IB 

Union Calendar No. 91

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2211

[Report No. 108–183] 

To reauthorize title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2003

Mr. GINGREY (for himself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. MCKEON, and Mr. WILSON of 

South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

JUNE 26, 2003

Additional sponsors: Mr. TIBERI and Mr. ISAKSON

JUNE 26, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 22, 2003] 

A BILL

To reauthorize title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•HR 2211 RH 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ready to Teach Act of 

3 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS. 

5 Part A of title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

6 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘PART A—TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT 

8 GRANTS FOR STATES AND PARTNERSHIPS 

9 ‘‘SEC. 201. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this part are to—

11 ‘‘(1) improve student academic achievement; 

12 ‘‘(2) improve the quality of the current and fu13 ture teaching force by improving the preparation of 

14 prospective teachers and enhancing professional devel15 opment activities; 

16 ‘‘(3) hold institutions of higher education ac17 countable for preparing highly qualified teachers; and 

18 ‘‘(4) recruit qualified individuals, including mi19 norities and individuals from other occupations, into 

20 the teaching force. 

21 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this part: 

22 ‘‘(1) ARTS AND SCIENCES.—The term ‘arts and 

23 sciences’ means—

24 ‘‘(A) when referring to an organizational 

25 unit of an institution of higher education, any 

26 academic unit that offers 1 or more academic 
3

•HR 2211 RH 

1 majors in disciplines or content areas cor2 responding to the academic subject matter areas 

3 in which teachers provide instruction; and 

4 ‘‘(B) when referring to a specific academic 

5 subject matter area, the disciplines or content 

6 areas in which academic majors are offered by 

7 the arts and science organizational unit. 

8 ‘‘(2) EXEMPLARY TEACHER.—The term ‘exem9 plary teacher’ has the meaning given such term in 

10 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu11 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

12 ‘‘(3) HIGHLY QUALIFIED.—The term ‘highly 

13 qualified’ has the meaning given such term in section 

14 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

16 ‘‘(4) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN17 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 

18 means a local educational agency—

19 ‘‘(A)(i)(I) that serves not fewer than 10,000 

20 children from families with incomes below the 

21 poverty line; or 

22 ‘‘(II) for which not less than 25 percent of 

23 the children served by the agency are from fami24 lies with incomes below the poverty line; 
4

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(ii) that is among those serving the highest 

2 number or percentage of children from families 

3 with incomes below the poverty line in the State, 

4 but this clause applies only in a State that has 

5 no local educational agency meeting the require6 ments of clause (i); or 

7 ‘‘(iii) with a total of less than 600 students 

8 in average daily attendance at the schools that 

9 are served by the agency and all of whose schools 

10 are designated with a school locale code of 7, as 

11 determined by the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(B)(i) for which there is a high percentage 

13 of teachers not teaching in the academic subjects 

14 or grade levels that the teachers were trained to 

15 teach; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) for which there is a high percentage of 

17 teachers with emergency, provisional, or tem18 porary certification or licensing. 

19 ‘‘(5) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘poverty line’ 

20 means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of 

21 Management and Budget, and revised annually in ac22 cordance with section 673(2) of the Community Serv23 ices Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable 

24 to a family of the size involved. 
5

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(6) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The term 

2 ‘professional development’ has the meaning given such 

3 term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec4 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

5 ‘‘(7) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED READING RE6 SEARCH.—The term ‘scientifically based reading re7 search’ has the meaning given such term in section 

8 1208 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6368). 

10 ‘‘(8) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED RESEARCH.—The 

11 term ‘scientifically based research’ has the meaning 

12 given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary 

13 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 7801). 

15 ‘‘(9) TEACHING SKILLS.—The term ‘teaching 

16 skills’ means skills that—

17 ‘‘(A) are based on scientifically based re18 search; 

19 ‘‘(B) enable teachers to effectively convey 

20 and explain subject matter content; 

21 ‘‘(C) lead to increased student academic 

22 achievement; and 

23 ‘‘(D) use strategies that—

24 ‘‘(i) are specific to subject matter; 
6

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(ii) include ongoing assessment of stu2 dent learning; 

3 ‘‘(iii) focus on identification and tai4 loring of academic instruction to students’s 

5 specific learning needs; and

6 ‘‘(iv) focus on classroom management. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 202. STATE GRANTS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available 

9 under section 210(1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary is au10 thorized to award grants under this section, on a competi11 tive basis, to eligible States to enable the eligible States to 

12 carry out the activities described in subsection (d). 

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE STATE.—

14 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this part, the term ‘eligi15 ble State’ means—

16 ‘‘(A) the Governor of a State; or 

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of a State for which the 

18 constitution or law of such State designates an19 other individual, entity, or agency in the State 

20 to be responsible for teacher certification and 

21 preparation activity, such individual, entity, or 

22 agency. 

23 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Governor or the indi24 vidual, entity, or agency designated under paragraph 

25 (1) shall consult with the Governor, State board of 
7

•HR 2211 RH 

1 education, State educational agency, or State agency 

2 for higher education, as appropriate, with respect to 

3 the activities assisted under this section. 

4 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subsection 

5 shall be construed to negate or supersede the legal au6 thority under State law of any State agency, State 

7 entity, or State public official over programs that are 

8 under the jurisdiction of the agency, entity, or offi9 cial. 

10 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

11 under this section, an eligible State shall, at the time of 

12 the initial grant application, submit an application to the 

13 Secretary that—

14 ‘‘(1) meets the requirement of this section; 

15 ‘‘(2) demonstrates that the State is in full com16 pliance with sections 207 and 208; 

17 ‘‘(3) includes a description of how the eligible 

18 State intends to use funds provided under this sec19 tion; 

20 ‘‘(4) includes measurable objectives for the use of 

21 the funds provided under the grant; 

22 ‘‘(5) demonstrates the State has submitted and is 

23 actively implementing a plan that meets the require24 ments of sections 1111(h)(1)(C)(viii) and 1119 of the 
8

•HR 2211 RH 

1 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

2 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C)(viii) and 6319); and 

3 ‘‘(6) contains such other information and assur4 ances as the Secretary may require. 

5 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible State that receives 

6 a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to re7 form teacher preparation requirements, to coordinate with 

8 State activities under section 2113(c) of the Elementary 

9 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6613(c)), 

10 and to ensure that current and future teachers are highly 

11 qualified, by carrying out one or more of the following ac12 tivities: 

13 ‘‘(1) REFORMS.—Ensuring that all teacher prep14 aration programs in the State are preparing teachers 

15 who are highly qualified, and are able to use ad16 vanced technology effectively in the classroom, includ17 ing use for instructional techniques to improve stu18 dent academic achievement, by assisting such pro19 grams—

20 ‘‘(A) to retrain faculty; and 

21 ‘‘(B) to design (or redesign) teacher prepa22 ration programs so they—

23 ‘‘(i) are based on rigorous academic 

24 content, scientifically based research (in25 cluding scientifically based reading re-
9

•HR 2211 RH 

1 search), and challenging State student aca2 demic content standards; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) promote strong teaching skills. 

4 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION OR LICENSURE REQUIRE5 MENTS.—Reforming teacher certification (including 

6 recertification) or licensing requirements to ensure 

7 that—

8 ‘‘(A) teachers have the subject matter knowl9 edge and teaching skills in the academic subjects 

10 that the teachers teach necessary to help students 

11 meet challenging State student academic achieve12 ment standards; and 

13 ‘‘(B) such requirements are aligned with 

14 challenging State academic content standards. 

15 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL TEACHER

16 PREPARATION AND STATE CERTIFICATION.—Providing 

17 prospective teachers with alternative routes to State 

18 certification and traditional preparation to become 

19 highly qualified teachers through—

20 ‘‘(A) innovative approaches that reduce un21 necessary barriers to State certification while 

22 producing highly qualified teachers; 

23 ‘‘(B) programs that provide support to 

24 teachers during their initial years in the profes25 sion; and 
10

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(C) alternative routes to State certification 

2 of teachers for qualified individuals, including 

3 mid-career professionals from other occupations, 

4 former military personnel, and recent college 

5 graduates with records of academic distinction. 

6 ‘‘(4) INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS.—Planning and im7 plementing innovative and experimental programs to 

8 enhance the ability of institutions of higher education 

9 to prepare highly qualified teachers, such as charter 

10 colleges of education or university and local edu11 cational agency partnership schools, that—

12 ‘‘(A) permit flexibility in meeting State re13 quirements as long as graduates, during their 

14 initial years in the profession, increase student 

15 academic achievement; 

16 ‘‘(B) provide long-term data gathered from 

17 teachers’ performance over multiple years in the 

18 classroom on the ability to increase student aca19 demic achievement; 

20 ‘‘(C) ensure high-quality preparation of 

21 teachers from underrepresented groups; and 

22 ‘‘(D) create performance measures that can 

23 be used to document the effectiveness of innova24 tive methods for preparing highly qualified 

25 teachers. 
11

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(5) MERIT PAY.—Developing, or assisting local 

2 educational agencies in developing—

3 ‘‘(A) merit-based performance systems that 

4 reward teachers who increase student academic 

5 achievement; and

6 ‘‘(B) strategies that provide differential and 

7 bonus pay in high-need local educational agen8 cies to retain—

9 ‘‘(i) principals; 

10 ‘‘(ii) highly qualified teachers who 

11 teach in high-need academic subjects, such 

12 as reading, mathematics, and science; 

13 ‘‘(iii) highly qualified teachers who 

14 teach in schools identified for school im15 provement under section 1116(b) of the Ele16 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316(b)); 

18 ‘‘(iv) special education teachers; 

19 ‘‘(v) teachers specializing in teaching 

20 limited English proficient children; and 

21 ‘‘(vi) highly qualified teachers in 

22 urban and rural schools or districts. 

23 ‘‘(6) TEACHER ADVANCEMENT.—Developing, or 

24 assisting local educational agencies in developing, 

25 teacher advancement and retention initiatives that 
12

•HR 2211 RH 

1 promote professional growth and emphasize multiple 

2 career paths (such as paths to becoming a highly 

3 qualified mentor teacher or exemplary teacher) and 

4 pay differentiation. 

5 ‘‘(7) TEACHER REMOVAL.—Developing and im6 plementing effective mechanisms to ensure that local 

7 educational agencies and schools are able to remove 

8 expeditiously incompetent or unqualified teachers con9 sistent with procedures to ensure due process for the 

10 teachers. 

11 ‘‘(8) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Providing tech12 nical assistance to low-performing teacher prepara13 tion programs within institutions of higher education 

14 identified under section 208(a). 

15 ‘‘(9) TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS.—Developing—

16 ‘‘(A) systems to measure the effectiveness of 

17 teacher preparation programs and professional 

18 development programs; and 

19 ‘‘(B) strategies to document gains in stu20 dent academic achievement or increases in teach21 er mastery of the academic subjects the teachers 

22 teach as a result of such programs. 

23 ‘‘(10) TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETEN24 TION.—Undertaking activities that—
13

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) develop and implement effective mech2 anisms to ensure that local educational agencies 

3 and schools are able effectively to recruit and re4 tain highly qualified teachers; or 

5 ‘‘(B) are described in section 204(d).

6 ‘‘(11) PRESCHOOL TEACHERS.—Developing 

7 strategies—

8 ‘‘(A) to improve the qualifications of pre9 school teachers, which may include State certifi10 cation for such teachers; and 

11 ‘‘(B) to improve and expand preschool 

12 teacher preparation programs. 

13 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.—

14 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION SYSTEM.—An eligible State 

15 that receives a grant under this section shall develop 

16 and utilize a system to evaluate annually the effec17 tiveness of teacher preparation programs and profes18 sional development activities within the State in pro19 ducing gains in—

20 ‘‘(A) the teacher’s annual contribution to 

21 improving student academic achievement, as 

22 measured by State academic assessments re23 quired under section 1111(b)(3) of the Elemen24 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

25 U.S.C. 6311(b)(3)); and 
14

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(B) teacher mastery of the academic sub2 jects they teach, as measured by pre- and post3 participation tests of teacher knowledge, as ap4 propriate. 

5 ‘‘(2) USE OF EVALUATION SYSTEM.—Such eval6 uation system shall be used by the State to evaluate—

7 ‘‘(A) activities carried out using funds pro8 vided under this section; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the quality of its teacher education 

10 programs. 

11 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC REPORTING.—The State shall make 

12 the information described in paragraph (1) widely 

13 available through public means, such as posting on 

14 the Internet, distribution to the media, and distribu15 tion through public agencies. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 203. PARTNERSHIP GRANTS. 

17 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—From amounts made available under 

18 section 210(2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary is authorized 

19 to award grants under this section, on a competitive basis, 

20 to eligible partnerships to enable the eligible partnerships 

21 to carry out the activities described in subsections (d) and 

22 (e). 

23 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—

24 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—In this part, 

25 the term ‘eligible partnership’ means an entity that—
15

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) shall include—

2 ‘‘(i) a partner institution; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a school of arts and sciences; 

4 ‘‘(iii) a high-need local educational 

5 agency; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) a public or private educational 

7 organization; and 

8 ‘‘(B) may include a Governor, State edu9 cational agency, the State board of education, the 

10 State agency for higher education, an institution 

11 of higher education not described in subpara12 graph (A), a public charter school, a public or 

13 private elementary school or secondary school, a 

14 public or private educational organization, a 

15 business, a science-, mathematics-, or technology16 oriented entity, a faith-based or community or17 ganization, a prekindergarten program, a teach18 er organization, an education service agency, a 

19 consortia of local educational agencies, or a non20 profit telecommunications entity. 

21 ‘‘(2) PARTNER INSTITUTION.—In this section, the 

22 term ‘partner institution’ means an institution of 

23 higher education, the teacher training program of 

24 which demonstrates that—
16

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) graduates from the teacher training 

2 program exhibit strong performance on State-de3 termined qualifying assessments for new teachers 

4 through—

5 ‘‘(i) demonstrating that the graduates 

6 of the program who intend to enter the field 

7 of teaching have passed all of the applicable 

8 State qualification assessments for new 

9 teachers, which shall include an assessment 

10 of each prospective teacher’s subject matter 

11 knowledge in the content area or areas in 

12 which the teacher intends to teach; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) being ranked among the highest14 performing teacher preparation programs 

15 in the State as determined by the State—

16 ‘‘(I) using criteria consistent with 

17 the requirements for the State report 

18 card under section 207(a); and 

19 ‘‘(II) using the State report card 

20 on teacher preparation required under 

21 section 207(a); or 

22 ‘‘(B) the teacher training program requires 

23 all the students of the program to participate in 

24 intensive clinical experience, to meet high aca25 demic standards, and—
17

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(i) in the case of secondary school 

2 candidates, to successfully complete an aca3 demic major in the subject area in which 

4 the candidate intends to teach or to dem5 onstrate competence through a high level of 

6 performance in relevant content areas; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of elementary school 

8 candidates, to successfully complete an aca9 demic major in the arts and sciences or to 

10 demonstrate competence through a high level 

11 of performance in core academic subject 

12 areas. 

13 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each eligible partnership desiring 

14 a grant under this section shall submit an application to 

15 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom16 panied by such information as the Secretary may require. 

17 Each such application shall—

18 ‘‘(1) contain a needs assessment of all the part19 ners with respect to teaching and learning and a de20 scription of how the partnership will coordinate with 

21 other teacher training or professional development 

22 programs, and how the activities of the partnership 

23 will be consistent with State, local, and other edu24 cation reform activities that promote student aca25 demic achievement; 
18

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(2) contain a resource assessment that describes 

2 the resources available to the partnership, the in3 tended use of the grant funds, including a description 

4 of how the grant funds will be fairly distributed in 

5 accordance with subsection (f), and the commitment 

6 of the resources of the partnership to the activities as7 sisted under this part, including financial support, 

8 faculty participation, time commitments, and con9 tinuation of the activities when the grant ends; and 

10 ‘‘(3) contain a description of—

11 ‘‘(A) how the partnership will meet the pur12 poses of this part; 

13 ‘‘(B) how the partnership will carry out the 

14 activities required under subsection (d) and any 

15 permissible activities under subsection (e); 

16 ‘‘(C) the partnership’s evaluation plan pur17 suant to section 206(b); 

18 ‘‘(D) how faculty of the teacher preparation 

19 program at the partner institution will serve, 

20 over the term of the grant, with highly qualified 

21 teachers in the classrooms of the high-need local 

22 educational agency included in the partnership; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(E) how the partnership will ensure that 

25 teachers in private elementary and secondary 
19

•HR 2211 RH 

1 schools located in the geographic areas served by 

2 an eligible partnership under this section will 

3 participate equitably in accordance with section 

4 9501 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881). 

6 ‘‘(d) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible part7 nership that receives a grant under this section shall use 

8 the grant funds to reform teacher preparation requirements, 

9 to coordinate with State activities under section 2113(c) of 

10 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6613(c)), and to ensure that current and future 

12 teachers are highly qualified, by carrying out one or more 

13 of the following activities: 

14 ‘‘(1) REFORMS.—Implementing reforms within 

15 teacher preparation programs to ensure that such 

16 programs are preparing teachers who are highly 

17 qualified, and are able to use advanced technology ef18 fectively in the classroom, including use for instruc19 tional techniques to improve student academic 

20 achievement, by—

21 ‘‘(A) retraining faculty; and 

22 ‘‘(B) designing (or redesigning) teacher 

23 preparation programs so they—

24 ‘‘(i) are based on rigorous academic 

25 content, scientifically based research (in-
20

•HR 2211 RH 

1 cluding scientifically based reading re2 search), and challenging State student aca3 demic content standards; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) promote strong teaching skills. 

5 ‘‘(2) CLINICAL EXPERIENCE AND INTERACTION.—

6 Providing sustained and high-quality preservice and 

7 in-service clinical experience, including the mentoring 

8 of prospective teachers by exemplary teachers, sub9 stantially increasing interaction between faculty at 

10 institutions of higher education and new and experi11 enced teachers, principals, and other administrators 

12 at elementary schools or secondary schools, and pro13 viding support for teachers, including preparation 

14 time and release time, for such interaction. 

15 ‘‘(3) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—Creating 

16 opportunities for enhanced and ongoing professional 

17 development that improves the academic content 

18 knowledge of teachers in the subject areas in which the 

19 teachers are certified to teach or in which the teachers 

20 are working toward certification to teach, and that 

21 promotes strong teaching skills. 

22 ‘‘(4) TEACHER PREPARATION.—Developing, or 

23 assisting local educational agencies in developing, 

24 professional development activities that—
21

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) provide training in how to teach and 

2 address the needs of students with different 

3 learning styles, particularly students with dis4 abilities, limited English proficient students, and 

5 students with special learning needs; and 

6 ‘‘(B) provide training in methods of—

7 ‘‘(i) improving student behavior in the 

8 classroom; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) identifying early and appropriate 

10 interventions to help students described in 

11 subparagraph (A) learn. 

12 ‘‘(e) ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible part13 nership that receives a grant under this section may use 

14 such funds to carry out the following activities: 

15 ‘‘(1) ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL TEACHER

16 PREPARATION AND STATE CERTIFICATION.—Providing 

17 prospective teachers with alternative routes to State 

18 certification and traditional preparation to become 

19 highly qualified teachers through—

20 ‘‘(A) innovative approaches that reduce un21 necessary barriers to teacher preparation while 

22 producing highly qualified teachers; 

23 ‘‘(B) programs that provide support during 

24 a teacher’s initial years in the profession; and 
22

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(C) alternative routes to State certification 

2 of teachers for qualified individuals, including 

3 mid-career professionals from other occupations,

4 former military personnel, and recent college 

5 graduates with records of academic distinction. 

6 ‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION AND COORDINATION.—

7 Broadly disseminating information on effective prac8 tices used by the partnership, and coordinating with 

9 the activities of the Governor, State board of edu10 cation, State higher education agency, and State edu11 cational agency, as appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(3) MANAGERIAL AND LEADERSHIP SKILLS.—

13 Developing and implementing professional develop14 ment programs for principals and superintendents 

15 that enable them to be effective school leaders and pre16 pare all students to meet challenging State academic 

17 content and student academic achievement standards. 

18 ‘‘(4) TEACHER RECRUITMENT.—Activities—

19 ‘‘(A) to encourage students to become highly 

20 qualified teachers, such as extracurricular en21 richment activities; and 

22 ‘‘(B) activities described in section 204(d).

23 ‘‘(5) CLINICAL EXPERIENCE IN SCIENCE, MATHE24 MATICS, AND TECHNOLOGY.—Creating opportunities 

25 for clinical experience and training, by participation 
23

•HR 2211 RH 

1 in the business, research, and work environments with 

2 professionals, in areas relating to science, mathe3 matics, and technology for teachers and prospective 

4 teachers, including opportunities for use of laboratory 

5 equipment, in order for the teacher to return to the 

6 classroom for at least 2 years and provide instruction 

7 that will raise student academic achievement. 

8 ‘‘(6) COORDINATION WITH COMMUNITY COL9 LEGES.—Coordinating with community colleges to 

10 implement teacher preparation programs, including 

11 through distance learning, for the purposes of allow12 ing prospective teachers—

13 ‘‘(A) to attain a bachelor’s degree and State 

14 certification or licensure; and 

15 ‘‘(B) to become highly qualified teachers. 

16 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE.—At least 50 percent of the funds 

17 made available to an eligible partnership under this section 

18 shall be used directly to benefit the high-need local edu19 cational agency included in the partnership. Any entity de20 scribed in subsection (b)(1)(A) may be the fiscal agent 

21 under this section. 

22 ‘‘(g) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

23 construed to prohibit an eligible partnership from using 

24 grant funds to coordinate with the activities of more than 

25 one Governor, State board of education, State educational 
24

•HR 2211 RH 

1 agency, local educational agency, or State agency for higher 

2 education. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 204. TEACHER RECRUITMENT GRANTS. 

4 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From amounts made 

5 available under section 210(3) for a fiscal year, the Sec6 retary is authorized to award grants, on a competitive 

7 basis, to eligible applicants to enable the eligible applicants 

8 to carry out activities described in subsection (d). 

9 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT DEFINED.—In this part, 

10 the term ‘eligible applicant’ means—

11 ‘‘(1) an eligible State described in section 202(b); 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(2) an eligible partnership described in section 

14 203(b). 

15 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Any eligible applicant desiring to 

16 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica17 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such form, and con18 taining such information as the Secretary may require, in19 cluding—

20 ‘‘(1) a description of the assessment that the eli21 gible applicant, and the other entities with whom the 

22 eligible applicant will carry out the grant activities, 

23 have undertaken to determine the most critical needs 

24 of the participating high-need local educational agen25 cies; 
25

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(2) a description of the activities the eligible 

2 applicant will carry out with the grant, including the 

3 extent to which the applicant will use funds to recruit 

4 minority students to become highly qualified teachers; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(3) a description of the eligible applicant’s plan 

7 for continuing the activities carried out with the 

8 grant, once Federal funding ceases. 

9 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—Each eligible applicant receiv10 ing a grant under this section shall use the grant funds—

11 ‘‘(1)(A) to award scholarships to help students, 

12 such as individuals who have been accepted for their 

13 first year, or who are enrolled in their first or second 

14 year, of a program of undergraduate education at an 

15 institution of higher education, pay the costs of tui16 tion, room, board, and other expenses of completing a 

17 teacher preparation program;

18 ‘‘(B) to provide support services, if needed to en19 able scholarship recipients—

20 ‘‘(i) to complete postsecondary education 

21 programs; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) to transition from a career outside of 

23 the field of education into a teaching career; and 
26

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(C) for followup services provided to former 

2 scholarship recipients during the recipients first 3 

3 years of teaching; or 

4 ‘‘(2) to develop and implement effective mecha5 nisms to ensure that high-need local educational agen6 cies and schools are able effectively to recruit highly 

7 qualified teachers.

8 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL DISCRETIONARY USES OF FUNDS.—

9 In addition to the uses described in subsection (d), each eli10 gible applicant receiving a grant under this section may 

11 use the grant funds to develop and implement effective 

12 mechanisms to recruit into the teaching profession employ13 ees from—

14 ‘‘(1) high-demand industries, including tech15 nology industries; and 

16 ‘‘(2) the fields of science, mathematics, and engi17 neering. 

18 ‘‘(f) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

20 such requirements as the Secretary determines nec21 essary to ensure that recipients of scholarships under 

22 this section who complete teacher education pro23 grams—
27

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) subsequently teach in a high-need local 

2 educational agency for a period of time equiva3 lent to—

4 ‘‘(i) one year; increased by 

5 ‘‘(ii) the period for which the recipient 

6 received scholarship assistance; or 

7 ‘‘(B) repay the amount of the scholarship.

8 ‘‘(2) USE OF REPAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

9 use any such repayments to carry out additional ac10 tivities under this section. 

11 ‘‘(g) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority 

12 under this section to eligible applicants who provide an as13 surance that they will recruit a high percentage of minority 

14 students to become highly qualified teachers. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 205. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

16 ‘‘(a) DURATION; ONE-TIME AWARDS; PAYMENTS.—

17 ‘‘(1) DURATION.—

18 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE STATES AND ELIGIBLE AP19 PLICANTS.—Grants awarded to eligible States 

20 and eligible applicants under this part shall be 

21 awarded for a period not to exceed 3 years. 

22 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—Grants 

23 awarded to eligible partnerships under this part 

24 shall be awarded for a period of 5 years. 
28

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(2) ONE-TIME AWARD.—An eligible partnership 

2 may receive a grant under each of sections 203 and 

3 204, as amended by the Ready to Teach Act of 2003, 

4 only once. 

5 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall make an6 nual payments of grant funds awarded under this 

7 part. 

8 ‘‘(b) PEER REVIEW.—

9 ‘‘(1) PANEL.—The Secretary shall provide the 

10 applications submitted under this part to a peer re11 view panel for evaluation. With respect to each appli12 cation, the peer review panel shall initially rec13 ommend the application for funding or for dis14 approval. 

15 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In recommending applications 

16 to the Secretary for funding under this part, the 

17 panel shall—

18 ‘‘(A) with respect to grants under section 

19 202, give priority to eligible States serving 

20 States that—

21 ‘‘(i) have initiatives to reform State 

22 teacher certification requirements that are 

23 based on rigorous academic content, sci24 entifically based research, including sci25 entifically based reading research, and chal-
29

•HR 2211 RH 

1 lenging State student academic content 

2 standards; 

3 ‘‘(ii) include innovative reforms to hold 

4 institutions of higher education with teacher 

5 preparation programs accountable for pre6 paring teachers who are highly qualified 

7 and have strong teaching skills; or 

8 ‘‘(iii) involve the development of inno9 vative efforts aimed at reducing the shortage 

10 of highly qualified teachers in high poverty 

11 urban and rural areas; and 

12 ‘‘(B) with respect to grants under section 

13 203—

14 ‘‘(i) give priority to applications from 

15 broad-based eligible partnerships that in16 volve businesses and community organiza17 tions; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration—

19 ‘‘(I) providing an equitable geo20 graphic distribution of the grants 

21 throughout the United States; and 

22 ‘‘(II) the potential of the proposed 

23 activities for creating improvement 

24 and positive change. 
30

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL SELECTION.—The Secretary 

2 shall determine, based on the peer review process, 

3 which application shall receive funding and the 

4 amounts of the grants. In determining grant 

5 amounts, the Secretary shall take into account the 

6 total amount of funds available for all grants under 

7 this part and the types of activities proposed to be 

8 carried out. 

9 ‘‘(c) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—

10 ‘‘(1) STATE GRANTS.—Each eligible State receiv11 ing a grant under section 202 or 204 shall provide, 

12 from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 50 per13 cent of the amount of the grant (in cash or in kind) 

14 to carry out the activities supported by the grant. 

15 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.—Each eligible part16 nership receiving a grant under section 203 or 204 

17 shall provide, from non-Federal sources (in cash or in 

18 kind), an amount equal to 25 percent of the grant for 

19 the first year of the grant, 35 percent of the grant for 

20 the second year of the grant, and 50 percent of the 

21 grant for each succeeding year of the grant. 

22 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—

23 An eligible State or eligible partnership that receives a 

24 grant under this part may not use more than 2 percent 

25 of the grant funds for purposes of administering the grant. 
31

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 206. ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVALUATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) STATE GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT.—An el3 igible State that receives a grant under section 202 shall 

4 submit an annual accountability report to the Secretary, 

5 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

6 of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and the 

7 Workforce of the House of Representatives. Such report shall 

8 include a description of the degree to which the eligible 

9 State, in using funds provided under such section, has made 

10 substantial progress in meeting the following goals: 

11 ‘‘(1) PERCENTAGE OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED

12 TEACHERS.—Increasing the percentage of highly 

13 qualified teachers in the State as required by section 

14 1119 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6319). 

16 ‘‘(2) STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.—In17 creasing student academic achievement for all stu18 dents as defined by the eligible State. 

19 ‘‘(3) RAISING STANDARDS.—Raising the State 

20 academic standards required to enter the teaching 

21 profession as a highly qualified teacher. 

22 ‘‘(4) INITIAL CERTIFICATION OR LICENSURE.—

23 Increasing success in the pass rate for initial State 

24 teacher certification or licensure, or increasing the 

25 numbers of qualified individuals being certified or li26 censed as teachers through alternative programs. 
32

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(5) DECREASING TEACHER SHORTAGES.—De2 creasing shortages of highly qualified teachers in poor 

3 urban and rural areas. 

4 ‘‘(6) INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFES5 SIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—Increasing opportunities for 

6 enhanced and ongoing professional development 

7 that—

8 ‘‘(A) improves the academic content knowl9 edge of teachers in the subject areas in which the 

10 teachers are certified or licensed to teach or in 

11 which the teachers are working toward certifi12 cation or licensure to teach; and 

13 ‘‘(B) promotes strong teaching skills. 

14 ‘‘(7) TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION.—Increasing 

15 the number of teachers prepared effectively to inte16 grate technology into curricula and instruction and 

17 who use technology to collect, manage, and analyze 

18 data to improve teaching, learning, and decision19 making for the purpose of increasing student aca20 demic achievement. 

21 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP EVALUATION.—Each el22 igible partnership receiving a grant under section 203 shall 

23 establish, and include in the application submitted under 

24 section 203(c), an evaluation plan that includes strong per-
33

•HR 2211 RH 

1 formance objectives. The plan shall include objectives and 

2 measures for—

3 ‘‘(1) increased student achievement for all stu4 dents as measured by the partnership; 

5 ‘‘(2) increased teacher retention in the first 3 

6 years of a teacher’s career; 

7 ‘‘(3) increased success in the pass rate for initial 

8 State certification or licensure of teachers; 

9 ‘‘(4) increased percentage of highly qualified 

10 teachers; and 

11 ‘‘(5) increasing the number of teachers trained 

12 effectively to integrate technology into curricula and 

13 instruction and who use technology to collect, manage, 

14 and analyze data to improve teaching, learning, and 

15 decisionmaking for the purpose of improving student 

16 academic achievement. 

17 ‘‘(c) REVOCATION OF GRANT.—

18 ‘‘(1) REPORT.—Each eligible State or eligible 

19 partnership receiving a grant under section 202 or 

20 203 shall report annually on the progress of the eligi21 ble State or eligible partnership toward meeting the 

22 purposes of this part and the goals, objectives, and 

23 measures described in subsections (a) and (b). 

24 ‘‘(2) REVOCATION.—
34

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE STATES AND ELIGIBLE AP2 PLICANTS.—If the Secretary determines that an 

3 eligible State or eligible applicant is not making 

4 substantial progress in meeting the purposes, 

5 goals, objectives, and measures, as appropriate, 

6 by the end of the second year of a grant under 

7 this part, then the grant payment shall not be 

8 made for the third year of the grant. 

9 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—If the Sec10 retary determines that an eligible partnership is 

11 not making substantial progress in meeting the 

12 purposes, goals, objectives, and measures, as ap13 propriate, by the end of the third year of a grant 

14 under this part, then the grant payments shall 

15 not be made for any succeeding year of the 

16 grant. 

17 ‘‘(d) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION.—The Sec18 retary shall evaluate the activities funded under this part 

19 and report annually the Secretary’s findings regarding the 

20 activities to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

21 and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu22 cation and the Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

23 The Secretary shall broadly disseminate successful practices 

24 developed by eligible States and eligible partnerships under 
35

•HR 2211 RH 

1 this part, and shall broadly disseminate information re2 garding such practices that were found to be ineffective. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 207. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PROGRAMS THAT PRE4 PARE TEACHERS. 

5 ‘‘(a) STATE REPORT CARD ON THE QUALITY OF

6 TEACHER PREPARATION.—Each State that receives funds 

7 under this Act shall provide to the Secretary annually, in 

8 a uniform and comprehensible manner that conforms with 

9 the definitions and methods established by the Secretary, 

10 a State report card on the quality of teacher preparation 

11 in the State, both for traditional certification or licensure 

12 programs and for alternative certification or licensure pro13 grams, which shall include at least the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) A description of the teacher certification 

15 and licensure assessments, and any other certification 

16 and licensure requirements, used by the State. 

17 ‘‘(2) The standards and criteria that prospective 

18 teachers must meet in order to attain initial teacher 

19 certification or licensure and to be certified or li20 censed to teach particular subjects or in particular 

21 grades within the State. 

22 ‘‘(3) A description of the extent to which the as23 sessments and requirements described in paragraph 

24 (1) are aligned with the State’s standards and assess25 ments for students. 
36

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(4) The percentage of students who have com2 pleted at least 50 percent of the requirements for a 

3 teacher preparation program at an institution of 

4 higher education or alternative certification program 

5 and who have taken and passed each of the assess6 ments used by the State for teacher certification and 

7 licensure, and the passing score on each assessment 

8 that determines whether a candidate has passed that 

9 assessment. 

10 ‘‘(5) The percentage of students who have com11 pleted at least 50 percent of the requirements for a 

12 teacher preparation program at an institution of 

13 higher education or alternative certification program 

14 and who have taken and passed each of the assess15 ments used by the State for teacher certification and 

16 licensure, disaggregated and ranked, by the teacher 

17 preparation program in that State from which the 

18 teacher candidate received the candidate’s most recent 

19 degree, which shall be made available widely and 

20 publicly. 

21 ‘‘(6) A description of each State’s alternative 

22 routes to teacher certification, if any, and the number 

23 and percentage of teachers certified through each al24 ternative certification route who pass State teacher 

25 certification or licensure assessments. 
37

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(7) For each State, a description of proposed 

2 criteria for assessing the performance of teacher prep3 aration programs in the State, including indicators 

4 of teacher candidate skills and academic content 

5 knowledge and evidence of gains in student academic 

6 achievement. 

7 ‘‘(8) For each teacher preparation program in 

8 the State, the number of students in the program, the 

9 average number of hours of supervised practice teach10 ing required for those in the program, and the num11 ber of full-time equivalent faculty and students in su12 pervised practice teaching. 

13 ‘‘(b) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY ON THE QUALITY

14 OF TEACHER PREPARATION.—

15 ‘‘(1) REPORT CARD.—The Secretary shall pro16 vide to Congress, and publish and make widely avail17 able, a report card on teacher qualifications and 

18 preparation in the United States, including all the 

19 information reported in paragraphs (1) through (8) of 

20 subsection (a). Such report shall identify States for 

21 which eligible States and eligible partnerships re22 ceived a grant under this part. Such report shall be 

23 so provided, published and made available annually. 

24 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

25 shall report to Congress—
38

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(A) a comparison of States’ efforts to im2 prove teaching quality; and 

3 ‘‘(B) regarding the national mean and me4 dian scores on any standardized test that is used 

5 in more than 1 State for teacher certification or 

6 licensure. 

7 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of programs 

8 with fewer than 10 students who have completed at 

9 least 50 percent of the requirements for a teacher

10 preparation program taking any single initial teach11 er certification or licensure assessment during an aca12 demic year, the Secretary shall collect and publish in13 formation with respect to an average pass rate on 

14 State certification or licensure assessments taken over 

15 a 3-year period. 

16 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—The Secretary, to the extent 

17 practicable, shall coordinate the information collected and 

18 published under this part among States for individuals who 

19 took State teacher certification or licensure assessments in 

20 a State other than the State in which the individual re21 ceived the individual’s most recent degree. 

22 ‘‘(d) INSTITUTION AND PROGRAM REPORT CARDS ON

23 QUALITY OF TEACHER PREPARATION.—

24 ‘‘(1) REPORT CARD.—Each institution of higher 

25 education or alternative certification program that 
39

•HR 2211 RH 

1 conducts a teacher preparation program that enrolls 

2 students receiving Federal assistance under this Act 

3 shall report annually to the State and the general 

4 public, in a uniform and comprehensible manner that 

5 conforms with the definitions and methods established 

6 by the Secretary, both for traditional certification or 

7 licensure programs and for alternative certification or 

8 licensure programs, the following information: 

9 ‘‘(A) PASS RATE.—(i) For the most recent 

10 year for which the information is available, the 

11 pass rate of each student who has completed at 

12 least 50 percent of the requirements for the teach13 er preparation program on the teacher certifi14 cation or licensure assessments of the State in 

15 which the institution is located, but only for 

16 those students who took those assessments within 

17 3 years of receiving a degree from the institution 

18 or completing the program. 

19 ‘‘(ii) A comparison of the institution or 

20 program’s pass rate for students who have com21 pleted at least 50 percent of the requirements for 

22 the teacher preparation program with the aver23 age pass rate for institutions and programs in 

24 the State. 
40

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(iii) A comparison of the institution or 

2 program’s average raw score for students who 

3 have completed at least 50 percent of the require4 ments for the teacher preparation program with 

5 the average raw scores for institutions and pro6 grams in the State. 

7 ‘‘(iv) In the case of programs with fewer 

8 than 10 students who have completed at least 50 

9 percent of the requirements for a teacher prepa10 ration program taking any single initial teacher 

11 certification or licensure assessment during an 

12 academic year, the institution shall collect and 

13 publish information with respect to an average 

14 pass rate on State certification or licensure as15 sessments taken over a 3-year period. 

16 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM INFORMATION.—The number 

17 of students in the program, the average number 

18 of hours of supervised practice teaching required 

19 for those in the program, and the number of full20 time equivalent faculty and students in super21 vised practice teaching. 

22 ‘‘(C) STATEMENT.—In States that require 

23 approval or accreditation of teacher education 

24 programs, a statement of whether the institu-
41

•HR 2211 RH 

1 tion’s program is so approved or accredited, and 

2 by whom. 

3 ‘‘(D) DESIGNATION AS LOW-PERFORMING.—

4 Whether the program has been designated as low5 performing by the State under section 208(a). 

6 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The information described 

7 in paragraph (1) shall be reported through publica8 tions such as school catalogs and promotional mate9 rials sent to potential applicants, secondary school 

10 guidance counselors, and prospective employers of the 

11 institution’s program graduates, including materials 

12 sent by electronic means. 

13 ‘‘(3) FINES.—In addition to the actions author14 ized in section 487(c), the Secretary may impose a 

15 fine not to exceed $25,000 on an institution of higher 

16 education for failure to provide the information de17 scribed in this subsection in a timely or accurate 

18 manner. 

19 ‘‘(e) DATA QUALITY.—Either—

20 ‘‘(1) the Governor of the State; or 

21 ‘‘(2) in the case of a State for which the constitu22 tion or law of such State designates another indi23 vidual, entity, or agency in the State to be responsible 

24 for teacher certification and preparation activity, 

25 such individual, entity, or agency; 
42

•HR 2211 RH 

1 shall attest annually, in writing, as to the reliability, valid2 ity, integrity, and accuracy of the data submitted pursuant 

3 to this section. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 208. STATE FUNCTIONS. 

5 ‘‘(a) STATE ASSESSMENT.—In order to receive funds 

6 under this Act, a State shall have in place a procedure to 

7 identify and assist, through the provision of technical as8 sistance, low-performing programs of teacher preparation 

9 within institutions of higher education. Such State shall 

10 provide the Secretary an annual list of such low-performing 

11 institutions that includes an identification of those institu12 tions at risk of being placed on such list. Such levels of 

13 performance shall be determined solely by the State and 

14 may include criteria based upon information collected pur15 suant to this part. Such assessment shall be described in 

16 the report under section 207(a). 

17 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Any institution 

18 of higher education that offers a program of teacher prepa19 ration in which the State has withdrawn the State’s ap20 proval or terminated the State’s financial support due to 

21 the low performance of the institution’s teacher preparation 

22 program based upon the State assessment described in sub23 section (a)—
43

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(1) shall be ineligible for any funding for pro2 fessional development activities awarded by the De3 partment of Education; and 

4 ‘‘(2) shall not be permitted to accept or enroll 

5 any student who receives aid under title IV of this 

6 Act in the institution’s teacher preparation program. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 209. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

8 ‘‘(a) METHODS.—In complying with sections 207 and 

9 208, the Secretary shall ensure that States and institutions 

10 of higher education use fair and equitable methods in re11 porting and that the reporting methods do not allow identi12 fication of individuals.

13 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE.—For each State in which there 

14 are no State certification or licensure assessments, or for 

15 States that do not set minimum performance levels on those 

16 assessments—

17 ‘‘(1) the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, 

18 collect data comparable to the data required under 

19 this part from States, local educational agencies, in20 stitutions of higher education, or other entities that 

21 administer such assessments to teachers or prospective 

22 teachers; and 

23 ‘‘(2) notwithstanding any other provision of this 

24 part, the Secretary shall use such data to carry out 
44

•HR 2211 RH 

1 requirements of this part related to assessments or 

2 pass rates. 

3 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—

4 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL CONTROL PROHIBITED.—Nothing 

5 in this part shall be construed to permit, allow, en6 courage, or authorize any Federal control over any 

7 aspect of any private, religious, or home school, 

8 whether or not a home school is treated as a private 

9 school or home school under State law. This section 

10 shall not be construed to prohibit private, religious, or 

11 home schools from participation in programs or serv12 ices under this part. 

13 ‘‘(2) NO CHANGE IN STATE CONTROL ENCOUR14 AGED OR REQUIRED.—Nothing in this part shall be 

15 construed to encourage or require any change in a 

16 State’s treatment of any private, religious, or home 

17 school, whether or not a home school is treated as a 

18 private school or home school under State law. 

19 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL SYSTEM OF TEACHER CERTIFI20 CATION PROHIBITED.—Nothing in this part shall be 

21 construed to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize 

22 the Secretary to establish or support any national 

23 system of teacher certification. 
45

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘SEC. 210. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this part $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums 

4 as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years, 

5 of which—

6 ‘‘(1) 45 percent shall be available for each fiscal 

7 year to award grants under section 202; 

8 ‘‘(2) 45 percent shall be available for each fiscal 

9 year to award grants under section 203; and 

10 ‘‘(3) 10 percent shall be available for each fiscal 

11 year to award grants under section 204.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. PREPARING TOMORROW’S TEACHERS TO USE TECH13 NOLOGY. 

14 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 222(a)(3)(D) of the Higher 

15 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1042(a)(3)(D)) is amend16 ed by inserting ‘‘nonprofit telecommunications entity,’’ 

17 after ‘‘community-based organization,’’. 

18 (b) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—Section 

19 223(b)(1)(E) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 1043(b)(1)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(E) To use technology to collect, manage, 

22 and analyze data to improve teaching, learning, 

23 and decisionmaking for the purpose of increasing 

24 student academic achievement.’’. 

25 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

26 224 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1044) 
46

•HR 2211 RH 

1 is amended by striking ‘‘each of fiscal years 2002 and 

2 2003.’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2004 and each of the 4 

3 succeeding fiscal years.’’.

4 SEC. 4. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 

5 Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following:

8 ‘‘PART C—CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE 

9 ‘‘SEC. 231. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this part are—

11 ‘‘(1) to help recruit and prepare teachers, includ12 ing minority teachers, to meet the national demand 

13 for a highly qualified teacher in every classroom; and 

14 ‘‘(2) to increase opportunities for Americans of 

15 all educational, ethnic, class, and geographic back16 grounds to become highly qualified teachers. 

17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this part: 

18 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligible 

19 institution’ means—

20 ‘‘(A) an institution of higher education that 

21 has a teacher preparation program that meets 

22 the requirements of section 203(b)(2) and that 

23 is—

24 ‘‘(i) a part B institution (as defined in 

25 section 322); 
47

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(ii) a Hispanic-serving institution 

2 (as defined in section 502); 

3 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal College or University 

4 (as defined in section 316); 

5 ‘‘(iv) an Alaska Native-serving institu6 tion (as defined in section 317(b)); or 

7 ‘‘(v) a Native Hawaiian-serving insti8 tution (as defined in section 317(b)); 

9 ‘‘(B) a consortium of institutions described 

10 in subparagraph (A); or

11 ‘‘(C) an institution described in subpara12 graph (A), or a consortium described in subpara13 graph (B), in partnership with any other insti14 tution of higher education, but only if the center 

15 of excellence established under section 232 is lo16 cated at an institution described in subpara17 graph (A). 

18 ‘‘(2) HIGHLY QUALIFIED.—The term ‘highly 

19 qualified’ has the meaning given such term in section 

20 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

21 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

22 ‘‘(3) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED READING RE23 SEARCH.—The term ‘scientifically based reading re24 search’ has the meaning given such term in section 
48

•HR 2211 RH 

1 1208 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

2 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6368). 

3 ‘‘(4) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED RESEARCH.—The 

4 term ‘scientifically based research’ has the meaning 

5 given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary 

6 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 7801). 

8 ‘‘SEC. 232. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 

9 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the amounts ap10 propriated to carry out this part, the Secretary is author11 ized to award competitive grants to eligible institutions to 

12 establish centers of excellence. 

13 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants provided by the Sec14 retary under this part shall be used to ensure that current 

15 and future teachers are highly qualified, by carrying out 

16 one or more of the following activities: 

17 ‘‘(1) Implementing reforms within teacher prepa18 ration programs to ensure that such programs are 

19 preparing teachers who are highly qualified and are 

20 able to use advanced technology effectively in the 

21 classroom, including use for instructional techniques 

22 to improve student academic achievement, by—

23 ‘‘(A) retraining faculty; and 

24 ‘‘(B) designing (or redesigning) teacher 

25 preparation programs that—
49

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(i) prepare teachers to close student 

2 achievement gaps, are based on rigorous 

3 academic content, scientifically based re4 search (including scientifically based read5 ing research), and challenging State student 

6 academic content standards; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) promote strong teaching skills. 

8 ‘‘(2) Providing sustained and high-quality 

9 preservice clinical experience, including the men10 toring of prospective teachers by exemplary teachers, 

11 substantially increasing interaction between faculty 

12 at institutions of higher education and new and expe13 rienced teachers, principals, and other administrators 

14 at elementary schools or secondary schools, and pro15 viding support, including preparation time, for such 

16 interaction. 

17 ‘‘(3) Developing and implementing initiatives to 

18 promote retention of highly qualified teachers and 

19 principals, including minority teachers and prin20 cipals, including programs that provide—

21 ‘‘(A) teacher mentoring from exemplary 

22 teachers or principals; or 

23 ‘‘(B) induction and support for teachers 

24 and principals during their first 3 years of em25 ployment as teachers or principals, respectively. 
50

•HR 2211 RH 

1 ‘‘(4) Awarding scholarships based on financial 

2 need to help students pay the costs of tuition, room, 

3 board, and other expenses of completing a teacher 

4 preparation program. 

5 ‘‘(5) Disseminating information on effective 

6 practices for teacher preparation and successful teach7 er certification test preparation strategies. 

8 ‘‘(6) Activities authorized under sections 202, 

9 203, and 204. 

10 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Any eligible institution desiring 

11 a grant under this section shall submit an application to 

12 the Secretary at such a time, in such a manner, and accom13 panied by such information the Secretary may require. 

14 ‘‘(d) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—The minimum 

15 amount of each grant under this part shall be $500,000. 

16 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An 

17 eligible institution that receives a grant under this part 

18 may not use more than 2 percent of the grant funds for 

19 purposes of administering the grant. 

20 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

21 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this part. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 233. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

24 this part $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums 
51

•HR 2211 RH 

1 as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal 

2 years.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. TRANSITION. 

4 The Secretary of Education shall take such actions as 

5 the Secretary determines to be appropriate to provide for 

6 the orderly implementation of this Act.
Union Calendar No. 91

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2211

[Report No. 108–183] 

A BILL

To reauthorize title II of the Higher Education Act 

of 1965. 

JUNE 26, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

and ordered to be printed