I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1326

To continue and expand the program to provide assistance to separated

and retired members of the Armed Forces to obtain certification and

employment as teachers, to transfer the jurisdiction over the program

to the Secretary of Education, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 25, 1999

Mr. HEFLEY (for himself, Mr. EDWARDS, Mr. GALLEGLY, and Mr. HILL of

Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To continue and expand the program to provide assistance

to separated and retired members of the Armed Forces

to obtain certification and employment as teachers, to

transfer the jurisdiction over the program to the Secretary of Education, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•HR 1326 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; DEFINI2 TIONS.

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

4 ‘‘Troops-to-Teachers Program Improvement Act of 1999’’.

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

6 this Act is as follows:

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

Sec. 2. Troops-to-Teachers Program of the Department of Education.

Sec. 3. Eligible members of the Armed Forces.

Sec. 4. Selection of participants.

Sec. 5. Participation agreement.

Sec. 6. Stipend and bonus for participants.

Sec. 7. Discharge of State activities through consortia of States.

Sec. 8. Assistance to States in conducting activities under Program.

Sec. 9. Transfer of jurisdiction over current program.

Sec. 10. Reporting requirements.

Sec. 11. Authorization of appropriations.

7 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:

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

9 Columbia, American Samoa, the Federated States of

10 Micronesia, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Is11 lands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

12 Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Re13 public of Palau, and the United States Virgin Is14 lands.

15 (2) The term ‘‘alternative certification or licen16 sure requirements’’ means State or local teacher cer17 tification or licensure requirements that permit a

18 demonstrated competence in appropriate subject

19 areas gained in careers outside of education to be
3

•HR 1326 IH

1 substituted for traditional teacher training course

2 work.

3 SEC. 2. TROOPS-TO-TEACHERS PROGRAM OF THE DEPART4 MENT OF EDUCATION.

5 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Edu6 cation, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and

7 the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the Coast

8 Guard, may carry out a program (to be known as the

9 ‘‘Troops-to-Teachers Program’’)—

10 (1) to assist eligible members of the Armed

11 Forces after their discharge or release, or retire12 ment, from active duty to obtain certification or li13 censure as elementary or secondary school teachers

14 or as vocational or technical teachers; and

15 (2) to facilitate the employment of such mem16 bers by local educational agencies identified under

17 subsection (b)(1).

18 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN19 CIES WITH TEACHER SHORTAGES.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Troops21 to-Teachers Program, the Secretary of Education

22 shall periodically identify local educational agencies

23 that—

24 (A) are receiving grants under title I of the

25 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
4

•HR 1326 IH

1 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) as a result of

2 having within their jurisdictions concentrations

3 of children from low-income families; or

4 (B) are experiencing a shortage of quali5 fied teachers, in particular a shortage of

6 science, mathematics, special education, or vo7 cational or technical teachers.

8 (2) IDENTIFICATION METHODS.—The Secretary

9 may identify local educational agencies under para10 graph (1) through surveys conducted for that pur11 pose or by utilizing information on local educational

12 agencies that is available to the Secretary from other

13 sources.

14 (c) IDENTIFICATION OF STATES WITH ALTERNATIVE

15 CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the

16 Troops-to-Teachers Program, the Secretary of Education

17 shall also conduct a survey of States to identify those

18 States that have alternative certification or licensure re19 quirements for teachers, including those States that grant

20 credit for service in the Armed Forces toward satisfying

21 certification or licensure requirements for teachers.

22 SEC. 3. ELIGIBLE MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

23 (a) ELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—The following members of

24 the Armed Forces shall be eligible for selection to partici25 pate in the program:
5

•HR 1326 IH

1 (1) Any member who—

2 (A) during the period beginning on Octo3 ber 1, 1990, and ending on September 30,

4 1999, was involuntarily discharged or released

5 from active duty for purposes of a reduction of

6 force after six or more years of continuous ac7 tive duty immediately before the discharge or

8 release; and

9 (B) satisfies such other criteria for selec10 tion as the Secretary of Education, in consulta11 tion with the Secretary of Defense and the Sec12 retary of Transportation, may prescribe.

13 (2) Any member who applied for the teacher

14 placement program administered under section 1151

15 of title 10, United States Code, before the expiration

16 of that program and who satisfies the eligibility cri17 teria specified in subsection (c) of such section.

18 (3) Any member who—

19 (A) on or after October 1, 1999, is retired

20 for length of service with at least 20 years of

21 active service computed under section 3925,

22 3926, 8925, or 8926 of title 10, United States

23 Code, or for purposes of chapter 571 of such

24 title or is retired under section 1201 or 1204

25 of such title; and
6

•HR 1326 IH

1 (B) satisfies the criteria prescribed under

2 paragraph (1)(B).

3 (b) EDUCATION BACKGROUND.—In the case of a

4 member of the Armed Forces described in subsection

5 (a)(3) who is applying for assistance for placement as an

6 elementary or secondary school teacher, the Secretary of

7 Education shall require the member to have received a

8 baccalaureate or advanced degree from an accredited insti9 tution of higher education. In the case of a member de10 scribed in subsection (a)(3) who is applying for assistance

11 for placement as a vocational or technical teacher, the Sec12 retary of Education shall require the member—

13 (1) to have received the equivalent of one year

14 of college from an accredited institution of higher

15 education and have 10 or more years of military ex16 perience in a vocational or technical field; or

17 (2) to otherwise meet the certification or licen18 sure requirements for a vocational or technical

19 teacher in the State in which the member seeks as20 sistance for placement under the program.

21 (c) INELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—A member of the Armed

22 Forces who is discharged or released from active duty, or

23 retires from service, under other than honorable conditions

24 shall not be eligible to participate in the Troops-to-Teach25 ers Program.
7

•HR 1326 IH

1 (d) INFORMATION REGARDING PROGRAM.—

2 (1) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec3 retary of Education, in consultation with the Sec4 retary of Defense and the Secretary of Transpor5 tation, shall provide information regarding the

6 Troops-to-Teachers Program, and make applications

7 for the program available, to members of the Armed

8 Forces as part of preseparation counseling provided

9 under section 1142 of title 10, United States Code.

10 (2) TYPES OF INFORMATION.—The information

11 provided to members shall—

12 (A) indicate the local educational agencies

13 identified under section 2(b); and

14 (B) identify those States surveyed under

15 section 2(c) that have alternative certification

16 or licensure requirements for teachers, includ17 ing those States that grant credit for service in

18 the Armed Forces toward satisfying such re19 quirements.

20 SEC. 4. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS.

21 (a) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS.—Selection of eli22 gible members of the Armed Forces to participate in the

23 Troops-to-Teachers Program shall be made on the basis

24 of applications submitted to the Secretary of Education

25 on a timely basis. An application shall be in such form
8

•HR 1326 IH

1 and contain such information as the Secretary may re2 quire.

3 (b) TIMELY APPLICATIONS.—An application shall be

4 considered to be submitted on a timely basis if the applica5 tion is submitted as follows:

6 (1) In the case of an applicant who is eligible

7 under section 3(a)(1) or 3(a)(2), not later than Sep8 tember 30, 2003.

9 (2) In the case of an applicant who is eligible

10 under section 3(a)(3), not later than four years after

11 the date of the retirement of the applicant from ac12 tive duty.

13 (c) SELECTION PRIORITIES.—In selecting partici14 pants to receive assistance for placement as elementary

15 or secondary school teachers or vocational or technical

16 teachers, the Secretary of Education shall give priority to

17 eligible members who—

18 (1) have educational or military experience in

19 science, mathematics, special education, or voca20 tional or technical subjects and agree to seek em21 ployment as science, mathematics, or special edu22 cation teachers in elementary or secondary schools

23 or in other schools under the jurisdiction of a local

24 educational agency; or
9

•HR 1326 IH

1 (2) have educational or military experience in

2 another subject area identified by the Secretary, in

3 consultation with the National Governors Associa4 tion, as important for national educational objectives

5 and agree to seek employment in that subject area

6 in elementary or secondary schools.

7 (d) SELECTION SUBJECT TO FUNDING.—The Sec8 retary of Education may not select a member to partici9 pate in the program unless the Secretary has sufficient

10 appropriations for the Troops-to-Teachers Program avail11 able at the time of the selection to satisfy the obligations

12 to be incurred by the United States under section 6 with

13 respect to that member.

14 SEC. 5. PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT.

15 (a) AGREEMENT REQUIRED; TERMS.—A member of

16 the Armed Forces selected to participate in the Troops17 to-Teachers Program shall be required to enter into an

18 agreement with the Secretary of Education in which the

19 member agrees—

20 (1) to obtain, within such time as the Secretary

21 may require, certification or licensure as an elemen22 tary or secondary school teacher or vocational or

23 technical teacher; and

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

25 as an elementary or secondary school teacher or vo-
10

•HR 1326 IH

1 cational or technical teacher for not less than four

2 school years with a local educational agency identi3 fied under 2, to begin the school year after obtaining

4 that certification or licensure.

5 (b) EXCEPTIONS TO VIOLATION DETERMINATION.—

6 A participant in the Troops-to-Teachers Program shall not

7 be considered to be in violation of an agreement entered

8 into under subsection (a) during any period in which the

9 participant—

10 (1) is pursuing a full-time course of study re11 lated to the field of teaching at an eligible institu12 tion;

13 (2) is serving on active duty as a member of the

14 Armed Forces;

15 (3) is temporarily totally disabled for a period

16 of time not to exceed three years as established by

17 sworn affidavit of a qualified physician;

18 (4) is unable to secure employment for a period

19 not to exceed 12 months by reason of the care re20 quired by a spouse who is disabled;

21 (5) is seeking and unable to find full-time em22 ployment as a teacher in an elementary or secondary

23 school or as a vocational or technical teacher for a

24 single period not to exceed 27 months; or
11

•HR 1326 IH

1 (6) satisfies the provisions of additional reim2 bursement exceptions that may be prescribed by the

3 Secretary of Education.

4 SEC. 6. STIPEND AND BONUS FOR PARTICIPANTS.

5 (a) STIPEND AUTHORIZED.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

7 the Secretary of Education shall pay to each partici8 pant in the Troops-to-Teachers Program a stipend

9 in an amount equal to $3,000.

10 (2) TOTAL NUMBER OF STIPENDS.—The total

11 number of stipends that may be paid under para12 graph (1) in any fiscal year may not exceed 5,000.

13 (b) BONUS AUTHORIZED.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

15 the Secretary of Education may, in lieu of paying a

16 stipend under subsection (a), pay a bonus of $5,000

17 to each participant in the Troops-to-Teachers Pro18 gram who agrees under section 5 to accept full-time

19 employment as an elementary or secondary school

20 teacher or vocational or technical teacher for not less

21 than four years in a high need school.

22 (2) TOTAL NUMBER OF BONUSES.—The total

23 number of bonuses that may be paid under para24 graph (1) in any fiscal year may not exceed 1,000.
12

•HR 1326 IH

1 (3) HIGH NEED SCHOOL DEFINED.—In this

2 subsection, the term ‘‘high need school’’ means an

3 elementary school or secondary school that meets

4 one or more of the following criteria:

5 (A) A school with a drop out rate that ex6 ceeds the national average school drop out rate.

7 (B) A school having a large percentage of

8 students (as determined by the Secretary of

9 Education in consultation with the National As10 sessment Governing Board) who speak English

11 as a second language.

12 (C) A school having a large percentage of

13 students (as so determined) who are at risk of

14 educational failure by reason of limited pro15 ficiency in English, poverty, race, geographic lo16 cation, or economic circumstances.

17 (D) A school at least one-half of whose

18 students are from families with an income

19 below the poverty line (as that term is defined

20 by the Office of Management and Budget and

21 revised annually in accordance with section

22 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) applicable to a family

24 of the size involved.
13

•HR 1326 IH

1 (E) A school with a large percentage of

2 students (as so determined) who qualify for as3 sistance under part B of the Individuals with

4 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et

5 seq.).

6 (F) A school meeting any other criteria es7 tablished by the Secretary in consultation with

8 the National Assessment Governing Board.

9 (c) TREATMENT OF STIPEND AND BONUS.—Stipends

10 and bonuses paid under this section shall be taken into

11 account in determining the eligibility of the participant

12 concerned for Federal student financial assistance pro13 vided under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965

14 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).

15 (d) REIMBURSEMENT UNDER CERTAIN CIR16 CUMSTANCES.—

17 (1) STIPEND.—If a participant in the Troops18 to-Teachers Program fails to obtain teacher certifi19 cation or licensure or employment as an elementary

20 or secondary school teacher or vocational or tech21 nical teacher as required under the agreement or

22 voluntarily leaves, or is terminated for cause, from

23 the employment during the four years of required

24 service, the participant shall be required to reim25 burse the Secretary of Education for any stipend
14

•HR 1326 IH

1 paid to the participant under subsection (a) in an

2 amount that bears the same ratio to the amount of

3 the stipend as the unserved portion of required serv4 ice bears to the four years of required service.

5 (2) BONUS.—If a participant in the Troops-to6 Teachers Program who is paid a bonus under sub7 section (b) fails to obtain employment for which

8 such bonus was paid, or voluntarily leaves or is ter9 minated for cause from the employment during the

10 four years of required service, the participant shall

11 be required to reimburse the Secretary of Education

12 for any bonus paid to the participant under that

13 subsection in an amount that bears the same ratio

14 to the amount of the bonus as the unserved portion

15 of required service bears to the four years of re16 quired service.

17 (3) TREATMENT OF OBLIGATION.—The obliga18 tion to reimburse the Secretary of Education under

19 this subsection is, for all purposes, a debt owing the

20 United States. A discharge in bankruptcy under title

21 11 shall not release a participant from the obligation

22 to reimburse the Secretary.

23 (4) INTEREST.—Any amount owed by a partici24 pant under this subsection shall bear interest at the

25 rate equal to the highest rate being paid by the
15

•HR 1326 IH

1 United States on the day on which the reimburse2 ment is determined to be due for securities having

3 maturities of ninety days or less and shall accrue

4 from the day on which the participant is first noti5 fied of the amount due.

6 (e) EXCEPTIONS TO REIMBURSEMENT REQUIRE7 MENT.—A participant in the Troops-to-Teachers Program

8 shall be excused from reimbursement under subsection (d)

9 if the participant becomes permanently totally disabled as

10 established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician. The

11 Secretary of Education may also waive reimbursement in

12 cases of extreme hardship to the participant, as deter13 mined by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary

14 of Defense or the Secretary of Transportation, as the case

15 may be.

16 (f) RELATIONSHIP TO EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE

17 UNDER MONTGOMERY GI BILL.—The receipt by a partic18 ipant in the Troops-to-Teachers Program of any assist19 ance under the program shall not reduce or otherwise af20 fect the entitlement of the participant to any benefits

21 under chapter 30 of title 38 or chapter 1606 of title 10,

22 United States Code.
16

•HR 1326 IH

1 SEC. 7. DISCHARGE OF STATE ACTIVITIES THROUGH CON2 SORTIA OF STATES.

3 The Secretary of Education may permit States par4 ticipating in the Troops-to-Teachers Program to carry out

5 activities authorized for such States under the program

6 through one or more consortia of such States.

7 SEC. 8. ASSISTANCE TO STATES IN CONDUCTING ACTIVI8 TIES UNDER PROGRAM.

9 (a) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—Subject to sub10 section (b), the Secretary of Education may make grants

11 to States participating in the Troops-to-Teachers Pro12 gram, or to consortia of such States, in order to permit

13 such States or consortia of States to operate offices for

14 purposes of recruiting eligible members of the Armed

15 Forces for participation in the program and facilitating

16 the employment of participants in the program in schools

17 in such States or consortia of States.

18 (b) TOTAL AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The total amount

19 of grants under subsection (a) in any fiscal year may not

20 exceed $4,000,000.

21 SEC. 9. TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION OVER CURRENT PRO22 GRAM.

23 (a) EFFECT OF EXPIRATION OF DEFENSE PLACE24 MENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Defense, Secretary of

25 Transportation, and Secretary of Education shall provide

26 for the transfer to the Secretary of Education of any on-
17

•HR 1326 IH

1 going functions and responsibilities of the Secretary of De2 fense and the Secretary of Transportation with respect the

3 program authorized by section 1151 of title 10, United

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

5 1992, and ending on September 30, 1999.

6 (b) TIME FOR TRANSFER.—The Secretaries shall

7 complete the transfer under subsection (a) not later than

8 October 1, 1999.

9 SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

10 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than March 31,

11 2002, the Secretary of Education and the Comptroller

12 General shall each submit to Congress a report on the ef13 fectiveness of the Troops-to-Teachers Program in the re14 cruitment and retention of qualified personnel by local

15 educational agencies identified under section 2(b).

16 (b) ELEMENTS OF REPORT.—The report under sub17 section (a) shall include information on the following:

18 (1) The number of participants in the program.

19 (2) The schools in which such participants are

20 employed.

21 (3) The grade levels at which such participants

22 teach.

23 (4) The subject matters taught by such partici24 pants.
18

•HR 1326 IH

1 (5) The effectiveness of the teaching of such

2 participants, as indicated by any relevant test scores

3 of the students of such participants.

4 (6) The extent of any academic improvement in

5 the schools in which such participants teach by rea6 son of their teaching.

7 (7) The rates of retention of such participants

8 by the local educational agencies employing such

9 participants.

10 (8) The effect of any stipends or bonuses in en11 hancing participation in the program or in enhanc12 ing recruitment or retention of participants in the

13 program by the local educational agencies employing

14 such participants.

15 (9) Such other matters as the Secretary of

16 Education or the Comptroller General, as the case

17 may be, considers appropriate.

18 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report of the Comp19 troller General and the Secretary of Education under this

20 section shall also include any recommendations of the

21 Comptroller General as to means of improving the Troops22 to-Teachers Program, including means of enhancing the

23 recruitment and retention of participants in the program.
19

•HR 1326 IH

1 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

3 authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Edu4 cation $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through

5 2004 for purposes of carrying out the Troops-to-Teachers

6 Program.

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

9 may utilize not more than five percent of the funds avail10 able to carry out the Troops-to-Teachers Program for a

11 fiscal year for purposes of establishing and maintaining

12 the management infrastructure necessary to support the

13 program.

Æ