II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1052 

To create and expand innovative teacher and principal preparation programs 

known as teacher and principal preparation academies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 23, 2013 

Mr. BENNET (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. KIRK, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, and Ms. LANDRIEU) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To create and expand innovative teacher and principal preparation programs known as teacher and principal preparation academies. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Growing Education Achievement Training Academies for 

6 Teachers and Principals Act’’ or the ‘‘GREAT Teachers 

7 and Principals Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. State grants. 

Sec. 5. Subgrants to teacher or principal preparation academies. 

Sec. 6. Coordination with the Corporation for National and Community Service. 

Sec. 7. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to encourage innovation 

3 in the field of teacher and principal preparation by cre4 ating and expanding teacher or principal preparation 

5 academies that will increase the number of effective teach6 ers and principals serving in high-needs schools and hard7 to-staff subjects. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) PRINCIPAL PREPARATION ACADEMY.—The 

11 term ‘‘principal preparation academy’’ means a pub12 lic or other nonprofit institution for preparing prin13 cipals that— 

14 (A) enters into a charter with a State au15 thorizer that specifies the goals and outcomes 

16 expected of the principal preparation academy 

17 and the obligations of the State authorizer, in18 cluding— 

19 (i) a requirement that— 

20 (I) principal candidates, or prin21 cipals serving on alternative certifi22 cates, licenses, or credentials, who are 


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1 enrolled in the principal preparation 

2 academy receive a significant part of 

3 their training through clinical prepa4 ration that partners the principal can5 didate with a mentor principal; and 

6 (II) the academy will provide in7 struction to the principal candidate 

8 that links to the clinical preparation 

9 experience; 

10 (ii) the number of principals the prin11 cipal preparation academy will produce and 

12 the minimum number and percentage of 

13 effective principals with a demonstrated 

14 track record of success in getting a 

15 school’s students on track to being career 

16 and college ready; 

17 (iii) a requirement that a certificate of 

18 completion (or degree, if the principal 

19 preparation academy is, or is affiliated 

20 with, an institution of higher education) 

21 will be conferred upon a graduate from the 

22 principal preparation academy only after 

23 the graduate demonstrates a track record 

24 of success in getting a school’s students on 

25 track to being college and career ready; 


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1 (iv) a requirement that the principal 

2 preparation academy survey the academy’s 

3 alumni not less than once every 3 years to 

4 track the number of alumni employed as 

5 principals and in education; and 

6 (v) timelines for producing cohorts of 

7 graduates and conferring certificates of 

8 completion (or degrees, if the principal 

9 preparation academy is, or is affiliated 

10 with, an institution of higher education) 

11 from the principal preparation academy; 

12 (B) shall not have unnecessary restrictions 

13 on the methods the principal preparation acad14 emy will use to train principal candidates, in15 cluding restrictions or requirements— 

16 (i) obligating the faculty of the prin17 cipal preparation academy faculty to hold 

18 advanced degrees; 

19 (ii) obligating such faculty to conduct 

20 academic research; 

21 (iii) related to the physical infrastruc22 ture of the principal preparation academy; 

23 or 


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1 (iv) related to the number of course 

2 credits required as part of the program of 

3 study; and 

4 (C) limits admission to its program to can5 didates who demonstrate strong potential to be 

6 effective principals, based on a rigorous, com7 petency-based selection process that reviews a 

8 candidate’s prior academic achievement or 

9 record of professional accomplishment. 

10 (2) STATE AUTHORIZER.—The term ‘‘State au11 thorizer’’ means an entity designated by the State to 

12 recognize teacher or principal preparation academies 

13 within the State that— 

14 (A) may be a nonprofit organization, State 

15 educational agency, or other public entity, or 

16 consortium of such entities (including a consor17 tium of States); and 

18 (B) does not renew a teacher or principal 

19 preparation academy’s charter if the academy 

20 fails to produce the minimum number or per21 centage of effective teachers or principals, re22 spectively, identified in the academy’s charter. 

23 (3) TEACHER OR PRINCIPAL PREPARATION

24 ACADEMY.—The term ‘‘teacher or principal preparaVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:41 May 30, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1052.IS S1052

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1 tion academy’’ means a teacher preparation academy 

2 or a principal preparation academy. 

3 (4) TEACHER PREPARATION ACADEMY.—The 

4 term ‘‘teacher preparation academy’’ means a public 

5 or other nonprofit institution for preparing teachers 

6 that— 

7 (A) enters into a charter with a State au8 thorizer that specifies the goals and outcomes 

9 expected of the teacher preparation academy 

10 and the obligations of the State authorizer, in11 cluding— 

12 (i) a requirement that— 

13 (I) teacher candidates, or teach14 ers teaching on alternative certifi15 cates, licenses, or credentials, who are 

16 enrolled in the teacher preparation 

17 academy receive a significant part of 

18 their training through clinical prepa19 ration that partners teacher can20 didates with mentor teachers with a 

21 demonstrated track record of success 

22 in improving academic achievement in 

23 the classroom; and 

24 (II) the academy will provide in25 struction to teacher candidates that 


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1 links to the clinical preparation expe2 rience; 

3 (ii) the number of teachers the teach4 er preparation academy will produce and 

5 the minimum number and percentage of 

6 effective teachers with a demonstrated 

7 track record of success in getting students 

8 on track to being college and career ready, 

9 based on multiple measures of student 

10 achievement; 

11 (iii) a requirement that a teacher 

12 preparation academy will only award a cer13 tificate of completion (or degree, if the 

14 teacher preparation academy is, or is affili15 ated with, an institution of higher edu16 cation) after the graduate demonstrates 

17 the track record of success described in 

18 clause (ii), either as a student teacher or 

19 teacher-of-record on an alternative certifi20 cate, license, or credential; 

21 (iv) a requirement that the teacher 

22 preparation academy survey the academy’s 

23 alumni not less than once every 3 years to 

24 track the number of alumni employed as 

25 teachers and in education; and 


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1 (v) timelines for producing cohorts of 

2 graduates and conferring certificates of 

3 completion (or degrees, if the teacher prep4 aration academy is, or is affiliated with, an 

5 institution of higher education) from the 

6 teacher preparation academy; 

7 (B) shall not have unnecessary restrictions 

8 on the methods or inputs the teacher prepara9 tion academy will use to train teacher can10 didates or teachers teaching on alternative cer11 tificates, licenses, or credentials, including re12 strictions or requirements— 

13 (i) obligating the faculty of the teach14 er preparation academy to hold advanced 

15 degrees; 

16 (ii) obligating such faculty to conduct 

17 academic research; 

18 (iii) related to the physical infrastruc19 ture of the teacher preparation academy; 

20 (iv) related to the number of course 

21 credits required as part of the program of 

22 study; 

23 (v) related to the undergraduate 

24 coursework completed by teachers teaching 

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1 dentials, as long as such teachers have suc2 cessfully passed all relevant State-approved 

3 content area examinations; or 

4 (vi) related to obtaining additional ac5 creditation from a national accrediting 

6 body; and 

7 (C) limits admission to its program to can8 didates who demonstrate strong potential to be 

9 effective teachers, based on a rigorous selection 

10 process that reviews a candidate’s prior aca11 demic achievement or record of professional ac12 complishment. 

13 SEC. 4. STATE GRANTS. 

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

15 award grants to States having applications approved 

16 under subsection (b) to enable such States to create or 

17 expand teacher or principal preparation academies. 

18 (b) APPLICATIONS.—Each State that desires a grant 

19 under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary 

20 at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor21 mation as the Secretary may reasonably require. The ap22 plication shall include— 

23 (1) an assurance that the State does not have 

24 in place legal, statutory, or regulatory barriers to the 


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1 creation or operation of teacher or principal prepara2 tion academies; 

3 (2) a description of how the State will promote 

4 the creation and expansion of teacher or principal 

5 preparation academies; 

6 (3) a description of how the authorization and 

7 approval of teacher or principal preparation acad8 emies is separate and distinct from the requirements 

9 otherwise established by the State for approval of 

10 other teacher or principal preparation programs; 

11 (4) a description of the process the State au12 thorizer will use to authorize and approve a teacher 

13 or principal preparation academy that— 

14 (A) enables participants in the academy to 

15 be eligible for State financial aid to the same 

16 extent as participants in other State-approved 

17 teacher or principal preparation programs, in18 cluding alternative certification, licensure, or 

19 credential programs; 

20 (B) enables teachers who are teaching on 

21 alternative certificates, licenses, or credentials 

22 to teach in the State while enrolled in a teacher 

23 preparation academy; and 

24 (C) enables graduates from teacher prepa25 ration academies to be eligible to teach in such 


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1 State and graduates from principal preparation 

2 academies to be eligible to be a principal in a 

3 school in such State; 

4 (5) a description of the process the State au5 thorizer will use to monitor the success of— 

6 (A) a teacher preparation academy in— 

7 (i) producing effective teachers that 

8 demonstrate a track record of success in 

9 getting students on track to being college 

10 and career ready, based on multiple meas11 ures of student achievement; and 

12 (ii) preparing teachers to teach in 

13 high-needs schools or hard-to-staff sub14 jects, such as science, technology, engineer15 ing, mathematics, and computer science; 

16 and 

17 (B) a principal preparation academy in— 

18 (i) producing effective principals that 

19 demonstrate a track record of success in 

20 getting students in a school on track to 

21 being career and college ready; and 

22 (ii) preparing principals to serve in 

23 high-needs schools or hard-to-staff sub24 jects; 


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1 (6) the criteria the State authorizer will apply 

2 in renewing or denying a teacher or principal prepa3 ration academy’s charter, including the minimum 

4 number and percentage of effective teachers or prin5 cipals such academy must produce in order to renew 

6 its charter; and 

7 (7) an assurance that the State will recognize 

8 a certificate of completion (from a teacher or prin9 cipal preparation academy that is not, or is unaffili10 ated with, an institution of higher education), as at 

11 least the equivalent of a master’s degree in edu12 cation for the purposes of teacher or principal hir13 ing, retention, compensation, and promotion in the 

14 State. 

15 (c) USES OF FUNDS.—A State receiving a grant 

16 under this Act shall use grant funds to— 

17 (1) implement a process by which to— 

18 (A) create or designate State authorizers; 

19 and 

20 (B) create or approve teacher or principal 

21 preparation academies; 

22 (2) support, directly or through a nonprofit 

23 intermediary organization, the establishment and op24 eration of teacher or principal preparation academies 


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1 by assisting entities with the planning, program de2 sign, and implementation of such programs; and 

3 (3) award subgrants to teacher or principal 

4 preparation academies in the State in accordance 

5 with section 5. 

6 SEC. 5. SUBGRANTS TO TEACHER OR PRINCIPAL PREPARA7 TION ACADEMIES. 

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

9 under section 4(c)(3), a State shall award subgrants to 

10 nonprofit entities to carry out activities described in sub11 section (d). 

12 (b) APPLICATIONS.—Each nonprofit entity desiring a 

13 subgrant under this section from a State shall submit an 

14 application to a State authorizer designated by the State 

15 to receive such applications. The application shall include, 

16 at a minimum— 

17 (1) a description of the teacher or principal 

18 preparation academy’s proposed curriculum, training 

19 of teacher or principal candidates (including clinical 

20 training), and approach to teacher or principal de21 velopment; 

22 (2) the student achievement outcomes the entity 

23 will require of academy graduates before conferring 

24 a degree or certificate of completion from the pro25 gram, with timelines for obtaining such outcomes; 


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1 (3) a multi-year financial and operating model 

2 for the entity; 

3 (4) the qualifications of the entity’s chief execu4 tive officer or organization leader; and 

5 (5) a description of how the teacher or principal 

6 preparation academy is designed to prepare teachers 

7 or principals to serve in high-need areas (including 

8 rural areas and Native American communities), or 

9 hard-to-staff subjects. 

10 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding subgrants under this 

11 section, a State shall give a priority to entities proposing 

12 to expand previously existing teacher or principal prepara13 tion programs, as of the date of application, with a dem14 onstrated track record of success in getting students on 

15 track to being college and career ready. 

16 (d) USES OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 

17 subgrant under this section shall use its subgrant— 

18 (1) to establish a teacher or principal prepara19 tion academy; 

20 (2) to expand the capacity of a teacher or prin21 cipal preparation academy; 

22 (3) to measure the effectiveness of a teacher or 

23 principal preparation academy in improving student 

24 academic achievement, as demonstrated by getting 

25 students on track to be college and career ready; or 


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1 (4) to recruit candidates for a teacher or prin2 cipal preparation academy who have demonstrated 

3 strong potential to be effective teachers or prin4 cipals, based on a rigorous, competency-based selec5 tion process that reviews a candidate’s prior aca6 demic achievement or record of professional accom7 plishment. 

8 SEC. 6. COORDINATION WITH THE CORPORATION FOR NA9 TIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE. 

10 (a) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—The Secretary 

11 shall enter into an interagency agreement with the Cor12 poration for National and Community Service under sec13 tion 121(b) of the National and Community Service Act 

14 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571(b)) under which the Corpora15 tion shall approve positions, for candidates at each teacher 

16 or principal preparation academy that receives financial 

17 assistance under this Act, as approved national service po18 sitions, as defined in section 101 of the National and Com19 munity Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511). Such 

20 interagency agreement shall specify how a degree or cer21 tificate of completion for a term of service as a participant 

22 at a teacher or principal preparation academy will be sub23 mitted to the Corporation. 

24 (b) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwithstanding section 148 of 

25 the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 


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1 U.S.C. 12604), the Secretary and the Chief Executive Of2 ficer of the Corporation for National and Community 

3 Service shall develop a program under which national serv4 ice educational awards may be disbursed to a teacher or 

5 principal preparation academy to cover or reimburse the 

6 costs of attending the academy. 

7 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

9 this Act such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

10 years 2014 through 2018. 

Æ 


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