I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2149 

To establish a grant program to ensure that students in high-need schools 

have equal access to a quality education delivered by an effective, diverse 

workforce. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2015 

Ms. JUDY CHU of California (for herself, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. 

HONDA, Ms. TITUS, and Mr. TED LIEU of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to ensure that students in 

high-need schools have equal access to a quality education delivered by an effective, diverse workforce. 

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 ‘‘Equal Access to Qual5 ity Education Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EQUAL ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION GRANT 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 

4 make grants on a competitive basis to eligible partnerships 

5 in high-need areas to— 

6 (1) develop and strengthen high-quality path7 ways for the teaching and education leadership pro8 fessions; 

9 (2) create professional induction programs for 

10 the teaching profession; and 

11 (3) provide a stable and collaborative learning 

12 environment for educators and students. 

13 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the grant program 

14 established under this section shall be to— 

15 (1) increase the percentage of highly qualified 

16 teachers in States, including teachers from under 

17 represented minority groups and teachers with dis18 abilities; 

19 (2) close the achievement gap for students with20 in subgroups that are not showing expected perform21 ance; 

22 (3) decrease shortages of highly qualified teach23 ers in poor urban and rural areas; 

24 (4) decrease high turnover rates for educators 

25 in high-need schools; 


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1 (5) increase the number of highly qualified 

2 teachers in shortage areas, including special edu3 cation, bilingual education, and education for 

4 English language learners, and in science, mathe5 matics, engineering, and technology; 

6 (6) increase opportunities for enhanced and on7 going professional development that— 

8 (A) improves the academic content knowl9 edge of teachers in the subject areas in which 

10 teachers are certified or licensed to teach or in 

11 which the teachers are working toward certifi12 cation or licensure to teach; 

13 (B) promotes strong teaching skills, includ14 ing instructional strategies that address diverse 

15 needs, the use of data to inform instruction, 

16 and strategies to improve student achievement; 

17 and 

18 (C) provides time for teachers to share 

19 their knowledge and innovation; and 

20 (7) provide all educators with the knowledge 

21 base and professional skills to meet the needs of di22 verse learners, including English language learners 

23 and students with disabilities. 

24 (c) APPLICATION.— 


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1 (1) APPLICATIONS REQUIRED.—An eligible 

2 partnership that desires to receive a grant under 

3 this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary 

4 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

5 information as the Secretary may require. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

7 under paragraph (1) include— 

8 (A) a description of— 

9 (i) how the eligible partnership will 

10 meet the purposes under subsection (b); 

11 (ii) how the partnership will carry out 

12 the activities required under subsection 

13 (d), including— 

14 (I) how the partnership will de15 sign, implement, or enhance a year16 long and rigorous teaching residency 

17 program component; and 

18 (II) how the partnership will de19 sign, implement, or enhance a rig20 orous teacher induction and retention 

21 program; 

22 (iii) a description of the partnership’s 

23 plan for continuing the activities carried 

24 out under a grant received under this Act 

25 after the grant funding ceases; 


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1 (iv) how the grant will increase the 

2 number of highly qualified teachers — 

3 (I) in high-need schools operated 

4 by high-need local educational agen5 cies (in urban or rural school dis6 tricts); and 

7 (II) in high-need academic sub8 jects; and 

9 (v) with respect to the teacher induc10 tion and retention program that will be 

11 carried out using the grant— 

12 (I) the partnership’s capability 

13 and commitment to, and the accessi14 bility to and involvement of teachers 

15 in, the use of empirically based prac16 tice and scientifically valid research on 

17 teaching and learning; and 

18 (II) a description of how the 

19 partnership will design and implement 

20 an induction program to support, 

21 through not less than the first 2 years 

22 of teaching, all new teachers who are 

23 prepared by the teacher preparation 

24 program in the partnership and who 

25 teach in the high-need local eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 May 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2149.IH H2149

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1 cational agency in the partnership, 

2 and, to the extent practicable, all new 

3 teachers who teach in such high-need 

4 local educational agency, in the fur5 ther development of the new teachers’ 

6 teaching skills, including the use of 

7 mentors who are trained and com8 pensated by such program for the 

9 mentors’ work with new teachers. 

10 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

11 (1) REQUIRED USES.—An eligible partnership 

12 that receives a grant under this section shall use the 

13 funds to carry out the following: 

14 (A) Establish or support a teacher prepa15 ration program that— 

16 (i) requires participants in the pro17 gram to complete at least one year of resi18 dency at a high-need school in the local 

19 educational agency participating in the eli20 gible partnership; 

21 (ii) requires participants in the pro22 gram to teach in a high-need school in 

23 such local educational agency for at least 3 

24 years after completing such residency; and 


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1 (iii) awards a teaching credential, an 

2 undergraduate degree, or a Masters degree 

3 that meets State requirements for a teach4 ing license or certification upon completion 

5 of the program. 

6 (B) Establish or support a teacher induc7 tion and retention program that provides sup8 port and advances the retention of beginning 

9 teachers and principals during not less than the 

10 first 2 years of participation in such program, 

11 which promotes effective teaching and leader12 ship skills and includes— 

13 (i) high-quality mentoring; 

14 (ii) periodic, structured time for col15 laboration and classroom observation op16 portunities with teachers in the same de17 partment or field, including mentor teach18 ers, as well as time for information-sharing 

19 among teachers, principals, administrators, 

20 other appropriate educators, and partici21 pating faculty in the partner institution of 

22 higher education; 

23 (iii) the application of empirically 

24 based practice and scientifically valid re25 search on instructional practices; 


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1 (iv) opportunities for new teachers 

2 and principals to draw directly on the ex3 pertise of mentors, faculty, local edu4 cational agency personnel, and researchers 

5 to support the integration of empirically 

6 based practice and scientifically valid re7 search with practice; 

8 (v) the development of skills in in9 structional and behavioral interventions de10 rived from empirically based practice, and 

11 where applicable, scientifically valid re12 search; and 

13 (vi) faculty who— 

14 (I) model the integration of re15 search and practice in the classroom; 

16 and 

17 (II) assist new teachers and prin18 cipals with the effective use and inte19 gration of technology in instruction. 

20 (C) Otherwise fulfill the purposes described 

21 in subsection (b). 

22 (2) AUTHORIZED USES.—In addition to the ac23 tivities described in paragraph (1), a partnership 

24 that receives a grant under this section may use the 

25 funds for any of the following: 


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1 (A) Providing support to each mentor 

2 teacher working with new teachers. 

3 (B) Providing preparation in effective, evi4 dence-based instructional assessment practices 

5 and classroom management strategies for gen6 eral education teachers serving students with 

7 disabilities and students with limited English 

8 proficiency. 

9 (C) Enabling teachers to engage in study 

10 groups, professional learning communities, and 

11 other collaborative activities and collegial inter12 actions regarding instruction assessment. 

13 (D) Paying for release time and substitute 

14 teachers in order to enable teachers to partici15 pate in professional development and mentoring 

16 activities. 

17 (E) Creating libraries of professional mate18 rial, catalogues of expert instruction, and edu19 cation technology. 

20 (F) Providing high-quality professional de21 velopment for other instructional staff, such as 

22 paraprofessionals, librarians, and counselors. 

23 (G) Developing partnerships with busi24 nesses and community-based organizations. 


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1 (H) Providing tuition assistance, scholar2 ships, or student loan repayment to teachers. 

3 (I) Providing stipends or another financial 

4 incentive to participants in the teacher prepara5 tion program under paragraph (1)(A). 

6 (J) Providing support for home visitation, 

7 parenting education, and family engagement, 

8 especially for parents who have limited English 

9 proficiency. 

10 (e) REPAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall establish 

11 such requirements as the Secretary determines to be ap12 propriate to ensure that each participant of a teacher 

13 preparation program under this Act who receives a stipend 

14 or other financial incentive as described in subsection 

15 (d)(2)(I), but fails to complete the participant’s teaching 

16 obligation under subsection (d)(1)(A)(ii), repays all or a 

17 portion of such stipend or incentive to the eligible partner18 ship that awarded such stipend or incentive. 

19 (f) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec20 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible partner21 ships that meet the requirements of one of the following 

22 paragraphs: 

23 (1) Demonstrating— 


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1 (A) a plan to recruit teachers from among 

2 minority and local candidates and from individ3 uals with disabilities; and 

4 (B) the use of a valid and reliable teacher 

5 performance assessment. 

6 (2) Meeting the requirements of paragraph 

7 (1)(B) and including in the partnership— 

8 (A) an institution of higher education that 

9 is an ‘‘eligible institution’’ for purposes of the 

10 TEACH Grant program under subpart 9 of 

11 part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act 

12 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.); 

13 (B) a Tribal College or University, as de14 fined in section 316(b)(3) of such Act (20 

15 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)); 

16 (C) an Asian American and Native Amer17 ican Pacific Islander-serving institution, as de18 fined in section 320(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

19 1059g(b)); 

20 (D) a Hispanic-serving institution, as de21 fined in section 502(a)(5) of such Act (20 

22 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5)); or 

23 (E) a historically Black college and univer24 sity, as defined in section 631(a)(5) of such Act 

25 (20 U.S.C. 1132(a)(5)). 


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1 (g) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

3 the cost of any activities funded by a grant received 

4 under this section shall not exceed 75 percent. 

5 (2) PAYMENT OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The 

6 non-Federal share may be paid in cash or in kind, 

7 fairly evaluated, including services. 

8 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi10 ble partnership’’ means a partnership— 

11 (A) between a high-need local educational 

12 agency and an institution of higher education; 

13 and 

14 (B) that may include a teacher organiza15 tion or a nonprofit educational organization. 

16 (2) FAMILY ENGAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘family 

17 engagement’’ means a shared responsibility of fami18 lies and schools for student success, in which schools 

19 and community-based organizations are committed 

20 to reaching out to engage families, especially parents 

21 of non-Native English speakers, in meaningful ways 

22 that encourage the families to actively support their 

23 children’s learning and development, as well as the 

24 learning and development of other children. The 

25 shared responsibility is continuous from birth 


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1 through young adulthood and reinforces learning 

2 that takes place in the home, school, and commu3 nity. 

4 (3) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN5 CY.—The term ‘‘high-need local educational agency’’ 

6 means a local educational agency— 

7 (A)(i) that serves not fewer than 10,000 

8 low-income children; 

9 (ii) for which not less than 20 percent of 

10 the children served by the agency are low-in11 come children; 

12 (iii) that meets the eligibility requirements 

13 for receiving funding under the Small, Rural 

14 School Achievement Program under section 

15 6211(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7345(b)) or the 

17 Rural and Low-Income School Program under 

18 section 6221(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

19 7351(b)); or 

20 (iv) that has a percentage of low-income 

21 children that is in the highest quartile among 

22 such agencies in the State; and 

23 (B)(i) for which one or more schools served 

24 by the agency is persistently low achieving; or 


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1 (ii) for which one or more schools served 

2 by the agency has a high teacher turnover rate. 

3 (4) HIGHLY QUALIFIED.—The term ‘‘highly 

4 qualified’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

5 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu6 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 7801(23)). The definition 

7 given the term ‘‘highly qualified teacher’’ in section 

8 163 of Public Law 111–242 shall not apply with re9 spect to this section. 

10 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965. 

14 (6) LOW-INCOME CHILDREN.—The term ‘‘low15 income children’’ means— 

16 (A) children from families with incomes 

17 below the poverty line (as defined by the Office 

18 of Management and Budget and revised annu19 ally in accordance with section 673(2) of the 

20 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981) 

21 applicable to a family of the size involved; or 

22 (B) children who are eligible for free or re23 duced price lunches under the Richard B. Rus24 sell National School Lunch Act. 


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1 (7) MENTOR TEACHER.—The term ‘‘mentor 

2 teacher’’ means a teacher who— 

3 (A) is highly qualified; 

4 (B) has a minimum of 3 years of teaching 

5 experience; 

6 (C) is recommended by the principal and 

7 other current master and mentor teachers on 

8 the basis of— 

9 (i) instructional excellence through ob10 servations and other evidence of classroom 

11 practice, including standards-based evalua12 tions, such as certification by the National 

13 Board for Professional Teaching Stand14 ards; 

15 (ii) an ability, as demonstrated by evi16 dence of student learning in high-need 

17 schools, to increase student learning; and 

18 (iii) excellent instruction and commu19 nication with an understanding of how to 

20 facilitate growth in other teachers, includ21 ing new teachers; and 

22 (D) participates in training and ongoing 

23 professional development on how to— 

24 (i) help teachers learn to improve stu25 dent achievement; 


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1 (ii) help teachers learn to improve in2 struction; and 

3 (iii) facilitate mentor-to-mentor col4 laboration and coaching. 

5 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Education. 

7 (9) TEACHER PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT.— 

8 The term ‘‘teacher performance assessment’’ means 

9 a program, based on State or national professional 

10 teaching standards, that will measure teachers’ cur11 riculum planning, instruction, and assessment of 

12 students, including appropriate plans and adapta13 tions for English language learners and students 

14 with disabilities, and multiple sources of evidence 

15 about student learning. Such assessment will be vali16 dated against professional assessment standards and 

17 reliably scored by trained external evaluators with 

18 appropriate auditing of scoring to ensure consist19 ency. 

20 (10) TEACHING CREDENTIAL.—The term 

21 ‘‘teaching credential’’ means a program of instruc22 tion for individuals who have completed a bacca23 laureate degree, that does not lead to a graduate de24 gree, and that consists of courses required by a 

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1 sional certification or license that is required for em2 ployment as a teacher in an elementary school or 

3 secondary school in that State. 

Æ 


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