II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 389

To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve and transfer the

jurisdiction over the troops-to-teachers program, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 8, 1999

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. ROBB, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. DEWINE, Mr.

LEVIN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. CLELAND, Mrs. FEINSTEIN,

Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. CONRAD, Mr. ALLARD, and Mr. SMITH of New

Hampshire) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve and

transfer the jurisdiction over the troops-to-teachers program, 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. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Troops-to-Teachers

5 Program Improvement Act of 1999’’.
2

•S 389 IS

1 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT AND TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION

2 OF TROOPS-TO-TEACHERS PROGRAM.

3 (a) RECODIFICATION, IMPROVEMENT, AND TRANS4 FER OF PROGRAM.—(1) Section 1151 of title 10, United

5 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘§ 1151. Assistance to certain separated or retired

7 members to obtain certification and em8 ployment as teachers

9 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of

10 Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense

11 and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the

12 Coast Guard, may carry out a program—

13 ‘‘(1) to assist eligible members of the armed

14 forces after their discharge or release, or retirement,

15 from active duty to obtain certification or licensure

16 as elementary or secondary school teachers or as vo17 cational or technical teachers; and

18 ‘‘(2) to facilitate the employment of such mem19 bers by local educational agencies identified under

20 subsection (b)(1).

21 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

22 AGENCIES AND STATES.—(1)(A) In carrying out the pro23 gram authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary of Edu24 cation shall periodically identify local educational agencies

25 that—
3

•S 389 IS

1 ‘‘(i) are receiving grants under title I of the El2 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

3 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) as a result of having within

4 their jurisdictions concentrations of children from

5 low-income families; or

6 ‘‘(ii) are experiencing a shortage of qualified

7 teachers, in particular a shortage of science, mathe8 matics, special education, or vocational or technical

9 teachers.

10 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may identify local educational

11 agencies under subparagraph (A) through surveys con12 ducted for that purpose or by utilizing information on local

13 educational agencies that is available to the Secretary

14 from other sources.

15 ‘‘(2) In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall

16 also conduct a survey of States to identify those States

17 that have alternative certification or licensure require18 ments for teachers, including those States that grant cred19 it for service in the armed forces toward satisfying certifi20 cation or licensure requirements for teachers.

21 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—(1) The following mem22 bers shall be eligible for selection to participate in the pro23 gram:

24 ‘‘(A) Any member who—
4

•S 389 IS

1 ‘‘(i) during the period beginning on Octo2 ber 1, 1990, and ending on September 30,

3 1999, was involuntarily discharged or released

4 from active duty for purposes of a reduction of

5 force after six or more years of continuous ac6 tive duty immediately before the discharge or

7 release; and

8 ‘‘(ii) satisfies such other criteria for selec9 tion as the Secretary of Education, in consulta10 tion with the Secretary of Defense and the Sec11 retary of Transportation, may prescribe.

12 ‘‘(B) Any member—

13 ‘‘(i) who, on or after October 1, 1999—

14 ‘‘(I) is retired for length of service

15 with at least 20 years of active service

16 computed under section 3925, 3926, 8925,

17 or 8926 of this title or for purposes of

18 chapter 571 of this title; or

19 ‘‘(II) is retired under section 1201 or

20 1204 of this title;

21 ‘‘(ii) who—

22 ‘‘(I) in the case of a member applying

23 for assistance for placement as an elemen24 tary or secondary school teacher, has re25 ceived a baccalaureate or advanced degree
5

•S 389 IS

1 from an accredited institution of higher

2 education; or

3 ‘‘(II) in the case of a member apply4 ing for assistance for placement as a voca5 tional or technical teacher—

6 ‘‘(aa) has received the equivalent

7 of one year of college from an accred8 ited institution of higher education

9 and has 10 or more years of military

10 experience in a vocational or technical

11 field; or

12 ‘‘(bb) otherwise meets the certifi13 cation or licensure requirements for a

14 vocational or technical teacher in the

15 State in which such member seeks as16 sistance for placement under the pro17 gram; and

18 ‘‘(iii) who satisfies any criteria prescribed

19 under subparagraph (A)(ii).

20 ‘‘(2) A member who is discharged or released from

21 active duty, or retires from service, under other than hon22 orable conditions shall not be eligible to participate in the

23 program.

24 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION REGARDING PROGRAM.—(1) The

25 Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary
6

•S 389 IS

1 of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation, shall pro2 vide information regarding the program, and make appli3 cations for the program available, to members as part of

4 preseparation counseling provided under section 1142 of

5 this title.

6 ‘‘(2) The information provided to members shall—

7 ‘‘(A) indicate the local educational agencies

8 identified under subsection (b)(1); and

9 ‘‘(B) identify those States surveyed under sub10 section (b)(2) that have alternative certification or

11 licensure requirements for teachers, including those

12 States that grant credit for service in the armed

13 forces toward satisfying such requirements.

14 ‘‘(e) SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS.—(1)(A) Selec15 tion of members to participate in the program shall be

16 made on the basis of applications submitted to the Sec17 retary of Education on a timely basis. An application shall

18 be in such form and contain such information as the Sec19 retary may require.

20 ‘‘(B) An application shall be considered to be submit21 ted on a timely basis if the application is submitted as

22 follows:

23 ‘‘(i) In the case of an applicant who is eligible

24 under subsection (c)(1)(A), not later than September

25 30, 2003.
7

•S 389 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) In the case of an applicant who is eligible

2 under subsection (c)(1)(B), not later than four years

3 after the date of the retirement of the applicant

4 from active duty.

5 ‘‘(2) In selecting participants to receive assistance for

6 placement as elementary or secondary school teachers or

7 vocational or technical teachers, the Secretary shall give

8 priority to members who—

9 ‘‘(A) have educational or military experience in

10 science, mathematics, special education, or voca11 tional or technical subjects and agree to seek em12 ployment as science, mathematics, or special edu13 cation teachers in elementary or secondary schools

14 or in other schools under the jurisdiction of a local

15 educational agency; or

16 ‘‘(B) have educational or military experience in

17 another subject area identified by the Secretary, in

18 consultation with the National Governors Associa19 tion, as important for national educational objectives

20 and agree to seek employment in that subject area

21 in elementary or secondary schools.

22 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not select a member to par23 ticipate in the program unless the Secretary has sufficient

24 appropriations for the program available at the time of

25 the selection to satisfy the obligations to be incurred by
8

•S 389 IS

1 the United States under subsection (g) with respect to

2 that member.

3 ‘‘(f) AGREEMENT.—A member selected to participate

4 in the program shall be required to enter into an agree5 ment with the Secretary of Education in which the mem6 ber agrees—

7 ‘‘(1) to obtain, within such time as the Sec8 retary may require, certification or licensure as an

9 elementary or secondary school teacher or vocational

10 or technical teacher; and

11 ‘‘(2) to accept an offer of full-time employment

12 as an elementary or secondary school teacher or vo13 cational or technical teacher for not less than four

14 school years with a local educational agency identi15 fied under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection

16 (b)(1), to begin the school year after obtaining that

17 certification or licensure.

18 ‘‘(g) STIPEND AND BONUS FOR PARTICIPANTS.—

19 (1)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Edu20 cation shall pay to each participant in the program a sti21 pend in an amount equal to $5,000.

22 ‘‘(B) The total number of stipends that may be paid

23 under this paragraph in any fiscal year may not exceed

24 3,000.
9

•S 389 IS

1 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary

2 of Education may, in lieu of paying a stipend under para3 graph (1), pay a bonus of $10,000 to each participant in

4 the program who agrees under subsection (f) to accept

5 full-time employment as an elementary or secondary

6 school teacher or vocational or technical teacher for not

7 less than four years in a high need school.

8 ‘‘(B) The total number of bonuses that may be paid

9 under this paragraph in any fiscal year may not exceed

10 1,000.

11 ‘‘(C) In this paragraph, the term ‘high need school’

12 means an elementary school or secondary school that

13 meets one or more of the following criteria:

14 ‘‘(i) A school with a drop out rate that exceeds

15 the national average school drop out rate.

16 ‘‘(ii) A school having a large percentage of stu17 dents (as determined by the Secretary of Education

18 in consultation with the National Assessment Gov19 erning Board) who speak English as a second lan20 guage.

21 ‘‘(iii) A school having a large percentage of stu22 dents (as so determined) who are at risk of edu23 cational failure by reason of limited proficiency in

24 English, poverty, race, geographic location, or eco25 nomic circumstances.
10

•S 389 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) A school at least one-half of whose stu2 dents are from families with an income below the

3 poverty line (as that term is defined by the Office

4 of Management and Budget and revised annually in

5 accordance with section 673(2) of the Community

6 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) appli7 cable to a family of the size involved.

8 ‘‘(v) A school with a large percentage of stu9 dents (as so determined) who qualify for assistance

10 under part B of the Individuals with Disabilities

11 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.).

12 ‘‘(vi) A school meeting any other criteria estab13 lished by the Secretary in consultation with the Na14 tional Assessment Governing Board.

15 ‘‘(3) Stipends and bonuses paid under this subsection

16 shall be taken into account in determining the eligibility

17 of the participant concerned for Federal student financial

18 assistance provided under title IV of the Higher Education

19 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).

20 ‘‘(h) REIMBURSEMENT UNDER CERTAIN CIR21 CUMSTANCES.—(1) If a participant in the program fails

22 to obtain teacher certification or licensure or employment

23 as an elementary or secondary school teacher or vocational

24 or technical teacher as required under the agreement or

25 voluntarily leaves, or is terminated for cause, from the em-
11

•S 389 IS

1 ployment during the four years of required service, the

2 participant shall be required to reimburse the Secretary

3 of Education for any stipend paid to the participant under

4 subsection (g)(1) in an amount that bears the same ratio

5 to the amount of the stipend as the unserved portion of

6 required service bears to the four years of required service.

7 ‘‘(2) If a participant in the program who is paid a

8 bonus under subsection (g)(2) fails to obtain employment

9 for which such bonus was paid, or voluntarily leaves or

10 is terminated for cause from the employment during the

11 four years of required service, the participant shall be re12 quired to reimburse the Secretary of Education for any

13 bonus paid to the participant under that subsection in an

14 amount that bears the same ratio to the amount of the

15 bonus as the unserved portion of required service bears

16 to the four years of required service.

17 ‘‘(3)(A) The obligation to reimburse the Secretary

18 under this subsection is, for all purposes, a debt owing

19 the United States.

20 ‘‘(B) A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 shall

21 not release a participant from the obligation to reimburse

22 the Secretary.

23 ‘‘(C) Any amount owed by a participant under para24 graph (1) or (2) shall bear interest at the rate equal to

25 the highest rate being paid by the United States on the
12

•S 389 IS

1 day on which the reimbursement is determined to be due

2 for securities having maturities of ninety days or less and

3 shall accrue from the day on which the participant is first

4 notified of the amount due.

5 ‘‘(i) EXCEPTIONS TO REIMBURSEMENT PROVI6 SIONS.—(1) A participant in the program shall not be con7 sidered to be in violation of an agreement entered into

8 under subsection (f) during any period in which the

9 participant—

10 ‘‘(A) is pursuing a full-time course of study re11 lated to the field of teaching at an eligible institu12 tion;

13 ‘‘(B) is serving on active duty as a member of

14 the armed forces;

15 ‘‘(C) is temporarily totally disabled for a period

16 of time not to exceed three years as established by

17 sworn affidavit of a qualified physician;

18 ‘‘(D) is unable to secure employment for a pe19 riod not to exceed 12 months by reason of the care

20 required by a spouse who is disabled;

21 ‘‘(E) is seeking and unable to find full-time em22 ployment as a teacher in an elementary or secondary

23 school or as a vocational or technical teacher for a

24 single period not to exceed 27 months; or
13

•S 389 IS

1 ‘‘(F) satisfies the provisions of additional reim2 bursement exceptions that may be prescribed by the

3 Secretary of Education.

4 ‘‘(2) A participant shall be excused from reimburse5 ment under subsection (h) if the participant becomes per6 manently totally disabled as established by sworn affidavit

7 of a qualified physician. The Secretary may also waive re8 imbursement in cases of extreme hardship to the partici9 pant, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with

10 the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Transpor11 tation, as the case may be.

12 ‘‘(j) RELATIONSHIP TO EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE

13 UNDER MONTGOMERY GI BILL.—The receipt by a partic14 ipant in the program of any assistance under the program

15 shall not reduce or otherwise affect the entitlement of the

16 participant to any benefits under chapter 30 of title 38

17 or chapter 1606 of this title.

18 ‘‘(k) DISCHARGE OF STATE ACTIVITIES THROUGH

19 CONSORTIA OF STATES.—The Secretary of Education

20 may permit States participating in the program author21 ized by this section to carry out activities authorized for

22 such States under this section through one or more con23 sortia of such States.

24 ‘‘(l) ASSISTANCE TO STATES IN ACTIVITIES UNDER

25 PROGRAM.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary
14

•S 389 IS

1 of Education may make grants to States participating in

2 the program authorized by this section, or to consortia of

3 such States, in order to permit such States or consortia

4 of States to operate offices for purposes of recruiting eligi5 ble members for participation in the program and facilitat6 ing the employment of participants in the program in

7 schools in such States or consortia of States.

8 ‘‘(2) The total amount of grants under paragraph (1)

9 in any fiscal year may not exceed $4,000,000.

10 ‘‘(m) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR MANAGE11 MENT INFRASTRUCTURE.—The Secretary of Education

12 may utilize not more than five percent of the funds avail13 able to carry out the program authorized by this section

14 for a fiscal year for purposes of establishing and maintain15 ing the management infrastructure necessary to support

16 the program.

17 ‘‘(n) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘State’ includes the District of

19 Columbia, American Samoa, the Federated States of

20 Micronesia, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Is21 lands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

22 Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Re23 public of Palau, and the United States Virgin Is24 lands.
15

•S 389 IS

1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘alternative certification or licen2 sure requirements’ means State or local teacher cer3 tification or licensure requirements that permit a

4 demonstrated competence in appropriate subject

5 areas gained in careers outside of education to be

6 substituted for traditional teacher training course

7 work.’’.

8 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of chapter

9 58 of such title is amended by striking the item relating

10 to section 1151 and inserting the following new item:

‘‘1151. Assistance to certain separated or retired members to obtain certification

and employment as teachers.’’.

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

12 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1999.

13 (c) TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION OVER CURRENT

14 PROGRAM.—(1) The Secretary of Defense, Secretary of

15 Transportation, and Secretary of Education shall provide

16 for the transfer to the Secretary of Education of any on17 going functions and responsibilities of the Secretary of De18 fense and the Secretary of Transportation with respect the

19 program authorized by section 1151 of title 10, United

20 States Code, for the period beginning on October 23,

21 1992, and ending on September 30, 1999.

22 (2) The Secretaries shall complete the transfer under

23 paragraph (1) not later than October 1, 1999.
16

•S 389 IS

1 (d) REPORTS.—(1) Not later than March 31, 2002,

2 the Secretary of Education and the Comptroller General

3 shall each submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness

4 of the program authorized by section 1151 of title 10,

5 United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), in the

6 recruitment and retention of qualified personnel by local

7 educational agencies identified under subsection (b)(1) of

8 such section 1151 (as so amended).

9 (2) The report under paragraph (1) shall include in10 formation on the following:

11 (A) The number of participants in the program.

12 (B) The schools in which such participants are

13 employed.

14 (C) The grade levels at which such participants

15 teach.

16 (D) The subject matters taught by such partici17 pants.

18 (E) The effectiveness of the teaching of such

19 participants, as indicated by any relevant test scores

20 of the students of such participants.

21 (F) The extent of any academic improvement in

22 the schools in which such participants teach by rea23 son of their teaching.
17

•S 389 IS

1 (G) The rates of retention of such participants

2 by the local educational agencies employing such

3 participants.

4 (H) The effect of any stipends or bonuses

5 under subsection (g) of such section 1151 (as so

6 amended) in enhancing participation in the program

7 or in enhancing recruitment or retention of partici8 pants in the program by the local educational agen9 cies employing such participants.

10 (I) Such other matters as the Secretary of Edu11 cation or the Comptroller General, as the case may

12 be, considers appropriate.

13 (3) The report of the Comptroller General and the

14 Secretary of Education under paragraph (1) shall also in15 clude any recommendations of the Comptroller General as

16 to means of improving the program, including means of

17 enhancing the recruitment and retention of participants

18 in the program.

19 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

20 authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Edu21 cation $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through

22 2004 for purposes of carrying out the program authorized

23 by section 1151 of title 10, United States Code (as amend24 ed by subsection (a)).

Æ