II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 667

To improve and reform elementary and secondary education.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 18, 1999

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

to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To improve and reform elementary and secondary education.

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; DEFINI4 TIONS.

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

6 ‘‘EDucating America’s Children for Tomorrow (ED–

7 ACT)’’.

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; definitions.

TITLE I—EMPOWERING PARENTS AND STUDENTS

Sec. 101. Empowering parents and students.

TITLE II—PROHIBITION REGARDING FUNDING FOR DEVELOPING

OR IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL EDUCATION STANDARDS
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Sec. 201. Prohibition regarding funding for developing or implementing national education standards.

TITLE III—TROOPS-TO-TEACHERS PROGRAM

Sec. 301. Short title.

Sec. 302. Improvement and transfer of jurisdiction of troops-to-teachers program.

TITLE IV—ENGLISH PLUS AND MULTILINGUALISM

Sec. 401. English plus.

Sec. 402. Multilingualism study.

TITLE V—EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISADVANTAGED

CHILDREN

Sec. 501. Purposes.

Sec. 502. Authorization of appropriations; program authority.

Sec. 503. Eligibility.

Sec. 504. Scholarships.

Sec. 505. Eligible children; award rules.

Sec. 506. Applications.

Sec. 507. Approval of programs.

Sec. 508. Amounts and length of grants.

Sec. 509. Uses of funds.

Sec. 510. Effect of programs.

Sec. 511. National evaluation.

Sec. 512. Enforcement.

Sec. 513. Definitions.

TITLE VI—TAX PROVISIONS

Sec. 601. Credit for contributions to schools.

Sec. 602. Increase in annual contribution limit for education individual retirement accounts.

TITLE VII—DEVELOPING BETTER EDUCATION TOOLS

Sec. 701. Educational tools for underserved students.

Sec. 702. Teacher training.

Sec. 703. Putting the best teachers in the classroom.

TITLE VIII—EMPOWERING STUDENTS

Sec. 801. Empowering students.

1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:

2 (1) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The term

3 ‘‘Comptroller General’’ means the Comptroller Gen4 eral of the United States.
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1 (2) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL; LOCAL EDU2 CATIONAL AGENCY; PARENT; SECONDARY SCHOOL;

3 STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘elemen4 tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘parent’’,

5 ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘State educational agency’’

6 have the meanings given the terms in section 14101

7 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801 et seq.).

9 (3) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’

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

11 Management and Budget, and revised annually in

12 accordance with section 673(2) of the Community

13 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) appli14 cable to a family of the size involved.

15 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

16 the Secretary of Education.

17 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

18 the several States of the United States and the Dis19 trict of Columbia.

20 TITLE I—EMPOWERING

21 PARENTS AND STUDENTS

22 SEC. 101. EMPOWERING PARENTS AND STUDENTS.

23 (a) DIRECT AWARDS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

24 AGENCIES.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

2 provision of law, for each fiscal year the Secretary

3 shall award the total amount of funds described in

4 paragraph (2) directly to local educational agencies

5 in accordance with paragraph (4) to enable the local

6 educational agencies to carry out the authorized ac7 tivities described in paragraph (5).

8 (2) APPLICABLE FUNDING.—The total amount

9 of funds referred to in paragraph (1) are all funds

10 that are appropriated for the Department of Edu11 cation for a fiscal year to carry out programs or ac12 tivities under the following provisions of law:

13 (A) Title III of the Goals 2000: Educate

14 America Act (20 U.S.C. 5881 et seq.).

15 (B) Title IV of the Goals 2000: Educate

16 America Act (20 U.S.C. 5911 et seq.).

17 (C) Title VI of the Goals 2000: Educate

18 America Act (20 U.S.C. 5951).

19 (D) The School-to-Work Opportunities Act

20 of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.).

21 (E) Section 1502 of the Elementary and

22 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

23 6492).
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1 (F) Title II of the Elementary and Sec2 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601

3 et seq.).

4 (G) Title III of the Elementary and Sec5 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801

6 et seq.).

7 (H) Title IV of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101

9 et seq.).

10 (I) Part A of title V of the Elementary and

11 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

12 7201 et seq.).

13 (J) Part B of title V of the Elementary

14 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

15 U.S.C. 7231 et seq.).

16 (K) Title VI of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7301

18 et seq.).

19 (L) Title VII of the Elementary and Sec20 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7401

21 et seq.).

22 (M) Part B of title IX of the Elementary

23 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

24 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.).
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1 (N) Part C of title IX of the Elementary

2 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

3 U.S.C. 7931 et seq.).

4 (O) Part A of title X of the Elementary

5 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

6 U.S.C. 8001 et seq.).

7 (P) Part B of title X of the Elementary

8 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

9 U.S.C. 8031 et seq.).

10 (Q) Part D of title X of the Elementary

11 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

12 U.S.C. 8091 et seq.).

13 (R) Part F of title X of the Elementary

14 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

15 U.S.C. 8141 et seq.).

16 (S) Part G of title X of the Elementary

17 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

18 U.S.C. 8161 et seq.).

19 (T) Part I of title X of the Elementary

20 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

21 U.S.C. 8241 et seq.).

22 (U) Part J of title X of the Elementary

23 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

24 U.S.C. 8271 et seq.).
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1 (V) Part K of title X of the Elementary

2 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

3 U.S.C. 8331 et seq.).

4 (W) Part L of title X of the Elementary

5 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

6 U.S.C. 8351 et seq.).

7 (X) Part A of title XIII of the Elementary

8 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

9 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.).

10 (Y) Part C of title XIII of the Elementary

11 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

12 U.S.C. 8671 et seq.).

13 (Z) Part B of title VII of the Stewart B.

14 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

15 11421 et seq.).

16 (3) CENSUS DETERMINATION.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational

18 agency shall conduct a census to determine the

19 number of kindergarten through grade 12 stu20 dents that are in the school district served by

21 the local educational agency for an academic

22 year.

23 (B) PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS.—In car24 rying out subparagraph (A), each local edu25 cational agency shall determine the number of
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1 private school students described in such para2 graph for an academic year on the basis of data

3 the local educational agency determines reliable.

4 (C) SUBMISSION.—Each local educational

5 agency shall submit the total number of public

6 and private school children described in this

7 paragraph for an academic year to the Sec8 retary not later than March 1 of the academic

9 year.

10 (D) PENALTY.—If the Secretary deter11 mines that a local educational agency has know12 ingly submitted false information under this

13 subsection for the purpose of gaining additional

14 funds under this section, then the local edu15 cational agency shall be fined an amount equal

16 to twice the difference between the amount the

17 local educational agency received under this sec18 tion, and the correct amount the local edu19 cational agency would have received if the agen20 cy had submitted accurate information under

21 this subsection.

22 (4) DETERMINATION OF ALLOTMENTS.—From

23 the total applicable funding available for a fiscal

24 year, the Secretary shall make allotments to each
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1 local educational agency in a State in an amount

2 that bears the same relation—

3 (A) to 50 percent of such total applicable

4 funding as the number of individuals in the

5 school district served by the local educational

6 agency who are aged 5 through 17 bears to the

7 total number of such individuals in all school

8 districts served by all local educational agencies

9 in all States; and

10 (B) to 50 percent of such total amount as

11 the total amount all local educational agencies

12 in the State are eligible to receive under part A

13 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary

14 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et

15 seq.) for the fiscal year bears to the total

16 amount all local educational agencies in all

17 States are eligible to receive under such part

18 for the fiscal year.

19 (5) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—A local educational

21 agency receiving an allotment under paragraph

22 (4) shall use the allotted funds for innovative

23 assistance programs described in subparagraph

24 (B).
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1 (B) INNOVATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The inno2 vative assistance programs referred to in sub3 paragraph (A) include—

4 (i) technology programs related to the

5 implementation of school-based reform pro6 grams, including professional development

7 to assist teachers and other school officials

8 regarding how to use effectively such

9 equipment and software;

10 (ii) programs for the acquisition and

11 use of instructional and educational mate12 rials, including library services and mate13 rials (including media materials), assess14 ments, reference materials, computer soft15 ware and hardware for instructional use,

16 and other curricular materials that—

17 (I) are tied to high academic

18 standards;

19 (II) will be used to improve stu20 dent achievement; and

21 (III) are part of an overall edu22 cation reform program;

23 (iii) promising education reform pro24 grams, including effective schools and mag25 net schools;
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1 (iv) programs to improve the higher

2 order thinking skills of disadvantaged ele3 mentary school and secondary school stu4 dents and to prevent students from drop5 ping out of school;

6 (v) programs to combat illiteracy in

7 the student and adult populations, includ8 ing parent illiteracy;

9 (vi) programs to provide for the edu10 cational needs of gifted and talented chil11 dren;

12 (vii) hiring of teachers or teaching as13 sistants to decrease a school, school dis14 trict, or statewide student-to-teacher ratio;

15 and

16 (viii) school improvement programs or

17 activities described in sections 1116 and

18 1117 of the Elementary and Secondary

19 Education Act of 1965.

20 (6) ACCOUNTABILITY.—

21 (A) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—A

22 local educational agency that receives funds

23 under this section in any fiscal year shall make

24 available for review by parents, community
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1 members, the State educational agency and the

2 Department of Education—

3 (i) a proposed budget regarding how

4 such funds shall be used; and

5 (ii) an accounting of the actual use of

6 such funds at the end of the fiscal year of

7 the local educational agency.

8 (B) SCHOOL.—Each school receiving as9 sistance under this section in any fiscal year

10 shall prepare and submit to the Secretary and

11 make available to the public a detailed plan

12 that outlines—

13 (i) clear academic performance objec14 tives for students at the school;

15 (ii) a timetable for improving the aca16 demic performance of the students; and

17 (iii) methods for officially evaluating

18 and measuring the academic growth or

19 progress of the students.

20 (b) DIRECT AWARDS OF PART A OF TITLE I FUND21 ING.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

23 provision of law and subject to paragraph (3), the

24 Secretary shall award the total amount of funds ap25 propriated to carry out part A of title I of the Ele-
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1 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

2 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for a fiscal year directly to

3 local educational agencies in accordance with para4 graph (2) to enable the local educational agencies to

5 support programs or activities, for kindergarten

6 through grade 12 students, that the local edu7 cational agencies deem appropriate.

8 (2) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN9 CIES.—The Secretary shall make awards under this

10 section for a fiscal year only to local educational

11 agencies that are eligible for assistance under part

12 A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965 for the fiscal year.

14 (3) AMOUNT.—Each local educational agency

15 shall receive an amount awarded under this sub16 section for a fiscal year equal to the amount the

17 local educational agency is eligible to receive under

18 part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary

19 Education Act of 1965 for the fiscal year.
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1 TITLE II—PROHIBITION RE2 GARDING FUNDING FOR DE3 VELOPING OR IMPLE4 MENTING NATIONAL EDU5 CATION STANDARDS

6 SEC. 201. PROHIBITION REGARDING FUNDING FOR DEVEL7 OPING OR IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL EDU8 CATION STANDARDS.

9 No Federal funds may be obligated or expended to

10 develop or implement national education standards.

11 TITLE III—TROOPS-TO12 TEACHERS PROGRAM

13 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

14 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Troops-to-Teachers

15 Program Improvement Act of 1999’’.

16 SEC. 302. IMPROVEMENT AND TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION

17 OF TROOPS-TO-TEACHERS PROGRAM.

18 (a) RECODIFICATION, IMPROVEMENT, AND TRANS19 FER OF PROGRAM.—(1) Section 1151 of title 10, United

20 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘§ 1151. Assistance to certain separated or retired

22 members to obtain certification and em23 ployment as teachers

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

25 Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense
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1 and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the

2 Coast Guard, may carry out a program—

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

4 forces after their discharge or release, or retirement,

5 from active duty to obtain certification or licensure

6 as elementary or secondary school teachers or as vo7 cational or technical teachers; and

8 ‘‘(2) to facilitate the employment of such mem9 bers by local educational agencies identified under

10 subsection (b)(1).

11 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

12 AGENCIES AND STATES.—(1)(A) In carrying out the pro13 gram authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary of Edu14 cation shall periodically identify local educational agencies

15 that—

16 ‘‘(i) are receiving grants under title I of the El17 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

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

19 their jurisdictions concentrations of children from

20 low-income families; or

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

22 teachers, in particular a shortage of science, mathe23 matics, reading, special education, or vocational or

24 technical teachers.
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1 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may identify local educational

2 agencies under subparagraph (A) through surveys con3 ducted for that purpose or by utilizing information on local

4 educational agencies that is available to the Secretary

5 from other sources.

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

7 also conduct a survey of States to identify those States

8 that have alternative certification or licensure require9 ments for teachers, including those States that grant cred10 it for service in the armed forces toward satisfying certifi11 cation or licensure requirements for teachers.

12 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—(1) The following mem13 bers shall be eligible for selection to participate in the pro14 gram:

15 ‘‘(A) Any member who—

16 ‘‘(i) during the period beginning on Octo17 ber 1, 1990, and ending on September 30,

18 1999, was involuntarily discharged or released

19 from active duty for purposes of a reduction of

20 force after six or more years of continuous ac21 tive duty immediately before the discharge or

22 release; and

23 ‘‘(ii) satisfies such other criteria for selec24 tion as the Secretary of Education, in consulta-
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1 tion with the Secretary of Defense and the Sec2 retary of Transportation, may prescribe.

3 ‘‘(B) Any member—

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

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

6 with at least 20 years of active service

7 computed under section 3925, 3926, 8925,

8 or 8926 of this title or for purposes of

9 chapter 571 of this title; or

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

11 1204 of this title;

12 ‘‘(ii) who—

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

14 for assistance for placement as an elemen15 tary or secondary school teacher, has re16 ceived a baccalaureate or advanced degree

17 from an accredited institution of higher

18 education; or

19 ‘‘(II) in the case of a member apply20 ing for assistance for placement as a voca21 tional or technical teacher—

22 ‘‘(aa) has received the equivalent

23 of one year of college from an accred24 ited institution of higher education

25 and has 10 or more years of military
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1 experience in a vocational or technical

2 field; or

3 ‘‘(bb) otherwise meets the certifi4 cation or licensure requirements for a

5 vocational or technical teacher in the

6 State in which such member seeks as7 sistance for placement under the pro8 gram; and

9 ‘‘(iii) who satisfies the criteria prescribed

10 under subparagraph (A)(ii).

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

12 active duty, or retires from service, under other than hon13 orable conditions shall not be eligible to participate in the

14 program.

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

16 Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary

17 of Defense and the Secretary of Transportation, shall pro18 vide information regarding the program, and make appli19 cations for the program available, to members as part of

20 preseparation counseling provided under section 1142 of

21 this title.

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

23 ‘‘(A) indicate the local educational agencies

24 identified under subsection (b)(1); and
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1 ‘‘(B) identify those States surveyed under sub2 section (b)(2) that have alternative certification or

3 licensure requirements for teachers, including those

4 States that grant credit for service in the armed

5 forces toward satisfying such requirements.

6 ‘‘(e) SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS.—(1)(A) Selec7 tion of members to participate in the program shall be

8 made on the basis of applications submitted to the Sec9 retary of Education on a timely basis. An application shall

10 be in such form and contain such information as the Sec11 retary may require.

12 ‘‘(B) An application shall be considered to be sub13 mitted on a timely basis if the application is submitted

14 as follows:

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

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

17 30, 2003.

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

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

20 after the date of the retirement of the applicant

21 from active duty.

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

23 placement as elementary or secondary school teachers or

24 vocational or technical teachers, the Secretary shall give

25 priority to members who—
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1 ‘‘(A) have educational or military experience in

2 science, mathematics, reading, special education, or

3 vocational or technical subjects and agree to seek

4 employment as science, mathematics, reading, or

5 special education teachers in elementary or sec6 ondary schools or in other schools under the jurisdic7 tion of a local educational agency; or

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

9 another subject area identified by the Secretary, in

10 consultation with the National Governors Associa11 tion, as important for national educational objectives

12 and agree to seek employment in that subject area

13 in elementary or secondary schools.

14 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may not select a member to par15 ticipate in the program unless the Secretary has sufficient

16 appropriations for the program available at the time of

17 the selection to satisfy the obligations to be incurred by

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

19 that member.

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

21 in the program shall be required to enter into an agree22 ment with the Secretary of Education in which the mem23 ber agrees—

24 ‘‘(1) to obtain, within such time as the Sec25 retary may require, certification or licensure as an
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1 elementary or secondary school teacher or vocational

2 or technical teacher; and

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

4 as an elementary or secondary school teacher or vo5 cational or technical teacher for not less than four

6 school years with a local educational agency identi7 fied under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection

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

9 certification or licensure.

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

11 (1)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Edu12 cation shall pay to each participant in the program a sti13 pend in an amount equal to $5,000.

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

15 under this paragraph in any fiscal year may not exceed

16 3,000.

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

18 may, in lieu of paying a stipend under paragraph (1), pay

19 a bonus of $10,000 to each participant in the program

20 who agrees under subsection (f) to accept full-time em21 ployment as an elementary or secondary school teacher or

22 vocational or technical teacher for not less than four years

23 in a high need school.
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1 ‘‘(B) The total number of bonuses that may be paid

2 under this paragraph in any fiscal year may not exceed

3 1,000.

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

5 means an elementary school or secondary school that

6 meets one or more of the following criteria:

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

8 the national average school drop out rate.

9 ‘‘(ii) A school having a large percentage of stu10 dents (as determined by the Secretary in consulta11 tion with the National Assessment Governing Board)

12 who speak English as a second language.

13 ‘‘(iii) A school having a large percentage of stu14 dents (as so determined) who are at risk of edu15 cational failure by reason of limited proficiency in

16 English, poverty, race, geographic location, or eco17 nomic circumstances.

18 ‘‘(iv) A school at least one-half of whose stu19 dents are from families with an income below the

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

21 of Management and Budget and revised annually in

22 accordance with section 673(2) of the Community

23 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) appli24 cable to a family of the size involved.
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1 ‘‘(v) A school with a large percentage of stu2 dents (as so determined) who qualify for assistance

3 under part B of the Individuals with Disabilities

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

5 ‘‘(vi) A school located on an Indian reservation

6 (as that term is defined in section 403(9) of the In7 dian Child Protection and Family Violence Preven8 tion Act (25 U.S.C. 3202(9)).

9 ‘‘(vii) A school located in a rural area.

10 ‘‘(viii) A school meeting any other criteria es11 tablished by the Secretary in consultation with the

12 National Governors Association.

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

14 shall be taken into account in determining the eligibility

15 of the participant concerned for Federal student financial

16 assistance provided under title IV of the Higher Education

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

18 ‘‘(h) REIMBURSEMENT UNDER CERTAIN CIR19 CUMSTANCES.—(1) If a participant in the program fails

20 to obtain teacher certification or licensure or employment

21 as an elementary or secondary school teacher or vocational

22 or technical teacher as required under the agreement or

23 voluntarily leaves, or is terminated for cause, from the em24 ployment during the four years of required service, the

25 participant shall be required to reimburse the Secretary
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1 of Education for any stipend paid to the participant under

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

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

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

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

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

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

8 is terminated for cause from the employment during the

9 four years of required service, the participant shall be re10 quired to reimburse the Secretary for any bonus paid to

11 the participant under that subsection in an amount that

12 bears the same ratio to the amount of the bonus as the

13 unserved portion of required service bears to the four

14 years of required service.

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

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

17 the United States.

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

19 not release a participant from the obligation to reimburse

20 the Secretary.

21 ‘‘(C) Any amount owed by a participant under para22 graph (1) or (2) shall bear interest at the rate equal to

23 the highest rate being paid by the United States on the

24 day on which the reimbursement is determined to be due

25 for securities having maturities of ninety days or less and
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1 shall accrue from the day on which the participant is first

2 notified of the amount due.

3 ‘‘(i) EXCEPTIONS TO REIMBURSEMENT PROVI4 SIONS.—(1) A participant in the program shall not be con5 sidered to be in violation of an agreement entered into

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

7 participant—

8 ‘‘(A) is pursuing a full-time course of study re9 lated to the field of teaching at an eligible institu10 tion;

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

12 the armed forces;

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

14 of time not to exceed three years as established by

15 sworn affidavit of a qualified physician;

16 ‘‘(D) is unable to secure employment for a pe17 riod not to exceed 12 months by reason of the care

18 required by a spouse who is disabled;

19 ‘‘(E) is seeking and unable to find full-time em20 ployment as a teacher in an elementary or secondary

21 school or as a vocational or technical teacher for a

22 single period not to exceed 27 months; or

23 ‘‘(F) satisfies the provisions of additional reim24 bursement exceptions that may be prescribed by the

25 Secretary of Education.
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1 ‘‘(2) A participant shall be excused from reimburse2 ment under subsection (h) if the participant becomes per3 manently totally disabled as established by sworn affidavit

4 of a qualified physician. The Secretary may also waive re5 imbursement in cases of extreme hardship to the partici6 pant, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with

7 the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Transpor8 tation, as the case may be.

9 ‘‘(j) RELATIONSHIP TO EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE

10 UNDER MONTGOMERY GI BILL.—The receipt by a partic11 ipant in the program of any assistance under the program

12 shall not reduce or otherwise affect the entitlement of the

13 participant to any benefits under chapter 30 of title 38

14 or chapter 1606 of this title.

15 ‘‘(k) DISCHARGE OF STATE ACTIVITIES THROUGH

16 CONSORTIA OF STATES.—The Secretary of Education

17 may permit States participating in the program author18 ized by this section to carry out activities authorized for

19 such States under this section through one or more con20 sortia of such States.

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

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

23 of Education may make grants to States participating in

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

25 such States, in order to permit such States or consortia
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1 of States to operate offices for purposes of recruiting eligi2 ble members for participation in the program and facili3 tating the employment of participants in the program in

4 schools in such States or consortia of States.

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

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

7 ‘‘(m) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR MANAGE8 MENT INFRASTRUCTURE.—The Secretary of Education

9 may utilize not more than five percent of the funds avail10 able to carry out the program authorized by this section

11 for a fiscal year for purposes of establishing and maintain12 ing the management infrastructure necessary to support

13 the program.

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

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

16 Columbia, American Samoa, the Federated States of

17 Micronesia, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Is18 lands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

19 Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Re20 public of Palau, and the United States Virgin Is21 lands.

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘alternative certification or licen23 sure requirements’ means State or local teacher cer24 tification or licensure requirements that permit a

25 demonstrated competence in appropriate subject
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1 areas gained in careers outside of education to be

2 substituted for traditional teacher training course

3 work.’’.

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

5 58 of such title is amended by striking the item relating

6 to section 1151 and inserting the following new item:

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

and employment as teachers.’’.

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

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

9 (c) TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION OVER CURRENT

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

11 Transportation, and Secretary of Education shall provide

12 for the transfer to the Secretary of Education of any on13 going functions and responsibilities of the Secretary of De14 fense and the Secretary of Transportation with respect the

15 program authorized by section 1151 of title 10, United

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

17 1992, and ending on September 30, 1999.

18 (2) The Secretaries shall complete the transfer under

19 paragraph (1) not later than October 1, 1999.

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

21 the Secretary of Education and the Comptroller General

22 shall each submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness

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

24 United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), in the
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1 recruitment and retention of qualified personnel by local

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

3 such section 1151 (as so amended).

4 (2) The report under paragraph (1) shall include in5 formation on the following:

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

7 (B) The schools in which such participants are

8 employed.

9 (C) The grade levels at which such participants

10 teach.

11 (D) The subject matters taught by such partici12 pants.

13 (E) The effectiveness of the teaching of such

14 participants, as indicated by any relevant test scores

15 of the students of such participants.

16 (F) The extent of any academic improvement in

17 the schools in which such participants teach by rea18 son of their teaching.

19 (G) The rates of retention of such participants

20 by the local educational agencies employing such

21 participants.

22 (H) The effect of any stipends or bonuses

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

24 amended) in enhancing participation in the program

25 or in enhancing recruitment or retention of partici-
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1 pants in the program by the local educational agen2 cies employing such participants.

3 (I) Such other matters as the Secretary or the

4 Comptroller General, as the case may be, considers

5 appropriate.

6 (3) The report of the Comptroller General under

7 paragraph (1) shall also include any recommendations of

8 the Comptroller General as to means of improving the pro9 gram, including means of enhancing the recruitment and

10 retention of participants in the program.

11 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

12 authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Edu13 cation $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through

14 2004 for purposes of carrying out the program authorized

15 by section 1151 of title 10, United States Code (as amend16 ed by subsection (a)).

17 TITLE IV—ENGLISH PLUS AND

18 MULTILINGUALISM

19 SEC. 401. ENGLISH PLUS.

20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find21 ings:

22 (1) Immigrants to the United States have pow23 erful incentives to learn English in order to fully

24 participate in American society and the Nation’s

25 economy, and 90 percent of all immigrant families
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1 become fluent in English within the second genera2 tion.

3 (2) A common language promotes unity among

4 citizens, and fosters greater communication.

5 (3) The reality of a global economy is an ever6 present international development that is fostered by

7 trade.

8 (4) The United States is well postured for the

9 global economy and international development with

10 its diverse population and rich heritage of cultures

11 and languages from around the world.

12 (5) Foreign language skills are a tremendous

13 resource to the United States and enhance American

14 competitiveness in the global economy.

15 (6) It is clearly in the interest of the United

16 States to encourage educational opportunities for all

17 citizens and to take steps to realize the opportuni18 ties.

19 (7) Many American Indian languages are pre20 served, encouraged, and utilized, as the languages

21 were during World War II when the Navajo Code

22 Talkers created a code that could not be broken by

23 the Japanese or the Germans, for example.

24 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con25 gress that—
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1 (1) our Nation must support literacy programs,

2 including programs designed to teach English, as

3 well as those dedicated to helping Americans learn

4 and maintain languages in addition to English;

5 (2) our Nation must recognize the importance

6 of English as the unifying language of the United

7 States;

8 (3) as a Nation we must support and encourage

9 Americans of every age to master English in order

10 to succeed in American society and ensure a produc11 tive workforce;

12 (4) our Nation must recognize that a skilled

13 labor force is crucial to United States competitive14 ness in a global economy, and the ability to speak

15 languages in addition to English is a significant

16 skill; and

17 (5) our Nation must recognize the benefits,

18 both on an individual and a national basis, of devel19 oping the Nation’s linguistic resources.

20 SEC. 402. MULTILINGUALISM STUDY.

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

22 (1) even though all residents of the United

23 States should be proficient in English, without re24 gard to their country of birth, it is also of vital im25 portance to the competitiveness of the United States
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1 that those residents be encouraged to learn other

2 languages; and

3 (2) education is the primary responsibility of

4 State and local governments and communities, and

5 the governments and communities are responsible

6 for developing policies in the area of education.

7 (b) RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES DEFINED.—

8 In this section, the term ‘‘resident of the United States’’

9 means an individual who resides in the United States,

10 other than an alien who is not lawfully present in the

11 United States.

12 (c) STUDY.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp15 troller General shall conduct a study of

16 multilingualism in the United States in accordance

17 with this section.

18 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The study conducted

20 under this section shall determine—

21 (i) the percentage of residents in the

22 United States who are proficient in

23 English and at least 1 other language;
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1 (ii) the predominant language other

2 than English in which residents referred to

3 in clause (i) are proficient;

4 (iii) the percentage of the residents

5 described in clause (i) who were born in a

6 foreign country;

7 (iv) the percentage of the residents

8 described in clause (i) who were born in

9 the United States;

10 (v) the percentage of the residents de11 scribed in clause (iv) who are second-gen12 eration residents of the United States; and

13 (vi) the percentage of the residents

14 described in clause (iv) who are third-gen15 eration residents of the United States.

16 (B) AGE-SPECIFIC CATEGORIES.—The

17 study under this section shall, with respect to

18 the residents described in subparagraph (A)(i),

19 determine the number of those residents in each

20 of the following categories:

21 (i) Residents who have not attained

22 the age of 12.

23 (ii) Residents who have attained the

24 age of 12, but have not attained the age of

25 18.
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1 (iii) Residents who have attained the

2 age of 18, but have not attained the age of

3 50.

4 (iv) Residents who have attained the

5 age of 50.

6 (C) FEDERAL PROGRAMS.—In conducting

7 the study under this section, the Comptroller

8 General shall establish a list of each Federal

9 program that encourages multilingualism with

10 respect to any category of residents described in

11 subparagraph (B).

12 (D) COMPARISONS.—In conducting the

13 study under this section, the Comptroller Gen14 eral shall compare the multilingual population

15 described in subparagraph (A) with the multi16 lingual populations of foreign countries—

17 (i) in the Western Hemisphere; and

18 (ii) in Asia.

19 (d) REPORT.—Upon completion of the study under

20 this section, the Comptroller General shall prepare, and

21 submit to Congress, a report that contains the results of

22 the study conducted under this section, and such findings

23 and recommendations as the Comptroller General deter24 mines to be appropriate.
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1 TITLE V—EDUCATIONAL OPPOR2 TUNITIES FOR DISADVAN3 TAGED CHILDREN

4 SEC. 501. PURPOSES.

5 The purposes of this title are—

6 (1) to assist and encourage States and localities

7 to—

8 (A) give children from low-income families

9 more of the same choices of all elementary and

10 secondary schools and other academic programs

11 that children from wealthier families already

12 have;

13 (B) improve schools and other academic

14 programs by giving low-income parents in15 creased consumer power to choose the schools

16 and programs that the parents determine best

17 fit the needs of their children; and

18 (C) more fully engage low-income parents

19 in their children’s schooling; and

20 (2) to demonstrate, through a competitive dis21 cretionary grant program, the effects of State and

22 local programs that give middle- and low-income

23 families more of the same choices of all schools, pub24 lic, private or religious, that wealthier families have.
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1 SEC. 502. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROGRAM

2 AUTHORITY.

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

4 purpose of carrying out this title, there are authorized to

5 be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each

6 of the fiscal years 2001 through 2003.

7 (b) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is author8 ized to award grants to not more than 10 States or local9 ities, on a competitive basis, to enable the States or local10 ities to carry out educational choice programs in accord11 ance with this title.

12 SEC. 503. ELIGIBILITY.

13 A State or locality is eligible for a grant under this

14 title if—

15 (1) the State or locality has taken significant

16 steps to provide a choice of schools to families with

17 school children residing in the program area de18 scribed in the application submitted under section

19 506, including families who are not eligible for schol20 arships under this title;

21 (2) during the year for which assistance is

22 sought, the State or locality provides assurances in

23 the application submitted under section 506 that if

24 awarded a grant under this title such State or local25 ity will provide scholarships to parents of eligible

26 children that may be redeemed for elementary
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1 schools or secondary education for their children at

2 a broad variety of public and private elementary

3 schools and secondary schools, including religious

4 schools, if any, serving the area;

5 (3) the State or locality agrees to match 50 per6 cent of the Federal funds provided for the scholar7 ships; and

8 (4) the State or locality allows lawfully oper9 ating public and private elementary schools and sec10 ondary schools, including religious schools, if any,

11 serving the area to participate in the program.

12 SEC. 504. SCHOLARSHIPS.

13 (a) SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS.—With funds awarded

14 under this title, each State or locality awarded a grant

15 under this title shall provide scholarships to the parents

16 of eligible children, in accordance with section 505.

17 (b) SCHOLARSHIP VALUE.—The value of each schol18 arship shall be the sum of—

19 (1) $2,000 from funds provided under this title;

20 (2) $1,000 in matching funds from the State or

21 locality; and

22 (3) an additional amount, if any, of State, local,

23 or nongovernmental funds.

24 (c) TAX EXEMPTION.—Scholarships awarded under

25 this title shall not be considered income of the parents for
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1 Federal income tax purposes or for determining eligibility

2 for any other Federal program.

3 SEC. 505. ELIGIBLE CHILDREN; AWARD RULES.

4 (a) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—In this title the term ‘‘eligible

5 child’’ means a child who—

6 (1) resides in the program area described in the

7 application submitted under section 506;

8 (2) will attend a public or private elementary

9 school or secondary school that is participating in

10 the program; and

11 (3) subject to subsection (b)(1)(C), is from a

12 low-income family, as determined by the State or lo13 cality in accordance with regulations of the Sec14 retary, except that the maximum family income for

15 eligibility under this title shall not exceed the State

16 or national median family income adjusted for fam17 ily size, whichever is higher, as determined by the

18 Secretary, in consultation with the Bureau of the

19 Census, on the basis of the most recent satisfactory

20 data available.

21 (b) AWARD RULES.—

22 (1) CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.—Each State or

23 locality receiving a grant under this title shall pro24 vide a scholarship in each year of its program to
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1 each child who received a scholarship during the pre2 vious year of the program, unless—

3 (A) the child no longer resides in the pro4 gram area;

5 (B) the child no longer attends school;

6 (C) the child’s family income exceeds, by

7 20 percent or more, the maximum family in8 come of families who received scholarships in

9 the preceding year; or

10 (D) the child is expelled or convicted of a

11 felony, including felonious drug possession, pos12 session of a weapon on school grounds, or vio13 lent acts against other students or a member of

14 the school’s faculty.

15 (2) PRIORITY.—If the amount of the grant pro16 vided under this title is not sufficient to provide a

17 scholarship to each eligible child from a family that

18 meets the requirements of subsection (a)(3), the

19 State or locality shall provide scholarships to eligible

20 children from the lowest income families.

21 SEC. 506. APPLICATIONS.

22 (a) APPLICATION.—Each State or locality that wishes

23 to receive a grant under this title shall submit an applica24 tion to the Secretary at such time and in such manner

25 as the Secretary may reasonably require.
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1 (b) CONTENTS.—Each such application shall

2 contain—

3 (1) a description of the program area;

4 (2) an economic profile of children residing in

5 the program area, in terms of family income and

6 poverty status;

7 (3) the family income range of children who will

8 be eligible to participate in the proposed program,

9 consistent with section 505(a)(3), and a description

10 of the applicant’s method for identifying children

11 who fall within that range;

12 (4) an estimate of the number of children, with13 in the income range specified in paragraph (3), who

14 will be eligible to receive scholarships under the pro15 gram;

16 (5) information demonstrating that the appli17 cant’s proposed program complies with the require18 ments of section 503 and with the other require19 ments of this title;

20 (6) a description of the procedures the appli21 cant has used, including timely and meaningful con22 sultation with private school officials—

23 (A) to encourage public and private ele24 mentary schools and secondary schools to par25 ticipate in the program; and
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1 (B) to ensure maximum educational

2 choices for the parents of eligible children and

3 for other children residing in the program area;

4 (7) an identification of the public, private, and

5 religious elementary schools and secondary schools

6 that are eligible and have chosen to participate in

7 the program;

8 (8) a description of how the applicant will in9 form children and their parents of the program and

10 of the choices available to the parents under the pro11 gram, including the availability of supplementary

12 academic services under section 509(2);

13 (9) a description of the procedures to be used

14 to provide scholarships to parents and to enable par15 ents to use such scholarships, such as the issuance

16 of checks payable to schools;

17 (10) a description of the procedures by which a

18 school will make a pro rata refund to the Depart19 ment of Education for any participating child who,

20 before completing 50 percent of the school attend21 ance period for which the scholarship was

22 provided—

23 (A) is released or expelled from the school;

24 or

25 (B) withdraws from school for any reason;
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1 (11) a description of procedures the applicant

2 will use to—

3 (A) determine a child’s continuing eligi4 bility to participate in the program; and

5 (B) bring new children into the program;

6 (12) an assurance that the applicant will co7 operate in carrying out the national evaluation de8 scribed in section 511;

9 (13) an assurance that the applicant will main10 tain such records relating to the program as the

11 Secretary may require and will comply with the Sec12 retary’s reasonable requests for information about

13 the program;

14 (14) a description of State or local funds (in15 cluding tax benefits) and nongovernmental funds,

16 that will be available under section 504(b)(2) to sup17 plement scholarship funds provided under this title;

18 and

19 (15) such other assurance and information as

20 the Secretary may require.

21 (c) REVISIONS.—Each such application shall be up22 dated annually as may be needed to reflect revised condi23 tions.
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1 SEC. 507. APPROVAL OF PROGRAMS.

2 (a) SELECTION.—From applications received each

3 year the Secretary shall select not more than 10 scholar4 ship programs on the basis of—

5 (1) the number and variety of educational

6 choices that are available under the program to fam7 ilies of eligible children;

8 (2) the extent to which educational choices

9 among public, private, and religious schools are

10 available to all families in the program area, includ11 ing families that are not eligible for scholarships

12 under this title;

13 (3) the proportion of children who will partici14 pate in the program who are from families at or

15 below the poverty line;

16 (4) the applicant’s financial support of the pro17 gram, including the amount of State, local, and non18 governmental funds that will be provided to match

19 Federal funds, including not only direct expenditures

20 for scholarships, but also other economic incentives

21 provided to families participating in the program,

22 such as a tax relief program; and

23 (5) other criteria established by the Secretary.

24 (b) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary

25 shall ensure that, to the extent feasible, grants are award-
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1 ed for programs in urban and rural areas and in a variety

2 of geographic areas throughout the Nation.

3 (c) CONSIDERATION.—In considering the factor de4 scribed in subsection (a)(4), the Secretary shall consider

5 differences in local conditions.

6 SEC. 508. AMOUNTS AND LENGTH OF GRANTS.

7 (a) AWARDS.—The Secretary shall award not more

8 than 10 grants annually taking into consideration the

9 availability of appropriations, the number and quality of

10 applications, and other factors related to the purposes of

11 this title that the Secretary determines are appropriate.

12 (b) RENEWAL.—Each grant under this title shall be

13 awarded for a period of not more than 3 years.

14 SEC. 509. USES OF FUNDS.

15 The Federal portion of any scholarship awarded

16 under this title shall be used as follows:

17 (1) FIRST.—First, for—

18 (A) the payment of tuition and fees at the

19 school selected by the parents of the child for

20 whom the scholarship was provided; and

21 (B) the reasonable costs of the child’s

22 transportation to the school, if the school is not

23 in the school district to which the child would

24 be assigned in the absence of a program under

25 this title.
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1 (2) SECOND.—If the parents so choose, to ob2 tain supplementary academic services for the child,

3 at a cost of not more than $500, from any provider

4 chosen by the parents, that the State or locality, in

5 accordance with regulations of the Secretary, deter6 mines is capable of providing such services and has

7 an appropriate refund policy.

8 (3) LASTLY.—Any funds that remain after the

9 application of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be

10 used—

11 (A) for educational programs that help eli12 gible children achieve high levels of academic

13 excellence in the school attended by the eligible

14 children for whom a scholarship was provided,

15 if the eligible children attend a public school; or

16 (B) by the State or locality for additional

17 scholarships in the year or the succeeding year

18 of its program, in accordance with this title, if

19 the child attends a private school.

20 SEC. 510. EFFECT OF PROGRAMS.

21 (a) TITLE I.—Notwithstanding any other provision

22 of law, a local educational agency that, in the absence of

23 an educational choice program that is funded under this

24 title, would provide services to a participating eligible child

25 under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary
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1 Education Act of 1965, shall provide such services to such

2 child.

3 (b) INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—Nothing in

4 this title shall be construed to affect the requirements of

5 part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

6 (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.).

7 (c) AID.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Scholarships under this title

9 are to aid families, not institutions. A parent’s ex10 penditure of scholarship funds at a school or for

11 supplementary academic services shall not constitute

12 Federal financial aid or assistance to that school or

13 to the provider of supplementary academic services.

14 (2) SUPPLEMENTARY ACADEMIC SERVICES.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para16 graph (1), a school or provider of supple17 mentary academic services that receives scholar18 ship funds under this title shall, as a condition

19 of participation under this title, comply with the

20 antidiscrimination provisions of section 601 of

21 title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

22 U.S.C. 1681) and section 504 of the Rehabilita23 tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794).

24 (B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall

25 promulgate new regulations to implement the
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1 provisions of subparagraph (A), taking into ac2 count the purposes of this title and the nature,

3 variety, and missions of schools and providers

4 that may participate in providing services to

5 children under this title.

6 (d) OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—No Federal, State, or

7 local agency may, in any year, take into account Federal

8 funds provided to a State or locality or to the parents of

9 any child under this title in determining whether to pro10 vide any other funds from Federal, State, or local re11 sources, or in determining the amount of such assistance,

12 to such State or locality or to a school attended by such

13 child.

14 (e) NO DISCRETION.—Nothing in this title shall be

15 construed to authorize the Secretary to exercise any direc16 tion, supervision, or control over the curriculum, program

17 of instruction, administration, or personnel of any edu18 cational institution or school participating in a program

19 under this title.

20 SEC. 511. NATIONAL EVALUATION.

21 The Inspector General of the Department of Edu22 cation shall conduct a national evaluation of the program

23 authorized by this title. Such evaluation shall, at a

24 minimum—
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1 (1) assess the implementation of scholarship

2 programs assisted under this title and their effect on

3 participants, schools, and communities in the pro4 gram area, including parental involvement in, and

5 satisfaction with, the program and their children’s

6 education;

7 (2) compare the educational achievement of

8 participating eligible children with the educational

9 achievement of similar non-participating children be10 fore, during, and after the program; and

11 (3) compare—

12 (A) the educational achievement of eligible

13 children who use scholarships to attend schools

14 other than the schools the children would at15 tend in the absence of the program; with

16 (B) the educational achievement of chil17 dren who attend the schools the children would

18 attend in the absence of the program.

19 SEC. 512. ENFORCEMENT.

20 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate

21 regulations to enforce the provisions of this title.

22 (b) PRIVATE CAUSE.—No provision or requirement

23 of this title shall be enforced through a private cause of

24 action.
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1 SEC. 513. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this title—

3 (1) the term ‘‘locality’’ means—

4 (A) a unit of general purpose local govern5 ment, such as a city, township, or village; or

6 (B) a local educational agency; and

7 (2) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50

8 States, the District of Columbia, and the Common9 wealth of Puerto Rico.

10 TITLE VI—TAX PROVISIONS

11 SEC. 601. CREDIT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCHOOLS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart A of part IV of sub13 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

14 1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is

15 amended by inserting after section 25A the following:

16 ‘‘SEC. 25B. CREDIT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCHOOLS.

17 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an in18 dividual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax

19 imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an amount

20 equal to the qualified charitable contributions of the tax21 payer for the taxable year.

22 ‘‘(b) MAXIMUM CREDIT.—The credit allowed by sub23 section (a) for any taxable year shall not exceed $500

24 ($250, in the case of a married individual filing a separate

25 return).
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1 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION.—For

2 purposes of this section—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified chari4 table contribution’ means, with respect to any tax5 able year, the amount allowable as a deduction

6 under section 170 (determined without regard to

7 subsection (e)(1)) for cash contributions to a school.

8 ‘‘(2) SCHOOL.—The term ‘school’ means any

9 school which provides elementary education or sec10 ondary education (through grade 12), as determined

11 under State law.

12 ‘‘(d) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction

13 shall be allowed under this chapter for any contribution

14 for which credit is allowed under this section.

15 ‘‘(e) ELECTION TO HAVE CREDIT NOT APPLY.—A

16 taxpayer may elect to have this section not apply for any

17 taxable year.’’

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

19 for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1

20 of such Code is amended by inserting after the item relat21 ing to section 25A the following:

‘‘Sec. 25B. Credit for contributions to schools.’’

22 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

23 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

24 December 31, 1998.
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1 SEC. 602. INCREASE IN ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION LIMIT FOR

2 EDUCATION INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT AC3 COUNTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 530(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining education indi6 vidual retirement account) is amended by striking ‘‘$500’’

7 and inserting ‘‘$1,000’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

9 4973(e)(1)(A) of such Code is amended by striking

10 ‘‘$500’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000’’.

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

12 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

13 December 31, 1998.

14 TITLE VII—DEVELOPING

15 BETTER EDUCATION TOOLS

16 SEC. 701. EDUCATIONAL TOOLS FOR UNDERSERVED STU17 DENTS.

18 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find19 ings:

20 (1) Limited data exists regarding Native Amer21 ican, Asian American and many other minority stu22 dents.

23 (2) The limited data available regarding these

24 students demonstrates potentially severe educational

25 problems among Native American students and a
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1 decline in performance among Asian American stu2 dents.

3 (b) STUDY AND DATA.—The Comptroller General

4 shall conduct a study and collect data regarding the edu5 cation of minority students, including Native American

6 students, Asian American students, and all other students

7 who are often combined in statistical data under the cat8 egory of other, in order to provide more extensive and reli9 able data regarding the students and to improve the aca10 demic preparation of the students.

11 (c) MATTERS STUDIED.—The study referred to in

12 subsection (a) shall examine and compile information

13 regarding—

14 (1) the environment of the students;

15 (2) the academic achievement scores in reading,

16 mathematics, and science of the students;

17 (3) the postsecondary education of the students;

18 (4) the environment and education of the mem19 bers of the students’ families; and

20 (5) the parental involvement in the education of

21 the students.

22 (d) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Comptroller General

23 shall develop recommendations regarding the development

24 and implementation of strategies to meet the unique edu25 cational needs of the students described in subsection (a).
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1 (e) REPORT.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General

3 shall prepare a report regarding the matters studied,

4 the information collected, and the recommendations

5 developed under this section.

6 (2) DISTRIBUTION.—The Comptroller General

7 shall distribute the report described in paragraph

8 (1) to each local educational agency and State edu9 cational agency in the United States, the Secretary,

10 and Congress.

11 (f) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall make available to

12 the Comptroller General, from any funds available to the

13 Secretary for salaries and expenses at the Department of

14 Education, such sums as the Comptroller General deter15 mines necessary to carry out this section.

16 SEC. 702. TEACHER TRAINING.

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that too often inexpe18 rienced elementary school and secondary school teachers

19 or teachers with low levels of education are found in

20 schools predominately serving low-income students.

21 (b) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct

22 a study to determine whether requiring teacher training

23 in a specific subject matter or at least a minor degree in

24 a subject matter (such as mathematics, science, or English

25 results in improved student performance.
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1 SEC. 703. PUTTING THE BEST TEACHERS IN THE CLASS2 ROOM.

3 It is the sense of the Senate that—

4 (1) the individual States should evaluate their

5 teachers on the basis of demonstrated ability, includ6 ing tests of subject matter knowledge, teaching

7 knowledge, and teaching skill;

8 (2) States in conjunction with the various local

9 education agencies should develop their own methods

10 of testing their teachers and other instructional staff

11 with respect to the specific subjects taught by the

12 teachers and staff, and should administer the test

13 every 4 years to individual teachers;

14 (3) each local educational agency should give

15 serious consideration to using a portion of the funds

16 made available under section 101 to develop and im17 plement a method for evaluating each individual

18 teacher’s ability to provide the appropriate instruc19 tion in the classroom; and

20 (4) each local educational agency is encouraged

21 to give consideration to providing monetary rewards

22 to teachers by developing a compensation system

23 that supports teachers who become increasingly ex24 pert in a subject area, are proficient in meeting the

25 needs of students and schools, and demonstrate high

26 levels of performance measured against professional
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1 teaching standards, and that will encourage teachers

2 to continue to learn needed skills and broaden the

3 teachers’ expertise, thereby enhancing education for

4 all students.

5 TITLE VIII—EMPOWERING

6 STUDENTS

7 SEC. 801. EMPOWERING STUDENTS.

8 The Secretary, not later than October 1, 2004, shall

9 gradually reduce the sum of the costs for employees and

10 administrative expenses at the Department of Education

11 as of the date of enactment of this Act incrementally each

12 year until the sum of the costs for employees and adminis13 trative costs are reduced by 35 percent.

Æ