II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 136

To provide for teacher excellence and classroom help.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. DASCHLE, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. LEVIN, Mr.

WELLSTONE, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. KERRY, Ms. MIKULSKI, and Mr. BAUCUS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To provide for teacher excellence and classroom help.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teacher Excellence

5 and Classroom Help Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) According to the National Commission for

9 Teaching and America’s Future, what teachers know

10 and can do is the most important influence on what

11 students learn.
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1 (2) The Nation will need 2,000,000 new teach2 ers over the 10 year period beginning with 1999.

3 Unfortunately, the need for new teachers in 1998

4 was met by admitting 50,000 unqualified teachers to

5 the classroom.

6 (3) Too many new teachers leave the teaching

7 profession in the first 3 years. Thirty to fifty percent

8 of all new urban teachers leave the teaching profes9 sion within the first 3 to 5 years of teaching. The

10 sink or swim mentality is too often the practice in

11 schools. Too many beginning teachers are thrown

12 into the classroom without the guidance and support

13 the teachers need to succeed.

14 (4) Too many teachers and principals are not

15 prepared to help all children meet new, high State

16 standards, and use new technologies well.

17 (5) States and school districts should be held

18 accountable for making sure every child is taught by

19 a qualified teacher.

20 (6) The National Commission for Teaching and

21 America’s Future recommends a major investment

22 in recruiting, preparing, and training teachers as a

23 central strategy for improving schools.

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

25 In this Act:
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1 (1) BEGINNING TEACHER.—The term ‘‘begin2 ning teacher’’ means an individual who is—

3 (A) in the last year of a course of study to

4 prepare to become an elementary school or sec5 ondary school teacher;

6 (B) in the first 3 years of a teaching as7 signment at a public elementary school or sec8 ondary school; or

9 (C) an experienced teacher who is new to

10 a school or subject area.

11 (2) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, LOCAL EDU12 CATIONAL AGENCY, OUTLYING AREA, SECONDARY

13 SCHOOL, SECRETARY, STATE, AND STATE EDU14 CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘elementary

15 school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘outlying area’’,

16 ‘‘secondary school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘State’’, and

17 ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the meanings given

18 the terms in section 14101 of the Elementary and

19 Secondary Education Act of 1965.

20 (3) INDUCTION PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘induc21 tion program’’ means a program to help beginning

22 teachers succeed and stay in the classroom. Such

23 program may include—

24 (A) mentoring and coaching by trained

25 mentor teachers;
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1 (B) team teaching with veteran teachers;

2 (C) time for observation of and consulta3 tion with veteran teachers;

4 (D) assignment of fewer course prepara5 tions; and

6 (E) provision of additional time for course

7 preparation.

8 (4) VETERAN TEACHER.—The term ‘‘veteran

9 teacher’’ means an individual who is—

10 (A) certified to teach in an elementary

11 school or secondary school;

12 (B) teaching in a public elementary school

13 or secondary school; or

14 (C) recently retired from teaching in a

15 public elementary school or secondary school.

16 TITLE I—CHALLENGING STATES

17 TO ENSURE THAT EVERY

18 CHILD IS TAUGHT BY A

19 QUALIFIED TEACHER

20 SEC. 101. PURPOSES.

21 The purposes of this title are as follows:

22 (1) To improve student achievement in meeting

23 State content and performance standards.

24 (2) To improve the quality and performance of

25 the Nation’s teaching force.
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1 (3) To hold States, school districts, and schools

2 accountable for improving the quality and success of

3 the teaching force by providing beginning and vet4 eran teachers with the support the teachers need to

5 succeed and stay in teaching, by offering incentives

6 for more qualified individuals to go into teaching, by

7 reducing out-of-field placement of teachers, and by

8 reducing the number of teachers with emergency

9 credentials.

10 (4) To provide beginning and veteran teachers

11 and principals with the induction and ongoing pro12 fessional development they need to help all children

13 meet high standards of achievement.

14 (5) To retain and support promising beginning

15 teachers in the teaching profession.

16 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVA17 TION.

18 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title

20 $1,200,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such sums as

21 may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2001 through

22 2005.

23 (b) RESERVATION.—From amounts appropriated

24 under subsection (a) for a fiscal year the Secretary shall

25 reserve 1 percent to award grants to the Bureau of Indian
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1 Affairs to carry out the purposes of this title for the bene2 fit of Indians.

3 SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES.

4 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Using amounts appro5 priated under section 102(a) and not reserved under sec6 tion 102(b), the Secretary shall award grants to State

7 educational agencies in each State, from allotments under

8 subsection (c), to enable the agencies to implement state9 wide initiates—

10 (1) to improve and expand the elementary

11 school and secondary school teaching force of the

12 States through proven, effective programs to recruit,

13 train, and retain beginning teachers; and

14 (2) to provide ongoing professional development

15 to veteran teachers and principals to improve their

16 ability to help all student reach high State content

17 and performance standards.

18 (b) STATE RESERVATION.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

20 each State educational agency receiving a grant

21 under this section may reserve not more than 10

22 percent of the grant funds for statewide activities to

23 improve the quality of the teaching force,

24 including—
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1 (A) providing assistance to local edu2 cational agencies to reduce out-of-field place3 ments;

4 (B) reducing the use of emergency creden5 tials;

6 (C) improving alternative certification pro7 grams;

8 (D) administrative costs of activities as9 sisted under this section;

10 (E) evaluation of the activities assisted

11 under this section;

12 (F) improving State efforts to link the pro13 gram assisted under this section with State

14 standards;

15 (G) supporting National Board for Profes16 sional Teaching Standards certification of

17 teachers who are or will teach in high-need

18 schools; and

19 (H) providing assistance to local edu20 cational agencies in implementing effective pro21 grams of teacher recruitment, induction, and

22 professional development.

23 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Each State edu24 cational agency receiving a grant under this section

25 may use not more than 3 percent of the grant funds
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1 for administrative costs described in paragraph

2 (1)(D).

3 (c) ALLOTMENTS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

5 the Secretary shall make an allotment to each State

6 educational agency in each State in an amount equal

7 to the greater of the amount the State would receive

8 if $1,200,000,000 were allocated under section 1122

9 of the Elementary Secondary Education Act of 1965

10 or under section 2202(b) of such Act for fiscal year

11 1998, except that such allotment shall be ratably de12 creased as may be necessary.

13 (2) OUTLYING AREAS.—The State educational

14 agency serving each outlying area shall receive an al15 lotment under this subsection in an amount equal to

16 $500,000.

17 (d) APPLICATIONS.—A State educational agency that

18 desires a grant under this section shall submit an applica19 tion to the Secretary at such time, and in such manner

20 as the Secretary may require. Each such application shall

21 include—

22 (1) a description of the State’s teacher short23 ages relating to high-need school districts or high24 need subject areas;
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1 (2) a description of the need for professional

2 development of veteran teachers in the State and the

3 need for strong induction programs for beginning

4 teachers, which needs assessment shall be developed

5 with the involvement of teachers;

6 (3) a description of how the State educational

7 agency will improve the quality of the State’s teach8 ing force and meet the requirements of this section;

9 (4) a description of how the State educational

10 agency will align activities assisted under this sec11 tion with State content and performance standards,

12 and State assessments;

13 (5) a description of how the State educational

14 agency will advance teacher knowledge in content

15 areas and of best instructional practices;

16 (6) a description of how the State educational

17 agency will—

18 (A) implement plans to encourage a reduc19 tion in out-of-field placement of teachers;

20 (B) reduce the number of teachers hired

21 with emergency certification;

22 (C) increase the State’s commitment to

23 aligning professional development with State

24 content and performance standards, and State

25 assessments; and
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1 (D) increase the rigor and quality of State

2 certification and licensure tests for teachers en3 tering the field of teaching, including subject

4 matter tests for secondary school teachers;

5 (7) a description of how the State educational

6 agency will coordinate activities assisted under this

7 section with efforts under Goals 2000: Educate

8 America Act, titles I and title II of the Elementary

9 and Secondary Education Act of 1965, section 307

10 of the Department of Education Appropriations Act,

11 1999, and title II of the Higher Education Act of

12 1965, as appropriate; and

13 (8) a plan, developed with the extensive partici14 pation of teachers, for addressing long-term teacher

15 recruitment, retention, and professional development

16 needs, which may include—

17 (A) technical assistance to help school dis18 tricts reform hiring practices to support strong

19 teacher recruitment and retention; or

20 (B) establishing State or regional partner21 ships to address teacher shortages.

22 SEC. 104. ATTRACTING NEW TEACHERS PROGRAMS.

23 (a) SCHOLARSHIPS.—Each State educational agency

24 receiving a grant under this title shall use 20 percent of

25 the grant funds—
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1 (1) to award scholarships to qualified individ2 uals who enter the elementary school or secondary

3 school teaching field;

4 (2) to establish partnerships described in sub5 section (c) to assist in carrying out the scholarship

6 program under this section, including the recruit7 ment of prospective teachers and support services

8 for the teachers.

9 (b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—The scholarships shall

10 be awarded on a statewide basis to individuals who—

11 (1) want to change professions in mid-career

12 and receive graduate or continuing education in

13 order to teach in public elementary schools or sec14 ondary schools, including paraprofessionals that

15 want to become fully certified or licensed teachers;

16 or

17 (2) want to obtain an undergraduate degree in

18 order to teach in public elementary schools or sec19 ondary schools.

20 (c) AMOUNT.—The amount of the scholarship shall

21 be determined by the State educational agency. The State

22 educational agency shall consider the need of the individ23 ual in determining the amount of the scholarship.

24 (d) PARTNERSHIPS.—A State educational agency

25 shall enter into partnerships with local educational agen-
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1 cies that serve school districts with the greatest teacher

2 shortages in the State and colleges of education at institu3 tions of higher education in order to establish the scholar4 ship program. The State educational agency may also in5 clude in the partnership community-based organizations

6 and other organizations, for the purpose of implementing

7 a successful scholarship program.

8 (e) REQUIREMENTS.—The scholarship program shall

9 include the following:

10 (1) Requirements that scholarship recipients

11 agree to teach for at least 3 years after completion

12 of the degree for which the scholarship was awarded.

13 (2) Requirements that scholarship recipients

14 agree to teach in high-need school districts or high15 need content areas.

16 (3) Coordination of incentives under the pro17 gram assisted under this section with incentives

18 under the Federal student loan forgiveness program

19 under section 428J of the Higher Education Act of

20 1965 in order to attract more individuals to teach21 ing.

22 SEC. 105. LOCAL TEACHER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

23 GRANTS.

24 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Each State educational

25 agency receiving a grant under this title shall use not less
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1 than 70 percent of the grant funds to award grants, on

2 a competitive basis, to eligible local educational agencies

3 to enable the local educational agencies to carry out the

4 authorized activities described in subsection (e).

5 (b) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

6 AGENCIES.—In this section the term ‘‘eligible local edu7 cational agency’’ means a local education agency that—

8 (1) is eligible to receive assistance under title I

9 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

10 1965, and meets additional eligibility criteria estab11 lished by the State educational agency with respect

12 to—

13 (A) high rates of poverty of the families of

14 the children attending schools served by the

15 local educational agency;

16 (B) the need for support for improving

17 teacher quality based on low achievement of

18 students served by the local educational agency;

19 (C) low-teacher retention rates in the

20 schools served by the local educational agency;

21 (D) the need for improving or expanding

22 veteran teacher knowledge and skills in high23 priority areas, such as—

24 (i) State content and performance

25 standards, and State assessments;
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1 (ii) technology;

2 (iii) improving the ability of children

3 with disabilities and limited English pro4 ficient children to meet State content and

5 performance standards;

6 (iv) discipline; and

7 (v) implementing proven programs

8 and research-based best practices; and

9 (E) high out-of-field placement rates.

10 (c) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—A

11 State educational agency shall ensure an equitable dis12 tribution of grants under this section among local edu13 cational agencies serving urban and rural areas.

14 (d) AWARD RULE.—A State educational agency shall

15 ensure that a portion of the funds awarded to eligible local

16 educational agencies under this section are awarded to eli17 gible local educational agencies with high numbers of chil18 dren in poverty and high percentages of children in pov19 erty.

20 (e) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—A local educational

21 agency that receives a grant under this section—

22 (1) shall use the grant funds—

23 (A) to provide high-quality induction pro24 grams for beginning teachers, including mentor

25 and internship programs; and
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1 (B) to provide high-quality professional de2 velopment for veteran teachers and principals to

3 ensure that every child has the opportunity to

4 meet high State standards under the guidance

5 of—

6 (i) teaching by a qualified, knowledge7 able, skillful teacher in the classroom; and

8 (ii) a qualified, knowledgeable, skillful

9 principal of a school; and

10 (2) may use the grant funds to establish a part11 nership with an institution of higher education, an12 other local educational agency, or another organiza13 tion, for the purpose of carrying out the activities

14 under this program.

15 (f) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY APPLICATION.—

16 Each eligible local educational agency desiring a grant

17 under this section shall submit an application to the State

18 educational agency at such time, in such manner, and ac19 companied by such information as the State educational

20 agency may require. Each such application shall include

21 a description of—

22 (1) the partnership that the local educational

23 agency will form to carry out the authorized activi24 ties described in subsection (d);
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1 (2) the goals of the activities assisted under this

2 section and the role of each member of the partner3 ship in meeting the goals;

4 (3) a plan for selecting and assigning beginning

5 and veteran teachers for participation in the pro6 gram;

7 (4) the release time and other rewards or incen8 tives offered to beginning teachers and veteran

9 teachers for participation in the induction or profes10 sional development program;

11 (5) the training and support that will be pro12 vided to veteran teachers participating in the induc13 tion program;

14 (6) how the program—

15 (A) shall address the ongoing professional

16 development of teachers and principals in the

17 areas of—

18 (i) course content; and

19 (ii) instructional strategies;

20 (B) may address the ongoing professional

21 development of teachers and principals in the

22 areas of—

23 (i) meaningful parental and commu24 nity involvement in schools;
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1 (ii) use of educational technologies

2 and the integration of the technologies into

3 the curriculum;

4 (iii) understanding the special needs

5 and cultural diversity of students insofar

6 as the special needs and cultural diversity

7 impact student learning; and

8 (iv) classroom management and dis9 cipline;

10 (7) a description of how the induction and pro11 fessional development activities will—

12 (A) improve the ability of teachers and

13 principals to help all students reach high State

14 content and performance standards;

15 (B) advance teacher knowledge of content

16 areas and best instructional practices in 1 or

17 more of the core academic content areas;

18 (C) involve collaborative groups of teachers

19 and administrators from the same school dis20 trict and, to the greatest extent possible, from

21 the same school;

22 (D) be of sufficient duration to have a

23 positive and lasting impact on classroom in24 struction and, to the greatest extent possible,
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1 include school-based followup support such as

2 coaching or study groups;

3 (E) be embedded in school districtwide and

4 school-based professional development plans de5 signed to raise student achievement on State

6 academic standards; and

7 (F) be based on the best, most recent re8 search and practice on school leadership, teach9 ing, and learning;

10 (8) how teachers, parents, and school adminis11 trators will be extensively involved in developing and

12 implementing the induction and professional develop13 ment activities;

14 (9) how the program will address the profes15 sional development needs of paraprofessionals and

16 other student services personnel, including coun17 selors; and

18 (10) a plan for reducing out-of-field placement

19 of teachers.

20 (g) EVALUATION.—Each local educational agency re21 ceiving a grant under this section shall submit to the State

22 educational agency, a biennial evaluation of the program

23 assisted under this section, which evaluation shall be de24 veloped with the extensive participation of teachers. Each

25 such evaluation shall describe—
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1 (1) the effectiveness of the program in meeting

2 the goals of the program;

3 (2) the effectiveness of the mentor training to

4 effectively address the skills, pedagogy, and aca5 demic areas the mentor teachers need in order to

6 provide appropriate assistance to beginning teachers;

7 (3) the benefits and concerns identified by men8 tor teachers and beginning teachers participating in

9 the program;

10 (4) the impact of the program with respect to—

11 (A) the classes taught by new teachers;

12 (B) staff members;

13 (C) parents; and

14 (D) the elementary school or secondary

15 school involved in the program;

16 (5) the effectiveness of the induction and pro17 fessional development programs in helping the teach18 ers help their students meet State content and per19 formance standards;

20 (6) data relating to—

21 (A) how many new teachers participated in

22 the program;

23 (B) how many new teachers who partici24 pated in the program are retained in the teach25 ing profession compared to how many new
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1 teachers were retained in the teaching profes2 sion during years in which the program did not

3 operate; and

4 (C) how many mentor teachers who par5 ticipated in the program continued the partici6 pation; and

7 (7) any changes made by an institution of high8 er education in the preparation of new teachers, and

9 in the professional development opportunities related

10 to teaching that are offered by the institution, as a

11 result of the institution’s participation in the pro12 gram.

13 SEC. 106. SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.

14 Funds made available under this title shall be used

15 to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, and

16 local funds expended for teacher programs.

17 TITLE II—IMPROVING TEACHER

18 PREPARATION

19 SEC. 201. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

20 It is the sense of the Senate that—

21 (1) Congress should fully fund title II of the

22 Higher Education Act of 1965, relating to Teacher

23 Quality Enhancement Grants for States and Part24 nerships, at $300,000,000; and
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1 (2) the 105th Congress made a strong commit2 ment to holding institutions of higher education ac3 countable for improving the initial preparation of

4 teachers, and the 106th Congress should make a

5 strong investment in accomplishing that goal.

6 TITLE III—IMPROVING TEACHER

7 TECHNOLOGY TRAINING

8 SEC. 301. IMPROVING TEACHER TECHNOLOGY TRAINING.

9 (a) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE FOR TITLE I.—Section

10 1001(d)(4) of the Elementary and Secondary Education

11 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301(d)(4)) is amended by insert12 ing ‘‘, giving particular attention to the role technology

13 can play in professional development and improved teach14 ing and learning’’ before the semicolon.

15 (b) SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT.—Section 1116(c)(3) of

16 such Act (20 U.S.C. 6317(c)(3)) is amended by adding

17 at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(D) In carrying out professional develop19 ment under this paragraph a school shall give

20 particular attention to professional development

21 that incorporates technology used to improve

22 teaching and learning.’’.

23 (c) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—Section

24 1119(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6320(b)) is amended—

25 (1) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking

2 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;

3 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the

4 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (C) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(F) include instruction in the use of tech7 nology.’’; and

8 (2) in paragraph (2)—

9 (A) by striking subparagraph (D); and

10 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (E)

11 through (I) as subparagraphs (D) through (H),

12 respectively.

13 (d) PURPOSES FOR TITLE II.—Section 2002(2) of

14 such Act (20 U.S.C. 6602(2)) is amended—

15 (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’

16 after the semicolon;

17 (2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period

18 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

19 (3) by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(G) uses technology to enhance the teach21 ing and learning process.’’.

22 (e) NATIONAL TEACHER TRAINING PROJECT.—Sec23 tion 2103(b)(2) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6623(b)(2)) is

24 amended by adding at the end the following:

25 ‘‘(J) Technology.’’.
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1 (f) LOCAL PLAN FOR IMPROVING TEACHING AND

2 LEARNING.—Section 2208(d)(1)(F) of such Act (20

3 U.S.C. 6648(d)(1)(F)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, tech4 nologies,’’ after ‘‘strategies’’.

5 (g) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Section

6 2210(b)(2)(C) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6650(b)(2)(C)) is

7 amended by inserting ‘‘, and in particular technology,’’

8 after ‘‘practices’’.

9 (h) HIGHER EDUCATION ACTIVITIES.—Section

10 2211(a)(1)(C) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 6651(a)(1)(C)) is

11 amended by inserting ‘‘, including technological innova12 tion,’’ after ‘‘innovation’’.

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