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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2441 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2441

   To authorize resources for a grant program for local educational 
                agencies to create innovation districts.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 16 (legislative day, March 15), 2006

   Mr. Obama introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To authorize resources for a grant program for local educational 
                agencies to create innovation districts.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Innovation Districts for School 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Too many students emerge from secondary school 
        unprepared for success in college or in the workforce. It is 
        children of color and children of poverty who suffer most from 
        a failure to provide them effective teachers and adequate 
        resources.
            (2) In urban elementary schools, African-American and 
        Latino students are several times less likely than their white 
        peers to be reading at even a basic level, and children living 
        in poverty are several times less likely than their peers who 
        are not poor to be proficient in reading or mathematics.
            (3) These deficits continue on into higher levels of 
        education, so that 6,000,000 middle school and secondary school 
        students are reading with skills significantly below their 
        grade level. Half of all teenagers are unable to understand 
        basic mathematics.
            (4) In New York City, only 35 percent of African-American 
        students and 32 percent of Latino students graduate from 
        secondary school. In Chicago, of every 100 African-American 
        males, on average, only 38 graduate from secondary school by 
        age 19, and less than 3 continue their education to earn a 
        diploma from a 4-year college.
            (5) The dropout problem is not limited to cities. Poor 
        rural communities are also harmed by inadequate resources and 
        low teacher quality. As a result, in some States, only 60 
        percent of white students graduate from secondary school; in 
        others, there is a difference of 40 percentage points in the 
        graduation rates of whites and students of color.
            (6) Too many teachers and school leaders are not prepared 
        adequately for their jobs, and too few States and local 
        educational agencies have effective teacher induction or 
        mentoring programs. Less-qualified teachers are concentrated in 
        schools attended by African-American and Latino students, and 
        in high-poverty areas, whether urban or rural.
            (7) The effectiveness of teachers has a direct relationship 
        to student academic achievement. Students who performed equally 
        well in mathematics in second grade showed a significant 
        performance gap 3 years later, depending on whether they had 
        been assigned to the most effective or least effective 
        teachers.
            (8) Despite the numerous indicators that public schools are 
        not adequately educating students, there are many pockets of 
        innovation and success, where effective teachers work in 
        schools where they support their students, with additional 
        support from community organizations, foundations, and 
        nonprofits. In high-poverty schools using the reforms of the 
        Teacher Advancement Program, the most recent data shows that 
        more that 70 percent of these schools increased the percentage 
        of students achieving at proficient levels or above on 
        standardized tests. In rural schools using the Teacher 
        Advancement Program reforms, nearly two-thirds of schools 
        increased the percentage of students at or above the proficient 
        level.
            (9) Lessons from the Teacher Advancement Program and other 
        successes will form the basis for the expansion of successful 
        efforts, used to positively transform education in school 
        districts, and, in so doing, generate additional information on 
        a group of effective practices that can be widely disseminated 
        and applied.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the terms ``Department'', ``elementary school'', 
``institution of higher education'', ``local educational agency'', 
``secondary school'', and ``Secretary'' have the meanings given such 
terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Authorization.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a program to 
        award grants, on a competitive basis, to 10 local educational 
        agencies in urban areas and 10 local educational agencies in 
        non-urban areas (which shall include a mix of rural and 
        suburban areas), to enable such agencies to create innovation 
        districts to implement systemic reforms in areas of teaching, 
        assessment, school leadership, and administration, including 
        the following:
                    (A) Implementation of data systems to evaluate 
                student progress, identify and share best practices, 
                and conduct rigorous, data-driven evaluations to 
                determine the effect of reforms on student academic 
                achievement.
                    (B) Recruitment and retention of highly-effective 
                teachers, and allocation of such teachers into the 
                classrooms of the students who need them most, using 
                incentives, including differential pay to reward high-
                performing teachers, teachers who choose to work in the 
                most challenging schools within a local educational 
                agency, and teachers with expertise in needed subject 
                areas, such as mathematics, science, and special 
                education, and systems and schedules to support teacher 
                collaboration and mentoring, and career ladders for 
                teachers to work as mentor or master teachers.
                    (C) Support of teacher academies to recruit 
                talented candidates, develop effective placement 
                systems, and ensure that trainees receive both 
                effective pre-service training and effective mentoring 
                during induction as they enter the classroom.
                    (D) Placement of an outstanding principal in every 
                school, including rigorous recruitment, selection, pre-
                service and in-service training, and placement of 
                school leaders, and efforts to hold principals 
                accountable for student academic achievement while 
                providing the principals with the authority and 
                autonomy needed especially regarding hiring and 
                assigning teachers and staff.
                    (E) Support for new schools, including charter 
                schools or contract schools, or for networks of public 
                schools within the local educational agency, serving 
                predominantly low-income populations, which are 
                sponsored by universities, education management 
                organizations, or other nonprofit entities. Such new 
                schools shall--
                            (i) serve as demonstration sites for high-
                        quality kindergarten through grade 12 
                        schooling;
                            (ii) be the locus for training and support 
                        of aspiring, new and veteran teachers and 
                        school leaders; and
                            (iii) be designed to share best practices 
                        with other schools served by the local 
                        educational agency, and other local educational 
                        agencies, State and nationwide.
            (2) Fewer grants.--If the amount appropriated for a fiscal 
        year under subsection (h) is less than the amount authorized to 
        be appropriated for such fiscal year, the Secretary may award 
        fewer than 20 grants under this Act.
    (b) Application.--
            (1) In general.--A local educational agency that desires to 
        receive a grant under this Act shall submit an application to 
        the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by 
        such information as the Secretary shall require.
            (2) Contents.--An application submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include how the local educational agency will carry out 
        the activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of 
        subsection (a)(1) and a description of activities the local 
        educational agency will undertake to--
                    (A) recruit and induct new professional employees 
                into the schools served by the local educational 
                agency, including establishment of residency-based 
                teacher or leadership academies;
                    (B) provide mentoring and support for teachers who 
                are not meeting standards for teacher effectiveness 
                described in this Act;
                    (C) use the financial and human resources of the 
                agency to meet the needs of students in a performance-
                based model focused on student learning;
                    (D) develop and use data systems and accountability 
                to establish instructional plans to benefit students in 
                schools served by the agency, with regular evaluation 
                of agency-supported programs; and
                    (E) address how the agency will use funds available 
                under title II of the Elementary and Secondary 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) to 
                support the goals of this Act, including having 
                effective teachers equitably placed in every classroom 
                in every school served by the agency, and effective 
                principals in every school served by the agency.
    (c) Mandatory Uses of Funds.--A local educational agency that 
receives a grant under this Act shall use the grant funds to carry out 
each of the following:
            (1) Accountability.--The local educational shall improve 
        accountability as follows:
                    (A) Work to establish longitudinal data systems 
                that can monitor student progress as the students move 
                from grade to grade, to determine the value-added and 
                effectiveness of specific teachers, schools, and 
                programs within the local educational agency. The data 
                system may be designed and established in cooperation 
                with institutions of higher education, regional 
                educational laboratories (established pursuant to 
                section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 
                2002 (20 U.S.C. 9564)), offices in the Department, or 
                other entities with expertise in data acquisition and 
                interpretation. Such a data system shall have the 
                following attributes:
                            (i) A unique student identifier to track 
                        the progress of each individual student served 
                        by the local educational agency.
                            (ii) The ability to track the progress and 
                        assessment results of each individual student 
                        from year to year.
                            (iii) Enrollment, demographic, and program 
                        participation information for each student.
                            (iv) A teacher identifier system to match 
                        each student to each teacher within the system.
                            (v) Student-level graduation and dropout 
                        data.
                            (vi) Inclusion of data on risk factors for 
                        individual students, including such indicators 
                        as non-promotion mobility, interaction with the 
                        criminal justice system involving the school, 
                        eligibility for a free or reduced price lunch 
                        under the Richard B. Russell National School 
                        Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), and such 
                        other factors as may be useful in targeting 
                        appropriate services, interventions, and 
                        supports for at-risk students.
                    (B) Devise or employ assessment tests to monitor 
                the progress of all students in grade 1 through grade 
                12 in all the elementary schools and secondary schools 
                served by the local educational agency.
                    (C) Rate the effectiveness of individual teachers, 
                administrators, and schools within the local 
                educational agency, using when feasible, as 1 measure, 
                a value-added system, a statistical method to measure 
                the influence of a teacher or school on the rate of 
                academic progress of students. The local educational 
                agency shall evaluate 1 year's worth of academic growth 
                for each student using as the reference standard the 
                national norm gain for each grade level, or the 
                statewide or district-wide value-added gain.
                    (D) Assess the effectiveness of individual 
                teachers, administrators, and schools, using when 
                feasible, as 1 measure, the value-added system 
                described in subparagraph (C), including a measure of 
                progress toward the goal of every student becoming 
                proficient in reading, writing, and mathematics, and a 
                measure of the progress of students through coursework 
                needed to gain the knowledge and skills necessary for 
                eventual entrance into a postsecondary degree or 
                certification program.
                    (E) Award incentives for effective teaching or 
                school leadership that may be linked to the results of 
                the assessments under subparagraph (D), including a 
                measure of progress toward the goal of every student 
                becoming proficient in reading, writing, and 
                mathematics, and a measure of the progress of students 
                through coursework needed to gain the knowledge and 
                skills necessary for eventual entrance into a 
                postsecondary degree or certification program.
            (2) Removing obstacles to innovation.--The local 
        educational agency shall work with local teacher 
        representatives or unions and other community partners to 
        achieve the following:
                    (A) Equitable distribution of effective teachers to 
                all students within the agency to ensure that poor and 
                minority students are not disproportionately taught by 
                teachers who are--
                            (i) poorly trained in the subject being 
                        taught;
                            (ii) less likely to have significant 
                        teaching experience; and
                            (iii) less likely to excel in other 
                        measures of teacher effectiveness.
                    (B) Equitable distribution of expenditures to 
                rectify policies and practices that guide teacher pay 
                and have an adverse impact on disadvantaged students 
                and schools. This may include the consideration of 
                teacher salaries and policies of salary averaging in 
                meeting agency-wide goals based on high expectations 
                for student academic achievement.
                    (C) Modification of staffing procedures and 
                collective bargaining rules to provide greater 
                flexibility for agency and school leaders to establish 
                effective school-level staffing, to fairly balance the 
                distribution of experienced teachers, and to recruit, 
                place, and retain new teachers within schools served by 
                the agency, including the completion of staffing 
                decisions in a timely fashion to provide effective 
                planning for student academic achievement.
            (3) Teachers.--The local educational agency shall evaluate 
        and reward teacher effectiveness as follows:
                    (A) Teacher effectiveness.--The local educational 
                agency shall evaluate teacher effectiveness by working 
                with unions and other community stakeholders to 
                establish a metric to determine the effectiveness of 
                teachers, administrators, and schools served by the 
                local educational agency. The metric may be used as the 
                basis for systems of pay, incentives, and placement 
                within the local educational agency. Such a metric may 
                include the following items:
                            (i) Student growth.--Teachers may be rated 
                        for meeting annual objectives that are 
                        monitored by evaluating student improvement in 
                        value-added assessments. These evaluations may 
                        include value-added data averaged for a period 
                        of several years.
                            (ii) Measuring teams of teachers.--Measures 
                        may be used to track the progress and reward 
                        teams of teachers (such as a particular grade 
                        level or subject area) to encourage teamwork 
                        and sharing of best practices, and draw on 
                        similar effective approaches to financial 
                        rewards in the private sector.
                            (iii) Professional evaluation.--
                                    (I) In general.--Professional 
                                evaluation shall be based on formal and 
                                informal observations of teacher 
                                effectiveness. The ratings shall be 
                                prepared by the supervisor of each 
                                teacher, based on observations of such 
                                domains of teaching as the following:
                                            (aa) Planning and 
                                        preparation, including 
                                        demonstrating knowledge of 
                                        content, pedagogy, and 
                                        assessment, including the use 
                                        of formative assessment to 
                                        improve student learning.
                                            (bb) Classroom and school 
                                        environment, which establishes 
                                        a culture for learning, using 
                                        when appropriate, schoolwide 
                                        positive behavioral 
                                        intervention and support.
                                            (cc) Instruction, which 
                                        clearly and accurately engages 
                                        students in learning.
                                            (dd) Professional 
                                        responsibilities, including 
                                        appropriate interaction with 
                                        families of students, and with 
                                        professional colleagues, which 
                                        requires a demonstrated ability 
                                        to work with mentors and 
                                        instructional leaders to 
                                        improve the teacher's teaching 
                                        and resultant student learning.
                                            (ee) Fair analysis of gains 
                                        in student academic achievement 
                                        over time.
                                    (II) Improvement plan.--A teacher 
                                who receives an unsatisfactory 
                                professional evaluation under subclause 
                                (I) shall comply with an improvement 
                                plan, developed by the teacher and the 
                                school in which the teacher teaches or 
                                the local educational agency and 
                                provided by such school or agency.
                    (B) Teaching incentives.--Based on measures of 
                teacher effectiveness and the needs of the school and 
                the local educational agency, the local educational 
                agency shall work with teacher and community 
                representatives to develop a differentiated pay scale 
                to provide incentives for effective teaching, teaching 
                specific subject areas, and teaching in specific 
                schools, including hard-to-staff schools or schools 
                with high proportions of students who have been 
                achieving at levels below the local educational agency 
                or State average.
            (4) Teacher academies.--
                    (A) In general.--The local educational agency shall 
                establish a Teacher Academy, based upon models of 
                successful residency-based teacher training and 
                induction programs, as a mechanism to train teachers 
                for success in such local educational agency. Each 
                Teacher Academy shall be headed by a director who shall 
                award grants to eligible individuals to attend such 
                Teacher Academy.
                    (B) Eligible individuals.--An individual may be 
                eligible for a grant to attend a Teacher Academy if the 
                individual is a recent college graduate or mid-career 
                professional from outside the field of education, 
                possessing strong content knowledge or a record of 
                achievement, or other such individual at the discretion 
                of the Secretary.
                    (C) Application.--An individual who is eligible 
                under subparagraph (B) and who desires a grant under 
                this paragraph shall submit an application to the 
                Teacher Academy.
                    (D) Selection criteria.--The director of the 
                Teacher Academy shall establish criteria for selection 
                of individuals to receive grants under this paragraph, 
                based on such domains of teaching as the following 
                characteristics shared by highly-effective teachers:
                            (i) Comprehensive subject knowledge or 
                        record of accomplishment in an area outside of 
                        education.
                            (ii) Strong verbal and written 
                        communication skills.
                            (iii) Other attributes linked to effective 
                        teaching.
                    (E) Receipt of grant.--An individual who receives a 
                grant under this paragraph shall enroll in the program 
                of the Teacher Academy, which shall include the 
                following:
                            (i) A 1-year residency-based program of 
                        teaching in a school served by the local 
                        educational agency, under the supervision of a 
                        mentor teacher who will instruct the resident 
                        in planning and preparation, instruction of 
                        students, management of the classroom 
                        environment, and other professional 
                        responsibilities. Alternatively, the first year 
                        of full-time teaching may be substituted for 
                        such residency-based program if all of the 
                        other requirements of this section are 
                        satisfied and if the full-time teaching is 
                        supported by a school, university, or nonprofit 
                        organization with a strong track record of 
                        helping new teachers get strong academic 
                        achievement results for students.
                            (ii) A living stipend or salary for the 
                        period of residency.
                            (iii) Concurrent instruction from a partner 
                        college, State-approved organization, or school 
                        of education at an institution of higher 
                        education in pedagogy classes necessary for 
                        certification as a teacher.
                            (iv) Ongoing mentoring and coaching during 
                        the first 2 years of induction into classroom 
                        teaching.
                    (F) Placement in hard-to-staff school.--
                            (i) In general.--An eligible individual who 
                        receives a grant under this paragraph shall 
                        teach in a hard-to-staff school served by the 
                        local educational agency for a period of 3 
                        years.
                            (ii) Repayment.--If an eligible individual 
                        does not complete the teaching requirement 
                        described in clause (i), such individual shall 
                        repay to the local educational agency a pro 
                        rata portion of the grant amount for the amount 
                        of teaching time the individual did not 
                        complete.
            (5) Teacher careers.--
                    (A) In general.--The local educational agency shall 
                establish a career ladder for teachers in schools 
                served by the local educational agency.
                    (B) Progression.--
                            (i) In general.--In order to progress to 
                        higher rungs on the career ladder, a teacher or 
                        school leader shall prove effective at the 
                        teacher or school leader's current level under 
                        a set of criteria established by the local 
                        educational agency.
                            (ii) Increase in role and compensation.--In 
                        progressing to higher rungs on the career 
                        ladder, a teacher or school leader shall--
                                    (I) accept an increasing role in 
                                assessing and helping to improve the 
                                teaching effectiveness of other 
                                teachers in the school; and
                                    (II) be offered increased 
                                compensation.
                            (iii) Collective bargaining agreement.--The 
                        base salary and career ladder increments of 
                        increased compensation may be established in a 
                        collective bargaining agreement between the 
                        local educational agency and representatives of 
                        teachers.
                            (iv) Steps.--A career ladder may include 
                        the following steps:
                                    (I) Novice teachers.--Novice 
                                teachers are teachers in their first 
                                years in the profession. This shall be 
                                the career entry stage and include 
                                professional employees with initial 
                                teaching certificates. Novice teachers 
                                shall receive induction and mentoring 
                                as described in subclause (III) until 
                                the novice teachers progress to become 
                                career teachers. Such induction and 
                                mentoring shall focus on improving the 
                                instructional and professional skills 
                                of the novice teachers. Novice teachers 
                                shall receive periodic performance 
                                reviews as a result of regular 
                                observations, using the criteria of 
                                teacher effectiveness set forth in 
                                paragraph (3)(A).
                                    (II) Career teachers.--Career 
                                teachers are teachers who have served 
                                several years as novice teachers and 
                                have received an advanced teaching 
                                certification or master's degree, as 
                                determined by State certification 
                                requirements. Novice teachers may 
                                progress to this stage of the career 
                                ladder after receiving satisfactory 
                                reviews of teacher effectiveness as 
                                outlined in paragraph (3)(A) and 
                                receiving an advanced teaching 
                                certification or master's degree.
                                    (III) Mentor teachers.--Mentor 
                                teachers are teachers selected by local 
                                school administrators under clear 
                                criteria established at the local 
                                educational agency level, including 
                                superior assessment of their teaching 
                                effectiveness as described in paragraph 
                                (3)(A). Mentor teachers shall have 
                                extra responsibilities as teacher 
                                leaders and teacher coaches, including 
                                roles in induction and mentoring of 
                                novice teachers.
                                    (IV) Master teachers.--Master 
                                teachers are mentor teachers who have 
                                received superior reviews of their 
                                mentoring and supervisory role and 
                                assume additional responsibilities and 
                                teacher mentoring and leadership roles.
                    (C) Learning community.--The role of mentor and 
                master teachers shall include establishing, within each 
                school, a learning community in which all individuals 
                are expected to continually improve their capacity to 
                advance student learning, using a shared set of 
                instructional principles or teaching strategies. The 
                learning community shall require, in each school, 
                continuing professional development, based on student 
                academic achievement and behavioral outcomes, embedding 
                in each school system for on-site coaching, mentoring, 
                and study groups in which teachers work together to 
                improve the instructional program for students.
            (6) School leadership.--The local educational agency shall 
        include a specific plan to improve the school leadership in 
        schools served by the agency, with the eventual goal of an 
        effective principal in every school. The plan should include 
        provisions to address the following topics:
                    (A) Responsibility and role of principals.--A plan 
                to support the primary role of the principal as the 
                instructional leader in the school responsible for 
                ensuring teaching effectiveness and student academic 
                achievement schoolwide. Such plan shall include 
                involving principals in planning systems and strategies 
                for curricular, classroom, and schoolwide student 
                behavioral interventions and supports, and for 
                establishing mechanisms for using student academic 
                achievement data to drive instructional decisions. The 
                plan shall also address ways to give principals 
                significant responsibility for decisions regarding 
                teacher hiring and placement decisions.
                    (B) Creating the pipeline of future principals.--A 
                plan for strategies and criteria for rigorous 
                recruitment, selection, and pre-service training and 
                induction for new principals who can effectively take 
                on the responsibilities described in subparagraph (A). 
                As with training teachers, the agency may establish a 
                program for principal training, including a residency 
                or internship with an exemplary principal in the 
                agency. The program shall have explicit expectations 
                and performance-based indicators of outcomes to ensure 
                that each resident is competent in assuming 
                instructional leadership responsibilities. In the case 
                of an agency in which several principals are training 
                as a cohort, the agency shall promote the use of cohort 
                participant groups to discuss best practices and 
                maintain focus on outcome assessments.
                    (C) Systematically transforming the principalship 
                districtwide.--An assessment of how the agency 
                currently handles each major policy and practice 
                affecting the expectations set for the principalship 
                and a plan for how the agency will align the 
                principalship to the goals of this Act, including 
                recruitment, selection, training, evaluation, 
                compensation, management, and job design of the 
                principalship and other school leadership roles.
                    (D) Evaluation.--A plan for an external evaluation 
                to examine the impact of principals on driving 
                measurable gains in student academic achievement.
    (d) Flexibility for Small Rural Districts.--The Secretary may give 
a local educational agency that is a small, rural local educational 
agency (as determined by the Secretary) that receives a grant under 
this Act flexibility in carrying out the activities required under 
subsection (c), including a waiver of the requirement to establish a 
Teacher Academy under subsection (c)(4).
    (e) Permissible Use of Funds.--The local educational agency may 
include a plan to support new schools, including charter schools or 
contract schools, or for networks of public schools within the local 
educational agency, serving predominantly low-income populations, which 
are sponsored by universities, education management organizations, or 
other nonprofit entities, using--
            (1) funds appropriated to carry out this Act, in 
        coordination with the charter school programs under subpart 1 
        of part B of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7221 et seq.); or
            (2) funds from State, local, or private sources.
    (f) Reports.--A local educational agency that receives a grant 
under this Act shall submit to the Secretary a report on the progress 
of such agency toward completion of the goals of the agency. Such 
report shall be available for public view on the website of the 
Department. Based on such reports, the Secretary may terminate grant 
funding to an agency for unsatisfactory performance.
    (g) Peer Review Panel.--
            (1) In general.--There shall be established in accordance 
        with paragraph (2), a peer review panel to--
                    (A) review applications submitted under subsection 
                (b);
                    (B) submit to the Secretary evaluations of the 
                applications reviewed under subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) evaluate reports described in subsection (f).
            (2) Selection of members.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), 
                members of the peer review panel shall be selected by 
                the Secretary, in collaboration with the Majority 
                Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the 
                Senate, the Majority Leader of the House of 
                Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the House 
                of Representatives and shall include representatives 
                from foundations, universities, and other entities with 
                a record of involvement in local educational agency 
                reform efforts.
                    (B) National governors association.--Two members of 
                the peer review panel shall be selected by the National 
                Governors Association.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        carry out this Act $1,500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 
        through 2011.
            (2) Redirect funds.--The Secretary shall redirect amounts 
        appropriated to carry out programs under title II of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 
        et seq.) that the Secretary determines are ineffective, to 
        carry out this Act.
                                 <all>
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