II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1521 

To provide for teacher acculturation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2005 

Mr. AKAKA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

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

A BILL 

To provide for teacher acculturation, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. TEACHER ACCULTURATION. 

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

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

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘PART C—TEACHER ACCULTURATION 

8 ‘‘SEC. 231. SHORT TITLE. 

9 ‘‘This part may be cited as the ‘Teacher Accultura10 tion Act of 2005’. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 232. FINDINGS. 

12 ‘‘Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 ‘‘(1) Every person (child, adolescent, or adult) 

2 has her or his own cluster of learning modalities. 

3 ‘‘(2) These individual learning modalities are 

4 the result of many factors, including the person’s 

5 cultural heritage, language, and socioeconomic back6 ground. 

7 ‘‘(3) Research has shown that learning occurs 

8 best within a learning environment that closely 

9 matches a person’s individual learning modalities. 

10 ‘‘(4) There is a strong correlation between— 

11 ‘‘(A) the lack of academic achievement of 

12 a student; and 

13 ‘‘(B) a lack of congruence between— 

14 ‘‘(i) the learning modalities of the stu15 dent; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the teaching pedagogy of the 

17 teacher. 

18 ‘‘(5) One of the factors that significantly im19 pacts learning modalities is a student’s culture. 

20 ‘‘(6) A congruence between the cultural norms 

21 embedded in the teaching environment and the cul22 ture of a student has been shown to significantly im23 prove the academic achievement of the student. 

24 ‘‘(7) The teacher has the most control in set25 ting the cultural environment of the classroom. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 233. PURPOSE. 

2 ‘‘It is the purpose of this part to develop a core group 

3 of teachers who are able to provide instruction in a way 

4 that is culturally congruent with the learning modalities 

5 of the students they are teaching, in order to— 

6 ‘‘(1) ameliorate the lack of cultural congruence 

7 between teachers and the students they teach; and 

8 ‘‘(2) improve student achievement. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 234. DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘In this part: 

11 ‘‘(1) INDUCTION PHASE.—The term ‘induction 

12 phase’ means the period when a teacher is new to 

13 the profession, the classroom, or a school. 

14 ‘‘(2) IN-SERVICE PHASE.—The term ‘in-service 

15 phase’ means the period during and throughout the 

16 professional life of a teacher. 

17 ‘‘(3) PRACTICUM PHASE.—The term ‘practicum 

18 phase’ means the period beginning with the last year 

19 of a teacher preparation program at an institution 

20 of higher education when the student is spending 

21 time in a prekindergarten through grade 12 class22 room, and culminating at the end of the student 

23 teaching portion of the student’s teacher preparation 

24 program. 
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1 ‘‘(4) SUPERVISING ACADEMIC.—The term ‘su2 pervising academic’ means a member of the faculty 

3 of an institution of higher education who— 

4 ‘‘(A) is designated to oversee, coordinate, 

5 and participate in the field placement or stu6 dent teaching experience of a preservice teach7 er; and 

8 ‘‘(B) works in conjunction with a super9 vising practitioner. 

10 ‘‘(5) SUPERVISING PRACTITIONER.—The term 

11 ‘supervising practitioner’ means a prekindergarten 

12 through grade 12 teacher in a school who— 

13 ‘‘(A) is designated to coach, observe, and 

14 evaluate a preservice teacher at the school dur15 ing the preservice teacher’s field placement or 

16 student teaching experience in the classroom; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) works in conjunction with the super19 vising academic. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 235. MEASURE OF CULTURAL MISMATCH. 

21 ‘‘The Secretary, in consultation with relevant edu22 cational and cultural governmental and nongovernmental 

23 entities and not later than 180 days after the date of en24 actment of the Teacher Acculturation Act of 2005, shall 

25 develop a measure of cultural mismatch for purposes of— 
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1 ‘‘(1) the demonstration program under section 

2 236; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the composition of partnerships described 

4 in sections 242 and 263. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 236. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 

7 carry out a demonstration program to investigate, develop, 

8 and test methods to attempt to ameliorate the cultural 

9 mismatch between teachers and the students they teach. 

10 ‘‘(b) COMPONENTS.—The demonstration program 

11 shall consist of— 

12 ‘‘(1) professional development activities occur13 ring during 3 different phases of a teacher’s profes14 sional life, including the practicum phase, induction 

15 phase, and in-service phase; and 

16 ‘‘(2) the development of centers of excellence in 

17 multicultural education. 

18 ‘‘Subpart 1—Induction Phase Component 

19 ‘‘SEC. 241. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

20 ‘‘In carrying out the demonstration program under 

21 this part, the Secretary is authorized to award grants to 

22 eligible partnerships to enable the eligible partnerships to 

23 carry out the induction phase component of the teacher 

24 preparation assisted under this subpart. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 242. ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS. 

2 ‘‘In this subpart, the term ‘eligible partnership’ 

3 means a partnership consisting of— 

4 ‘‘(1) a local educational agency, with a high 

5 percentage of students who have a cultural mis6 match with the majority of the teaching staff at the 

7 schools served by the local educational agency, col8 laborating with— 

9 ‘‘(A) a cohort of induction phase teachers 

10 from the local educational agency; and 

11 ‘‘(B) members of a school community who 

12 are— 

13 ‘‘(i) from the cultural background of 

14 the students to be taught by the teachers 

15 assisted under the grant; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) knowledgeable about the cultural 

17 norms of the community; and 

18 ‘‘(2) an institution of higher education or orga19 nization with expertise in multicultural education, 

20 collaborating with a mentor, coach, or facilitator who 

21 will work with the cohort described in paragraph 

22 (1)(A). 

23 ‘‘SEC. 243. INDUCTION PHASE COMPONENT. 

24 ‘‘An eligible partnership that receives a grant under 

25 this subpart shall use the grant funds to carry an induc-
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1 tion phase component of the demonstration program that 

2 may include the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) A summer workshop held during the sum4 mer prior to a program year (as described in para5 graph (2)), in which participant teachers study the 

6 basics of the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Multicultural education. 

8 ‘‘(B) The cultural norms of the students 

9 served by the local educational agency where 

10 the participant teachers will be teaching. 

11 ‘‘(C) The history of the municipality and 

12 the cultural groups where the participant teach13 ers will be teaching. 

14 ‘‘(2) A program year during the school year de15 signed to include— 

16 ‘‘(A) a series of classroom-based teaching 

17 activities and observations, including pre- and 

18 post-activity discussion under the coaching of a 

19 person experienced in leading such a program 

20 and trained in the principles of multicultural 

21 education; 

22 ‘‘(B) individual one-on-one mentoring by a 

23 mentor, coach, or facilitator participating in the 

24 eligible partnership; 
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1 ‘‘(C) classroom visits including possible 

2 videotaping of the lessons; and 

3 ‘‘(D) group meetings to reflect on— 

4 ‘‘(i) a classroom visit described in sub5 paragraph (C); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the progress of the program. 

7 ‘‘(3) A workshop or institute during the sum8 mer immediately after a program year (as described 

9 in paragraph (2)) that may include the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) Analysis of lessons developed and 

11 taught during the program year. 

12 ‘‘(B) Practice lessons presented to the co13 hort described in section 242(1)(A). 

14 ‘‘(C) Analysis of participant teacher 

15 growth over the duration of the program. 

16 ‘‘(D) Development of a reflective portfolio, 

17 for each member of the cohort described in sec18 tion 242(1)(A), of the member’s experience in 

19 the program. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 244. USE OF FUNDS. 

21 ‘‘Grant funds provided under this subpart may be 

22 used for— 

23 ‘‘(1) stipends and release time for participant 

24 teachers; 
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1 ‘‘(2) compensation for mentors, coaches, 

2 facilitators, or substitutes; 

3 ‘‘(3) reimbursement for normal expenses in4 curred by the eligible partnership during the grant 

5 period; and 

6 ‘‘(4) equipment, supplies, and travel necessary 

7 for the program. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 245. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

10 as may be necessary to carry out this subpart for fiscal 

11 year 2006 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

12 ‘‘Subpart 2—Practicum Phase Component 

13 ‘‘SEC. 251. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

14 ‘‘In carrying out the demonstration program under 

15 this part, the Secretary is authorized to award grants to 

16 eligible partnerships to enable the eligible partnerships to 

17 carry out the practicum phase component of the teacher 

18 preparation assisted under this subpart. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 252. ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS. 

20 ‘‘In this subpart, the term ‘eligible partnership’ 

21 means a partnership consisting of— 

22 ‘‘(1) a teacher preparation program approved 

23 by a State educational agency and accredited by the 

24 National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Edu25 cation, collaborating with— 
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1 ‘‘(A) a cohort of practicum phase students; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) a faculty member who serves as a su4 pervising practitioner; 

5 ‘‘(2) a local educational agency— 

6 ‘‘(A) serving a student population whose 

7 cultural norms— 

8 ‘‘(i) are different from the cultural 

9 norms of the participating teacher prepara10 tion program students; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) are similar to the cultural norms 

12 of the students or community served by a 

13 local educational agency where the partici14 pating teacher preparation program stu15 dents will be looking for employment; and 

16 ‘‘(B) collaborating with a group of super17 vising practitioners; and 

18 ‘‘(3) a support committee for the practicum 

19 program, that provides cultural norms to the 

20 practicum participants, which may include— 

21 ‘‘(A) a center of excellence described in 

22 subpart 3; 

23 ‘‘(B) faculty or staff of a school, local edu24 cational agency, or State educational agency; 
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1 ‘‘(C) parents or family members of a stu2 dent taught by the student teachers assisted 

3 under the grant; 

4 ‘‘(D) community stakeholders; or 

5 ‘‘(E) organizations with expertise in multi6 cultural education. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 253. PRACTICUM PHASE COMPONENT. 

8 ‘‘An eligible partnership that receives a grant under 

9 this subpart shall use the grant funds to carry out a 

10 practicum phase component of the demonstration program 

11 that may include the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) A course for the practicum students cov13 ering multicultural education, including specifics 

14 pertaining to the cultural norms of the students 

15 served by the local educational agency where the stu16 dents will be participating in the practicum. 

17 ‘‘(2) A program running contemporaneous to 

18 the practicum that includes— 

19 ‘‘(A) a program under the coaching of a 

20 supervising academic where the practicum stu21 dents interact with each other to discuss their 

22 experiences; 

23 ‘‘(B) individual one-on-one coaching by a 

24 supervising academic; 
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1 ‘‘(C) classroom visits to the locations of 

2 other student teachers in the cohort described 

3 in section 252(1)(A), including possible 

4 videotaping of the lessons; and 

5 ‘‘(D) periodic cohort meetings during the 

6 practicum to reflect on the progress of the pro7 gram. 

8 ‘‘(3) A followup program at the conclusion of 

9 the practicum carried out by the teacher preparation 

10 program participating in the eligible partnership. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 254. USE OF FUNDS. 

12 ‘‘Grant funds provided under this subpart may be 

13 used for— 

14 ‘‘(1) compensation for a supervising academic 

15 or a supervising practitioner; 

16 ‘‘(2) scholarships for participants; and 

17 ‘‘(3) equipment, supplies, travel, and other ex18 penses appropriate to the program. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 255. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

21 as may be necessary to carry out this subpart for fiscal 

22 year 2006 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 
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1 ‘‘Subpart 3—Centers of Excellence in Multicultural 

2 Education 

3 ‘‘SEC. 261. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE AUTHORIZED. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 

5 establish not more than 10 centers to support excellence 

6 in multicultural education. 

7 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—Such centers shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) support participants during the practicum 

9 phases and induction phases of their teacher prepa10 ration; 

11 ‘‘(2) develop and implement an in-service phase 

12 program; 

13 ‘‘(3) develop or expand the theory and practice 

14 of multicultural education; and 

15 ‘‘(4) collect appropriate data to allow for the 

16 evaluation of the activities implemented under this 

17 part. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 262. LOCATION OF CENTERS. 

19 ‘‘The centers shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) be located within universities, colleges or 

21 schools with teacher education programs approved 

22 by the appropriate State educational agency and ac23 credited by the National Council for Accreditation of 

24 Teacher Education; 

25 ‘‘(2) be located in geographically diverse areas 

26 of the United States; and 
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1 ‘‘(3) be distributed among institutions of higher 

2 education serving various cultural communities. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 263. PARTNERSHIPS. 

4 ‘‘The centers may form partnerships, for the purpose 

5 of carrying out the duties described in section 261(b), 

6 with— 

7 ‘‘(1) a college or school of teacher education; 

8 ‘‘(2) at least 1 local educational agency with a 

9 high degree of cultural mismatch between the local 

10 educational agency’s teachers and the students they 

11 teach; 

12 ‘‘(3) an academic department, center, or pro13 gram that focuses on the study of cultural 

14 mismatches, such as cultural mismatches related to 

15 gender, race, national origin, or other similar areas; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(4) such additional entities as the centers de18 termine appropriate. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 264. USE OF FUNDS. 

20 ‘‘Funds made available under this subpart may be 

21 used for the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) Financial support for researchers, such as 

23 doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships. 

24 ‘‘(2) In-service multicultural education work25 shops for teachers. 
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1 ‘‘(3) Supporting the programs assisted under 

2 subpart 1 or 2. 

3 ‘‘(4) Supporting research into best practices in 

4 multicultural education, performing evaluation of the 

5 best practices, and carrying out a dissemination pro6 gram for the best practices that improve student 

7 academic achievement. 

8 ‘‘(5) Evaluation of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the activities of the centers; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the impact of the activities of the 

11 centers on teaching practices and student 

12 achievement. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 265. ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CENTERS. 

14 ‘‘The Secretary is authorized to convene an annual 

15 meeting of all centers assisted under this subpart for the 

16 purpose of enabling the centers to share information, re17 search, and best practices. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 266. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

20 as may be necessary to carry out this subpart for fiscal 

21 year 2006 and each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

22 ‘‘Subpart 4—General Provisions 

23 ‘‘SEC. 271. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

24 (a) REPORT.—Each eligible partnership that receives 

25 a grant, and each center that receives assistance, under 
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1 this part shall prepare and submit to the Committee on 

2 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, 

3 and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of 

4 the House of Representatives, a report on the activities 

5 of the eligible partnership or center, respectively, that are 

6 supported under this part. 

7 (b) DATE.—The report described in subsection (a) 

8 shall be submitted 2 years after the date of enactment of 

9 the Teacher Acculturation Act of 2005, and annually 

10 thereafter for the duration of the grant or assistance, as 

11 the case may be.’’. 

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