II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1209

Improving teacher preparation and recruitment.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 23, 1997

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. DODD, and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor

and Human Resources

A BILL

Improving teacher preparation and recruitment.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended by

4 adding the following:

‘‘TITLE V—EDUCATOR RECRUITMENT, PREPARATION, AND

INDUCTION

‘‘Sec. 501. Findings.

‘‘Sec. 502. Purpose.

‘‘Sec. 503. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘PART A—LIGHTHOUSE PARTNERSHIPS

‘‘Sec. 511. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 512. Grants to Lighthouse Partnerships.

‘‘Sec. 513. Preapplication and applications.

‘‘Sec. 514. Uses of funds.

‘‘Sec. 515. Selection of applications.

‘‘Sec. 516. Evaluation.

‘‘Sec. 517. National activities.
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‘‘PART B—RECRUITING NEW TEACHERS FOR UNDERSERVED AREAS

‘‘Sec. 521. Program authorized.

‘‘Sec. 522. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 523. Grant conditions.

‘‘Sec. 524. Grant applications.

‘‘Sec. 525. Uses of funds.

‘‘Sec. 526. Selection of applicants.

‘‘Sec. 527. Duration and amount of assistance; relation to other assistance.

‘‘Sec. 528. Scholarship conditions.

‘‘Sec. 529. Service requirements.

‘‘Sec. 530. Evaluation.

‘‘Sec. 531. National activities.

1 ‘‘TITLE V—EDUCATOR RECRUITMENT,

2 PREPARATION, AND INDUCTION

3 ‘‘FINDINGS

4 ‘‘SEC. 501. The Congress finds as follows:

5 ‘‘(1) What teachers know and can do has a crit6 ical impact on student achievement, yet too often

7 prospective teachers are not receiving the initial

8 preparation they need in order to teach children

9 from diverse backgrounds to challenging standards.

10 ‘‘(2) A number of elementary and secondary

11 schools throughout the United States are implement12 ing educational reform strategies that are research13 based, have records of demonstrated effectiveness in

14 enabling students to achieve high State or local

15 standards, are replicable in diverse and challenging

16 circumstances, and are supported by networks of re17 searchers and experienced practitioners. Yet prepa18 ration to implement these strategies is not generally

19 a central component of initial teacher preparation.
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1 ‘‘(3) Institutions of higher education that pro2 vide teachers for urban and rural schools that enroll

3 concentrations of children from low-income families

4 often have the greatest need to restructure their

5 teacher preparation programs because the teachers

6 they graduate will face the greatest classroom chal7 lenges.

8 ‘‘(4) Improvement of teacher preparation in

9 mathematics and reading represents a particular

10 challenge for American education. For example,

11 most future elementary and middle-school mathe12 matics teachers take no more than one or two col13 lege-level mathematics courses, and these courses

14 are not designed for prospective teachers and do not

15 cover the mathematics content that elementary and

16 middle-school teachers should teach to enable stu17 dents to meet challenging mathematics standards. In

18 reading, most teacher preparation programs have

19 not incorporated the large body of research on effec20 tive reading instruction.

21 ‘‘(5) If current trends continue, American

22 schools will need to hire more than two million

23 teachers in the next decade to educate an increasing

24 number of students and to replace current teachers

25 who will retire or leave the profession. High-poverty
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1 urban and rural schools will experience the most se2 vere teacher shortages. Of the more than two million

3 teachers needed, approximately 15 percent, or

4 345,000, will be needed in central cities, in schools

5 with large concentrations of low-income students. An

6 additional 207,000 teachers will be needed in iso7 lated, and often poor, rural areas. Recent trends in

8 the number of people preparing to enter teaching in9 dicate that the normal operation of the labor mar10 ket, by itself, will not produce the number of quali11 fied teachers schools will need.

12 ‘‘(6) Schools are already having trouble recruit13 ing qualified teachers. Nearly three-quarters of phys14 ical science students and one-third of English stu15 dents in high-poverty schools take classes with

16 teachers who lack even a college minor in their field.

17 The National Commission on Teaching and Ameri18 ca’s Future found that 50,000 uncertified individ19 uals annually enter teaching because schools, fre20 quently those in urban and rural areas with large

21 concentrations of children from low-income families,

22 cannot find all the certified teachers they need.

23 ‘‘(7) Teaching excellence and diversity are inex24 tricably connected. By bringing distinctive life expe25 riences and perspectives into the classroom, enrich-
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1 ing the instructional curriculum and the school cli2 mate, and strengthening connections to parents and

3 communities, teachers from diverse racial and ethnic

4 groups, and those with disabilities, enhance the qual5 ity of American education. Yet today, while one-third

6 of American students are members of minority

7 groups, members of racial and ethnic minority

8 groups make up only 13 percent of the teaching

9 force and nearly half the school districts in the Na10 tion have no minority teachers. In addition, few indi11 viduals with disabilities are teaching in American

12 classrooms.

13 ‘‘(8) The Federal Government, by itself, cannot

14 ensure needed improvements in teacher preparation

15 or solve the problem of teacher shortages. However,

16 the Government can make limited, targeted invest17 ments that—

18 ‘‘(A) encourage more institutions of higher

19 education that operate teacher preparation pro20 grams, working in partnership with local edu21 cational agencies and States, to adopt the prac22 tices and strategies of the best programs;

23 ‘‘(B) encourage a more diverse mix of

24 Americans to enter teaching and complete high25 quality preparation programs; and
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1 ‘‘(C) encourage more Americans to serve

2 as teachers in underserved communities.

3 ‘‘PURPOSE

4 ‘‘SEC. 502. The purpose of this title is to help meet

5 the national need to recruit, prepare, and retain a high6 quality and diverse supply of elementary and secondary

7 education teachers, and to help meet the needs of schools

8 in urban and rural areas with concentrations of children

9 from low-income families, by—

10 ‘‘(1) authorizing support for partnerships

11 among institutions of higher education that operate

12 exemplary teacher preparation programs, other insti13 tutions of higher education seeking to improve their

14 programs, public elementary and secondary schools,

15 and States, in order to improve the quality of the

16 initial preparation of teachers for high-poverty com17 munities;

18 ‘‘(2) authorizing support for partnerships to in19 crease the number and diversity of students who

20 enter teacher education programs and complete

21 high-quality preparation programs, and to increase

22 the quality of teaching in underserved urban and

23 rural communities; and

24 ‘‘(3) encouraging, through such partnerships,

25 the creation of a more diverse teaching force,

26 through the recruitment and preparation of minority
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1 individuals, including language minority individuals,

2 and individuals with disabilities to enter teaching.

3 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

4 ‘‘SEC. 503. (a) AUTHORIZATION FOR PARTS A AND

5 B.—There are authorized to be appropriated—

6 ‘‘(1) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and such

7 sums as may be necessary for each of the four suc8 ceeding fiscal years to carry out the program of

9 Lighthouse Partnerships under part A; and

10 ‘‘(2) $37,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and such

11 sums as may be necessary for each of the four suc12 ceeding fiscal years to carry out the program of Re13 cruiting New Teachers for Underserved Areas under

14 part B.

15 ‘‘(b) TRANSITION.—Notwithstanding any other provi16 sion of law, the Secretary may use funds appropriated

17 under subsection (a) to make continuation awards for

18 projects that were funded under subpart 2 of part E of

19 title V of this Act, as in effect prior to enactment of (inset

20 name of reauthorization Act).

21 ‘‘PART A—LIGHTHOUSE PARTNERSHIPS

22 ‘‘DEFINITIONS

23 ‘‘SEC. 511. As used in this part, the following terms

24 have the following meanings:

25 ‘‘(1)(A) The term ‘lead institution’ means an

26 institution of higher education that—
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1 ‘‘(i) operates an exemplary teacher prepa2 ration program of significant size in one or

3 more areas of teacher preparation, which may

4 include the preparation of principals and other

5 educational administrators;

6 ‘‘(ii) desires to assist other institutions of

7 higher education in improving their programs

8 and to serve as a national model for effective

9 teacher preparation; and

10 ‘‘(iii) places a significant percentage of its

11 teacher preparation graduates in teaching posi12 tions in urban and rural communities with con13 centrations of children from low-income fami14 lies.

15 ‘‘(B) A lead institution may participate in a

16 consortium with one or more two-year colleges with

17 which it has articulation agreements relating to

18 teacher preparation.

19 ‘‘(2) The term ‘lighthouse partnership’ means a

20 partnership of a lead institution, partner institu21 tions, and State and local educational agencies, that

22 is dedicated to improving the quality of teacher

23 preparation programs. Within each partnership, the

24 lead institution shall act as the fiscal agent for the

25 grant.
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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘local educational agency’ has

2 the meaning given that term in section 14101(18) of

3 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

4 1965.

5 ‘‘(4) The term ‘partner institution’ means an

6 institution of higher education that—

7 ‘‘(A) prepares teachers for their initial

8 entry into the teaching profession;

9 ‘‘(B) desires to improve its program with

10 assistance from a lead institution; and

11 ‘‘(C) prepares teachers for teaching posi12 tions in urban and rural communities with con13 centrations of children from low-income fami14 lies.

15 ‘‘(5) The term ‘teacher preparation program’

16 means a program operated by an institution of high17 er education that prepares students to obtain initial

18 teacher license and to teach in elementary and sec19 ondary schools. Such a program may also prepare

20 students to become preschool teachers if the institu21 tion serves a State or school districts in which pre22 school education is provided as free, public edu23 cation.

24 ‘‘GRANTS TO LIGHTHOUSE PARTNERSHIPS

25 ‘‘SEC. 512. (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—
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1 (1) From funds appropriated under section

2 503(a)(1) for this part for each fiscal year, the Sec3 retary shall make competitive grants to lighthouse

4 partnerships.

5 ‘‘(2) Each grant under paragraph (1) shall be

6 for a period not to exceed five years.

7 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall—

8 ‘‘(A) make continuation awards, for the

9 second and succeeding years, only after deter10 mining that the partnership is making satisfac11 tory progress in carrying out the grant; and

12 ‘‘(B) conduct an intensive review of the

13 partnership’s progress, with the assistance of

14 outside experts, before making the continuation

15 award for the fourth year of the grant.

16 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—No partnership may receive more

17 than two grants under this part.

18 ‘‘PREAPPLICATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

19 SEC. 513. (a) PREAPPLICATIONS.—Each lead institu20 tion that wishes to participate in a lighthouse partnership

21 that will apply for a grant under this part shall submit

22 a preapplication to the Secretary at such time, in such

23 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary

24 may require, except that the lead institution need not iden25 tify the other members of the partnership until it submits
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1 an application under subsection (b). The Secretary shall

2 use a peer review process to review these preapplications.

3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS REQUIRED.—Any lighthouse

4 partnership desiring to receive a grant under this part

5 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time,

6 in such form, and containing such information as the Sec7 retary may require.

8 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—Each application shall include—

9 ‘‘(1) a description of the teacher preparation

10 program operated by the lead institution, including

11 information on the curriculum, the faculty, and the

12 number and characteristics of students served;

13 ‘‘(2) evidence of the quality of the institution’s

14 teacher preparation program, covering—

15 ‘‘(A) the extent to which the institution

16 provides a coherent program that—

17 ‘‘(i) reflects the best of what is

18 known, from research and practice;

19 ‘‘(ii) prepares teachers to implement

20 research-based instructional programs of

21 demonstrated effectiveness and to teach

22 their students, particularly those in high23 poverty schools, to high State and local

24 content standards; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) reflects high standards for

2 teaching, such as the standards of the Na3 tional Board for Professional Teaching

4 Standards, and for teacher education;

5 ‘‘(B) the commitment of the institution to

6 its program of teacher preparation;

7 ‘‘(C) the connection between the institu8 tion’s teacher preparation program and its de9 partments or schools of arts and sciences, to

10 ensure the integration of pedagogy and content

11 in teacher preparation;

12 ‘‘(D) the extent to which the institution

13 operates a clinically based teacher preparation

14 program, particularly in high-poverty schools,

15 through which prospective teachers participate

16 in intensive, structured clinical experiences,

17 with extensive faculty involvement, throughout

18 their preservice education, and the extent to

19 which those experiences are integrated into the

20 curriculum;

21 ‘‘(E) the extent to which the institution’s

22 program offers continuous assistance to its

23 graduates during their initial years in the class24 room;
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1 ‘‘(F) the extent to which the institution’s

2 program meets the needs of, and has strong

3 connection with, elementary and secondary edu4 cation (particularly with urban and rural

5 schools and school systems that serve con6 centrations of students from low-income fami7 lies and with the education reforms under way

8 in the institution’s State), which may include

9 the involvement of elementary and secondary

10 educators in the continuing development, im11 provement, and implementation of the teacher

12 preparation program;

13 ‘‘(G) the success of the institution in pre14 paring teachers to teach individuals from di15 verse populations effectively;

16 ‘‘(H) the extent to which the institution is

17 preparing teachers to use technology to teach

18 children to high standards;

19 ‘‘(I) the record of the institution’s teacher

20 preparation program is attracting and graduat21 ing a diverse student body (including the re22 cruitment and enrollment of individuals with

23 disabilities);

24 ‘‘(J) the procedures the institution uses to

25 measure the quality of its teacher preparation
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1 program (including the extent to which grad2 uates improve their subject matter knowledge

3 and teaching ability as a result of their partici4 pation in the program) and to improve its pro5 gram, using information generated through

6 those procedures;

7 ‘‘(K) the success of the program in grad8 uating students who are fully qualified to teach

9 to high standards in the State or region served

10 by the institution;

11 ‘‘(L) the quality of the program’s grad12 uates, as documented through such evidence as

13 the graduates’ record of obtaining (and retain14 ing) teaching positions and the opinions of

15 school district officials, in the State or region,

16 of the quality of those graduates;

17 ‘‘(M) if applicable, the quality of the insti18 tution’s program for the preparation of school

19 principals and other school administrators, and

20 of the success of that program; and

21 ‘‘(N) involvement and leadership of the in22 stitution in national, regional, and State efforts

23 to improve teacher education and licensure;

24 ‘‘(3) evidence of the extent to which—
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1 ‘‘(A) graduates have taken teaching posi2 tions in urban and rural schools in communities

3 with concentrations of students from low-in4 come families; and

5 ‘‘(B) the institution recruits and serves

6 students (such as education paraprofessionals)

7 from those communities;

8 ‘‘(4) evidence of the experience of the lead insti9 tution in creating or participating in networks with

10 other institutions to improve the quality of teacher

11 preparation programs;

12 ‘‘(5) a description of how the partnership will

13 operate a program under this part, including—

14 ‘‘(A) a description of the governance struc15 ture that the partnership will establish (through

16 a written partnership agreement) for the grant,

17 which shall include the active involvement of

18 high-level administrators of the lead institution

19 and representatives of—

20 ‘‘(i) both the teacher preparation pro21 gram and the school or department of arts

22 and sciences in the lead institution;

23 ‘‘(ii) the partner institutions involved

24 with the grant;
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1 ‘‘(iii) local educational agencies (in2 cluding teachers and other school-level offi3 cials) served by the lead institution and

4 one or more of the partner institutions;

5 and

6 ‘‘(iv) State officials with authority

7 over teacher licensure and teacher prepara8 tion in the States in which the lead institu9 tion and one or more of the partner insti10 tutions are located;

11 ‘‘(B) a description of how the partnership

12 will fully engage local educational agencies in

13 the activities carried out under the grant, in14 cluding how the partnership will use grant

15 funds to address the teacher training needs of

16 the local educational agencies that are members

17 of the partnership, consistent with section 514;

18 ‘‘(C) a description of how the activities un19 dertaken with the grant will support, and be in20 tegrated with, the educational reforms under

21 way in the States of the lead and the partner

22 institutions, including a description of plans for

23 coordinating activities carried out under the

24 grant with activities carried out under other

25 Federal or State professional development pro-
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1 grams or activities designed to improve pre2 service and in-service teacher training; and

3 ‘‘(D) a description of—

4 ‘‘(i) the measurable goals the partner5 ship expects to achieve through the grant;

6 including—

7 ‘‘(I) goals for improvements in

8 the teacher preparation programs of

9 the partner institutions;

10 ‘‘(II) goals for improvements in

11 the quality, and increases in the num12 ber, of the graduates of teacher prep13 aration programs operated by mem14 bers of the partnership who take

15 teaching positions in high-poverty

16 schools of the local educational agen17 cies in the partnership;

18 ‘‘(III) goals for meeting the

19 teacher preparation needs of the local

20 educational agencies in the partner21 ship, in order to improve student

22 achievement; and

23 ‘‘(IV) such other goals, consistent

24 with the purposes of this part, as the

25 partnership may select;
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1 ‘‘(ii) how the partnership will achieve

2 the goal of increased diversity among its

3 teacher preparation graduates; and

4 ‘‘(iii) how the partnership will deter5 mine whether it is meeting the goals de6 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii); and

7 ‘‘(6) a description of the partnership’s plan for insti8 tutionalizing the activities it is carrying out under this

9 part, so that those activities will continue once Federal

10 funding ceases.

11 ‘‘USES OF FUNDS

12 ‘‘SEC. 514. (a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—In order to

13 increase the quality and number of teachers it is preparing

14 for positions in urban and rural areas with concentrations

15 of low-income families, and to increase the diversity of ele16 mentary and secondary teachers, each partnership selected

17 to receive a grant under this part shall use the grant funds

18 for each of the following purposes:

19 ‘‘(1) Further development, refinement, assess20 ment of, and dissemination of information on, the

21 teacher preparation programs operated by the lead

22 institution, including activities that document, for

23 other institutions nationally and for policymakers,

24 effective practices in teacher preparation and that

25 produce curricular and other materials for use by

26 other institutions preparing teachers.
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1 ‘‘(2) Technical assistance by the lead institution

2 to the partner institutions in improving the partner

3 institutions’ teacher preparation programs (and, if

4 applicable, their principal and other administrator

5 preparation programs), based on the experience of

6 the lead institution and the particular needs of the

7 partners.

8 ‘‘(3) Making subgrants to the partner institu9 tions for implementation of program improvements

10 at those institutions, through adoption or adaptation

11 of the teacher preparation practices of the lead insti12 tution, to meet the needs of the high-poverty schools

13 in the urban and rural communities they serve. Each

14 partnership shall use at least 40 percent of its grant

15 for this purpose.

16 ‘‘(4) Joint activities with the local educational

17 agencies in the partnership, and with other local

18 educational agencies, that increase the involvement

19 of classroom teachers and school administrators in

20 the design and implementation of teacher prepara21 tion programs operated by the lead and partner in22 stitutions (and thereby make those programs more

23 responsive to the needs of teachers and administra24 tors), and other activities to improve teaching and

25 administration, and to support new teachers, in the
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1 high-poverty schools of those local educational agen2 cies.

3 ‘‘(5) Cooperation and interaction with other

4 lighthouse partnerships and with other institutions,

5 organizations, and public agencies, on activities

6 aimed at the improvement of teacher preparation na7 tionally, including improvement of teacher licensure

8 and relicensure requirements.

9 ‘‘(6) Assessment of the effectiveness of the ac10 tivities carried out under the grant, including the ex11 tent to which the partnership is achieving its goals

12 under section 513(c)(5)(D).

13 ‘‘(b) OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Each partnership se14 lected to receive a grant under this part may also use the

15 grant funds for joint activities with States that promote

16 the development and implementation of State policies to

17 facilitate the improvement of teacher preparation pro18 grams (and, if applicable, principal and other adminis19 trator preparation programs) within the States, as a com20 ponent of comprehensive education reforms.

21 ‘‘SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS

22 ‘‘SEC. 515. (a) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary shall,

23 using a peer review process, select applicants to receive

24 grants under this part on the basis of—
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1 ‘‘(1) the quality of the teacher preparation pro2 gram operated by the lead institution in a proposed

3 partnership;

4 ‘‘(2) the quality of the partnership’s plan for

5 carrying out activities under the grant; and

6 ‘‘(3) the capacity of the lead institution and its

7 partners to carry out the proposed activities success8 fully.

9 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—(1) In selecting grantees under this

10 part, the Secretary shall seek to ensure that—

11 ‘‘(A) lighthouse partnerships represent a variety

12 of approaches to teacher preparation;

13 ‘‘(B) lead institutions represent a variety of in14 stitutions of higher education; and

15 ‘‘(C) there is an equitable geographic distribu16 tion of awards.

17 ‘‘(2) In addition to complying with paragraph (1), the

18 Secretary shall give special consideration to applications

19 for—

20 ‘‘(A) projects that are likely to have the most

21 significant impact on the quality of teaching in high22 poverty urban and rural schools;

23 ‘‘(B) projects that are likely to result in im24 provement of teacher preparation in the areas of

25 mathematics and reading; and
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1 ‘‘(C) projects that are likely to prepare a sig2 nificant number of minority individuals, including

3 language minority individuals, and individuals with

4 disabilities to be effective teachers.

5 ‘‘(c) SECOND FIVE-YEAR GRANTS.—In select6 ing grantees to receive second grants under this

7 part, the Secretary shall give a preference to appli8 cants whose projects have resulted in—

9 ‘‘(1) the placement and retention of a substan10 tial number of high-qualify graduates in teaching po11 sitions in underserved, high-poverty schools;

12 ‘‘(2) the adoption of effective teacher prepara13 tion programs, particularly those meeting the needs

14 of high-poverty urban and rural areas, by the part15 ner institutions; and

16 ‘‘(3) effective partnerships with elementary and

17 secondary schools that are supporting improvements

18 in student achievement.

19 ‘‘EVALUATION

20 ‘‘SEC. 516. The Secretary shall provide for an evalua21 tion of the program carried out under this part, including

22 an assessment of such issues as—

23 ‘‘(1) the extent to which the activities carried

24 out through Lighthouse Partnership grants result in

25 significant and positive changes in the teacher prep26 aration programs operated by partner institutions,
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1 as well as improvements in the programs operated

2 by lead institutions, that are likely to lead to im3 provements in teaching and learning;

4 ‘‘(2) the extent to which Lighthouse Partner5 ship grants enhance the effectiveness, including the

6 technological proficiency, and the diversity, of stu7 dents completing teacher preparation programs in

8 the institutions of higher education participating in

9 the grants; and

10 ‘‘(3) the involvement of elementary and second11 ary schools and school districts serving concentra12 tions of children from low-income families in the ac13 tivities carried out under this part, and the extent

14 to which those activities result in benefits to those

15 schools and districts, including information on the

16 extent to which involvement in the grants improves

17 the instructional programs and the educational out18 comes for students in those schools and districts.

19 ‘‘NATIONAL ACTIVITIES

20 ‘‘SEC. 517. The Secretary may reserve up to 5 per21 cent of the funds appropriated to carry out this part for

22 any fiscal year for—

23 ‘‘(1) peer review of applications;

24 ‘‘(2) evaluation of the program under section

25 516, and measurement of its effectiveness in accord-
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1 ance with the Government Performance and Results

2 Act of 1993;

3 ‘‘(3) conferences and networks of lighthouse

4 partnerships, and other entities, in order to facilitate

5 the exchange of information and ideas among the

6 participating partnerships and other institutions,

7 agencies, and individuals, including recipients of

8 funds under part B of this title, who are interested

9 in the improvement of teacher preparation and par10 allel improvements in principal and administrator

11 preparation; and

12 ‘‘(4) technical assistance and other activities to

13 enhance the success of the program carried out

14 under this part or of teacher education more gen15 erally.

16 ‘‘PART B—RECRUITING NEW TEACHERS FOR

17 UNDERSERVED AREAS

18 ‘‘PROGRAM AUTHORIZED

19 ‘‘SEC. 521. From funds appropriated to carry out

20 this part under section 503(a)(2) for each fiscal year, the

21 Secretary shall make competitive grants to eligibile appli22 cants for programs that—

23 ‘‘(1) provide scholarships and, as necessary,

24 support services for students with high potential to

25 become effective teachers, particularly minority stu-
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1 dents, including language minority students, and

2 students with disabilities, seeking to complete teach3 er preparation programs;

4 ‘‘(2) increase the quality and number of new

5 teachers nationally; and

6 ‘‘(3) increase the ability of schools in under7 served areas to recruit a qualified teaching staff.

8 ‘‘DEFINITIONS

9 ‘‘SEC. 522. As used in this part, the following terms

10 have the following meanings:

11 ‘‘(1)(A) The term ‘eligible applicant’ means a

12 partnership of—

13 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education that

14 grants baccalaureate degrees and prepares

15 teachers for their initial entry into the teaching

16 profession; and

17 ‘‘(ii) one or more local educational agencies

18 that are in underserved areas.

19 ‘‘(B) Such a partnership may also include—

20 ‘‘(i) two-year colleges that operate teacher

21 preparation programs and maintain articulation

22 agreements, with the baccalaureate-granting in23 stitution, for the transfer of credits in teacher

24 preparation;
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1 ‘‘(ii) State agencies that have responsibility

2 for policies related to teacher preparation and

3 licensure; and

4 ‘‘(iii) other public and private, nonprofit

5 agencies and organizations that serve, or are lo6 cated in, communities served by the local edu7 cational agencies in the partnership, and that

8 have an interest in teacher recruitment, prepa9 ration, and induction.

10 ‘‘(2) The term ‘local educational agency’ has

11 the meaning given that term in section 14101(18) of

12 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

13 1965.

14 ‘‘(3) The term ‘support services’ includes—

15 ‘‘(A) academic advice and counseling;

16 ‘‘(B) tutorial services;

17 ‘‘(C) mentoring; and

18 ‘‘(D) child care and transportation, if

19 funding for those services cannot be arranged

20 from other sources; and

21 ‘‘(4) The term ‘underserved area’ means—

22 ‘‘(A) the three local educational agencies in

23 the State that have the highest numbers of chil24 dren, ages 5 through 17, from families below
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1 the poverty level (based on data satisfactory to

2 the Secretary); and

3 ‘‘(B) any other local educational agency in

4 which the percentage of such children is at least

5 20 percent, or the number of such children is

6 at least 10,000.

7 ‘‘GRANT CONDITIONS

8 ‘‘SEC. 523. (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—

9 ‘‘(1)(A) The Secretary shall carry out this part

10 by making competitive grants to eligible applicants.

11 ‘‘(B) Each grant under subparagraph (A) shall

12 be for a period not to exceed five years.

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall—

14 ‘‘(A) make continuation awards, for the

15 second and succeeding years, only after deter16 mining that the grantee is making satisfactory

17 progress in carrying out the grant; and

18 ‘‘(B) conduct an intensive review of the

19 grantee’s progress, with the assistance of out20 side experts, before making the award for the

21 fourth year of the grant.

22 ‘‘(3) No partnership may receive more than two

23 grants under this subsection.

24 ‘‘(b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—
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1 ‘‘(1) The Federal share of the cost of activities

2 carried out under a grant made under subsection (a)

3 shall not exceed—

4 ‘‘(A) 90 percent of the cost in the first

5 year of the grant;

6 ‘‘(B) 80 percent in the second year;

7 ‘‘(C) 70 percent in the third year;

8 ‘‘(D) 60 percent in the fourth year; and

9 ‘‘(E) 50 percent in the fifth year and any

10 succeeding year (including each year of the sec11 ond grant, if any).

12 ‘‘(2) The non-Federal share of activities carried

13 out with a grant under subsection (a) may be pro14 vided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, and may

15 be obtained from any non-Federal public or private

16 source.

17 ‘‘(c) PLANNING GRANTS.—

18 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may make planning grants

19 to eligible applicants that are not yet ready to imple20 ment programs under subsection (a).

21 ‘‘(2) Each planning grant shall be for a period

22 of not more than one year, which shall be in addition

23 to the period of any grant under subsection (a).

24 ‘‘(3) Any recipient of a planning grant under

25 this subsection that wishes to receive a grant under
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1 subsection (a)(1) shall separately apply for a com2 petitive grant under that subsection.

3 ‘‘GRANT APPLICATIONS

4 ‘‘SEC. 524. (a) APPLICATIONS REQUIRED.—Any eli5 gible applicant desiring to receive a grant under this part

6 shall submit an application at such time, in such form,

7 and containing such information as the Secretary may re8 quire.

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION CONTENTS.—Each application for

10 a grant under section 523(a) shall include—

11 ‘‘(1) a designation of the institution or agency,

12 within the partnership, that will serve as the fiscal

13 agent for the grant;

14 ‘‘(2) information on the quality of the institu15 tion’s teacher preparation program, which may in16 clude the types of information described in section

17 513(c)(2), and how the applicant will ensure,

18 through improvements in its teacher preparation

19 practices or other appropriate strategies, that schol20 arship recipients will receive high-quality prepara21 tion;

22 ‘‘(3) a description of the assessment the institu23 tion, the local educational agency partners, and

24 other partners have undertaken—

25 ‘‘(A) to determine—
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1 ‘‘(i) the most critical needs of the

2 local educational agencies, particularly the

3 needs of schools in high-poverty areas, for

4 new teachers (which may include teachers

5 in particular subject areas or at certain

6 grade levels, including the prekindergarten

7 level, minority teachers, and teachers who

8 are disabled who will contribute to the di9 versity of the local educational agency’s

10 teachers, or teachers who are fluent in lan11 guages spoken by students in the local

12 educational agency); and

13 ‘‘(ii) how the project carried out

14 under the grant will address those needs;

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) that reflects the input of all signifi17 cant entities in the community (including orga18 nizations representing teachers and parents)

19 that have an interest in teacher recruitment,

20 preparation, and induction;

21 ‘‘(4) a description of the project the applicant

22 will carry out with the grant, including information

23 on—

24 ‘‘(A) the recruitment and outreach efforts

25 the applicant will undertake to publicize the
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1 availability of scholarships and other assistance

2 under the program;

3 ‘‘(B)(i) the number and types of students

4 that the applicant will serve under the program,

5 which may include education paraprofessionals

6 seeking to achieve full teacher certification;

7 teachers whom the partner local educational

8 agencies have hired under ‘emergency certifi9 cation’ procedures; or former military person10 nel, mid-career professionals, or AmeriCorps or

11 Peace Corps volunteers, who desire to enter

12 teaching; and

13 ‘‘(ii) the criteria that the applicant will use

14 in selecting those students, including criteria to

15 determine whether individuals have the capacity

16 to benefit from the program, complete teacher

17 certification requirements, and become effective

18 teachers;

19 ‘‘(C) the activities the applicant will carry

20 out under the grant, including a description of,

21 and justification for, any support services the

22 institution will offer to participating students;

23 ‘‘(D) the number and funding range of the

24 scholarships the institution will provide to stu25 dents; and
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1 ‘‘(E) the procedures the institution will es2 tablish for entering into, and enforcing, agree3 ments with scholarship recipients regarding

4 their fulfillment of the service commitment de5 scribed in section 529;

6 ‘‘(5) a description of how the institution will

7 use funds provided under the grant only to increase

8 the number of students with high potential to be ef9 fective teachers, participating in its teacher prepara10 tion programs, or in the particular type or types of

11 preparation programs that the grant would support,

12 or to increase the number of their graduates with

13 high potential to be effective teachers who are mi14 nority individuals, including language minority indi15 viduals, or individuals with disabilities;

16 ‘‘(6) a description of commitments, by the part17 ner local educational agencies, to hire qualified

18 scholarship recipients in their schools and in the

19 subject areas or grade levels for which the recipients

20 will be trained, and a description of the actions the

21 grantee institution, the local educational agencies,

22 and the other partners will take to facilitate the suc23 cessful transition of those recipients into teaching;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(7) a description of the applicant’s plan for in2 stitutionalizing the activities it is carrying out under

3 this part, so that those activities will continue once

4 Federal funding ceases.

5 ‘‘USES OF FUNDS

6 ‘‘SEC. 525. (a) IN GENERAL.—Each grantee under

7 section 523(a) shall use the grant funds for the following:

8 ‘‘(1) Scholarships to help students pay the costs

9 of tuition, room, board, and other expenses of com10 pleting a teacher preparation program.

11 ‘‘(2) Support services, if needed to enable schol12 arship recipients to complete postsecondary edu13 cation programs.

14 ‘‘(3) Follow-up services provided to former

15 scholarship recipients during their first three years

16 of teaching.

17 ‘‘(4) Payments to partner local educational

18 agencies, if needed to enable them to permit para19 professional staff to participate in teacher prepara20 tion programs (such as the cost of ‘release time’ for

21 those staff).

22 ‘‘(5) If appropriate, and if no other funds are

23 available, paying the costs of additional courses

24 taken by former scholarship recipients during their

25 initial three years of teaching.
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1 ‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.—A recipient of a planning

2 grant under section 523(c) shall use the grant funds for

3 the costs of planning for the implementation of a grant

4 under section 523(a).

5 ‘‘SELECTION OF APPLICANTS

6 ‘‘SEC. 526. (a) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary, using

7 a peer review process, shall select applicants to receive

8 funding under this part on the basis of—

9 ‘‘(1) the quality of the teacher preparation pro10 gram offered by the institution;

11 ‘‘(2) the quality of the program that would be

12 carried out under the application; and

13 ‘‘(3) the capacity of the partnership to carry

14 out the grant successfully.

15 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—(1) In making selections, the Sec16 retary shall seek to ensure that—

17 ‘‘(A) in the aggregate, grantees carry out a va18 riety of approaches to preparing new teachers; and

19 ‘‘(B) there is an equitable geographic distribu20 tion of awards.

21 ‘‘(2) In addition to complying with paragraph (1), the

22 Secretary shall give special consideration to—

23 ‘‘(A) applications most likely to result in the

24 preparation of increased numbers of individuals with

25 high potential for effective teaching who are minor-
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1 ity individuals, including language minority individ2 uals, and individuals with disabilities; and

3 ‘‘(B) applications from historically Black col4 leges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions,

5 and Tribal Colleges and Universities, as defined in

6 title III of this Act.

7 ‘‘(c) SECOND FIVE-YEAR GRANTS.—In selecting

8 grantees to receive second grants under this part, the Sec9 retary shall give a preference to applicants whose projects

10 have resulted in—

11 ‘‘(1) the placement and retention of a substan12 tial number of high-quality graduates in teaching po13 sitions in underserved, high-poverty schools;

14 ‘‘(2) the adoption of effective programs that

15 meet the teacher preparation needs of high-poverty

16 urban and rural areas; and

17 ‘‘(3) effective partnerships with elementary and

18 secondary schools that are supporting improvements

19 in student achievement.

20 ‘‘DURATION AND AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE; RELATION TO

21 OTHER ASSISTANCE

22 ‘‘SEC. 527. (a) DURATION OF ASSISTANCE.—No indi23 vidual may receive scholarship assistance under this

24 part—

25 ‘‘(1) for more than five years of postsecondary

26 education; and
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1 ‘‘(2) unless that individual satisfies the require2 ments of section 484(a)(5) of this Act.

3 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—No individual may

4 receive an award under this program that exceeds the cost

5 of attendance, as defined in section 472 of this Act, at

6 the institution the individual is attending.

7 ‘‘(C) RELATION TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—A scholar8 ship awarded under this part—

9 ‘‘(1) shall not be reduced on the basis of the in10 dividual’s receipt of other forms of Federal student

11 financial assistance; and

12 ‘‘(2) shall be regarded as other financial assist13 ance available to the student, within the meaning of

14 sections 471(3) and 480(j)(1) of this Act, in deter15 mining the student’s eligibility for grant, loan, or

16 work assistance under title IV of this Act.

17 ‘‘SCHOLARSHIP CONDITIONS

18 ‘‘SEC. 528. (a) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a schol19 arship under this part shall continue to receive that assist20 ance only as long as he or she is—

21 ‘‘(1) enrolled as a full-time student and pursu22 ing a course of study leading to teacher certification,

23 unless he or she is working in a public school (as a

24 paraprofessional, or as a teacher under emergency

25 credentials) while participating in the program; and
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1 ‘‘(2) maintaining satisfactory progress as deter2 mined by the institution.

3 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE. Each grantee shall modify the

4 application of section 527(a)(1) and of subsection (a)(1)

5 of this section to the extent necessary to accommodate the

6 rights of students with disabilities under section 504 of

7 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

8 ‘‘SERVICE REQUIREMENTS

9 ‘‘SEC. 529. (a) REQUIREMENT.—Each partnership

10 receiving a grant under this part shall enter into an agree11 ment, with each student to whom it awards a scholarship

12 under this part, providing that a scholarship recipient who

13 completes a teacher preparation program under this part

14 shall, within five years of completing that program, teach

15 full-time for at least three years in a high-poverty school

16 in an underserved geographic area or repay the amount

17 of the scholarship, under the terms and conditions estab18 lished by the Secretary.

19 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS. The Secretary shall prescribe

20 regulations relating to the requirements of subsection (a),

21 including any provisions for waiver of those requirements.

22 ‘‘EVALUATION

23 ‘‘SEC. 530. The Secretary shall provide for an evalua24 tion of the program carried out under this part, which

25 shall asses such issues as—
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1 ‘‘(1) whether institutions taking part in the

2 partnerships are successful in preparing scholarship

3 recipients to teach to high State and local standards;

4 ‘‘(2) whether scholarship recipients are success5 ful in completing teacher preparation programs, be6 coming fully certified teachers, and obtaining teach7 ing positions in underserved areas, and whether they

8 continue teaching in those areas over a period of

9 years;

10 ‘‘(3) the national impact of the program in as11 sisting local educational agencies in underserved

12 areas to recruit, prepare, and retain diverse, high13 quality teachers in the areas in which they have the

14 greatest needs;

15 ‘‘(4) the long-term impact of the grants on

16 teacher preparation programs conducted by grantees

17 and on grantees’ relationships with their partner

18 local educational agencies and other partners; and

19 ‘‘(5) the relative effectiveness of different ap20 proaches for preparing new teachers to teach in un21 derserved areas, including their effectiveness in pre22 paring new teachers to teach to high content and

23 performance standards.
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1 ‘‘NATIONAL ACTIVITIES

2 ‘‘SEC. 531. The Secretary may retain up to five per3 cent of the funds appropriated for this part for any fiscal

4 year for—

5 ‘‘(1) peer review of applications;

6 ‘‘(2) conducting the evaluation required under

7 section 530; and

8 ‘‘(3) technical assistance and other activities to

9 facilitate the exchange of information and ideas

10 among participating partnerships, and other activi11 ties to enhance the success of the program carried

12 out under this part.’’.

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