I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2211

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 

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ready to Teach Act 

5 of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS. 

7 Part A of title II of the Higher Education Act of 

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended to read as fol9 lows:
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1 ‘‘PART A—TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT 

2 GRANTS FOR STATES AND PARTNERSHIPS 

3 ‘‘SEC. 201. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS. 

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

5 ‘‘(1) improve student academic achievement; 

6 ‘‘(2) improve the quality of the current and fu7 ture teaching force by improving the preparation of 

8 prospective teachers and enhancing professional de9 velopment activities; 

10 ‘‘(3) hold institutions of higher education ac11 countable for preparing highly qualified teachers; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(4) recruit qualified individuals, including mi14 norities and individuals from other occupations, into 

15 the teaching force. 

16 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this part: 

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

18 sciences’ means—

19 ‘‘(A) when referring to an organizational 

20 unit of an institution of higher education, any 

21 academic unit that offers 1 or more academic 

22 majors in disciplines or content areas cor23 responding to the academic subject matter 

24 areas in which teachers provide instruction; and 

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

26 subject matter area, the disciplines or content 
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1 areas in which academic majors are offered by 

2 the arts and science organizational unit. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXEMPLARY TEACHER.—The term ‘exem4 plary teacher’ has the meaning given such term in 

5 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

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

8 qualified’ has the meaning given such term in sec9 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

11 ‘‘(4) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN12 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 

13 means a local educational agency—

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

15 children from families with incomes below the 

16 poverty line; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) for which not less than 20 percent of 

18 the children served by the agency are from fam19 ilies with incomes below the poverty line; and 

20 ‘‘(B)(i) for which there is a high percent21 age of teachers not teaching in the academic 

22 subjects or grade levels that the teachers were 

23 trained to teach; or 
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1 ‘‘(ii) for which there is a high percentage 

2 of teachers with emergency, provisional, or tem3 porary certification or licensing. 

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

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

6 Management and Budget, and revised annually in 

7 accordance with section 673(2) of the Community 

8 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) ap9 plicable to a family of the size involved. 

10 ‘‘(6) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The 

11 term ‘professional development’ 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 ‘‘(7) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED READING RE16 SEARCH.—The term ‘scientifically based reading re17 search’ has the meaning given such term in section 

18 1208 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

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

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

21 term ‘scientifically based research’ has the meaning 

22 given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary 

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

24 7801). 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 202. STATE GRANTS. 

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

3 under section 210(1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary is 

4 authorized to award grants under this section, on a com5 petitive basis, to eligible States to enable the eligible 

6 States to carry out the activities described in subsection 

7 (d). 

8 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE STATE.—

9 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this part, the term ‘eligi10 ble State’ means—

11 ‘‘(A) the Governor of a State; or 

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

13 constitution or law of such State designates an14 other individual, entity, or agency in the State 

15 to be responsible for teacher certification and 

16 preparation activity, such individual, entity, or 

17 agency. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Governor and the 

19 individual, entity, or agency designated under para20 graph (1) shall consult with the Governor, State 

21 board of education, State educational agency, or 

22 State agency for higher education, as appropriate,

23 with respect to the activities assisted under this sec24 tion. 

25 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub26 section shall be construed to negate or supersede the 
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1 legal authority under State law of any State agency, 

2 State entity, or State public official over programs 

3 that are under the jurisdiction of the agency, entity, 

4 or official. 

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

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

7 the initial grant application, submit an application to the 

8 Secretary that—

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

10 ‘‘(2) includes a description of how the eligible 

11 State intends to use funds provided under this sec12 tion; and 

13 ‘‘(3) includes measurable objectives for the use 

14 of the funds provided under the grant. 

15 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible State that re16 ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds 

17 to reform teacher preparation requirements, to coordinate 

18 with State activities under section 2113(c) of the Elemen19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

20 6613(c)), and to ensure that current and future teachers 

21 are highly qualified, by carrying out one or more of the 

22 following activities: 

23 ‘‘(1) REFORMS.—Ensuring that institutions of 

24 higher education with teacher preparation programs 

25 are preparing teachers who are highly qualified, and 
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1 are able to use advanced technology effectively in the 

2 classroom, by assisting such institutions—

3 ‘‘(A) to retrain faculty; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to design (or redesign) teacher prepa5 ration programs so they are based on rigorous 

6 academic content, scientifically based research 

7 (including scientifically based reading research), 

8 and challenging State student academic content 

9 standards. 

10 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION OR LICENSURE REQUIRE11 MENTS.—Reforming teacher certification (including 

12 recertification) or licensing requirements to ensure 

13 that—

14 ‘‘(A) teachers have the subject matter 

15 knowledge and teaching skills in the academic 

16 subjects that the teachers teach necessary to 

17 help students meet challenging State student 

18 academic achievement standards; and 

19 ‘‘(B) such requirements are aligned with 

20 challenging State academic content standards. 

21 ‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL TEACHER

22 PREPARATION AND STATE CERTIFICATION.—Pro23 viding prospective teachers with alternatives to tradi24 tional preparation and State certification through—
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1 ‘‘(A) innovative approaches that reduce un2 necessary barriers to State certification while 

3 producing highly qualified teachers; 

4 ‘‘(B) programs that provide support to 

5 teachers during their initial years in the profes6 sion; and 

7 ‘‘(C) alternative routes to State certifi8 cation of teachers for qualified individuals, in9 cluding mid-career professionals from other oc10 cupations, former military personnel, and recent 

11 college graduates with records of academic dis12 tinction. 

13 ‘‘(4) INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS.—Planning and 

14 implementing innovative and experimental programs 

15 to enhance the ability of institutions of higher edu16 cation to prepare highly qualified teachers, such as 

17 charter colleges of education, that—

18 ‘‘(A) permit flexibility in meeting State re19 quirements as long as graduates, during their 

20 initial years in the profession, increase student 

21 academic achievement; 

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

23 teachers’ performance over multiple years in the 

24 classroom on the ability to increase student aca25 demic achievement; 
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1 ‘‘(C) ensure high-quality preparation of 

2 teachers from underrepresented groups; and 

3 ‘‘(D) create performance measures that 

4 can be used to document the effectiveness of in5 novative methods for preparing highly qualified 

6 teachers. 

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

8 local educational agencies in developing, merit-based 

9 performance systems that include strategies that 

10 provide differential and bonus pay for—

11 ‘‘(A) principals; 

12 ‘‘(B) teachers in high-need academic sub13 jects, such as reading, mathematics, and 

14 science; 

15 ‘‘(C) special education teachers; and 

16 ‘‘(D) teachers in high-poverty or rural 

17 schools or districts. 

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

19 assisting local educational agencies in developing, 

20 teacher advancement and retention initiatives that 

21 promote professional growth and emphasize multiple 

22 career paths (such as paths to becoming a career 

23 teacher, mentor teacher, or exemplary teacher) and 

24 pay differentiation. 
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1 ‘‘(7) TEACHER REMOVAL.—Developing and im2 plementing effective mechanisms to ensure that local 

3 educational agencies and schools are able to remove 

4 expeditiously incompetent or unqualified teachers 

5 consistent with procedures to ensure due process for 

6 the teachers. 

7 ‘‘(8) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Providing tech8 nical assistance to low-performing teacher prepara9 tion programs within institutions of higher education 

10 identified under section 208(a). 

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

12 ‘‘(A) systems to measure the effectiveness 

13 of teacher preparation programs and profes14 sional development programs; and 

15 ‘‘(B) strategies to document gains in stu16 dent academic achievement or increases in 

17 teacher mastery of the academic subjects the 

18 teachers teach as a result of such programs. 

19 ‘‘(10) TEACHER RECRUITMENT.—Undertaking 

20 teacher recruitment activities that—

21 ‘‘(A) develop and implement effective 

22 mechanisms to ensure that local educational

23 agencies and schools are able effectively to re24 cruit highly qualified teachers; or 

25 ‘‘(B) are described in section 204(d). 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 203. PARTNERSHIP GRANTS. 

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

3 section 210(2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary is author4 ized to award grants under this section, on a competitive 

5 basis, to eligible partnerships to enable the eligible part6 nerships to carry out the activities described in subsections 

7 (d) and (e). 

8 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—

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

10 the term ‘eligible partnership’ means an entity 

11 that—

12 ‘‘(A) shall include—

13 ‘‘(i) a partner institution; 

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

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

16 agency; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) a public or private educational 

18 organization; and 

19 ‘‘(B) may include a Governor, State edu20 cational agency, the State board of education, 

21 the State agency for higher education, an insti22 tution of higher education not described in sub23 paragraph (A), a public charter school, a public 

24 or private elementary school or secondary 

25 school, a public or private educational organiza-
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1 tion, a business, a faith-based or community or2 ganization, or a prekindergarten program. 

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

4 the term ‘partner institution’ means an institution of 

5 higher education, the teacher training program of 

6 which demonstrates that—

7 ‘‘(A) graduates from the teacher training 

8 program exhibit strong performance on State9 determined qualifying assessments for new 

10 teachers through—

11 ‘‘(i) demonstrating that the graduates 

12 of the program who intend to enter the 

13 field of teaching have passed all of the ap14 plicable State qualification assessments for 

15 new teachers, which shall include an as16 sessment of each prospective teacher’s sub17 ject matter knowledge in the content area 

18 or areas in which the teacher intends to 

19 teach; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) being ranked among the highest21 performing teacher preparation programs 

22 in the State as determined by the State—

23 ‘‘(I) using criteria consistent with 

24 the requirements for the State report 

25 card under section 207(a); and 
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1 ‘‘(II) using the State report card 

2 on teacher preparation required under 

3 section 207(a), after the first publica4 tion of such report card and for every 

5 year thereafter; or 

6 ‘‘(B) the teacher training program requires 

7 all the students of the program to participate in 

8 intensive clinical experience, to meet high aca9 demic standards, and—

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

11 candidates, to successfully complete an 

12 academic major in the subject area in 

13 which the candidate intends to teach or to 

14 demonstrate competence through a high 

15 level of performance in relevant content 

16 areas; and 

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

18 candidates, to successfully complete an 

19 academic major in the arts and sciences or 

20 to demonstrate competence through a high 

21 level of performance in core academic sub22 ject areas. 

23 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each eligible partnership desir24 ing a grant under this section shall submit an application 

25 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom-
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1 panied by such information as the Secretary may require. 

2 Each such application shall—

3 ‘‘(1) contain a needs assessment of all the part4 ners with respect to teaching and learning and a de5 scription of how the partnership will coordinate with 

6 other teacher training or professional development 

7 programs, and how the activities of the partnership 

8 will be consistent with State, local, and other edu9 cation reform activities that promote student aca10 demic achievement; 

11 ‘‘(2) contain a resource assessment that de12 scribes the resources available to the partnership, 

13 the intended use of the grant funds, including a de14 scription of how the grant funds will be fairly dis15 tributed in accordance with subsection (f), and the 

16 commitment of the resources of the partnership to 

17 the activities assisted under this part, including fi18 nancial support, faculty participation, time commit19 ments, and continuation of the activities when the 

20 grant ends; and 

21 ‘‘(3) contain a description of—

22 ‘‘(A) how the partnership will meet the 

23 purposes of this part; 
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1 ‘‘(B) how the partnership will carry out 

2 the activities required under subsection (d) and 

3 any permissible activities under subsection (e); 

4 ‘‘(C) the partnership’s evaluation plan pur5 suant to section 206(b); and 

6 ‘‘(D) how faculty of the teacher prepara7 tion program at the partner institution will 

8 serve, over the term of the grant, with highly 

9 qualified teachers in the classrooms of the high10 need local educational agency included in the 

11 partnership. 

12 ‘‘(d) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible part13 nership that receives a grant under this section shall use 

14 the grant funds to reform teacher preparation require15 ments, to coordinate with State activities under section 

16 2113(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

17 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6613(c)), and to ensure that current 

18 and future teachers are highly qualified, by carrying out 

19 one or more of the following activities: 

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

21 teacher preparation programs to ensure that such 

22 programs are preparing teachers who are highly

23 qualified, and are able to use advanced technology 

24 effectively in the classroom, by—

25 ‘‘(A) retraining faculty; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) designing (or redesigning) teacher 

2 preparation programs so they are based on rig3 orous academic content, scientifically based re4 search (including scientifically based reading re5 search), and challenging State student academic 

6 content standards. 

7 ‘‘(2) CLINICAL EXPERIENCE AND INTER8 ACTION.—Providing sustained and high-quality 

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

11 and substantially increasing interaction between fac12 ulty at institutions of higher education and new and 

13 experienced teachers, principals, and other adminis14 trators at elementary schools or secondary schools, 

15 and providing support, including preparation time, 

16 for such interaction. 

17 ‘‘(3) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—Creating 

18 opportunities for enhanced and ongoing professional 

19 development that improves the academic content 

20 knowledge of teachers in the subject areas in which 

21 the teachers are certified to teach or in which the 

22 teachers are working toward certification to teach, 

23 and that promotes strong teaching skills. 
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1 ‘‘(4) TEACHER PREPARATION.—Developing, or 

2 assisting local educational agencies in developing, 

3 professional development activities that—

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

5 address the needs of students with different 

6 learning styles, particularly students with dis7 abilities and students with special learning 

8 needs; and 

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

10 ‘‘(i) improving student behavior in the 

11 classroom; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) identifying early and appropriate 

13 interventions to help students described in 

14 subparagraph (A) learn. 

15 ‘‘(e) ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible 

16 partnership that receives a grant under this section may 

17 use such funds to carry out the following activities: 

18 ‘‘(1) ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL TEACHER

19 PREPARATION AND STATE CERTIFICATION.—Pro20 viding prospective teachers with alternatives to tradi21 tional preparation and State certification through—

22 ‘‘(A) innovative approaches that reduce un23 necessary barriers to teacher preparation while 

24 producing highly qualified teachers; 
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1 ‘‘(B) programs that provide support during 

2 a teacher’s initial years in the profession; and 

3 ‘‘(C) alternative routes to State certifi4 cation of teachers for qualified individuals, in5 cluding mid-career professionals from other oc6 cupations, former military personnel, and recent 

7 college graduates with records of academic dis8 tinction. 

9 ‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION AND COORDINATION.—

10 Broadly disseminating information on effective prac11 tices used by the partnership, and coordinating with 

12 the activities of the Governor, State board of edu13 cation, State higher education agency, and State 

14 educational agency, as appropriate. 

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

16 Developing and implementing professional develop17 ment programs for principals that enable the prin18 cipals to be effective school leaders and prepare all 

19 students to meet challenging State academic content 

20 and student academic achievement standards. 

21 ‘‘(4) TEACHER RECRUITMENT.—Activities de22 scribed in section 204(d). 

23 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE.—No individual member of an el24 igible partnership shall retain more than 50 percent of the 

25 funds made available to the partnership under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(g) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

2 be construed to prohibit an eligible partnership from using 

3 grant funds to coordinate with the activities of more than 

4 one Governor, State board of education, State educational 

5 agency, local educational agency, or State agency for high6 er education. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 204. TEACHER RECRUITMENT GRANTS. 

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

9 available under section 210(3) for a fiscal year, the Sec10 retary is authorized to award grants, on a competitive 

11 basis, to eligible applicants to enable the eligible applicants 

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

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

14 the term ‘eligible applicant’ means—

15 ‘‘(1) an eligible State described in section 

16 202(b); or 

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

18 203(b). 

19 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Any eligible applicant desiring 

20 to receive a grant under this section shall submit an appli21 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such form, and 

22 containing such information as the Secretary may require, 

23 including—

24 ‘‘(1) a description of the assessment that the el25 igible applicant, and the other entities with whom 
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1 the eligible applicant will carry out the grant activi2 ties, have undertaken to determine the most critical 

3 needs of the participating high-need local edu4 cational agencies; 

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

6 applicant will carry out with the grant, including the 

7 extent to which the applicant will use funds to re8 cruit minority students to become highly qualified 

9 teachers; and 

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

11 plan for continuing the activities carried out with 

12 the grant, once Federal funding ceases. 

13 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—Each eligible applicant re14 ceiving a grant under this section shall use the grant 

15 funds—

16 ‘‘(1)(A) to award scholarships to help students 

17 pay the costs of tuition, room, board, and other ex18 penses of completing a teacher preparation program; 

19 ‘‘(B) to provide support services, if needed to 

20 enable scholarship recipients to complete postsec21 ondary education programs; and

22 ‘‘(C) for follow up services provided to former 

23 scholarship recipients during the recipients first 3 

24 years of teaching; or 
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1 ‘‘(2) to develop and implement effective mecha2 nisms to ensure that high-need local educational 

3 agencies and schools are able effectively to recruit 

4 highly qualified teachers. 

5 ‘‘(e) SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

6 establish such requirements as the Secretary finds nec7 essary to ensure that recipients of scholarships under this 

8 section who complete teacher education programs subse9 quently teach in a high-need local educational agency, for 

10 a period of time equivalent to the period for which the 

11 recipients receive scholarship assistance, or repay the 

12 amount of the scholarship. The Secretary shall use any 

13 such repayments to carry out additional activities under 

14 this section. 

15 ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority 

16 under this section to eligible applicants who provide an 

17 assurance that they will recruit a high percentage of mi18 nority students to become highly qualified teachers. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 205. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

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

21 ‘‘(1) DURATION.—

22 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE STATES AND ELIGIBLE AP23 PLICANTS.—Grants awarded to eligible States 

24 and eligible applicants under this part shall be 

25 awarded for a period not to exceed 3 years. 
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1 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—Grants 

2 awarded to eligible partnerships under this part 

3 shall be awarded for a period of 5 years. 

4 ‘‘(2) ONE-TIME AWARD.—An eligible partner5 ship may receive a grant under each of sections 203 

6 and 204 only once. 

7 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall make 

8 annual payments of grant funds awarded under this 

9 part. 

10 ‘‘(b) PEER REVIEW.—

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

12 applications submitted under this part to a peer re13 view panel for evaluation. With respect to each ap14 plication, the peer review panel shall initially rec15 ommend the application for funding or for dis16 approval. 

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

18 to the Secretary for funding under this part, the 

19 panel shall—

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

21 202, give priority to eligible States serving 

22 States that—

23 ‘‘(i) have initiatives to reform State 

24 teacher certification requirements that are 

25 based on rigorous academic content, sci-
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1 entifically based research, including sci2 entifically based reading research, and 

3 challenging State student academic content 

4 standards; 

5 ‘‘(ii) include innovative reforms to 

6 hold institutions of higher education with 

7 teacher preparation programs accountable 

8 for preparing teachers who are highly 

9 qualified and have strong teaching skills; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(iii) involve the development of inno12 vative efforts aimed at reducing the short13 age of highly qualified teachers in high 

14 poverty urban and rural areas; 

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

16 203—

17 ‘‘(i) give priority to applications from 

18 broad-based eligible partnerships that in19 volve businesses and community organiza20 tions; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) take into consideration—

22 ‘‘(I) providing an equitable geo23 graphic distribution of the grants 

24 throughout the United States; and 
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1 ‘‘(II) the potential of the pro2 posed activities for creating improve3 ment and positive change. 

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

5 shall determine, based on the peer review process, 

6 which application shall receive funding and the 

7 amounts of the grants. In determining grant 

8 amounts, the Secretary shall take into account the 

9 total amount of funds available for all grants under 

10 this part and the types of activities proposed to be 

11 carried out. 

12 ‘‘(c) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—

13 ‘‘(1) STATE GRANTS.—Each eligible State re14 ceiving a grant under section 202 or 204 shall pro15 vide, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 

16 50 percent of the amount of the grant (in cash or 

17 in kind) to carry out the activities supported by the 

18 grant. 

19 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.—Each eligible 

20 partnership receiving a grant under section 203 or 

21 204 shall provide, from non-Federal sources (in cash 

22 or in kind), an amount equal to 25 percent of the 

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

24 the grant for the second year of the grant, and 50 
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1 percent of the grant for each succeeding year of the 

2 grant. 

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

4 An eligible State or eligible partnership that receives a 

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

6 of the grant funds for purposes of administering the grant. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 206. ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVALUATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) STATE GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT.—An 

9 eligible State that receives a grant under section 202 shall 

10 submit an annual accountability report to the Secretary, 

11 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen12 sions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and 

13 the Workforce of the House of Representatives. Such re14 port shall include a description of the degree to which the 

15 eligible State, in using funds provided under such section, 

16 has made substantial progress in meeting the following 

17 goals: 

18 ‘‘(1) PERCENTAGE OF HIGHLY QUALIFIED

19 TEACHERS.—Increasing the percentage of highly

20 qualified teachers in the State as required by section 

21 1119 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

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

23 ‘‘(2) STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.—In24 creasing student academic achievement for all stu25 dents as defined by the eligible State. 
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1 ‘‘(3) RAISING STANDARDS.—Raising the State 

2 academic standards required to enter the teaching 

3 profession as a highly qualified teacher. 

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

5 Increasing success in the pass rate for initial State 

6 teacher certification or licensure, or increasing the 

7 numbers of qualified individuals being certified or li8 censed as teachers through alternative programs. 

9 ‘‘(5) DECREASING TEACHER SHORTAGES.—De10 creasing shortages of highly qualified teachers in 

11 poor urban and rural areas. 

12 ‘‘(6) INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFES13 SIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—Increasing opportunities 

14 for enhanced and ongoing professional development 

15 that—

16 ‘‘(A) improves the academic content knowl17 edge of teachers in the subject areas in which 

18 the teachers are certified or licensed to teach or 

19 in which the teachers are working toward cer20 tification or licensure to teach; and 

21 ‘‘(B) promotes strong teaching skills. 

22 ‘‘(7) TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION.—Increasing 

23 the number of teachers prepared effectively to inte24 grate technology into curricula and instruction and 

25 who use technology to collect, manage, and analyze 
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1 student academic achievement data to improve 

2 teaching and decisionmaking. 

3 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP EVALUATION.—Each 

4 eligible partnership receiving a grant under section 203 

5 shall establish, and include in the application submitted 

6 under section 203(c), an evaluation plan that includes 

7 strong performance objectives. The plan shall include ob8 jectives and measures for—

9 ‘‘(1) increased student achievement for all stu10 dents as measured by the partnership; 

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

12 years of a teacher’s career; 

13 ‘‘(3) increased success in the pass rate for ini14 tial State certification or licensure of teachers; 

15 ‘‘(4) increased percentage of highly qualified 

16 teachers; and 

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

18 effectively to integrate technology into curricula and 

19 instruction and who use technology to collect, man20 age, and analyze student academic achievement data 

21 to improve teaching and decisionmaking. 

22 ‘‘(c) REVOCATION OF GRANT.—

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

24 partnership receiving a grant under this part shall 

25 report annually on the progress of the eligible State 
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1 or eligible partnership toward meeting the purposes 

2 of this part and the goals, objectives, and measures 

3 described in subsections (a) and (b). 

4 ‘‘(2) REVOCATION.—

5 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE STATES AND ELIGIBLE AP6 PLICANTS.—If the Secretary determines that an 

7 eligible State or eligible applicant is not making 

8 substantial progress in meeting the purposes, 

9 goals, objectives, and measures, as appropriate, 

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

11 this part, then the grant payment shall not be 

12 made for the third year of the grant. 

13 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—If the 

14 Secretary determines that an eligible partner15 ship is not making substantial progress in 

16 meeting the purposes, goals, objectives, and 

17 measures, as appropriate, by the end of the 

18 third year of a grant under this part, then the 

19 grant payments shall not be made for any suc20 ceeding year of the grant. 

21 ‘‘(d) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION.—The Sec22 retary shall evaluate the activities funded under this part 

23 and report annually the Secretary’s findings regarding the 

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

25 and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu-
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1 cation and the Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

2 The Secretary shall broadly disseminate successful prac3 tices developed by eligible States and eligible partnerships 

4 under this part, and shall broadly disseminate information 

5 regarding such practices that were found to be ineffective. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 207. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PROGRAMS THAT PRE7 PARE TEACHERS. 

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

9 TEACHER PREPARATION.—Each State that receives funds 

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

11 a uniform and comprehensible manner that conforms with 

12 the definitions and methods established by the Commis13 sioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, a 

14 State report card on the quality of teacher preparation 

15 in the State, which shall include at least the following: 

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

17 and licensure assessments, and any other certifi18 cation and licensure requirements, used by the 

19 State. 

20 ‘‘(2) The standards and criteria that prospec21 tive teachers must meet in order to attain initial 

22 teacher certification or licensure and to be certified 

23 or licensed to teach particular subjects or in par24 ticular grades within the State. 
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1 ‘‘(3) A description of the extent to which the 

2 assessments and requirements described in para3 graph (1) are aligned with the State’s standards and 

4 assessments for students. 

5 ‘‘(4) The percentage of students at an institu6 tion who participated in a teacher preparation pro7 gram of such institution for at least 2 semesters who 

8 passed each of the assessments used by the State for 

9 teacher certification and licensure, and the passing 

10 score on each assessment that determines whether a 

11 candidate has passed that assessment. 

12 ‘‘(5) The percentage of students at an institu13 tion who participated in a teacher preparation pro14 gram of such institution for at least 2 semesters who 

15 passed each of the assessments used by the State for 

16 teacher certification and licensure, disaggregated 

17 and ranked, by the teacher preparation program in 

18 that State from which the teacher candidate received

19 the candidate’s most recent degree, which shall be 

20 made available widely and publicly. 

21 ‘‘(6) Information on the extent to which teach22 ers in the State are given waivers of State certifi23 cation or licensure requirements, including the pro24 portion of such teachers distributed across high- and 

25 low-poverty school districts and across subject areas. 
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1 ‘‘(7) A description of each State’s alternative 

2 routes to teacher certification, if any, and the per3 centage of teachers certified through alternative cer4 tification routes who pass State teacher certification 

5 or licensure assessments. 

6 ‘‘(8) For each State, a description of proposed 

7 criteria for assessing the performance of teacher 

8 preparation programs within institutions of higher 

9 education in the State, including indicators of teach10 er candidate skills and academic content knowledge 

11 and evidence of gains in student academic achieve12 ment. 

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) 

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

21 for 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—
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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 

5 used in more than 1 State for teacher certifi6 cation or licensure. 

7 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of institu8 tions with fewer than 10 students who participated 

9 in a teacher preparation program of such institution 

10 for at least 2 semesters taking any single initial 

11 teacher certification or licensure assessment during 

12 an academic year, the Secretary shall collect and 

13 publish information with respect to an average pass 

14 rate on State certification or licensure assessments 

15 taken over 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 

19 who took State teacher certification or licensure assess20 ments in a State other than the State in which the indi21 vidual received the individual’s most recent degree. 

22 ‘‘(d) INSTITUTIONAL REPORT CARDS ON THE QUAL23 ITY OF TEACHER PREPARATION.—

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

25 education that conducts a teacher preparation pro-
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1 gram that enrolls students receiving Federal assist2 ance under this Act shall report annually to the 

3 State and the general public, in a uniform and com4 prehensible manner that conforms with the defini5 tions and methods established by the Commissioner 

6 of the National Center for Education Statistics, the 

7 following information: 

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

9 year for which the information is available, the 

10 pass rate of each student at the institution who 

11 participated in the teacher preparation program 

12 for at least 2 semesters on the teacher certifi13 cation or licensure assessments of the State in 

14 which the institution is located, but only for 

15 those students who took those assessments 

16 within 3 years of receiving a degree from the 

17 institution. 

18 ‘‘(ii) A comparison of the institution’s pass 

19 rate for students who participated in the teach20 er preparation program for at least 2 semesters 

21 with the average pass rate for institutions in 

22 the State. 

23 ‘‘(iii) A comparison of the institution’s av24 erage score for students who participated in the 

25 teacher preparation program for at least 2 se-
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1 mesters with the average scores for institutions 

2 in the State. 

3 ‘‘(iv) In the case of institutions with fewer 

4 than 10 students who participated in a teacher 

5 preparation program of such institution for at 

6 least 2 semesters taking any single initial teach7 er certification or licensure assessment during 

8 an academic year, the institution shall collect 

9 and publish information with respect to an av10 erage pass rate on State certification or licen11 sure assessments taken over a 3-year period. 

12 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM INFORMATION.—The num13 ber of students in the program, the average 

14 number of hours of supervised practice teaching 

15 required for those in the program, and the fac16 ulty-student ratio in supervised practice teach17 ing. 

18 ‘‘(C) STATEMENT.—In States that approve 

19 or accredit teacher education programs, a state20 ment of whether the institution’s program is so 

21 approved or accredited. 

22 ‘‘(D) DESIGNATION AS LOW-PER23 FORMING.—Whether the program has been des24 ignated as low-performing by the State under 

25 section 208(a). 
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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The information de2 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be reported through 

3 publications such as school catalogs and promotional 

4 materials sent to potential applicants, secondary 

5 school guidance counselors, and prospective employ6 ers of the institution’s program graduates, including 

7 materials sent by electronic means. 

8 ‘‘(3) FINES.—In addition to the actions author9 ized in section 487(c), the Secretary may impose a 

10 fine not to exceed $25,000 on an institution of high11 er education for failure to provide the information 

12 described in this subsection in a timely or accurate 

13 manner. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 208. STATE FUNCTIONS. 

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

16 under this Act, a State shall have in place a procedure 

17 to identify and assist, through the provision of technical

18 assistance, low-performing programs of teacher prepara19 tion within institutions of higher education. Such State 

20 shall provide the Secretary an annual list of such low-per21 forming institutions that includes an identification of 

22 those institutions at risk of being placed on such list. Such 

23 levels of performance shall be determined solely by the 

24 State and may include criteria based upon information col-
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1 lected pursuant to this part. Such assessment shall be de2 scribed in the report under section 207(a). 

3 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Any institu4 tion of higher education that offers a program of teacher 

5 preparation in which the State has withdrawn the State’s 

6 approval or terminated the State’s financial support due 

7 to the low performance of the institution’s teacher prepa8 ration program based upon the State assessment described 

9 in subsection (a)—

10 ‘‘(1) shall be ineligible for any funding for pro11 fessional development activities awarded by the De12 partment of Education; and 

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

14 any student who receives aid under title IV of this 

15 Act in the institution’s teacher preparation program. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 209. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

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

18 208, the Secretary shall ensure that States and institu19 tions of higher education use fair and equitable methods 

20 in reporting and that the reporting methods do not allow 

21 identification of individuals. 

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

23 are no State certification or licensure assessments, or for 

24 States that do not set minimum performance levels on 

25 those assessments—
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1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary shall, to the extent prac2 ticable, collect data comparable to the data required 

3 under this part from States, local educational agen4 cies, institutions of higher education, or other enti5 ties that administer such assessments to teachers or 

6 prospective teachers; and 

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

8 part, the Secretary shall use such data to carry out 

9 requirements of this part related to assessments or 

10 pass rates. 

11 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—

12 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL CONTROL PROHIBITED.—Noth13 ing in this part shall be construed to permit, allow, 

14 encourage, or authorize any Federal control over any 

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

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

17 school or home school under State law. This section 

18 shall not be construed to prohibit private, religious, 

19 or home schools from participation in programs or 

20 services under this part. 

21 ‘‘(2) NO CHANGE IN STATE CONTROL ENCOUR22 AGED OR REQUIRED.—Nothing in this part shall be 

23 construed to encourage or require any change in a 

24 State’s treatment of any private, religious, or home 
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1 school, whether or not a home school is treated as 

2 a private school or home school under State law. 

3 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL SYSTEM OF TEACHER CERTIFI4 CATION PROHIBITED.—Nothing in this part shall be 

5 construed to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize 

6 the Secretary to establish or support any national 

7 system of teacher certification. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 210. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

10 this part such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

11 2004 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years, of which—

12 ‘‘(1) 45 percent shall be available for each fiscal 

13 year to award grants under section 202; 

14 ‘‘(2) 45 percent shall be available for each fiscal 

15 year to award grants under section 203; and 

16 ‘‘(3) 10 percent shall be available for each fiscal 

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

18 SEC. 3. PREPARING TOMORROW’S TEACHERS TO USE TECH19 NOLOGY. 

20 (a) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—Section 

21 223(b)(1)(E) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 1043(b)(1)(E)) is amended by inserting ‘‘student 

23 academic achievement’’ after ‘‘analyze’’. 

24 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

25 224 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
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1 1044) is amended by striking ‘‘each of fiscal years 2002 

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

3 the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’.

Æ