I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1390

To establish a pilot program to encourage certification of teachers in lowincome, low-performing public elementary and secondary schools by the 

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2003

Mrs. DAVIS of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To establish a pilot program to encourage certification of 

teachers in low-income, low-performing public elementary 

and secondary schools by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘National Board-Cer5 tified Teachers in Low-Performing Schools Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. PILOT STIPEND INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR CER2 TIFICATION BY THE NATIONAL BOARD FOR 

3 PROFESSIONAL TEACHING STANDARDS. 

4 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu5 cation shall establish a 5-year pilot program under which 

6 Board-certified teachers in low-income, low-performing 

7 schools receive stipends under this section. The Secretary 

8 may provide stipends for up to 100 teachers annually 

9 under this section. The Secretary shall seek the coopera10 tion and assistance of the National Board for Professional 

11 Teaching Standards in carrying out this section. 

12 (b) ANNUAL BASE STIPEND REQUIREMENTS.—A 

13 Board-certified teacher shall receive an annual base sti14 pend of $5,000 under this section, for up to 4 years, if, 

15 for each year the teacher receives a stipend, the teacher—

16 (1) is employed in a school that is a low-income, 

17 low-performing school in the first year the teacher 

18 receives the stipend; 

19 (2) acts as the resident facilitator for the 

20 school, including by—

21 (A) conducting outreach among teachers 

22 who may seek to become, or are in the process 

23 of becoming, Board-certified (including by hold24 ing a minimum number of events or contacts 

25 within the faculty of the school); and 
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1 (B) facilitating participation in a support 

2 program for teachers who are in the process of 

3 becoming Board-certified; and 

4 (3) serves as a liaison with the National Board 

5 for Professional Teaching Standards, to recommend 

6 ways to encourage teachers to aspire to receive 

7 Board certification. 

8 (c) BONUS STIPENDS.—A recipient of an annual base 

9 stipend under subsection (b) may receive a bonus stipend 

10 of $1,000 for each teacher who completes the process for 

11 becoming Board-certified at the school for which the re12 cipient is the resident facilitator (even though such teacher 

13 may not necessarily become Board-certified at the comple14 tion of such process). 

15 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of Edu16 cation shall submit to the Congress not earlier than the 

17 end of the fourth year, nor later than the end of the pilot 

18 program under this section, a report on the effectiveness 

19 of the program in increasing the number of Board-cer20 tified teachers in the low-income, low-performing schools 

21 in which the program’s stipend recipients teach, including 

22 any appropriate findings or recommendations. 

23 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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1 (1) The term ‘‘Board-certified’’, with respect to 

2 a teacher, means certified by the National Board for 

3 Professional Teaching Standards. 

4 (2) The term ‘‘low-income, low-performing 

5 school’’ means a public elementary school or sec6 ondary school—

7 (A) served by a local educational agency in 

8 which at least 50 percent of the students are 

9 counted under section 1124(c) of the Elemen10 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6333(c)); and 

12 (B) identified for improvement under sec13 tion 1116(b)(1)(A) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

14 6316(b)(1)(A)). 

15 (3) The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘secondary 

16 school’’, and ‘‘local educational agency’’ have the 

17 meanings given those terms in section 9101 of the 

18 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

19 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

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