I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5502 

To improve the academic competitiveness of students in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2006 

Miss MCMORRIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To improve the academic competitiveness of students in the 

United States. 

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 ‘‘Strengthening Amer5 ica’s Innovation and Competitiveness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADVANCED PLACEMENT TEACHER PREPARATION. 

7 (a) STATE GRANTS.—Section 202(d) of the Higher 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1022(d)) is amended 

9 by adding at the end of the subsection the following new 

10 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(8) ADVANCED PLACEMENT.—Implementing 

2 strategies to increase the number of teachers quali3 fied to teach advanced placement and pre-advanced 

4 placement courses in mathematics, science, and crit5 ical foreign languages, and other strategies to in6 crease the availability of those courses, particularly 

7 for low-income students.’’. 

8 (b) PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.—Section 203(e) of the 

9 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1023(e)) is 

10 amended by adding at the end of the subsection the fol11 lowing new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(5) ADVANCED PLACEMENT.—Implementing 

13 strategies to increase the number of teachers quali14 fied to teach advanced placement and pre-advanced 

15 placement courses in mathematics, science, and crit16 ical foreign languages, and other strategies to in17 crease the availability of those courses, particularly 

18 for low-income students.’’. 

19 (c) DEFINITION.—Section 201(b) of the Higher Edu20 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021(b)) is amended by 

21 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(4) CRITICAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE.—The term 

23 ‘critical foreign language’ includes the languages of 

24 Arabic, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Pashto, Persian25 Farsi, Serbian-Croatian, Russian, Portuguese, and 


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1 any other language identified by the Secretary of 

2 Education, in consultation with the Defense Lan3 guage Institute, the Foreign Service Institute, and 

4 the National Security Education Program, as a crit5 ical foreign language need.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. ROBERT C. BYRD HONORS SCHOLARSHIP PRO7 GRAM. 

8 Subpart 6 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070d–31 et seq.) is 

10 amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘Subpart 6—Robert C. Byrd American 

12 Competitiveness Program 

13 ‘‘SEC. 419A. ROBERT C. BYRD MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE 

14 HONORS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. 

15 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 

16 award scholarships to students who are enrolled in studies 

17 leading to baccalaureate and advanced degrees in physical, 

18 life, or computer sciences, mathematics, and engineering. 

19 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘computer science’ means the 

21 branch of knowledge or study of computers, includ22 ing such fields of knowledge or study as computer 

23 hardware, computer software, computer engineering, 

24 information systems, and robotics; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘critical foreign language’ in2 cludes the languages of Arabic, Korean, Japanese, 

3 Chinese, Pashto, Persian-Farsi, Serbian-Croatian, 

4 Russian, Portuguese, and any other language identi5 fied by the Secretary of Education, in consultation 

6 with the Defense Language Institute, the Foreign 

7 Service Institute, and the National Security Edu8 cation Program, as a critical foreign language need; 

9 ‘‘(3) the term ‘eligible student’ means a student 

10 who— 

11 ‘‘(A) is a citizen of the United States; 

12 ‘‘(B) is selected by the managing agent to 

13 receive a scholarship; 

14 ‘‘(C) is enrolled full-time in an institution 

15 of higher education, other than a United States 

16 service academy; and 

17 ‘‘(D) has shown a commitment to and is 

18 pursuing a major in studies leading to a bacca19 laureate, masters, or doctoral degree (or a com20 bination thereof) in physical, life, or computer 

21 sciences, mathematics, or engineering; 

22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘engineering’ means the science 

23 by which the properties of matter and the sources of 

24 energy in nature are made useful to humanity in 

25 structures, machines, and products, as in the conVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:31 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5502.IH H5502

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1 struction of engines, bridges, buildings, mines, and 

2 chemical plants, including such fields of knowledge 

3 or study as aeronautical engineering, chemical engi4 neering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, in5 dustrial engineering, materials engineering, manu6 facturing engineering, and mechanical engineering; 

7 ‘‘(5) the term ‘life sciences’ means the branch 

8 of knowledge or study of living things, including 

9 such fields of knowledge or study as biology, bio10 chemistry, biophysics, microbiology, genetics, physi11 ology, botany, zoology, ecology, and behavioral biol12 ogy, except that the term does not encompass social 

13 psychology or the health professions; 

14 ‘‘(6) the term ‘managing agent’ means an enti15 ty to which an award is made under subsection (c) 

16 to manage a program of Mathematics and Science 

17 Honors Scholarships; 

18 ‘‘(7) the term ‘mathematics’ means the branch 

19 of knowledge or study of numbers and the system20 atic treatment of magnitude, relationships between 

21 figures and forms, and relations between quantities 

22 expressed symbolically, including such fields of 

23 knowledge or study as statistics, applied mathe24 matics, and operations research; and 


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1 ‘‘(8) the term ‘physical sciences’ means the 

2 branch of knowledge or study of the material uni3 verse, including such fields of knowledge or study as 

4 astronomy, atmospheric sciences, chemistry, earth 

5 sciences, ocean sciences, physics, and planetary 

6 sciences. 

7 ‘‘(c) AWARD.— 

8 ‘‘(1)(A) From funds authorized under section 

9 419F to carry out this section, the Secretary is au10 thorized, through a grant or cooperative agreement, 

11 to make an award to a private, non-profit organiza12 tion, other than an institution of higher education or 

13 system of institutions of higher education, to man14 age, through a public and private partnership, a pro15 gram of Mathematics and Science Honors Scholar16 ships under this section. 

17 ‘‘(B) The award under subparagraph (A) shall 

18 be for a five-year period. 

19 ‘‘(2)(A) One hundred percent of the funds 

20 awarded under paragraph (1)(A) for any fiscal year 

21 shall be obligated and expended solely on scholar22 ships to eligible students. 

23 ‘‘(B) No Federal funds shall be used to provide 

24 more than 50 percent of the cost of any scholarship 

25 to an eligible student. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The maximum scholarship award shall be 

2 the difference between an eligible student’s cost of 

3 attendance minus any non-loan based aid such stu4 dent receives. 

5 ‘‘(3)(A) The secretary may establish— 

6 ‘‘(i) eligibility criteria for applicants for 

7 managing agent, including criteria regarding fi8 nancial and administrative capability; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) operational standards for the man10 aging agent, including management and per11 formance requirements, such as audit, record12 keeping, record retention, and reporting proce13 dures and requirements. 

14 ‘‘(B) The Secretary, as necessary, may review 

15 and revise any criteria, standards, and rules estab16 lished under this paragraph and, through the agree17 ment with the managing agent, see that any revi18 sions are implemented. 

19 ‘‘(4) If the managing agent fails to meet the re20 quirements of this section the Secretary may termi21 nate the award to the managing agent. 

22 ‘‘(5) The Secretary shall conduct outreach ef23 forts to help raise awareness of the Mathematics and 

24 Science Honors Scholarships. 


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1 ‘‘(d) DUTIES OF THE MANAGING AGENT.—The man2 aging agent shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) develop criteria to award Mathematics and 

4 Science Honors Scholarships based on established 

5 measurements available to secondary students who 

6 wish to pursue degrees in physical, life, or computer 

7 sciences, mathematics, and engineering; 

8 ‘‘(2) establish a Mathematics and Science Hon9 ors Scholarship Fund in a separate, named account 

10 that clearly discloses the amount of Federal and 

11 non-Federal funds deposited in the account and used 

12 for scholarships under this section; 

13 ‘‘(3) solicit funds for scholarships and for the 

14 administration of the program from non-Federal 

15 sources; 

16 ‘‘(4) solicit applicants for scholarships; 

17 ‘‘(5) from the amounts in the Fund, award 

18 scholarships to eligible students and transfer such 

19 funds to the institutions of higher education that 

20 they attend; 

21 ‘‘(6) annually submit to the Secretary a finan22 cial audit and a report on the progress of the pro23 gram, and such other documents as the Secretary 

24 may require to determine the effective management 

25 of the program; and 


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1 ‘‘(7) shall not develop a criteria that discrimi2 nates against a student based on the type of pro3 gram in which the student completed his or her sec4 ondary education. 

5 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) Any eligible entity that desires to be the 

7 managing agent under this section shall submit an 

8 application to the Secretary, in such form and con9 taining such information, as the Secretary may re10 quire. 

11 ‘‘(2) Each application shall include a descrip12 tion of— 

13 ‘‘(A) how the applicant meets or will meet 

14 requirements established under subsections 

15 (c)(3)(A) and (d); 

16 ‘‘(B) how the applicant will solicit funds 

17 for scholarships and for the administration of 

18 the program from non-Federal sources; 

19 ‘‘(C) how the applicant will provide nation20 wide outreach to inform students about the pro21 gram and to encourage students to pursue de22 grees in physical, life, or computer sciences, 

23 mathematics, and engineering; 

24 ‘‘(D) how the applicant will solicit applica25 tions for scholarships, including how the appliVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:31 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5502.IH H5502

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1 cant will balance efforts in urban and rural 

2 areas; 

3 ‘‘(E) the selection criteria based on estab4 lished measurements available to secondary stu5 dents the applicant will use to award scholar6 ships and to renew those awards; 

7 ‘‘(F) how the applicant will inform the in8 stitution of higher education chosen by the re9 cipient of the name and scholarship amount of 

10 the recipient; 

11 ‘‘(G) what procedures and assurances the 

12 applicant and the institution of higher edu13 cation that the recipient attends will use to 

14 verify student eligibility, attendance, degree 

15 progress, and academic performance and to de16 liver and account for payments to such institu17 tion; 

18 ‘‘(H) the management (including audit and 

19 accounting) procedures the applicant will use 

20 for the program; 

21 ‘‘(I) the human, financial, and other re22 sources that the applicant will need and use to 

23 manage the program; 


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1 ‘‘(J) how the applicant will evaluate the 

2 program and report to the Secretary annually; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(K) a description of how the entity will 

5 coordinate with, complement, and build on simi6 lar public and private mathematics and science 

7 programs. 

8 ‘‘(f) SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) A student receiving a scholarship under 

10 this section shall be known as a ‘Byrd Mathematics 

11 and Science Honors Scholar’. 

12 ‘‘(2) Any student desiring to receive a scholar13 ship under this section shall submit an application 

14 to the managing agent in such form, and containing 

15 such information, as the managing agent may re16 quire. 

17 ‘‘(3) Any student that receives a scholarship 

18 under this section shall enter into an agreement with 

19 the managing agent to complete 5 consecutive years 

20 of service to begin no later than 12 months following 

21 completion of the final degree in a position related 

22 to the field in which the student obtained the degree. 

23 ‘‘(4) If any student that receives a scholarship 

24 under this section fails to earn at least a bacca25 laureate degree in physical, life, or computer 


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1 sciences, mathematics, or engineering as defined 

2 under this section, the student shall repay to the 

3 managing agent the amount of any financial assist4 ance paid to such student. 

5 ‘‘(5) If any student that receives a scholarship 

6 under this section fails to meet the requirements of 

7 paragraph (3), the student shall repay to the man8 aging agent the amount of any financial assistance 

9 paid to such student. 

10 ‘‘(6)(A) Scholarships shall be awarded for only 

11 one academic year of study at a time. 

12 ‘‘(B)(i) A scholarship shall be renewable on an 

13 annual basis for the established length of the aca14 demic program if the student awarded the scholar15 ship remains eligible. 

16 ‘‘(ii) The managing agent may condition re17 newal of a scholarship on measures of academic 

18 progress and achievement, with the approval of the 

19 Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(C)(i) If a student fails to either remain eligi21 ble or meet established measures of academic 

22 progress and achievement, the managing agent shall 

23 instruct the student’s institution of higher education 

24 to suspend payment of the student’s scholarship. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) A suspension of payment shall remain in 

2 effect until the student is able to demonstrate to the 

3 satisfaction of the managing agent that he or she is 

4 again eligible and meets the established measures of 

5 academic progress and achievement. 

6 ‘‘(iii) A student’s eligibility for a scholarship 

7 shall be terminated if a suspension period exceeds 

8 12 months. 

9 ‘‘(D)(i)(I) A student awarded a scholarship 

10 may, in a manner and under the terms established 

11 by, and with the approval of, the managing agent, 

12 postpone or interrupt his or her enrollment at an in13 stitution of higher education for up to 12 months. 

14 ‘‘(II) Such a postponement or interruption shall 

15 not be considered a suspension for purposes of sub16 paragraph (C). 

17 ‘‘(ii) Neither a student nor the student’s insti18 tution of higher education shall receive the student’s 

19 scholarship payments during the period of postpone20 ment or interruption, but such payments shall re21 sume upon enrollment or reenrollment. 

22 ‘‘(iii) In exceptional circumstances, such as seri23 ous injury or illness or the necessity to care for fam24 ily members, the student’s postponement or inter25 ruption may, upon notification and approval of the 


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1 managing agent, be extended beyond the 12 month 

2 period described in clause (i)(I). 

3 ‘‘(g) RESPONSIBILITIES OF INSTITUTION OF HIGHER

4 EDUCATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) The managing agent shall require any in6 stitution of higher education that enrolls a student 

7 who receives a scholarship under this section to an8 nually provide an assurance, prior to making any 

9 payment, that the student— 

10 ‘‘(A) is eligible in accordance with subsection 

11 (b)(2); and 

12 ‘‘(B) has provided the institution with a written 

13 commitment to attend, or is attending, classes and 

14 is satisfactorily meeting the institution’s academic 

15 criteria for enrollment in its program of study. 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) The managing agent shall provide the 

17 institution of higher education with payments from 

18 the Fund for selected recipients in at least two in19 stallments. 

20 ‘‘(B) An institution of higher education shall re21 turn prorated amounts of any scholarship payment 

22 to the managing agent, who shall deposit it in to the 

23 Fund, if a recipient declines a scholarship, does not 

24 attend courses, transfers to another institution of 


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1 higher education, or becomes ineligible for a scholar2 ship. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 419B. MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE INCENTIVE PRO4 GRAM. 

5 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.— 

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

7 to carry out a program of assuming the obligation 

8 to pay, pursuant to the provisions of this section, the 

9 interest on a loan made, insured, or guaranteed 

10 under part B or D of this title. 

11 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may assume 

12 interest payments under paragraph (1) only for a 

13 borrower who— 

14 ‘‘(A) has submitted an application in com15 pliance with subsection (d); 

16 ‘‘(B) obtained one or more loans described 

17 in paragraph (1) as an undergraduate student; 

18 ‘‘(C) is a new borrower (within the mean19 ing of section 103(7) of this Act) on or after 

20 the date of enactment of the College Access and 

21 Opportunity Act of 2006; 

22 ‘‘(D) is a highly qualified teacher (as de23 fined in section 9101 of the Elementary and 

24 Secondary Education Act of 1965) of science, 

25 technology, engineering or mathematics at an 


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1 elementary or secondary school in a high need 

2 local educational agency, or is a mathematics, 

3 science, or engineering professional; and 

4 ‘‘(E) enters into an agreement with the 

5 Secretary to complete 5 consecutive years of 

6 service in a position described in subparagraph 

7 (D), starting on the date of the agreement. 

8 ‘‘(3) PRIOR INTEREST LIMITATIONS.—The Sec9 retary shall not make any payments for interest 

10 that— 

11 ‘‘(A) accrues prior to the beginning of the 

12 repayment period on a loan in the case of a 

13 loan made under section 428H or a Federal Di14 rect Unsubsidized Stafford Loan; or 

15 ‘‘(B) has accrued prior to the signing of an 

16 agreement under paragraph (2)(E). 

17 ‘‘(4) INITIAL SELECTION.—In selecting partici18 pants for the program under this section, the Sec19 retary— 

20 ‘‘(A) shall choose among eligible applicants 

21 on the basis of— 

22 ‘‘(i) the national security, homeland 

23 security, and economic security needs of 

24 the United States, as determined by the 

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1 eral agencies, including the Departments 

2 of Labor, Defense, Homeland Security, 

3 Commerce, and Energy, the Central Intel4 ligence Agency, and the National Science 

5 Foundation; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the academic record or job per7 formance of the applicant; and 

8 ‘‘(B) may choose among eligible applicants 

9 on the basis of— 

10 ‘‘(i) the likelihood of the applicant to 

11 complete the 5-year service obligation; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the likelihood of the applicant to 

13 remain in science, mathematics, or engi14 neering after the completion of the service 

15 requirement; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) other relevant criteria deter17 mined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(5) AVAILABILITY SUBJECT TO APPROPRIA19 TIONS.—Loan interest payments under this section 

20 shall be subject to the availability of appropriations. 

21 If the amount appropriated for any fiscal year is not 

22 sufficient to provide interest payments on behalf of 

23 all qualified applicants, the Secretary shall give pri24 ority to those individuals on whose behalf interest 


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1 payments were made during the preceding fiscal 

2 year. 

3 ‘‘(6) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is author4 ized to prescribe such regulations as may be nec5 essary to carry out the provisions of this section. 

6 ‘‘(b) DURATION AND AMOUNT OF INTEREST PAY7 MENTS.—The period during which the Secretary shall pay 

8 interest on behalf of a student borrower who is selected 

9 under subsection (a) is the period that begins on the effec10 tive date of the agreement under subsection (a)(2)(E), 

11 continues after successful completion of the service obliga12 tion, and ends on the earlier of— 

13 ‘‘(1) the completion of the repayment period of 

14 the loan; 

15 ‘‘(2) payment by the Secretary of a total of 

16 $5,000 on behalf of the borrower; 

17 ‘‘(3) if the borrower ceases to fulfill the service 

18 obligation under such agreement prior to the end of 

19 the 5-year period, as soon as the borrower is deter20 mined to have ceased to fulfill such obligation in ac21 cordance with regulations of the Secretary; or 

22 ‘‘(4) 6 months after the end of any calendar 

23 year in which the borrower’s gross income equals or 

24 exceeds 4 times the national per capita disposable 

25 personal income (current dollars) for such calendar 


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1 year, as determined on the basis of the National In2 come and Product Accounts Tables of the Bureau of 

3 Economic Analysis of the Department of Commerce, 

4 as determined in accordance with regulations pre5 scribed by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(c) REPAYMENT TO ELIGIBLE LENDERS.—Subject 

7 to the regulations prescribed by the Secretary by regula8 tion under subsection (a)(6), the Secretary shall pay to 

9 each eligible lender or holder for each payment period the 

10 amount of the interest that accrues on a loan of a student 

11 borrower who is selected under subsection (a). 

12 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION FOR REPAYMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible individual de14 siring loan interest payment under this section shall 

15 submit a complete and accurate application to the 

16 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con17 taining such information as the Secretary may re18 quire. 

19 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO COMPLETE SERVICE AGREE20 MENT.—Such application shall contain an agreement 

21 by the individual that, if the individual fails to com22 plete the 5 consecutive years of service required by 

23 subsection (a)(2)(E), the individual agrees to repay 

24 the Secretary the amount of any interest paid by the 

25 Secretary on behalf of the individual. 


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1 ‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF CONSOLIDATION LOANS.—A 

2 consolidation loan made under section 428C of this Act, 

3 or a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan made under part 

4 D of title IV of this Act, may be a qualified loan for the 

5 purpose of this section only to the extent that such loan 

6 amount was used by a borrower who otherwise meets the 

7 requirements of this section to repay— 

8 ‘‘(1) a loan made under section 428 or 428H 

9 of this Act; or 

10 ‘‘(2) a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, or a Fed11 eral Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, made under 

12 part D of title IV of this Act. 

13 ‘‘(f) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No bor14 rower may, for the same service, receive a benefit under 

15 both this section and— 

16 ‘‘(1) any loan forgiveness program under title 

17 IV of this Act; or 

18 ‘‘(2) subtitle D of title I of the National and 

19 Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12601 

20 et seq.). 

21 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) the term ‘high need local educational agen23 cy’ has the same meaning given such term in section 

24 201(b)(4); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘mathematics, science, or engi2 neering professional’ means a person who— 

3 ‘‘(A) holds a baccalaureate, masters, or 

4 doctoral degree (or a combination thereof) in 

5 science, mathematics, or engineering; and 

6 ‘‘(B) works in a field the Secretary deter7 mines is closely related to that degree, which 

8 shall include working as a professor at a two9 or four-year institution of higher education. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 419C. MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION CO11 ORDINATING COUNCIL GRANTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section in13 clude— 

14 ‘‘(1) supporting programs that encourage stu15 dents to enroll in and successfully complete bacca16 laureate and advanced degrees in science, tech17 nology, engineering, and mathematics; 

18 ‘‘(2) achieving the common objective of orga19 nizing, leading, and implementing State-based re20 form agendas that support the continuing improve21 ment of mathematics and science education; 

22 ‘‘(3) improving collaboration in a State among 

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1 munity through the development or improvement of 

2 a coordinating council; and 

3 ‘‘(4) supporting regional workshops designed to 

4 permit the sharing of successful research-based 

5 strategies to improve the achievement of students in 

6 mathematics and science. 

7 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘eligible State’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Governor of a State; or 

10 ‘‘(B) in the case of a State for which the 

11 constitution or laws of the State designate an 

12 individual, entity, or agency in the State, other 

13 than the Governor, to be responsible for coordi14 nation among segments of the State’s edu15 cational systems, such individual, entity, or 

16 agency. 

17 ‘‘(2) the term ‘mathematics and science edu18 cation coordinating council’ means an organization 

19 that is charged by a State with coordinating mathe20 matics and science education in the State. Such a 

21 council shall be composed of education, business, 

22 and community leaders working together to increase 

23 student participation and academic achievement in 

24 mathematics and science. 


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1 ‘‘(c) STATE GRANTS.—From amounts authorized 

2 under section 419D for this section, the Secretary is au3 thorized to use not more than $5,000,000 to award grants 

4 on a competitive basis to eligible States for the purpose 

5 of carrying out activities described in subsection (d). 

6 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible State that re7 ceives a grant under this section is authorized to use grant 

8 funds to carry out one or more of the following activities: 

9 ‘‘(1) In a State in which a mathematics and 

10 science education coordinating council does not exist, 

11 planning and establishing such a council. 

12 ‘‘(2) In a State in which such a council exists, 

13 reforming or expanding the activities of the council, 

14 including implementing State-based reform agendas 

15 that support the continuing improvement of mathe16 matics and science education, and support services 

17 that lead to better teacher recruitment and training, 

18 increased student academic achievement, and in19 creased student enrollment and degree attainment in 

20 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

21 ‘‘(3) Coordinating with activities under part B 

22 of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Edu23 cation Act of 1965 and with title II of this Act, es24 pecially pertaining to the recruitment and preparaVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:31 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5502.IH H5502

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1 tion of highly qualified mathematics and science 

2 teachers. 

3 ‘‘(4) Supporting regional workshops designed to 

4 permit educators, administrators responsible for pro5 fessional development and curriculum development, 

6 and faculty of teacher preparation programs to 

7 share successful research based strategies for— 

8 ‘‘(A) carrying out the activities described 

9 in section 2202(c) of the Elementary and Sec10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 6662(c)) (as amended by the No Child Left Be12 hind Act of 2001); and 

13 ‘‘(B) otherwise improving student achieve14 ment in mathematics and science instruction in 

15 elementary and secondary schools. 

16 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

17 under this section, an eligible State shall submit an appli18 cation to the Secretary that— 

19 ‘‘(1) describes the activities the State will carry 

20 out with the funds, which may include a plan for es21 tablishing a regional working group to conduct re22 gional workshops to share research-based informa23 tion and approaches to improving the achievements 

24 of students in mathematics and science; 


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1 ‘‘(2) contains a plan for continuing such activi2 ties once Federal funding ceases; and 

3 ‘‘(3) contains such other information and assur4 ances as the Secretary may require. 

5 ‘‘(f) CONSULTATION.—The Governor of a State, or 

6 the individual, entity, or agency in the State described in 

7 subsection (b)(1)(B), shall consult with the State board 

8 of education, State educational agency, and the State 

9 agency for higher education, as appropriate, with respect 

10 to the activities assisted under this section. In the case 

11 of an individual, entity, or agency described in subsection 

12 (b)(1)(B), such consultation shall also include the Gov13 ernor. 

14 ‘‘(g) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

15 be construed to negate or supersede the legal authority 

16 under State law of any State agency, State entity, or State 

17 public official over programs that are under the jurisdic18 tion of the agency, entity, or official. 

19 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) Grants awarded under this section 

22 shall be awarded for a period not to exceed 5 

23 years. 

24 ‘‘(B) A grantee may receive a grant under 

25 this part only once. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Payments of grant funds under this 

2 section shall be annual. 

3 ‘‘(2) SECRETARIAL SELECTIONS.—The Sec4 retary shall determine which applications receive 

5 funds under this section, and the amount of the 

6 grant. In determining grant amounts, the Secretary 

7 shall take into account the total amount of funds 

8 available for all grants under this section and the 

9 nature of each grant proposal, including whether 

10 funds are being sought to assist in the creation of 

11 a new State mathematics and science education co12 ordinating council or to extend the work of an exist13 ing council. The Secretary shall also take into ac14 count the equitable geographic distribution of grants 

15 throughout the United States. 

16 ‘‘(3) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Each eligible 

17 State receiving a grant under this section shall pro18 vide, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 

19 50 percent of the amount of the grant (in cash or 

20 in kind) to carry out the activities supported by the 

21 grant. 

22 ‘‘(i) ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVALUATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) STATE GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY RE24 PORT.—An eligible State that receives a grant under 

25 this section shall submit an annual accountability reVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:31 Jun 01, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5502.IH H5502

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1 port to the Secretary. Such report shall include a de2 scription of the degree to which the eligible State, in 

3 using grant funds, has made substantial progress in 

4 meeting its objectives. 

5 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION.—The 

6 Secretary shall evaluate the activities funded under 

7 this section and report the Secretary’s findings re8 garding such activities to the authorizing commit9 tees. The Secretary shall broadly disseminate suc10 cessful practices developed by eligible States under 

11 this section, and shall broadly disseminate informa12 tion regarding such practices that were found to be 

13 ineffective. 

14 ‘‘(3) REVOCATION.—If the Secretary deter15 mines that an eligible State is not making substan16 tial progress in meeting the purposes, objectives, and 

17 measures, as appropriate, required under this sec18 tion by the end of the second year of a grant, then 

19 the grant payment shall not be made for the third 

20 year and subsequent years of the grant. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 419D. ADJUNCT TEACHER CORPS. 

22 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

23 create opportunities for professionals and other individuals 

24 with subject-matter expertise to teach secondary school 


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1 courses in mathematics, science, and critical foreign lan2 guages, on an adjunct basis. 

3 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is au4 thorized to award grants to eligible entities to recruit and 

5 place well-qualified individuals to serve as adjunct teachers 

6 in secondary school mathematics, science, and critical for7 eign language courses. 

8 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For the purpose of this sec9 tion, an eligible entity is— 

10 ‘‘(1) a local educational agency; 

11 ‘‘(2) a public or private educational organiza12 tion (which may be a State educational agency); or 

13 ‘‘(3) a partnership consisting of a local edu14 cational agency and a public or private educational 

15 organization. 

16 ‘‘(d) DURATION OF GRANTS.—The Secretary may 

17 award grants under this section for a period of not more 

18 than five years. 

19 ‘‘(e) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under this 

20 section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 

21 that propose to— 

22 ‘‘(1) serve local educational agencies that have 

23 a large number or percentage of students performing 

24 below grade level in mathematics, science, and crit25 ical foreign language courses; 


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1 ‘‘(2) serve local educational agencies that have 

2 a large number or percentage of students from fami3 lies with incomes below the poverty line; and 

4 ‘‘(3) recruit adjunct faculty to serve in schools 

5 that have an insufficient number of teachers in 

6 mathematics, science, and critical foreign languages. 

7 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—To be consid9 ered for a grant under this section, an eligible entity 

10 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 

11 time, in such manner, and containing such informa12 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The Application shall, at a 

14 minimum, include a description of— 

15 ‘‘(A) the need for, and expected benefits of 

16 using, adjunct teachers in the participating 

17 schools, which may include information on the 

18 difficulty participating schools face in recruiting 

19 qualified faculty in mathematics, science, and 

20 critical foreign language courses; 

21 ‘‘(B) measurable objectives for the project, 

22 including the number of adjunct teachers the el23 igible entity intends to place in classrooms and 

24 gains in academic achievement intended to be 

25 achieved; 


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1 ‘‘(C) how the eligible entity will recruit 

2 qualified individuals and public or private edu3 cational organizations to participate in the pro4 gram; 

5 ‘‘(D) how the eligible entity will use funds 

6 received under this section, including how the 

7 eligible entity will evaluate the success of its 

8 program; 

9 ‘‘(E) how the eligible entity will support 

10 and continue the program after the grant has 

11 expired, including how it will seek support from 

12 other sources, such as State and local govern13 ment, foundations, and the private sector; 

14 ‘‘(F) how the eligible entity will address 

15 legal, contractual, or administrative barriers to 

16 employment of adjunct faculty in the partici17 pating State or local educational agency or 

18 agencies; and 

19 ‘‘(G) how the eligible entity will provide 

20 pre-service training to selected adjunct teachers, 

21 including the on-going mentoring of such teach22 ers by highly qualified teachers. 

23 ‘‘(g) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that re24 ceives a grant under this section is authorized to use grant 

25 funds to carry out one or more of the following activities: 


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1 ‘‘(1) To develop the capacity of the local edu2 cational agency or the State educational agency, or 

3 both, to identify, recruit, and train qualified individ4 uals outside of the elementary and secondary edu5 cation system (including individuals in business and 

6 government, and individuals who would participate 

7 through distance-learning arrangements) to become 

8 adjunct teachers in mathematics, science, and crit9 ical foreign language courses. 

10 ‘‘(2) To provide signing bonuses and other fi11 nancial incentives to encourage individuals to be12 come adjunct teachers in mathematics, science, and 

13 critical foreign language courses. 

14 ‘‘(3) To provide pre-service training to adjunct 

15 teachers, including the on-going mentoring of such 

16 teachers by highly qualified teachers. 

17 ‘‘(4) To reimburse outside entities for the costs 

18 associated with allowing an employee to serve as an 

19 adjunct teacher, except that these costs shall not ex20 ceed the total cost of salary and benefits for teachers 

21 with comparable experience or expertise in the local 

22 educational agency. 

23 ‘‘(h) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Each eligible enti24 ty that receives a grant under this section shall provide, 

25 from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 100 percent 


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1 of the amount of the grant (in cash or in kind) to carry 

2 out the activities supported by the grant. 

3 ‘‘(i) PROGRAM PERFORMANCE.—Each eligible entity 

4 receiving a grant under this section shall prepare and sub5 mit to the Secretary a final report on the results of the 

6 project that contains such information as the Secretary 

7 may require including improvements in academic achieve8 ment as a result of instruction from adjunct teachers. 

9 ‘‘(j) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall evaluate the 

10 activities funded under this section including the impact 

11 of the program on student academic achievement and shall 

12 report the results of the evaluation to the appropriate 

13 Committees of Congress. 

14 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ADJUNCT TEACHER.—The term ‘adjunct 

16 teacher’ means a teacher who— 

17 ‘‘(A) possesses, at a minimum, a bachelor’s 

18 degree; 

19 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated expertise in mathe20 matics, science, or a critical foreign language by 

21 having met the requirements of section 

22 9101(23)(B)(ii) of the Elementary and Sec23 ondary Education Act of 1965; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) is not required to meet the other re2 quirements of section 9101(23) of the Elemen3 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 

4 ‘‘(2) CRITICAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE.—The term 

5 ‘critical foreign language’ has the same meaning 

6 given such term under section 428K(h). 

7 ‘‘SEC. 419E. FOREIGN LANGUAGE PARTNERSHIPS. 

8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to in9 crease the number of highly qualified teachers in, and the 

10 number of United States’ students who achieve the highest 

11 level of proficiency in, foreign languages critical to the se12 curity and competitiveness of the Nation. 

13 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is au14 thorized to award grants to institutions of higher edu15 cation, in partnership with one or more local educational 

16 agencies, to establish teacher preparation programs in 

17 critical foreign languages, and activities that will enable 

18 successful students to advance from elementary school 

19 through college to achieve proficiency in those languages. 

20 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—Any institution 

22 of higher education that desires to receive a grant 

23 under this section shall submit an application to the 

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1 taining such information as the Secretary may re2 quire. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each Application shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) identify each local educational agency 

5 partner and describe each such partner’s re6 sponsibilities (including how they will be in7 volved in planning and implementing the pro8 gram, what resources they will provide, and how 

9 they will ensure continuity of student progress 

10 from elementary school to the postsecondary 

11 level); and 

12 ‘‘(B) describe how the applicant will sup13 port and continue the program after the grant 

14 has expired, including how it will seek support 

15 from other sources, such as State and local gov16 ernment, foundations, and the private sector. 

17 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under this 

18 section shall be used to develop and implement programs 

19 consistent with the purpose of this section by carrying out 

20 one or more of the following activities: 

21 ‘‘(1) To recruit highly qualified teachers in crit22 ical foreign languages and professional development 

23 activities for such teachers at the elementary 

24 through high school level. 


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1 ‘‘(2) To provide innovative opportunities for 

2 students that will allow for critical language learn3 ing, such as immersion environments, intensive 

4 study opportunities, internships, and distance learn5 ing. 

6 ‘‘(e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Each grantee 

7 under this section shall provide, from non-Federal sources, 

8 an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount of the 

9 grant (in cash or in kind) to carry out the activities sup10 ported by the grant. 

11 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall evaluate the 

12 activities funded under this section and report the results 

13 of the evaluation to the appropriate Committees of Con14 gress. 

15 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION.—As used in this section the term 

16 ‘critical foreign language’ has the same meaning given 

17 such term under section 428K(h)(2). 

18 ‘‘SEC. 419F. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated 

20 $41,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may 

21 be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years to 

22 carry out this subpart.’’. 

Æ 


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