an application to the Secretary containing such information as 
the Secretary requires, including--
            (1) a description of the target group of career-changing 
        professionals upon which the applicant will focus in carrying 
        out its program under this Act, including a description of the 
        characteristics of that target group that shows how the 
        knowledge and experience of its members are relevant to meeting 
        the purpose of this Act;
            (2) a description of how the applicant will identify and 
        recruit program participants;
            (3) a description of the training that program participants 
        will receive and how that training will relate to their 
        certification as teachers;
            (4) a description of how the applicant will ensure that 
        program participants are placed and teach in high-poverty local 
        educational agencies;
            (5) a description of the teacher induction services (which 
        may be provided through existing induction programs) the 
        program participants will receive throughout at least their 
        first year of teaching;
            (6) a description of how the applicant will collaborate, as 
        needed, with other institutions, agencies, or organizations to 
        recruit, train, place, and support program participants under 
        this Act, including evidence of the commitment of those 
        institutions, agencies, or organizations to the applicant's 
        program;
            (7) a description of how the applicant will evaluate the 
        progress and effectiveness of its program, including--
                    (A) the program's goals and objectives;
                    (B) the performance indicators the applicant will 
                use to measure the program's progress; and
                    (C) the outcome measures that will be used to 
                determine the program's effectiveness; and
            (8) an assurance that the applicant will provide to the 
        Secretary such information as the Secretary determines 
        necessary to determine the overall effectiveness of programs 
        under this Act.

SEC. 6. USES OF FUNDS AND PERIOD OF SERVICE.

    (a) Authorized Activities.--Funds under this Act may be used for--
            (1) recruiting program participants, including informing 
        them of opportunities under the program and putting them in 
        contact with other institutions, agencies, or organizations 
        that would train, place, and support them;
            (2) training stipends and other financial incentives for 
        program participants, not to exceed $5,000 per participant;
            (3) assisting institutions of higher education or other 
        providers of teacher training to tailor their training to meet 
        the particular needs of professionals who are changing their 
        careers to teaching;
            (4) placement activities, including identifying high-
        poverty local educational agencies with a need for the 
        particular skills and characteristics of the newly trained 
        program participants and assisting those participants to obtain 
        employment in those local educational agencies; and
            (5) post-placement induction or support activities for 
        program participants.
    (b) Period of Service.--A program participant in a program under 
this Act who completes his or her training shall serve in a high-
poverty local educational agency for at least 3 years.
    (c) Repayment.--The Secretary shall establish such requirements as 
the Secretary determines appropriate to ensure that program 
participants who receive a training stipend or other financial 
incentive under subsection (a)(2), but fail to complete their service 
obligation under subsection (b), repay all or a portion of such stipend 
or other incentive.

SEC. 7. EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.

    To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall make awards under 
this Act that support programs in different geographic regions of the 
Nation.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) High-poverty local educational agency.--The term 
        ``high-poverty local educational agency'' means a local 
        educational agency in which the percentage of children, ages 5 
        through 17, from families below the poverty level is 20 percent 
        or greater, or the number of such children exceeds 10,000.
            (2) Program participants.--The term ``program 
        participants'' means career-changing professionals who--
                    (A) hold at least a baccalaureate degree;
                    (B) demonstrate interest in, and commitment to, 
                becoming a teacher; and
                    (C) have knowledge and experience that are relevant 
                to teaching a high-need subject area in a high-need 
                local educational agency.

Summary: Authorizes the Secretary of Education to use funds under this Act to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to institutions of higher education (IHEs) and public and private nonprofit entities to carry out Transition-to-Teaching programs. Requires the Secretary, before making such awards, to: (1) consult with the Secretaries of Defense and of Transportation with respect to the appropriate amount of funding necessary to continue and enhance the Troops-to-Teachers program. And (2) transfer such amount to the Department of Defense to carry out such program. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a written agreement with the Departments of Defense and of Transportation, or take other appropriate steps to ensure effective continuation of such program. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth requirements for applications for Transition-to-Teaching program assistance. Authorizes use of such funds for: (1) recruitment of program participants, (2) training stipends and other financial incentives for program participants. (3) assistance to IHEs or other teacher training providers to meet particular needs of professionals changing their careers to teaching. (4) placement activities, including identifying high-poverty local educational agencies (LEAs) with needs for particular skills and characteristics of the newly trained program participants and assisting those participants to obtain employment in those LEAs. And (5) post-placement induction or support activities for program participants. Requires program participants who complete training to teach in a high-poverty LEA for at least three years, or else repay all or a portion of their training stipend or other incentive.