Union Calendar No. 133

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1995

[Report No. 106–232, Part I]

A BILL

To amend the Elementary and Secondary EduReading Excellence Act, and for other purposes. sional development for teachers, reauthorize the student achievement through high-quality profes- cation Act of 1965 to empower teachers, improve

JULY 14, 1999

Reported from the Committee on Education and the

Workforce with an amendment

JULY 14, 1999

Referral to the Committee on Armed Services extended

for a period ending not later than July 14, 1999

JULY 14, 1999

Committee on Armed Services discharged; committed to

Union and ordered to be printedthe Committee of the Whole House on the State of the
IB

Union Calendar No. 133

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1995

[Report No. 106–232, Part I]

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to empower

teachers, improve student achievement through high-quality professional

development for teachers, reauthorize the Reading Excellence Act, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 27, 1999

Mr. MCKEON (for himself, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. BLUNT, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. CASTLE, Mr.

HOEKSTRA, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr.

GRAHAM, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. HILLEARY, Mr. FLETCHER, Mr. ISAKSON, Mrs. NORTHUP, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, and Mr. HILL of

Montana) 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

JULY 14, 1999

Reported from the Committee on Education and the Workforce with an

amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

JULY 14, 1999

Referral to the Committee on Armed Services extended for a period ending

not later than July 14, 1999

JULY 14, 1999

Additional sponsors: Mr. DREIER, Mr. GARY MILLER of California, Mr. TALENT, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. BAKER, Mr. HORN, Mr.

DICKEY, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr.

CALVERT, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. ROYCE, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. SOUDER, Mr.
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PETRI, Mr. UPTON, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. GREENWOOD,

Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. HERGER, and Mr. COX

JULY 14, 1999

Committee on Armed Services discharged; committed to the Committee of the

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 27, 1999]

A BILL

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

of 1965 to empower teachers, improve student achievement through high-quality professional development for

teachers, reauthorize the Reading Excellence Act, and

for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teacher Empowerment

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. TEACHER EMPOWERMENT.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is

9 amended—

10 (1) by striking the heading for title II and in11 serting the following:

12 ‘‘TITLE II—TEACHER QUALITY’’;

13 (2) by repealing sections 2001 through 2003; and

14 (3) by amending part A to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘PART A—TEACHER EMPOWERMENT

2 ‘‘SEC. 2001. PURPOSE.

3 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to provide grants to States

4 and local educational agencies in order to assist their efforts

5 to increase student academic achievement through such

6 strategies as improving teacher quality.

7 ‘‘Subpart 1—Grants to States

8 ‘‘SEC. 2011. FORMULA GRANTS TO STATES.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of each State that in

10 accordance with section 2013 submits to the Secretary an

11 application for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make a

12 grant for the year to the State for the uses specified in sec13 tion 2012. The grant shall consist of the allotment deter14 mined for the State under subsection (b).

15 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF ALLOTMENT.—

16 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—From the

17 amount made available to carry out this subpart for

18 any fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve—

‘‘(A) 1 19 ⁄2 of 1 percent for allotments for the

20 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and

21 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is22 lands, to be distributed among these outlying

23 areas on the basis of their relative need, as deter24 mined by the Secretary in accordance with the

25 purpose of this part; and
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‘‘(B) 1 1 ⁄2 of 1 percent for the Secretary of the

2 Interior for programs under this part for profes3 sional development activities for teachers, other

4 staff, and administrators in schools operated or

5 funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

6 ‘‘(2) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—

7 ‘‘(A) HOLD HARMLESS.—

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), from the total amount made

10 available to carry out this subpart for any

11 fiscal year and not reserved under para12 graph (1), the Secretary shall allot to each

13 of the 50 States, the District of Columbia,

14 and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico an

15 amount equal to the total amount that such

16 State received for fiscal year 1999 under—

17 ‘‘(I) section 2202(b) of this Act

18 (as in effect on the day before the date

19 of the enactment of the Teacher Em20 powerment Act);

21 ‘‘(II) section 307 of the Depart22 ment of Education Appropriations Act,

23 1999; and

24 ‘‘(III) section 304(b) of the Goals

25 2000: Educate America Act.
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1 ‘‘(ii) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the

2 total amount made available to carry out

3 this subpart for any fiscal year and not re4 served under paragraph (1) is insufficient

5 to pay the full amounts that all States are

6 eligible to receive under clause (i) for any

7 fiscal year, the Secretary shall ratably re8 duce such amounts for such fiscal year.

9 ‘‘(B) ALLOTMENT OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

11 (ii), for any fiscal year for which the total

12 amount made available to carry out this

13 subpart and not reserved under paragraph

14 (1) exceeds the total amount made available

15 to the 50 States, the District of Columbia,

16 and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for

17 fiscal year 1999 under the authorities de18 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i), the Sec19 retary shall allot such excess amount as fol20 lows:

21 ‘‘(I) 50 percent of such excess

22 amount shall be allotted among such

23 States on the basis of their relative

24 populations of individuals aged 5

25 through 17, as determined by the Sec-
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1 retary on the basis of the most recent

2 satisfactory data.

3 ‘‘(II) 50 percent of such excess

4 amount shall be allotted among such

5 States in proportion to the number of

6 children, aged 5 to 17, who reside

7 within the State from families with in8 comes below the poverty line (as de9 fined by the Office of Management and

10 Budget and revised annually in ac11 cordance with section 673(2) of the

12 Community Services Block Grant Act

13 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) applicable to a

14 family of the size involved for the most

15 recent fiscal year for which satisfactory

16 data are available, compared to the

17 number of such individuals who reside

18 in all such States for that fiscal year.

19 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—No State receiving

20 an allotment under clause (i) may receive

less than 1 21 ⁄2 of 1 percent of the total excess

22 amount allotted under clause (i).

23 ‘‘(3) REALLOTMENT.—If any State does not

24 apply for an allotment under this subsection for any

25 fiscal year, the Secretary shall reallot such amount to
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1 the remaining States in accordance with this sub2 section.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2012. WITHIN-STATE ALLOCATIONS.

4 ‘‘(a) USE OF FUNDS.—Each State receiving a grant

5 under this subpart shall use the funds provided under the

6 grant in accordance with this section to carry out activities

7 for the improvement of teaching and learning.

8 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED AND AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—

9 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED EXPENDITURES.—The Secretary

10 may make a grant to a State under this subpart only

11 if the State agrees to expend at least—

12 ‘‘(A) 95 percent of the amount of the funds

13 provided under the grant for the purpose of mak14 ing subgrants to local educational agencies under

15 subpart 3; and

16 ‘‘(B) 2 percent of the amount of the funds

17 provided under the grant for the purpose of mak18 ing subgrants to eligible partnerships under sub19 part 2 (of which percent, up to 5 percent may

20 be used for planning and administration related

21 to carrying out such purpose).

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—A State

23 that receives a grant under this subpart may expend

24 not more than 3 percent of the amount of the funds

25 provided under the grant for one or more of the au-
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1 thorized State activities described in subsection (d) (of

2 which percent, the State may use up to 5 percent for

3 planning and administration related to carrying out

4 such activities and making subgrants to local edu5 cational agencies under subpart 3).

6 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDU7 CATIONAL AGENCIES.—

8 ‘‘(1) FORMULA FOR 80 PERCENT OF FUNDS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

10 subparagraph (B), a State receiving a grant

11 under this subpart shall distribute 80 percent of

12 the amount described in subsection (b)(1)(A)

13 through a formula under which—

14 ‘‘(i) 50 percent is allocated to local

15 educational agencies in accordance with the

16 relative enrollment in public and private

17 nonprofit elementary and secondary schools

18 within the boundaries of such agencies; and

19 ‘‘(ii) 50 percent is allocated to local

20 educational agencies in proportion to the

21 number of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside

22 within the geographic area served by such

23 agency from families with incomes below

24 the poverty line (as defined by the Office of

25 Management and Budget and revised annu-
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1 ally in accordance with section 673(2) of

2 the Community Services Block Grant Act

3 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to a family

4 of the size involved for the most recent fiscal

5 year for which satisfactory data are avail6 able, compared to the number of such indi7 viduals who reside in the geographic areas

8 served by all the local educational agencies

9 in the State for that fiscal year.

10 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE FORMULA.—A State

11 may increase the percentage described in sub12 paragraph (A)(ii) (and commensurately decrease

13 the percentage described in subparagraph (A)(i)).

14 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION OF 20 PERCENT OF FUNDS.—

15 ‘‘(A) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—A State re16 ceiving a grant under this subpart shall dis17 tribute 20 percent of the amount described in

18 subsection (b)(1)(A) through a competitive proc19 ess that results in an equitable distribution by

20 geographic area within the State.

21 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPANTS.—The competitive proc22 ess under subparagraph (A) shall be open to

23 local educational agencies and eligible partner24 ships (as defined in section 2021(d)), except that

25 a State shall give priority to high-need local edu-
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1 cational agencies that focus on math, science, or

2 reading professional development programs.

3 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED STATE ACTIVITIES.—The author4 ized State activities referred to in subsection (b)(2) are the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(1) Reforming teacher certification, recertifi7 cation, or licensure requirements to ensure that—

8 ‘‘(A) teachers have the necessary teaching

9 skills and academic content knowledge in the

10 subject areas in which they are assigned to teach;

11 ‘‘(B) they are aligned with the State’s chal12 lenging State content standards; and

13 ‘‘(C) teachers have the knowledge and skills

14 necessary to help students meet challenging State

15 student performance standards.

16 ‘‘(2) Carrying out programs that—

17 ‘‘(A) include support during the initial

18 teaching experience; and

19 ‘‘(B) establish, expand, or improve alter20 native routes to State certification of teachers for

21 highly qualified individuals with a baccalaureate

22 degree, including mid-career professionals from

23 other occupations, paraprofessionals, former

24 military personnel, and recent college or univer25 sity graduates with records of academic distinc-
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1 tion who demonstrate the potential to become

2 highly effective teachers.

3 ‘‘(3) Developing and implementing effective

4 mechanisms to assist local educational agencies and

5 schools in effectively recruiting and retaining highly

6 qualified and effective teachers and principals.

7 ‘‘(4) Reforming tenure systems and imple8 menting teacher testing and other procedures to expe9 ditiously remove incompetent and ineffective teachers

10 from the classroom.

11 ‘‘(5) Developing enhanced performance systems

12 to measure the effectiveness of specific professional de13 velopment programs and strategies.

14 ‘‘(6) Providing technical assistance to local edu15 cational agencies consistent with this part.

16 ‘‘(7) Funding projects to promote reciprocity of

17 teacher certification or licensure between or among

18 States, except that no reciprocity agreement developed

19 under this paragraph or developed using funds pro20 vided under this part may lead to the weakening of

21 any State teaching certification or licensing require22 ment.

23 ‘‘(8) Developing or assisting local educational

24 agencies or eligible partnerships (as defined in section

25 2021(d)) in the development and utilization of prov-
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1 en, innovative strategies to deliver intensive profes2 sional development programs that are both cost-effec3 tive and easily accessible, such as through the use of

4 technology and distance learning.

5 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION.—States receiving grants under

6 section 202 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 shall co7 ordinate the use of such funds with activities carried out

8 under this section.

9 ‘‘(f) PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a grant

11 under this subpart—

12 ‘‘(A) in the event the State provides public

13 State report cards on education, shall include in

14 such report cards—

15 ‘‘(i) the percentage of classes in core

16 academic subject areas that are taught by

17 out-of-field teachers;

18 ‘‘(ii) the percentage of classes in core

19 academic subject areas that are taught by

20 teachers teaching under emergency or other

21 provisional status through which State

22 qualifications or licensing criteria have been

23 waived; and

24 ‘‘(iii) the average statewide class size;

25 or
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1 ‘‘(B) in the event the State provides no such

2 report card, shall disseminate to the public the

3 information described in clauses (i) and (ii) of

4 subparagraph (A) through other means.

5 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Such information

6 shall be made widely available to the public, includ7 ing parents and students, through major print and

8 broadcast media outlets throughout the State.

9 ‘‘SEC. 2013. APPLICATIONS BY STATES.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant

11 under this subpart, a State shall submit an application to

12 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing

13 such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

14 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each application under this section

15 shall include the following:

16 ‘‘(1) A description of how the State will ensure

17 that a local educational agency receiving a subgrant

18 under subpart 3 will comply with the requirements of

19 such subpart, including the required use of funds for

20 mathematics and science programs, professional devel21 opment, and hiring teachers to reduce class size.

22 ‘‘(2) A description of the specific performance in23 dicators the State will use (including an identifica24 tion of how such performance indicators will be meas25 ured and reported) for each local educational agency
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1 to measure the annual progress of activities funded

2 under subpart 3 in increasing—

3 ‘‘(A) student academic achievement; and

4 ‘‘(B) teacher quality, as demonstrated

5 through a reduction in the number of out-of-field

6 teachers in the classroom.

7 ‘‘(3) A description of the bonus incentives, if

8 any, that will be provided to local educational agen9 cies that exceed a level of improvement established by

10 the State based on such performance indicators, and

11 actions the State will take in the event a local edu12 cational agency fails to meet or make progress toward

13 such level of improvement.

14 ‘‘(4) A description of how the State will coordi15 nate professional development activities authorized

16 under this part with professional development activi17 ties provided under other Federal, State, and local

18 programs, including those authorized under title I,

19 title III, title IV, part A of title VII, and (where ap20 plicable) the Individuals with Disabilities Education

21 Act and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Tech22 nical Education Act. The application shall also de23 scribe the comprehensive strategy that the State will

24 take as part of such coordination effort, to ensure that

25 teachers are trained in the utilization of technology so
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1 that technology and its applications are effectively

2 used in the classroom to improve teaching and learn3 ing in all curriculum and content areas, as appro4 priate.

5 ‘‘(5) A description of how the State will encour6 age the development of proven, innovative strategies to

7 deliver intensive professional development programs

8 that are both cost-effective and easily accessible, such

9 as through the use of technology and distance learn10 ing.

11 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION SUBMISSION.—A State application

12 submitted to the Secretary under this section shall be ap13 proved by the Secretary unless the Secretary makes a writ14 ten determination, within 90 days after receiving the appli15 cation, that the application is in violation of the provisions

16 of this Act.

17 ‘‘Subpart 2—Subgrants to Eligible Partnerships

18 ‘‘SEC. 2021. PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount described in sec20 tion 2012(b)(1)(B), the State agency for higher education,

21 working in conjunction with the State educational agency

22 (if such agencies are separate), shall award grants on a

23 competitive basis to eligible partnerships to enable such

24 partnerships to carry out activities described in subsection
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1 (b). Such grants shall be equitably distributed by geo2 graphic area within the State.

3 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of funds under this

4 section shall use the funds for—

5 ‘‘(1) professional development activities in core

6 academic subjects to ensure that teachers have content

7 knowledge in the subjects they teach; and

8 ‘‘(2) developing and providing assistance to local

9 educational agencies and the teachers, principals, and

10 administrators, of public and private schools in each

11 such agency, for sustained, high-quality professional

12 development activities which—

13 ‘‘(A) ensure they are able to use State con14 tent standards, performance standards, and as15 sessments to improve instructional practices and

16 improve student achievement; and

17 ‘‘(B) may include intensive programs de18 signed to prepare teachers who will return to

19 their school to provide such instruction to other

20 teachers within such school.

21 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE.—No single participant in an eli22 gible partnership may retain more than 50 percent of the

23 funds made available to the partnership under this section.

24 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—As used in this sec25 tion, the term ‘eligible partnerships’ means an entity that—
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1 ‘‘(1) shall include—

2 ‘‘(A) a high-need local educational agency;

3 ‘‘(B) a school of arts and sciences; and

4 ‘‘(C) an institution that prepares teachers;

5 and

6 ‘‘(2) may include other local educational agen7 cies, a public charter school, a public or private ele8 mentary or secondary school, an educational service

9 agency, a public or private nonprofit educational or10 ganization, or a business.

11 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION.—Partnerships receiving grants

12 under section 203 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 shall

13 coordinate the use of such funds with any related activities

14 carried out by such partnership with funds made available

15 under this section.

16 ‘‘Subpart 3—Subgrants to Local Educational

17 Agencies

18 ‘‘SEC. 2031. LOCAL USE OF FUNDS.

19 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agen21 cy that receives a subgrant under this subpart shall

22 use the subgrant to carry out the activities described

23 in this subsection.

24 ‘‘(2) MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount made

2 available to each local educational agency under

3 this subpart for a fiscal year, the agency shall

4 use not less than the amount provided to the

5 agency under section 2206(b) of this Act (as in

6 effect on the day before the date of the enactment

7 of the Teacher Empowerment Act) for the fiscal

8 year preceding such enactment for professional

9 development activities in mathematics and

10 science in accordance with section 2033.

11 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—

12 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION.—A local edu13 cational agency, in consultation with teach14 ers and principals, may seek a waiver of the

15 requirement in subparagraph (A) from a

16 State in order to allow the local educational

17 agency to use such funds for professional de18 velopment in academic subjects other than

19 mathematics and science.

20 ‘‘(ii) STANDARD FOR GRANTING.—A

21 State may not approve such a waiver unless

22 the local educational agency is able to dem23 onstrate that—

24 ‘‘(I) the professional development

25 needs of mathematics and science
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1 teachers, including elementary teachers

2 responsible for teaching mathematics

3 and science, have been adequately

4 served and will continue to be ade5 quately served if the waiver is ap6 proved;

7 ‘‘(II) State assessments in mathe8 matics and science demonstrate that

9 each school within the local edu10 cational agency has made and will

11 continue to make progress toward

12 meeting the challenging State or local

13 content standards and student per14 formance standards in these areas; and

15 ‘‘(III) State assessments in other

16 academic subjects demonstrate a need

17 to focus on subjects other than mathe18 matics and science.

19 ‘‘(iii) GRANDFATHER OF OLD WAIV20 ERS.—A waiver provided to a local edu21 cational agency under part D of title XIV

22 prior to the date of the enactment of the

23 Teacher Empowerment Act shall be deemed

24 effective until such time as it otherwise

25 would have ceased to be effective.
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1 ‘‘(3) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVI2 TIES.—Each local educational agency that receives a

3 subgrant under this subpart shall use a portion of

4 such funds for professional development activities that

5 give teachers, principals, and administrators the

6 knowledge and skills to provide students with the op7 portunity to meet challenging State or local content

8 standards and student performance standards. Such

9 activities shall be consistent with sections 2033 and

10 2034.

11 ‘‘(4) HIRING AND RETAINING WELL-QUALIFIED

12 AND EFFECTIVE TEACHERS.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational

14 agency that receives a subgrant under this sub15 part shall use a portion of such funds for recruit16 ing, hiring, and training certified teachers, in17 cluding teachers certified through State and local

18 alternative routes, in order to reduce class size.

19 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR SPECIAL EDU20 CATION TEACHERS.—Notwithstanding subpara21 graph (A), a local educational agency may use

22 some or all of the funds described in such sub23 paragraph to hire special education teachers re24 gardless of whether such action reduces class size.

25 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—
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1 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION.—A local edu2 cational agency may seek a waiver of the

3 requirement in subparagraph (A) from a

4 State in order to allow the local educational

5 agency to use such funds for purposes other

6 than hiring teachers in order to reduce class

7 size.

8 ‘‘(ii) STANDARD FOR GRANTING.—A

9 State may not approve such a waiver unless

10 the local educational agency is able to dem11 onstrate that—

12 ‘‘(I) such funds will be used to en13 sure that all instructional staff have

14 the subject matter knowledge, teaching

15 knowledge, and teaching skills nec16 essary to teach effectively in the con17 tent area or areas in which they pro18 vide instruction; or

19 ‘‘(II) an initiative to reduce class

20 size would result in having to rely on

21 underqualified teachers, inadequate

22 classroom space, or would have any

23 other negative consequence affecting the

24 efforts of the local educational agency
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1 to improve student academic achieve2 ment.

3 ‘‘(b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—Each local educational

4 agency that receives a subgrant under this subpart may use

5 the subgrant to carry out the following activities:

6 ‘‘(1) Initiatives to assist recruitment of highly

7 qualified teachers who will be assigned teaching posi8 tions within their field, including—

9 ‘‘(A) providing signing bonuses or other fi10 nancial incentives, such as differential pay, for

11 teachers to teach in academic subject areas in

12 which there exists a shortage of such teachers

13 within a school or the local educational agency;

14 ‘‘(B) establishing programs that—

15 ‘‘(i) recruit professionals from other

16 fields and provide such professionals with

17 alternative routes to teacher certification;

18 and

19 ‘‘(ii) provide increased opportunities

20 for minorities, individuals with disabilities,

21 and other individuals underrepresented in

22 the teaching profession; and

23 ‘‘(C) implementing hiring policies that en24 sure comprehensive recruitment efforts as a way

25 to expand the applicant pool, such as through
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1 identifying teachers certified through alternative

2 routes, coupled with a system of intensive screen3 ing designed to hire the most qualified applicant.

4 ‘‘(2) Initiatives to promote retention of highly

5 qualified teachers and principals including—

6 ‘‘(A) programs that provide mentoring to

7 newly hired teachers, such as from master teach8 ers, and to newly hired principals; or

9 ‘‘(B) programs that provide other incen10 tives, including financial incentives, to retain

11 teachers who have a record of success in helping

12 low-achieving students improve their academic

13 success.

14 ‘‘(3) Programs and activities that are designed

15 to improve the quality of the teacher force, such as—

16 ‘‘(A) innovative professional development

17 programs (which may be through partnerships

18 including institutions of higher education), in19 cluding programs that train teachers to utilize

20 technology to improve teaching and learning,

21 that are consistent with the requirements of sec22 tion 2033;

23 ‘‘(B) development and utilization of proven,

24 cost-effective strategies for the implementation of

25 professional development activities, such as
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1 through the utilization of technology and dis2 tance learning;

3 ‘‘(C) tenure reform;

4 ‘‘(D) merit pay;

5 ‘‘(E) testing of elementary and secondary

6 school teachers in the subject areas taught by

7 such teachers;

8 ‘‘(F) professional development programs

9 that provide instruction in how to teach children

10 with different learning styles, particularly chil11 dren with disabilities and children with special

12 learning needs (including those who are gifted

13 and talented); and

14 ‘‘(G) professional development programs

15 that provide instruction in how best to discipline

16 children in the classroom and identify early and

17 appropriate interventions to help children de18 scribed in subparagraph (F) learn.

19 ‘‘(4) Teacher opportunity payments, consistent

20 with section 2034.

21 ‘‘SEC. 2032. LOCAL APPLICATIONS.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency seeking

23 to receive a subgrant from a State under this subpart shall

24 submit an application to the State—

25 ‘‘(1) at such time as the State shall require; and
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1 ‘‘(2) which is coordinated with other programs

2 under this Act, or other Acts, as appropriate.

3 ‘‘(b) LOCAL APPLICATION CONTENTS.—The local ap4 plication described in subsection (a), shall include, at a

5 minimum, the following:

6 ‘‘(1) A description of how the local educational

7 agency intends to use funds provided under this sub8 part, including an assurance that the local edu9 cational agency will meet the requirements for the use

10 of funds for mathematics and science programs, pro11 fessional development, and hiring teachers to reduce

12 class size, under section 2031.

13 ‘‘(2) An assurance that the local educational

14 agency will target funds to schools within the juris15 diction of the local educational agency that—

16 ‘‘(A) have the highest proportion of out-of17 field teachers;

18 ‘‘(B) have the largest average class size; or

19 ‘‘(C) are identified for school improvement

20 under section 1116(c).

21 ‘‘(3) A description of how the local educational

22 agency will coordinate professional development ac23 tivities authorized under this subpart with profes24 sional development activities provided through other

25 Federal, State, and local programs, including those
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1 authorized under title I, title III, title IV, part A of

2 title VII, and (where applicable) the Individuals with

3 Disabilities Education Act and the Carl D. Perkins

4 Vocational and Technical Education Act.

5 ‘‘(4) A description of how the local educational

6 agency will integrate funds under this subpart with

7 funds received under title III that are used for profes8 sional development to train teachers in how to use

9 technology to improve learning and teaching.

10 ‘‘(c) PARENTS’ RIGHT-TO-KNOW.—A local educational

11 agency that receives funds under this subpart shall provide,

12 upon request and in an understandable and uniform for13 mat, to any parent of a student attending any school receiv14 ing funds under this subpart, information regarding the

15 professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teach16 ers, including, at a minimum, the following:

17 ‘‘(1) Whether the teacher has met State qualifica18 tion and licensing criteria for the grade levels and

19 subject areas in which the teacher provides instruc20 tion.

21 ‘‘(2) Whether the teacher is teaching under emer22 gency or other provisional status through which State

23 qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.

24 ‘‘(3) The baccalaureate degree major of the teach25 er and any other graduate certification or degree held
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1 by the teacher, and the field or discipline of the cer2 tification or degree.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2033. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS.

4 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION RELATING TO CURRICULUM AND

5 CONTENT AREAS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), professional development funds under this

8 subpart may not be provided for a teacher and an ac9 tivity if the activity is not—

10 ‘‘(A) directly related to the curriculum and

11 content areas in which the teacher provides in12 struction; or

13 ‘‘(B) designed to enhance the ability of the

14 teacher to understand and use the State’s stand15 ards for the subject area in which the teacher

16 provides instruction.

17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply

18 to funds for professional development activities that

19 instruct in methods of disciplining children.

20 ‘‘(b) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Professional develop21 ment activities funded under this subpart—

22 ‘‘(1) shall be measured, in terms of progress,

23 using the specific performance indicators established

24 by the State in accordance with section 2013(b)(2);
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1 ‘‘(2) shall be tied to challenging State or local

2 content standards and student performance stand3 ards;

4 ‘‘(3) shall be tied to scientifically based research

5 demonstrating the effectiveness of such program in in6 creasing student achievement or substantially increas7 ing the knowledge and teaching skills of such teachers;

8 ‘‘(4) shall be of sufficient intensity and duration

9 (such as not to include 1-day or short-term workshops

10 and conferences) to have a positive and lasting im11 pact on the teacher’s performance in the classroom,

12 except that this paragraph shall not apply to an ac13 tivity if such activity is one component of a long-term

14 comprehensive professional development plan estab15 lished by the teacher and the teacher’s supervisor

16 based upon an assessment of their needs, their stu17 dents’ needs, and the needs of the local educational

18 agency; and

19 ‘‘(5) shall be developed with extensive participa20 tion of teachers, principals, and administrators of

21 schools to be served under this part.

22 ‘‘(c) ACCOUNTABILITY.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall notify a local

24 educational agency that the agency is on notice of the

25 possibility that the agency may be subject to the re-
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1 quirement in paragraph (3) if, after any fiscal year,

2 the State determines that the programs or activities

3 funded by the agency fail to meet the requirements of

4 subsections (a) and (b).

5 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—A local edu6 cational agency that has been put on notice pursuant

7 to paragraph (1) may request technical assistance

8 from the State in order to provide the opportunity

9 for such local educational agency to comply with the

10 requirements of subsections (a) and (b).

11 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE TEACHER OP12 PORTUNITY PAYMENTS.—A local educational agency

13 that has been put on notice by the State pursuant to

14 paragraph (1) during any 2 consecutive fiscal years

15 shall expend under section 2034 for the succeeding fis16 cal year a proportion of the amount made available

17 to the agency under this subpart equal to the propor18 tion of such amount expended by the agency on pro19 fessional development for the second fiscal year in

20 which it was put on notice.

21 ‘‘SEC. 2034. TEACHER OPPORTUNITY PAYMENTS.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency receiv23 ing funds under this subpart may (or, in the case of a local

24 educational agency described in section 2033(c)(3), shall)

25 provide funds directly to a teacher or a group of teachers
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1 seeking opportunities to participate in a professional devel2 opment activity of their choice.

3 ‘‘(b) NOTICE TO TEACHERS.—Local educational agen4 cies distributing funds under this section shall establish and

5 implement a timely process through which proper notice of

6 availability of funds will be given to all teachers within

7 schools identified by the agency and shall develop a process

8 whereby teachers will be specifically recommended by prin9 cipals to participate in such program by virtue of—

10 ‘‘(1) their lack of full certification to teach in the

11 subject or subjects in which they teach; or

12 ‘‘(2) their need for additional assistance to en13 sure that their students make progress toward meeting

14 challenging State content standards and student per15 formance standards.

16 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF TEACHERS.—In the event ade17 quate funding is not available to provide payments under

18 this section to all teachers seeking such assistance, or identi19 fied as needing such assistance pursuant to subsection (b),

20 a local educational agency shall establish procedures for se21 lecting teachers which provide a priority for those teachers

22 described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b).

23 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PROGRAM.—Teachers receiving a pay24 ment under this section shall have the choice of attending
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1 any professional development program that meets the cri2 teria set forth in subsection (a) or (b) of section 2033.

3 ‘‘Subpart 4—National Activities

4 ‘‘SEC. 2041. ALTERNATIVE ROUTES TO TEACHING.

5 ‘‘(a) TEACHER EXCELLENCE ACADEMIES.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award

7 grants on a competitive basis to eligible consortia to

8 carry out activities described in this subsection.

9 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible consortium

11 receiving funds under this subsection shall use

12 the funds to pay the costs associated with the es13 tablishment or expansion of a teacher academy

14 in an elementary or secondary school facility

15 that carries out the activities promoting alter16 native routes to State teacher certification speci17 fied in subparagraph (B), the model professional

18 development activities specified in subparagraph

19 (C), or all such activities.

20 ‘‘(B) PROMOTING ALTERNATIVE ROUTES TO

21 TEACHER CERTIFICATION.—The activities pro22 moting alternative routes to State teacher certifi23 cation specified in this subparagraph are the de24 sign and implementation of a course of study
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1 and activities providing an alternative route to

2 State teacher certification that—

3 ‘‘(i) provide opportunities to highly

4 qualified individuals with a baccalaureate

5 degree, including mid-career professionals

6 from other occupations, paraprofessionals,

7 former military personnel, and recent col8 lege or university graduates with records of

9 academic distinction;

10 ‘‘(ii) provide stipends, for not more

11 than 2 years, to permit individuals de12 scribed in clause (i) to participate as stu13 dent teachers able to fill teaching needs in

14 academic subjects in which there is a dem15 onstrated shortage of teachers;

16 ‘‘(iii) provide for the recruitment and

17 hiring of master teachers to mentor and

18 train student teachers within such acad19 emies; and

20 ‘‘(iv) include a reasonable service re21 quirement for individuals completing the al22 ternative certification program established

23 by the consortium.

24 ‘‘(C) MODEL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP25 MENT.—The model professional development ac-
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1 tivities specified in this subparagraph are activi2 ties providing ongoing professional development

3 opportunities for teachers, such as—

4 ‘‘(i) innovative programs and model

5 curricula in the area of professional devel6 opment which may serve as models to be

7 disseminated to other schools and local edu8 cational agencies; and

9 ‘‘(ii) developing innovative techniques

10 for evaluating the effectiveness of profes11 sional development programs.

12 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall award not

13 less than 1 grant to a consortium that—

14 ‘‘(A) includes a high-need local educational

15 agency located in a rural area; and

16 ‘‘(B) proposes the extensive use of distance

17 learning in order to provide the applicable

18 course work to student teachers.

19 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE.—No single participant in

20 an eligible consortium may retain more than 50 per21 cent of the funds made available to the consortium

22 under this subsection.

23 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a

24 grant under this subsection, an eligible consortium

25 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such
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1 time, in such manner, and containing such informa2 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require.

3 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE CONSORTIUM.—In this subsection,

4 the term ‘eligible consortium’ means a consortium for

5 a State that—

6 ‘‘(A) shall include—

7 ‘‘(i) the State agency responsible for

8 certifying teachers;

9 ‘‘(ii) not less than 1 high-need local

10 educational agency;

11 ‘‘(iii) a school of arts and sciences; and

12 ‘‘(iv) an institution that prepares

13 teachers; and

14 ‘‘(B) may include local educational agen15 cies, public charter schools, public or private ele16 mentary or secondary schools, educational service

17 agencies, public or private nonprofit educational

18 organizations, museums, or businesses.

19 ‘‘(b) CONTINUATION OF TROOPS-TO-TEACHERS PRO20 GRAM.—

21 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this sub22 section to authorize the continuation after September

23 30, 1999, of the teachers and teachers’ aide placement

24 program known as the ‘troops-to-teachers program’,

25 which was established by the Secretary of Defense,
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1 and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to

2 the Coast Guard, under section 1151 of title 10,

3 United States Code.

4 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO CONTINUE PRO5 GRAM.—Subject to the requirements of this subsection,

6 the Secretary of Education may provide a transfer of

7 funds to the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional

8 Education Support of the Department of Defense to

9 permit the Defense Activity to carry out the troops10 to-teachers program under section 1151 of title 10,

11 United States Code, notwithstanding the termination

12 date specified in subsection (c)(1)(A) of such section.

13 ‘‘(3) DEFENSE AND COAST GUARD CONTRIBU14 TION.—The Secretary of Education may not make a

15 transfer of funds under paragraph (2) unless the Sec16 retary of Defense, and the Secretary of Transpor17 tation with respect to the Coast Guard, agree to cover

18 not less than 25 percent of the costs associated with

19 the activities conducted under the troops-to-teachers

20 program. The contributions may be in the form of in21 kind contributions or cash expenditures, which may

22 include the use of private contributions made for pur23 poses of the program.

24 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE MEMBERS.—After September 30,

25 1999, the troops-to-teachers program shall have a pri-
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1 mary focus of recruiting members of the Armed Forces

2 who are retiring after not less than 20 years of active

3 duty.

4 ‘‘(5) PLACEMENT PRIORITY.—The Defense Activ5 ity for Non-Traditional Education Support shall co6 operate with the Department of Education in efforts

7 to notify high-need local educational agencies of the

8 services available to them under the troops-to-teachers

9 program.

10 ‘‘SEC. 2042. EISENHOWER NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR

11 MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION.

12 ‘‘The Secretary may award a grant or contract, in

13 consultation with the Director of the National Science

14 Foundation, to continue the Eisenhower National Clearing15 house for Mathematics and Science Education.

16 ‘‘Subpart 5—Funding

17 ‘‘SEC. 2051. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 ‘‘(a) FISCAL YEAR 2000.—For the purpose of carrying

19 out this part, there are authorized to be appropriated

20 $2,019,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, of which $15,000,000

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subpart 4.

22 ‘‘(b) OTHER FISCAL YEARS.—For the purpose of car23 rying out this part, there are authorized to be appropriated

24 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2001 through

25 2004.
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1 ‘‘Subpart 6—General Provisions

2 ‘‘SEC. 2061. DEFINITIONS.

3 ‘‘For purposes of this part—

4 ‘‘(1) ARTS AND SCIENCES.—The term ‘arts and

5 sciences’ means—

6 ‘‘(A) when referring to an organizational

7 unit of an institution of higher education, any

8 academic unit that offers 1 or more academic

9 majors in disciplines or content areas cor10 responding to the academic subject matter areas

11 in which teachers provide instruction; and

12 ‘‘(B) when referring to a specific academic

13 subject matter area, the disciplines or content

14 areas in which academic majors are offered by

15 the arts and sciences organizational unit.

16 ‘‘(2) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN17 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’

18 means a local educational agency that serves an ele19 mentary school or secondary school located in an area

20 in which there is—

21 ‘‘(A) a high percentage of individuals from

22 families with incomes below the poverty line (as

23 defined by the Office of Management and Budget

24 and revised annually in accordance with section

25 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant

26 Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)));
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1 ‘‘(B) a high percentage of secondary school

2 teachers not teaching in the content area in

3 which the teachers were trained to teach; or

4 ‘‘(C) a high teacher turnover rate.

5 ‘‘(3) OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHER.—The term ‘out-of6 field teacher’ means a teacher—

7 ‘‘(A) teaching a subject for which he or she

8 is not fully qualified, as determined by the State;

9 or

10 ‘‘(B) who did not receive a degree from an

11 institution of higher education with a major or

12 minor in the field in which he or she teaches.

13 ‘‘(4) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED RESEARCH.—The

14 term ‘scientifically based research’—

15 ‘‘(A) means the application of rigorous, sys16 tematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid

17 knowledge relevant to professional development of

18 teachers; and

19 ‘‘(B) shall include research that—

20 ‘‘(i) employs systematic, empirical

21 methods that draw on observation or experi22 ment;

23 ‘‘(ii) involves rigorous data analyses

24 that are adequate to test the stated
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1 hypotheses and justify the general conclu2 sions drawn;

3 ‘‘(iii) relies on measurements or obser4 vational methods that provide valid data

5 across evaluators and observers and across

6 multiple measurements and observations;

7 and

8 ‘‘(iv) has been accepted by a peer-re9 viewed journal or approved by a panel of

10 independent experts through a comparably

11 rigorous, objective, and scientific review.’’.

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

13 (1) NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT.—Section

14 10992(i) of the Elementary and Secondary Education

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8332(i)) is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘$4,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘such sums as may be

17 necessary’’.

18 (2) REFERENCE TO NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE

19 FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION.—Sec20 tion 13302(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8672(1)) is amended by

22 striking ‘‘2102(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘2042’’.
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1 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO READING EXCELLENCE

2 ACT.

3 (a) REPEAL OF PART B.—Part B of title II of the Ele4 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

5 6641–6651) is repealed.

6 (b) READING EXCELLENCE ACT.—

7 (1) PART HEADING.—Part C of title II of such

8 Act is redesignated as part B and the heading for

9 such part B is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘PART B—READING EXCELLENCE ACT’’.

11 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Sec12 tion 2260(a) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6661i) is amended by

14 adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(3) FISCAL YEARS 2001 TO 2004.—There are au16 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this part

17 $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and such sums as

18 may be necessary for fiscal years 2002 through

19 2004.’’.

20 SEC. 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is

23 amended—

24 (1) by repealing part D;

25 (2) by redesignating part E as part C; and
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1 (3) by striking sections 2401 and 2402 and in2 serting the following:

3 ‘‘SEC. 2401. PROHIBITION ON MANDATORY NATIONAL CER4 TIFICATION OF TEACHERS.

5 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION ON MANDATORY TESTING OR CER6 TIFICATION.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

7 the Secretary is prohibited from using Federal funds to

8 plan, develop, implement, or administer any mandatory

9 national teacher test or certification.

10 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON WITHHOLDING FUNDS.—The

11 Secretary is prohibited from withholding funds from any

12 State or local educational agency if such State or local edu13 cational agency fails to adopt a specific method of teacher

14 certification.

15 ‘‘SEC. 2402. PROVISIONS RELATED TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS.

16 ‘‘The provisions of sections 14503 through 14506 apply

17 to programs under this title.

18 ‘‘SEC. 2403. HOME SCHOOLS.

19 ‘‘Nothing in this title shall be construed to permit,

20 allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal control over any

21 aspect of any private, religious, or home school, whether or

22 not a home school is treated as a private school or home

23 school under State law. This section shall not be construed

24 to bar private, religious, or home schools from participation

25 in programs or services under this title.’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

2 (1) DEFINITION OF COVERED PROGRAM.—Sec3 tion 14101(10)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801(10)(C)) is

5 amended by striking ‘‘(other than section 2103 and

6 part D)’’.

7 (2) PRIVATE SCHOOL PARTICIPATION.—Section

8 14503(b)(1)(B) (20 U.S.C. 8893(b)(1)(B)) of such Act

9 is amended by striking ‘‘(other than section 2103 and

10 part D of such title)’’.