I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6464 

To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants for teacher-led projects 

to improve academic growth in elementary school and secondary school, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Mrs. DAVIS of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to award grants for 

teacher-led projects to improve academic growth in elementary school and secondary school, 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 ‘‘Teach to Lead Act 

5 of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Teachers, because of their position in the 

2 classroom, often see important opportunities to im3 prove student learning most directly and thus have 

4 a unique perspective from which to create practical 

5 solutions to help students succeed. 

6 (2) According to a Scholastic and Bill & 

7 Melinda Gates Foundation poll, 69 percent of teach8 ers feel that their voices are heard in their school, 

9 but only one-third feel heard in their district, five 

10 percent in their State, and two percent at the na11 tional level. 

12 (3) The failure to leverage teachers’ expertise 

13 has a negative impact on teacher engagement in 

14 education reforms and misses a critical opportunity 

15 for administrators and policymakers to draw on 

16 knowledge and expertise from the classroom that can 

17 help address critical education needs and challenges. 

18 (4) Empowering teachers to lead beyond the 

19 classroom, without necessarily leaving the classroom, 

20 will demonstrate the trust and respect for teachers, 

21 as professionals, that they deserve and will help im22 prove teaching and student outcomes. 

23 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

24 The purpose of this Act is to empower teachers to 

25 develop and implement projects with the potential to have 


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1 a wider impact on developing the knowledge, pedagogical 

2 skills, and conditions needed to improve teaching and stu3 dent outcomes, particularly academic growth, by bringing 

4 their classroom knowledge and expertise directly to bear 

5 on the many challenges confronting our education system. 

6 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From the funds 

9 made available under section 7, the Secretary of 

10 Education may make grants, on a competitive basis, 

11 to one or more nonprofit organizations to award 

12 subgrants to eligible entities to develop and imple13 ment teacher-led projects to improve teaching and 

14 student outcomes in elementary school and sec15 ondary school, particularly academic growth. 

16 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—A grant made to a non17 profit organization under paragraph (1) shall be for 

18 a period of not more than five years. 

19 (3) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A nonprofit orga20 nization that receives a grant under paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) shall reserve not less than 90 percent 

22 of the grant to award subgrants, on a competi23 tive basis, to eligible entities under subsection 

24 (c); and 


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1 (B) may use not more than 10 percent of 

2 the grant for administrative purposes. 

3 (b) APPLICATIONS.—A nonprofit organization that 

4 desires a grant under this section shall submit an applica5 tion to the Secretary at such time and in such manner, 

6 and containing such information as the Secretary may re7 quire. The application shall— 

8 (1) demonstrate the entity’s ability to— 

9 (A) operate a national program, a multi10 State program, or a program that reaches not 

11 less than 100,000 students; and 

12 (B) manage the administrative and fiscal 

13 aspects of the subgrant program described in 

14 this section; and 

15 (2) describe how the nonprofit organization 

16 will— 

17 (A) provide outreach and solicit subgrant 

18 applications nationwide, particularly in urban, 

19 rural, and tribal areas with significant numbers 

20 or concentration of high-need schools; 

21 (B) conduct a subgrant competition and 

22 ensure that selected projects will be designed 

23 and led by teachers, teams of teachers, or 

24 teachers and school leaders; 


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1 (C) conduct a peer review of all eligible 

2 project applications that selects high-quality 

3 projects likely to have the greatest impact on 

4 teaching or student outcomes; 

5 (D) provide technical assistance to help 

6 subgrantees ensure effective project implemen7 tation; 

8 (E) monitor project implementation and 

9 collect data on projects; 

10 (F) facilitate collaboration and interaction 

11 of subgrantees with each other and with experts 

12 in the field to solve ongoing problems of in13 structional practice and leadership, such as 

14 through the creation of communities of practice 

15 where teachers share best practices and work 

16 together to achieve similar goals; 

17 (G) evaluate projects and nationally dis18 seminate the results of effective projects; and 

19 (H) provide accountability for the use of 

20 the grant. 

21 (c) SUBGRANTS.— 

22 (1) SUBGRANT PRIORITY.—A nonprofit organi23 zation receiving a grant under this section shall use 

24 such grant to award subgrants to eligible entities 

25 under this subsection, and in awarding such subVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Dec 10, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6464.IH H6464

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1 grants the nonprofit organization shall give priority 

2 to eligible entities that will use the subgrants to 

3 carry out projects that— 

4 (A) are designed to improve teaching and 

5 learning outcomes for all students in high-need 

6 schools or that target the educational needs of 

7 low-income or minority students; 

8 (B) are supported by evidence of effective9 ness or, at a minimum, is supported by a logic 

10 model; 

11 (C) are supported by evidence of teacher 

12 involvement in the development of such projects 

13 as demonstrated by research or survey data; 

14 and 

15 (D) have the potential to be scaled up in 

16 their school, local educational agencies, or State 

17 in order to have a wider impact on improving 

18 teaching and learning outcomes, particularly 

19 academic growth for all students. 

20 (2) SUBGRANT APPLICATIONS.—An eligible en21 tity that desires a subgrant under this section shall 

22 submit an application to the applicable nonprofit or23 ganization awarded a grant under this section at 

24 such time and in such manner, and containing such 

25 information as the nonprofit organization may reaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Dec 10, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6464.IH H6464

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1 sonably require. Each application shall, at a min2 imum, describe— 

3 (A) the project proposed, including 

4 timelines, resources needed, and any measur5 able objectives to be used in determining how 

6 the project will improve teaching and student 

7 outcomes, particularly academic growth; 

8 (B) any partnerships entered into with 

9 school and local educational agency leaders, 

10 nonprofit organizations, community organiza11 tions, teacher preparation providers, in-service 

12 support providers, and other stakeholders, in13 cluding teachers, to develop and implement the 

14 proposed project; and 

15 (C) the potential to scale up the proposed 

16 project in the school, local educational agency, 

17 Tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs educational 

18 system, and State, of the eligible entity. 

19 (3) USE OF SUBGRANT FUNDS.— 

20 (A) USE OF SUBGRANT FUNDS.—An eligi21 ble entity shall use the subgrant received under 

22 this section to develop and implement an inno23 vative project designed and led by teachers, 

24 teams of teachers, or teachers and school lead25 ers to improve teaching and learning at the eleVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Dec 10, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6464.IH H6464

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1 mentary school and secondary school level, such 

2 as— 

3 (i) increasing student engagement 

4 through personalized learning, including 

5 technology-enabled instruction; 

6 (ii) strengthening support for edu7 cators, including support for implementa8 tion of challenging, academic standards to 

9 prepare students to be ready for college 

10 and careers; 

11 (iii) improving community engage12 ment, school climate, and student services; 

13 (iv) improving data collection and 

14 analysis for data-driven instruction and 

15 continuous improvement; 

16 (v) expanding students’ access to ef17 fective educators, particularly low-income 

18 and minority students; or 

19 (vi) increasing retention of effective 

20 educators who demonstrate academic 

21 growth for students, particularly low-in22 come and minority students. 

23 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A part24 ner local educational agency or nonprofit orga25 nization that serves as the fiscal agent for an 


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1 eligible entity, may use not more than two per2 cent of the subgrant for direct administrative 

3 expenses incurred in carrying out its respon4 sibilities under the subgrant. 

5 SEC. 5. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT. 

6 The Secretary shall establish goals and performance 

7 indicators to measure and assess the impact of the activi8 ties carried out under this Act. 

9 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti12 ty’’ means an individual teacher, a team of teachers, 

13 or teachers and school leaders, in partnership with 

14 a local educational agency or a nonprofit organiza15 tion that serves as the fiscal agent with respect to 

16 funds awarded under this Act. 

17 (2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 

18 school’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, ‘‘local educational agen19 cy’’, and ‘‘Secretary’’ have the meanings given the 

20 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec21 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

22 (3) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high-need 

23 school’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

24 2243(f)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu25 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6673(f)(2)). 


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1 (4) NONPROFIT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘nonprofit 

2 organization’’ means a nonprofit organization that 

3 works in education at the elementary school or sec4 ondary school level. 

5 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 

7 for each of the fiscal years 2017 through 2021 to carry 

8 out this Act. 

Æ 


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