106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1995

AN ACT

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
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1995

AN ACT

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.
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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

8 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et

9 seq.) is 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;

14 and

15 (3) by amending part A to read as follows:

16 ‘‘PART A—TEACHER EMPOWERMENT

17 ‘‘SEC. 2001. PURPOSE.

18 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to provide grants to

19 States and local educational agencies in order to assist

20 their efforts to increase student academic achievement

21 through such strategies as improving teacher quality.

22 ‘‘Subpart 1—Grants to States

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

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

25 in accordance with section 2013 submits to the Secretary
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1 an application for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make

2 a grant for the year to the State for the uses specified

3 in section 2012. The grant shall consist of the allotment

4 determined for the State under subsection (b).

5 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF ALLOT6 MENT.—

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

8 amount made available to carry out this subpart for

9 any fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve—

‘‘(A) 1 10 ⁄2 of 1 percent for allotments for the

11 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and

12 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is13 lands, to be distributed among these outlying

14 areas on the basis of their relative need, as de15 termined by the Secretary in accordance with

16 the purpose of this part; and

‘‘(B) 1 17 ⁄2 of 1 percent for the Secretary of

18 the Interior for programs under this part for

19 professional development activities for teachers,

20 other staff, and administrators in schools oper21 ated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

22 ‘‘(2) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(A) HOLD HARMLESS.—

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub25 paragraph (B), from the total amount
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1 made available to carry out this subpart

2 for any fiscal year and not reserved under

3 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall allot to

4 each of the 50 States, the District of Co5 lumbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto

6 Rico an amount equal to the total amount

7 that such State received for fiscal year

8 1999 under—

9 ‘‘(I) section 2202(b) of this Act

10 (as in effect on the day before the

11 date of the enactment of the Teacher

12 Empowerment Act);

13 ‘‘(II) section 307 of the Depart14 ment of Education Appropriations

15 Act, 1999; and

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

17 2000: Educate America Act.

18 ‘‘(ii) NONPARTICIPATING STATES.—In

19 the case of a State that did not receive any

20 funds for fiscal year 1999 under one or

21 more of the provisions referred to in sub22 clauses (I) through (III) of clause (i), the

23 amount allotted to the State under such

24 clause shall be the total amount that the

25 State would have received for fiscal year
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1 1999 if it had elected to participate in all

2 of the programs for which it was eligible

3 under each of the provisions referred to in

4 such subclauses.

5 ‘‘(iii) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the

6 total amount made available to carry out

7 this subpart for any fiscal year and not re8 served under paragraph (1) is insufficient

9 to pay the full amounts that all States are

10 eligible to receive under clause (i) for any

11 fiscal year, the Secretary shall ratably re12 duce such amounts for such fiscal year.

13 ‘‘(B) ALLOTMENT OF ADDITIONAL

14 FUNDS.—

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

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

17 amount made available to carry out this

18 subpart and not reserved under paragraph

19 (1) exceeds the total amount made avail20 able to the 50 States, the District of Co21 lumbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto

22 Rico for fiscal year 1999 under the au23 thorities described in subparagraph (A)(i),

24 the Secretary shall allot such excess

25 amount as follows:
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1 ‘‘(I) 50 percent of such excess

2 amount shall be allotted among such

3 States on the basis of their relative

4 populations of individuals aged 5

5 through 17, as determined by the Sec6 retary on the basis of the most recent

7 satisfactory data.

8 ‘‘(II) 50 percent of such excess

9 amount shall be allotted among such

10 States in proportion to the number of

11 children, aged 5 to 17, who reside

12 within the State from families with in13 comes below the poverty line (as de14 fined by the Office of Management

15 and Budget and revised annually in

16 accordance with section 673(2) of the

17 Community Services Block Grant Act

18 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) applicable to a

19 family of the size involved for the

20 most recent fiscal year for which sat21 isfactory data are available, compared

22 to the number of such individuals who

23 reside in all such States for that fiscal

24 year.
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1 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—No State receiving

2 an allotment under clause (i) may receive

less than 1 3 ⁄2 of 1 percent of the total ex4 cess amount allotted under clause (i).

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

6 apply for an allotment under this subsection for any

7 fiscal year, the Secretary shall reallot such amount

8 to the remaining States in accordance with this sub9 section.

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

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

12 under this subpart shall use the funds provided under the

13 grant in accordance with this section to carry out activities

14 for the improvement of teaching and learning.

15 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED AND AUTHORIZED EXPENDI16 TURES.—

17 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED EXPENDITURES.—The Sec18 retary may make a grant to a State under this sub19 part only if the State agrees to expend at least 95

20 percent of the amount of the funds provided under

21 the grant for the purpose of making, in accordance

22 with this part, subgrants to local educational agen23 cies under subpart 3 and subgrants to eligible part24 nerships under subpart 2.
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1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—A State

2 that receives a grant under this subpart may expend

3 not more than 5 percent of the amount of the funds

4 provided under the grant for one or more of the au5 thorized State activities described in subsection (d)

6 (of which percent, the State may use up to 5 percent

7 for planning and administration related to carrying

8 out such activities and making subgrants to local

9 educational agencies under subpart 3).

10 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF SUBGRANTS.—

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

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a

13 grant under this subpart shall distribute 80

14 percent of the amount described in subsection

15 (b)(1) through a formula under which—

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

17 educational agencies in accordance with

18 the relative enrollment in public and pri19 vate nonprofit elementary and secondary

20 schools within the boundaries of such

21 agencies; and

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

23 educational agencies in proportion to the

24 number of children, aged 5 to 17, who re25 side within the geographic area served by
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1 such agency from families with incomes

2 below the poverty line (as defined by the

3 Office of Management and Budget and re4 vised annually in accordance with section

5 673(2) of the Community Services Block

6 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable

7 to a family of the size involved for the

8 most recent fiscal year for which satisfac9 tory data are available, compared to the

10 number of such individuals who reside in

11 the geographic areas served by all the local

12 educational agencies in the State for that

13 fiscal year.

14 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For any fiscal

16 year for which a local educational agency

17 would receive under subparagraph (A) an

18 amount that is less than the total amount

19 that the agency received for fiscal year

20 1999 under—

21 ‘‘(I) section 2203(1)(B) of this

22 Act (as in effect on the day before the

23 date of the enactment of the Teacher

24 Empowerment Act); and
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1 ‘‘(II) section 307 of the Depart2 ment of Education Appropriations

3 Act, 1999,

4 a State receiving a grant under this sub5 part shall ensure that the local educational

6 agency receives under this paragraph an

7 amount equal to such total amount.

8 ‘‘(ii) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Notwith9 standing paragraph (2), a State shall use

10 such portion of the funds described in

11 paragraph (2)(A) as may be necessary to

12 pay to a local educational agency the dif13 ference between the agency’s allotment

14 under subparagraph (A) and the allotment

15 to the agency required under clause (i).

16 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION OF 20 PERCENT OF

17 FUNDS.—

18 ‘‘(A) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—Subject to

19 subparagraph (C), a State receiving a grant

20 under this subpart shall distribute 20 percent

21 of the amount described in subsection (b)(1) (or

22 such portion of such amount as remains after

23 satisfaction of the requirements in subpara24 graphs (A) and (B)(ii) of paragraph (1))

25 through a competitive process that results in an
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1 equitable distribution by geographic area within

2 the State.

3 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPANTS.—The competitive

4 process under subparagraph (A) shall be open

5 to local educational agencies and eligible part6 nerships (as defined in section 2021(d)), except

7 that a State shall give priority to local edu8 cational agencies that focus on math, science,

9 or reading professional development programs.

10 ‘‘(C) SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE PARTNER11 SHIPS.—A State receiving a grant under this

12 subpart shall expend at least 3 percent of the

13 amount described in subparagraph (A) for the

14 purpose of making subgrants to eligible part15 nerships under subpart 2.

16 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED STATE ACTIVITIES.—The author17 ized State activities referred to in subsection (b)(2) are

18 the following:

19 ‘‘(1) Reforming teacher certification, recertifi20 cation, or licensure requirements to ensure that—

21 ‘‘(A) teachers have the necessary teaching

22 skills and academic content knowledge in the

23 subject areas in which they are assigned to

24 teach;
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1 ‘‘(B) they are aligned with the State’s

2 challenging State content standards; and

3 ‘‘(C) teachers have the knowledge and

4 skills necessary to help students meet chal5 lenging State student performance standards.

6 ‘‘(2) Carrying out programs that—

7 ‘‘(A) include support during the initial

8 teaching experience, such as mentoring pro9 grams that—

10 ‘‘(i) provide mentoring to beginning

11 teachers from veteran teachers with exper12 tise in the same subject matter that the

13 beginning teachers will be teaching;

14 ‘‘(ii) provide mentors time for activi15 ties such as coaching, observing, and as16 sisting the teachers who are mentored; and

17 ‘‘(iii) use standards or assessments

18 for guiding beginning teachers that are

19 consistent with the State’s student per20 formance standards and with the require21 ments for professional development activi22 ties under section 2033.

23 ‘‘(B) establish, expand, or improve alter24 native routes to State certification of teachers,

25 especially in the areas of mathematics and
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1 science, for highly qualified individuals with a

2 baccalaureate degree, including mid-career pro3 fessionals from other occupations, paraprofes4 sionals, former military personnel, and recent

5 college or university graduates with records of

6 academic distinction who demonstrate the po7 tential to become highly effective teachers.

8 ‘‘(3) Developing and implementing effective

9 mechanisms to assist local educational agencies and

10 schools in effectively recruiting and retaining highly

11 qualified and effective teachers and principals.

12 ‘‘(4) Reforming tenure systems and imple13 menting teacher testing and other procedures to ex14 peditiously remove incompetent and ineffective

15 teachers from the classroom.

16 ‘‘(5) Developing enhanced performance systems

17 to measure the effectiveness of specific professional

18 development programs and strategies.

19 ‘‘(6) Providing technical assistance to local edu20 cational agencies consistent with this part.

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

22 teacher certification or licensure between or among

23 States, except that no reciprocity agreement devel24 oped under this paragraph or developed using funds

25 provided under this part may lead to the weakening
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1 of any State teaching certification or licensing re2 quirement.

3 ‘‘(8) Developing or assisting local educational

4 agencies or eligible partnerships (as defined in sec5 tion 2021(d)) in the development and utilization of

6 proven, innovative strategies to deliver intensive pro7 fessional development programs that are both cost8 effective and easily accessible, such as through the

9 use of technology and distance learning.

10 ‘‘(9) Providing assistance to local educational

11 agencies and eligible partnerships (as defined in sec12 tion 2021(d)) for the development and implementa13 tion of innovative professional development programs

14 that train teachers to use technology to improve

15 teaching and learning and are consistent with the re16 quirements of section 2033.

17 ‘‘(e) COMPONENTS OF ALTERNATIVE ROUTES TO

18 STATE CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS.—To the extent appro19 priate, programs under subsection (d)(2)(B) shall—

20 ‘‘(1) include strong academic and teaching-re21 lated course work that provides teachers with the

22 subject matter and teaching knowledge needed to

23 help students reach the States content standards;

24 ‘‘(2) provide intensive field experience in the

25 form of an internship, or student teaching, under
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1 the direct daily supervision of an expert, veteran

2 teacher; and

3 ‘‘(3) provide that, before entry into teaching,

4 candidates must be fully qualified.

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

6 section 202 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 shall

7 coordinate the use of such funds with activities carried out

8 under this section.

9 ‘‘(g) PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY.—

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

11 grant 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 information on the State’s

15 progress with respect to—

16 ‘‘(i) subject to paragraph (2), improv17 ing student academic achievement, as de18 fined by the State;

19 ‘‘(ii) closing academic achievement

20 gaps, as defined by the State, between the

21 groups described in paragraph (2)(A)(i);

22 ‘‘(iii) increasing the percentage of

23 classes in core academic areas taught by

24 fully qualified teachers; and

25 ‘‘(iv) reducing class size; or
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1 ‘‘(B) in the event the State provides no

2 such report card, shall publicly report the infor3 mation described in subparagraph (A) through

4 other means.

5 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATED DATA.—The information

6 described in paragraph (1)(A)(i) and section

7 2013(b)(3)((A) shall be—

8 ‘‘(A) disaggregated—

9 ‘‘(i) by minority and non-minority sta10 tus and by low-income and non-low-income

11 status; and

12 ‘‘(ii) using assessments consistent

13 with section 1111(b)(3); and

14 ‘‘(B) publicly reported in the form of

15 disaggregated data only when such data are

16 statistically sound.

17 ‘‘SEC. 2013. APPLICATIONS BY STATES.

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

19 under this subpart, a State shall submit an application

20 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con21 taining such information as the Secretary may reasonably

22 require.

23 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each application under this sec24 tion shall include the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) A description of how the State will ensure

2 that a local educational agency receiving a subgrant

3 under subpart 3 will comply with the requirements

4 of such subpart, including the required use of funds

5 for mathematics and science programs, professional

6 development, and hiring teachers to reduce class

7 size.

8 ‘‘(2) A plan to ensure all teachers within the

9 State are fully qualified not later than December 31,

10 2003.

11 ‘‘(3) An assurance that the State will require

12 each local educational agency and school receiving

13 funds under this title to publicly report their annual

14 progress on the agency’s and the school’s perform15 ance indicators in the following:

16 ‘‘(A) Subject to section 2012(f)(2), improv17 ing student academic achievement, as defined

18 by the State.

19 ‘‘(B) Closing academic achievement gaps,

20 as defined by the State, between the groups de21 scribed in section 2012(f)(2)(A)(i).

22 ‘‘(C) Increasing the percentage of classes

23 in core academic areas taught by fully qualified

24 teachers.
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1 ‘‘(4) A description of how the State will hold

2 local educational agencies and schools accountable

3 for making annual gains in meeting the performance

4 indicators described in paragraph (3).

5 ‘‘(5) A description of how the State will coordi6 nate professional development activities authorized

7 under this part with professional development activi8 ties provided under other Federal, State, and local

9 programs, including those authorized under title I,

10 title III, title IV, part A of title VII, and (where ap11 plicable) the Individuals with Disabilities Education

12 Act and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Tech13 nical Education Act. The application shall also de14 scribe the comprehensive strategy that the State will

15 take as part of such coordination effort, to ensure

16 that teachers are trained in the utilization of tech17 nology so that technology and its applications are ef18 fectively used in the classroom to improve teaching

19 and learning in all curriculum and content areas, as

20 appropriate.

21 ‘‘(6) A description of how the State will encour22 age the development of proven, innovative strategies

23 to deliver intensive professional development pro24 grams that are both cost-effective and easily acces-
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1 sible, such as through the use of technology and dis2 tance learning.

3 ‘‘(7) A description of how the State will ensure

4 that local educational agencies will comply with the

5 requirement under section 2033(b)(5), especially

6 with respect to ensuring the participation of teachers

7 and parents.

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

9 submitted to the Secretary under this section shall be ap10 proved by the Secretary unless the Secretary makes a

11 written determination, within 90 days after receiving the

12 application, that the application is in violation of the provi13 sions of this Act.

14 ‘‘Subpart 2—Subgrants to Eligible Partnerships

15 ‘‘SEC. 2021. PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From the amount described in

17 section 2012(c)(2)(C), the State agency for higher edu18 cation, working in conjunction with the State educational

19 agency (if such agencies are separate), shall award grants

20 on a competitive basis to eligible partnerships to enable

21 such partnerships to carry out activities described in sub22 section (b). Such grants shall be equitably distributed by

23 geographic area within the State. Not more than 5 percent

24 of the amount made available to an agency to carry out

25 this subpart may be used for planning and administration.
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1 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A recipient of funds under

2 this section shall use the funds for—

3 ‘‘(1) professional development activities in core

4 academic subjects to ensure that teachers have con5 tent knowledge in the subjects they teach; and

6 ‘‘(2) developing and providing assistance to

7 local educational agencies and the teachers, prin8 cipals, and administrators, of public and private

9 schools in each such agency, for sustained, high10 quality professional development activities which—

11 ‘‘(A) ensure they are able to use State con12 tent standards, performance standards, and as13 sessments to improve instructional practices

14 and improve student achievement; and

15 ‘‘(B) may include intensive programs de16 signed to prepare teachers who will return to

17 their school to provide such instruction to other

18 teachers within such school.

19 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE.—No single participant in an eli20 gible partnership may retain more than 50 percent of the

21 funds made available to the partnership under this section.

22 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—As used in this sec23 tion, the term ‘eligible partnerships’ means an entity

24 that—

25 ‘‘(1) shall include—
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1 ‘‘(A) a high-need local educational agency;

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

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

4 and

5 ‘‘(2) may include other local educational agen6 cies, a public charter school, a public or private ele7 mentary or secondary school, an educational service

8 agency, a public or private nonprofit educational or9 ganization, or a business.

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

11 under section 203 of the Higher Education Act of 1965

12 shall coordinate the use of such funds with any related

13 activities carried out by such partnership with funds made

14 available under this section.

15 ‘‘Subpart 3—Subgrants to Local Educational

16 Agencies

17 ‘‘SEC. 2031. LOCAL USE OF FUNDS.

18 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational

20 agency that receives a subgrant under this subpart

21 shall use the subgrant to carry out the activities de22 scribed in this subsection.

23 ‘‘(2) MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount made

25 available to each local educational agency under
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1 this subpart for a fiscal year, the agency shall

2 use not less than the amount expended by the

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

4 effect on the day before the date of the enact5 ment of the Teacher Empowerment Act) for the

6 fiscal year preceding such enactment for profes7 sional development activities in mathematics

8 and science in accordance with section 2033.

9 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—

10 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION.—A local edu11 cational agency, in consultation with teach12 ers and principals, may seek a waiver of

13 the requirement in subparagraph (A) from

14 a State in order to allow the local edu15 cational agency to use such funds for pro16 fessional development in academic subjects

17 other than mathematics and science.

18 ‘‘(ii) STANDARD FOR GRANTING.—A

19 State may not approve such a waiver un20 less the local educational agency is able to

21 demonstrate that—

22 ‘‘(I) the professional development

23 needs of mathematics and science

24 teachers, including elementary teach25 ers responsible for teaching mathe-
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1 matics and science, have been ade2 quately served and will continue to be

3 adequately served if the waiver is ap4 proved;

5 ‘‘(II) State assessments in math6 ematics and science demonstrate that

7 each school within the local edu8 cational agency has made and will

9 continue to make progress toward

10 meeting the challenging State or local

11 content standards and student per12 formance standards in these areas;

13 and

14 ‘‘(III) State assessments in other

15 academic subjects demonstrate a need

16 to focus on subjects other than mathe17 matics and science.

18 ‘‘(iii) GRANDFATHER OF OLD WAIV19 ERS.—A waiver provided to a local edu20 cational agency under part D of title XIV

21 prior to the date of the enactment of the

22 Teacher Empowerment Act shall be

23 deemed effective until such time as it oth24 erwise 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

5 that 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 re16 cruiting, hiring, and training fully qualified

17 teachers, including teachers fully qualified

18 through State and local alternative routes, in

19 order to reduce class size.

20 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR SPECIAL EDU21 CATION TEACHERS.—Notwithstanding subpara22 graph (A), a local educational agency may use

23 some or all of the funds described in such sub24 paragraph to hire special education teachers re-
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1 gardless of whether such action reduces class

2 size.

3 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—

4 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION.—A local edu5 cational agency may seek a waiver of the

6 requirement in subparagraph (A) from a

7 State in order to allow the local edu8 cational agency to use such funds for pur9 poses other than hiring teachers in order

10 to reduce class size.

11 ‘‘(ii) STANDARD FOR GRANTING.—A

12 State may not approve such a waiver un13 less the local educational agency is able to

14 demonstrate that—

15 ‘‘(I) such funds will be used to

16 ensure that all instructional staff have

17 the subject matter knowledge, teach18 ing knowledge, and teaching skills

19 necessary to teach effectively in the

20 content area or areas in which they

21 provide instruction; or

22 ‘‘(II) an initiative to reduce class

23 size would result in having to rely on

24 underqualified teachers, inadequate

25 classroom space, or would have any
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1 other negative consequence affecting

2 the efforts of the local educational

3 agency to improve student academic

4 achievement.

5 ‘‘(b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—Each local edu6 cational agency that receives a subgrant under this sub7 part may use the subgrant to carry out the following ac8 tivities:

9 ‘‘(1) Initiatives to assist recruitment of fully

10 qualified teachers who will be assigned teaching posi11 tions within their field, including—

12 ‘‘(A) providing signing bonuses or other fi13 nancial incentives, such as differential pay, for

14 teachers to teach in academic subject areas in

15 which there exists a shortage of such fully

16 qualified teachers within a school or the local

17 educational agency;

18 ‘‘(B) establishing programs that—

19 ‘‘(i) recruit professionals from other

20 fields and provide such professionals with

21 alternative routes to teacher certification,

22 especially in the areas of mathematics and

23 science; and

24 ‘‘(ii) provide increased opportunities

25 for minorities, individuals with disabilities,
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1 and other individuals underrepresented in

2 the teaching profession; and

3 ‘‘(C) implementing hiring policies that en4 sure comprehensive recruitment efforts as a

5 way to expand the applicant pool, such as

6 through identifying teachers certified through

7 alternative routes, coupled with a system of in8 tensive screening designed to hire the most

9 qualified applicant.

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

11 qualified teachers and principals including—

12 ‘‘(A) programs that provide mentoring to

13 newly hired teachers, such as from master

14 teachers, and to newly hired principals; or

15 ‘‘(B) programs that provide other incen16 tives, including financial incentives, to retain

17 teachers who have a record of success in help18 ing low-achieving students improve their aca19 demic success.

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

21 to improve the quality of the teacher force, such

22 as—

23 ‘‘(A) innovative professional development

24 programs (which may be through partnerships

25 including institutions of higher education), in-
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1 cluding programs that train teachers to utilize

2 technology to improve teaching and learning,

3 that are consistent with the requirements of

4 section 2033;

5 ‘‘(B) development and utilization of prov6 en, cost-effective strategies for the implementa7 tion of professional development activities, such

8 as through the utilization of technology and dis9 tance learning;

10 ‘‘(C) tenure reform;

11 ‘‘(D) merit pay;

12 ‘‘(E) testing of elementary and secondary

13 school teachers in the subject areas taught by

14 such teachers;

15 ‘‘(F) professional development programs

16 that provide instruction in how to teach chil17 dren with different learning styles, particularly

18 children with disabilities and children with spe19 cial learning needs (including those who are

20 gifted and talented);

21 ‘‘(G) professional development programs

22 that provide instruction in how best to dis23 cipline children in the classroom and identify

24 early and appropriate interventions to help chil25 dren described in subparagraph (F) learn; and
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1 ‘‘(H) professional development programs

2 that provide instruction in how to teach char3 acter education in a manner that—

4 ‘‘(i) reflects the values of parents,

5 teachers, and local communities; and

6 ‘‘(ii) incorporates elements of good

7 character, including honesty, citizenship,

8 courage, justice, respect, personal responsi9 bility, and trustworthiness.

10 ‘‘(4) Teacher opportunity payments, consistent

11 with section 2034.

12 ‘‘(5) Professional activities designed to improve

13 the quality of principals.

14 ‘‘SEC. 2032. LOCAL APPLICATIONS.

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency seek16 ing to receive a subgrant from a State under this subpart

17 shall submit an application to the State—

18 ‘‘(1) at such time as the State shall require;

19 and

20 ‘‘(2) which is coordinated with other programs

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

22 ‘‘(b) LOCAL APPLICATION CONTENTS.—The local ap23 plication described in subsection (a), shall include, at a

24 minimum, the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) A description of how the local educational

2 agency intends to use funds provided under this sub3 part, including an assurance that the local edu4 cational agency will meet the requirements for the

5 use of funds for mathematics and science programs,

6 professional development, and hiring teachers to re7 duce class size, under section 2031.

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

9 agency will target funds to schools within the juris10 diction of the local educational agency that—

11 ‘‘(A) have the lowest proportion of fully

12 qualified teachers;

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

14 ‘‘(C) are identified for school improvement

15 under section 1116(c).

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

17 agency will coordinate professional development ac18 tivities authorized under this subpart with profes19 sional development activities provided through other

20 Federal, State, and local programs, including those

21 authorized under title I, title III, title IV, part A of

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

23 Disabilities Education Act and the Carl D. Perkins

24 Vocational and Technical Education Act.
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1 ‘‘(4) A description of how the local educational

2 agency will integrate funds under this subpart with

3 funds received under title III that are used for pro4 fessional development to train teachers in how to use

5 technology to improve learning and teaching.

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

7 agency has collaborated with teachers, principals,

8 parents, and administrators in the preparation of

9 the application.

10 ‘‘(c) PARENTS’ RIGHT-TO-KNOW.—A local edu11 cational agency that receives funds under this subpart

12 shall provide, upon request and in an understandable and

13 uniform format, to any parent of a student attending any

14 school receiving funds under this subpart, information re15 garding the professional qualifications of the student’s

16 classroom teachers, including, at a minimum, the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(1) Whether the teacher has met State quali19 fication and licensing criteria for the grade levels

20 and subject areas in which the teacher provides in21 struction.

22 ‘‘(2) Whether the teacher is teaching under

23 emergency or other provisional status through which

24 State qualification or licensing criteria have been

25 waived.
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1 ‘‘(3) The baccalaureate degree major of the

2 teacher and any other graduate certification or de3 gree held by the teacher, and the field or discipline

4 of the certification or degree.

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

6 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION RELATING TO CURRICULUM AND

7 CONTENT AREAS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), professional development funds under this

10 subpart may not be provided for a teacher and an

11 activity if the activity is not—

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

13 content areas in which the teacher provides in14 struction; or

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

16 teacher to understand and use the State’s

17 standards for the subject area in which the

18 teacher provides instruction.

19 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not

20 apply to funds for professional development activities

21 that instruct in methods of disciplining children.

22 ‘‘(b) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Professional develop23 ment activities funded under this subpart—
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1 ‘‘(1) shall be measured, in terms of progress,

2 using the specific performance indicators established

3 by the State in accordance with section 2013(b)(3);

4 ‘‘(2) shall be tied to challenging State or local

5 content standards and student performance stand6 ards;

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

8 demonstrating the effectiveness of such program in

9 increasing student achievement or substantially in10 creasing the knowledge and teaching skills of such

11 teachers;

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

13 (such as not to include 1-day or short-term work14 shops and conferences) to have a positive and lasting

15 impact on the teacher’s performance in the class16 room, except that this paragraph shall not apply to

17 an activity if such activity is one component of a

18 long-term comprehensive professional development

19 plan established by the teacher and the teacher’s su20 pervisor based upon an assessment of their needs,

21 their students’ needs, and the needs of the local edu22 cational agency;

23 ‘‘(5) shall be developed with extensive participa24 tion of teachers, principals, parents, and administra25 tors of schools to be served under this part and, with
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1 respect to any professional development program de2 scribed in subparagraphs (F) and (G) of section

3 2031(b)(3), shall, if appropriate, be developed with

4 extensive coordination with, and participation of,

5 professionals with expertise in such types of profes6 sional development; and

7 ‘‘(6) shall, to the extent appropriate, provide

8 training for teachers in the use of technology so that

9 technology and its applications are effectively used

10 in the classroom to improve teaching and learning in

11 the curriculum and academic content areas in which

12 those teachers provide instruction.

13 ‘‘(c) ACCOUNTABILITY.—

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

15 educational agency that the agency is on notice of

16 the possibility that the agency may be subject to the

17 requirement in paragraph (3) if, after any fiscal

18 year, the State determines that the programs or ac19 tivities funded by the agency fail to meet the re20 quirements of subsections (a) and (b).

21 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—A local edu22 cational agency that has been put on notice pursu23 ant to paragraph (1) may request technical assist24 ance from the State in order to provide the oppor-
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1 tunity for such local educational agency to comply

2 with the requirements of subsections (a) and (b).

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE TEACHER OP4 PORTUNITY PAYMENTS.—A local educational agency

5 that has been put on notice by the State pursuant

6 to paragraph (1) during any 2 consecutive fiscal

7 years shall expend under section 2034 for the suc8 ceeding fiscal year a proportion of the amount made

9 available to the agency under this subpart equal to

10 the proportion of such amount expended by the

11 agency on professional development for the second

12 fiscal year in which it was put on notice.

13 ‘‘SEC. 2034. TEACHER OPPORTUNITY PAYMENTS.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency re15 ceiving funds under this subpart may (or, in the case of

16 a local educational agency described in section 2033(c)(3),

17 shall) provide funds directly to a teacher or a group of

18 teachers seeking opportunities to participate in a profes19 sional development activity of their choice.

20 ‘‘(b) NOTICE TO TEACHERS.—Local educational

21 agencies distributing funds under this section shall estab22 lish and implement a timely process through which proper

23 notice of availability of funds will be given to all teachers

24 within schools identified by the agency and shall develop

25 a process whereby teachers will be specifically rec-
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1 ommended by principals to participate in such program

2 by virtue of—

3 ‘‘(1) their not being fully qualified to teach in

4 the subject or subjects in which they teach; or

5 ‘‘(2) their need for additional assistance to en6 sure that their students make progress toward meet7 ing challenging State content standards and student

8 performance standards.

9 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF TEACHERS.—In the event ade10 quate funding is not available to provide payments under

11 this section to all teachers seeking such assistance, or

12 identified as needing such assistance pursuant to sub13 section (b), a local educational agency shall establish pro14 cedures for selecting teachers which provide a priority for

15 those teachers described in paragraph (1) or (2) of sub16 section (b).

17 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PROGRAM.—Teachers receiving a pay18 ment under this section shall have the choice of attending

19 any professional development program that meets the cri20 teria set forth in subsection (a) or (b) of section 2033.

21 ‘‘Subpart 4—National Activities

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

23 ‘‘(a) TEACHER EXCELLENCE ACADEMIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award

2 grants on a competitive basis to eligible consortia to

3 carry out activities described in this subsection.

4 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—

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

6 receiving funds under this subsection shall use

7 the funds to pay the costs associated with the

8 establishment or expansion of a teacher acad9 emy in an elementary or secondary school facil10 ity that carries out the activities promoting al11 ternative routes to State teacher certification

12 specified in subparagraph (B), the model pro13 fessional development activities specified in sub14 paragraph (C), or all such activities.

15 ‘‘(B) PROMOTING ALTERNATIVE ROUTES

16 TO TEACHER CERTIFICATION.—The activities

17 promoting alternative routes to State teacher

18 certification specified in this subparagraph are

19 the design and implementation of a course of

20 study and activities providing an alternative

21 route to State teacher certification that—

22 ‘‘(i) provide opportunities to highly

23 qualified individuals with a baccalaureate

24 degree, including mid-career professionals

25 from other occupations, paraprofessionals,
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1 former military personnel, and recent col2 lege or university graduates with records of

3 academic distinction;

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

5 than 2 years, to permit individuals de6 scribed in clause (i) to participate as stu7 dent teachers able to fill teaching needs in

8 academic subjects in which there is a dem9 onstrated shortage of teachers;

10 ‘‘(iii) provide for the recruitment and

11 hiring of master teachers to mentor and

12 train student teachers within such acad13 emies; and

14 ‘‘(iv) include a reasonable service re15 quirement for individuals completing the

16 alternative certification program estab17 lished by the consortium.

18 ‘‘(C) MODEL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP19 MENT.—The model professional development

20 activities specified in this subparagraph are ac21 tivities providing ongoing professional develop22 ment opportunities for teachers, such as—

23 ‘‘(i) innovative programs and model

24 curricula in the area of professional devel25 opment which may serve as models to be
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1 disseminated to other schools and local

2 educational agencies; and

3 ‘‘(ii) developing innovative techniques

4 for evaluating the effectiveness of profes5 sional development programs.

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

7 less than one grant to a consortium that—

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

9 agency located in a rural area; and

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

11 learning in order to provide the applicable

12 course work to student teachers.

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

14 an eligible consortium may retain more than 50 per15 cent of the funds made available to the consortium

16 under this subsection.

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

18 grant under this subsection, an eligible consortium

19 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such

20 time, in such manner, and containing such informa21 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require.

22 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE CONSORTIUM.—In this sub23 section, the term ‘eligible consortium’ means a con24 sortium for a State that—

25 ‘‘(A) shall include—
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1 ‘‘(i) the State agency responsible for

2 certifying teachers;

3 ‘‘(ii) not less than one high-need local

4 educational agency;

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

6 and

7 ‘‘(iv) an institution that prepares

8 teachers; and

9 ‘‘(B) may include local educational agen10 cies, public charter schools, public or private el11 ementary or secondary schools, educational

12 service agencies, public or private nonprofit

13 educational organizations, museums, or busi14 nesses.

15 ‘‘(b) CONTINUATION OF TROOPS-TO-TEACHERS PRO16 GRAM.—

17 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this sub18 section to authorize the continuation after Sep19 tember 30, 2000, of the teachers and teachers’ aide

20 placement program known as the ‘troops-to-teachers

21 program’, which was established by the Secretary of

22 Defense, and the Secretary of Transportation with

23 respect to the Coast Guard, under section 1151 of

24 title 10, United States Code.
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1 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO CONTINUE PRO2 GRAM.—Subject to the requirements of this sub3 section, the Secretary of Education may provide a

4 transfer of funds to the Defense Activity for Non5 Traditional Education Support of the Department of

6 Defense to permit the Defense Activity to carry out

7 the troops-to-teachers program under section 1151

8 of title 10, United States Code, notwithstanding the

9 termination date specified in subsection (c)(1)(A) of

10 such section.

11 ‘‘(3) DEFENSE AND COAST GUARD CONTRIBU12 TION.—The Secretary of Education may not make a

13 transfer of funds under paragraph (2) unless the

14 Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Trans15 portation with respect to the Coast Guard, agree to

16 cover not less than 25 percent of the costs associ17 ated with the activities conducted under the troops18 to-teachers program. The contributions may be in

19 the form of in-kind contributions or cash expendi20 tures, which may include the use of private contribu21 tions made for purposes of the program.

22 ‘‘SEC. 2042. EISENHOWER NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR

23 MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION.

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

25 consultation with the Director of the National Science
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1 Foundation, to continue the Eisenhower National Clear2 inghouse for Mathematics and Science Education.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2043. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR PRIN4 CIPALS AS LEADERS OF SCHOOL REFORM.

5 ‘‘(a) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.—The Secretary shall

6 award grants on a competitive basis to eligible

7 partnerships—

8 ‘‘(1) consisting of—

9 ‘‘(A) one or more institutions of higher

10 education that provide professional development

11 for principals and other school administrators;

12 and

13 ‘‘(B) one or more local educational agen14 cies; and

15 ‘‘(2) that may include other entities, agencies,

16 or organizations, such as a State educational agency,

17 a State agency for higher education, educational

18 service agencies, or professional organizations of

19 principals and teachers.

20 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any eligible partnership

22 that desires to receive a grant under this section

23 shall submit an application at such time, in such

24 manner, and containing such information as the Sec25 retary may require.
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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each such application shall

2 include a description of—

3 ‘‘(A) the activities the partnership will

4 carry out to achieve the purpose of this section;

5 ‘‘(B) how those activities will build on, and

6 be coordinated with, other professional develop7 ment programs and activities, including activi8 ties under title I of this Act and title II of the

9 Higher Education Act of 1965; and

10 ‘‘(C) how principals, teachers, and other

11 interested individuals were involved in devel12 oping the application and will be involved in

13 planning and carrying out activities under this

14 section.

15 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible partnership that

16 receives a grant under this section shall use the grant

17 funds to provide professional development to principals

18 and other school administrators to enable them to be effec19 tive school leaders and prepare all students to achieve to

20 challenging State content and student performance stand21 ards, including professional development relating to—

22 ‘‘(1) leadership skills;

23 ‘‘(2) recruitment, assignment, retention, and

24 evaluation of teachers and other staff;
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1 ‘‘(3) effective instructional practices, including

2 the use of technology;

3 ‘‘(4) using smaller classes effectively; and

4 ‘‘(5) parental and community involvement.

5 ‘‘SEC. 2044. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR TEACHER EN6 TREPRENEURSHIP.

7 ‘‘The Secretary may award a grant or contract to an

8 organization or institution with substantial experience in

9 entrepreneurship education to establish and operate a Na10 tional Clearinghouse for Teacher Entrepreneurship to co11 ordinate professional development opportunities for teach12 ers, collect and disseminate curricular materials, and un13 dertake other activities to encourage teacher interest and

14 involvement in entrepreneurship education, particularly

15 for teachers of grades 7 through 12.

16 ‘‘SEC. 2045. RURAL TEACHERS.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants

18 on a competitive basis to rural eligible local educational

19 agencies to carry out activities described in subsection (b).

20 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A rural eligible local edu21 cational agency that receives a grant under this section

22 may use such funds to develop incentive programs—

23 ‘‘(1) to recruit and retain qualified teachers;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(2) to provide high-quality professional devel2 opment to teachers.

3 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant

4 under this section, a rural eligible local educational agency

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

6 in such manner, and containing such information as the

7 Secretary may reasonably require.

8 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

9 ‘‘(1) METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA.—The

10 term ‘metropolitan statistical area’ has the meaning

11 given such term by the Bureau of the Census.

12 ‘‘(2) RURAL ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

13 AGENCY.—The term ‘rural eligible local educational

14 agency’ means a local educational agency—

15 ‘‘(A) that is not located in a metropolitan

16 statistical area; and

17 ‘‘(B) in which there is a high percentage of

18 individuals from families with incomes below

19 the poverty line (as defined by the Office of

20 Management and Budget and revised annually

21 in accordance with section 673(2) of the Com22 munity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C.

23 9902(2))).
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1 ‘‘SEC. 2046. TRANSITION TO TEACHING.

2 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to ad3 dress the need of high-need local educational agencies for

4 highly qualified teachers in particular subject areas, such

5 as mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual edu6 cation, and special education, needed by those agencies,

7 following the model of the successful teachers placement

8 program known as the ‘Troops-to-Teachers program’, by

9 recruiting, preparing, placing, and supporting career10 changing professionals who have knowledge and experi11 ence that will help them become such teachers.

12 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

13 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is authorized

14 to use funds appropriated under paragraph (2) for

15 each fiscal year to award grants, contracts, or coop16 erative agreements to institutions of higher edu17 cation and public and private nonprofit agencies or

18 organizations to carry out programs authorized by

19 this section.

20 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

21 For the purpose of carrying out this section, there

22 are authorized to be appropriated $9,000,000 for

23 fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may be necessary

24 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2004.

25 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—Each applicant that desires an

26 award under subsection (b)(1) shall submit an application
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1 to the Secretary containing such information as the Sec2 retary requires, including—

3 ‘‘(1) a description of the target group of career4 changing professionals upon which the applicant will

5 focus its recruitment efforts in carrying out its pro6 gram under this section, including a description of

7 the characteristics of that target group that shows

8 how the knowledge and experience of its members

9 are relevant to meeting the purpose of this section;

10 ‘‘(2) a description of the training that program

11 participants will receive and how that training will

12 relate to their certification as teachers;

13 ‘‘(3) a description of how the applicant will col14 laborate, as needed, with other institutions, agencies,

15 or organizations to recruit, train, place, support, and

16 provide teacher induction programs to program par17 ticipants under this section, including evidence of

18 the commitment of those institutions, agencies, or

19 organizations to the applicant’s program;

20 ‘‘(4) a description of how the applicant will

21 evaluate the progress and effectiveness of its pro22 gram, including—

23 ‘‘(A) the program’s goals and objectives;
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1 ‘‘(B) the performance indicators the appli2 cant will use to measure the program’s

3 progress; and

4 ‘‘(C) the outcome measures that will be

5 used to determine the program’s effectiveness;

6 and

7 ‘‘(5) such other information and assurances as

8 the Secretary may require.

9 ‘‘(d) USES OF FUNDS AND PERIOD OF SERVICE.—

10 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Funds under

11 this section may be used for—

12 ‘‘(A) recruiting program participants, in13 cluding informing them of opportunities under

14 the program and putting them in contact with

15 other institutions, agencies, or organizations

16 that would train, place, and support them;

17 ‘‘(B) training stipends and other financial

18 incentives for program participants, not to ex19 ceed $5,000 per participant;

20 ‘‘(C) assisting institutions of higher edu21 cation or other providers of teacher training to

22 tailor their training to meet the particular

23 needs of professionals who are changing their

24 careers to teaching;
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1 ‘‘(D) placement activities, including identi2 fying high-need local educational agencies with

3 a need for the particular skills and characteris4 tics of the newly trained program participants

5 and assisting those participants to obtain em6 ployment in those local educational agencies;

7 and

8 ‘‘(E) post-placement induction or support

9 activities for program participants.

10 ‘‘(2) PERIOD OF SERVICE.—A program partici11 pant in a program under this section who completes

12 his or her training shall serve in a high-need local

13 educational agency for at least 3 years.

14 ‘‘(3) REPAYMENT.—The Secretary shall estab15 lish such requirements as the Secretary determines

16 appropriate to ensure that program participants who

17 receive a training stipend or other financial incentive

18 under paragraph (1)(B), but fail to complete their

19 service obligation under paragraph (2), repay all or

20 a portion of such stipend or other incentive.

21 ‘‘(e) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—To the extent

22 practicable, the Secretary shall make awards under this

23 section that support programs in different geographic re24 gions of the Nation.

25 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
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1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘high-need local educational

2 agency’ has the meaning given such term in section

3 2061.

4 ‘‘(2) The term ‘program participants’ means ca5 reer-changing professionals who—

6 ‘‘(A) hold at least a baccalaureate degree;

7 ‘‘(B) demonstrate interest in, and commit8 ment to, becoming a teacher; and

9 ‘‘(C) have knowledge and experience that

10 are relevant to teaching a high-need subject

11 area in a high-need local educational agency.

12 ‘‘Subpart 5—Funding

13 ‘‘SEC. 2051. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 ‘‘(a) FISCAL YEAR 2000.—For the purpose of car15 rying out this part (other than section 2043), there are

16 authorized to be appropriated $2,019,000,000 for fiscal

17 year 2000, of which $15,000,000 are authorized to be ap18 propriated to carry out subpart 4 (other than section

19 2043).

20 ‘‘(b) OTHER FISCAL YEARS.—For the purpose of

21 carrying out this part (other than section 2043), there are

22 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec23 essary for fiscal years 2001 through 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 one or more academic

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

11 areas 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) FULLY QUALIFIED.—The term ‘fully

17 qualified’—

18 ‘‘(A) when used with respect to a public el19 ementary or secondary school teacher (other

20 than a teacher teaching in a public charter

21 school), means that the teacher has obtained

22 State certification as a teacher (including cer23 tification obtained through alternative routes to

24 certification) or passed the State teacher licens25 ing exam and holds a license to teach in such

26 State; and
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1 ‘‘(B) when used with respect to —

2 ‘‘(i) an elementary school teacher,

3 means that the teacher holds a bachelor’s

4 degree and demonstrates knowledge and

5 teaching skills in reading, writing, mathe6 matics, science, and other areas of the ele7 mentary school curriculum; or

8 ‘‘(ii) a middle or secondary school

9 teacher, means that the teacher holds a

10 bachelor’s degree and demonstrates a high

11 level of competency in all subject areas in

12 which he or she teaches through—

13 ‘‘(I) a high level of performance

14 on a rigorous State or local academic

15 subject areas test; or

16 ‘‘(II) completion of an academic

17 major in each of the subject areas in

18 which he or she provides instruction.

19 ‘‘(3) BEGINNING TEACHER.—The term ‘begin20 ning teacher’ means an educator in a public school

21 who has not yet been teaching 3 full school years.

22 ‘‘(4) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN23 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’

24 means a local educational agency that serves an ele-
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1 mentary school or secondary school located in an

2 area in which there is—

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

4 families with incomes below the poverty line (as

5 defined by the Office of Management and

6 Budget and revised annually in accordance with

7 section 673(2) of the Community Services

8 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)));

9 ‘‘(B) a high percentage of secondary school

10 teachers not teaching in the content area in

11 which the teachers were trained to teach; or

12 ‘‘(C) a high teacher turnover rate.

13 ‘‘(5) MENTORING PROGRAM.—The term ‘men14 toring program’ means to provide professional sup15 port and development, instruction, and guidance to

16 beginning teachers, but does not include a teacher or

17 individual who begins to work in a supervisory posi18 tion.

19 ‘‘(6) PUBLICLY REPORT.—The term ‘publicly

20 report’, when used with respect to the dissemination

21 of information, means that the information is made

22 widely available to the public, including parents and

23 students, through such means as the Internet and

24 major print and broadcast media outlets.
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1 ‘‘(7) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED RESEARCH.—The

2 term ‘scientifically based research’—

3 ‘‘(A) means the application of rigorous,

4 systematic, and objective procedures to obtain

5 valid knowledge relevant to professional devel6 opment of teachers; and

7 ‘‘(B) shall include research that—

8 ‘‘(i) employs systematic, empirical

9 methods that draw on observation or ex10 periment;

11 ‘‘(ii) involves rigorous data analyses

12 that are adequate to test the stated

13 hypotheses and justify the general conclu14 sions drawn;

15 ‘‘(iii) relies on measurements or obser16 vational methods that provide valid data

17 across evaluators and observers and across

18 multiple measurements and observations;

19 and

20 ‘‘(iv) has been accepted by a peer-re21 viewed journal or approved by a panel of

22 independent experts through a comparably

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

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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1 (1) NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT.—Section

2 10992(i) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8332(i)) is amended

4 to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

6 are authorized to be appropriated for the grant to the Na7 tional Writing Project, such sums as may be necessary for

8 each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004 to carry out the

9 provisions of this section.’’.

10 (2) REFERENCE TO NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE

11 FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION.—Sec12 tion 13302(1) of the Elementary and Secondary

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8672(1)) is

14 amended by striking ‘‘2102(b)’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘2042’’.

16 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO READING EXCEL17 LENCE ACT.

18 (a) REPEAL OF PART B.—Part B of title II of the

19 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

20 U.S.C. 6641–6651) is repealed.

21 (b) READING EXCELLENCE ACT.—

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

23 Act is redesignated as part B and the heading for

24 such part B is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘PART B—READING EXCELLENCE ACT’’.

2 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

3 Section 2260(a) of the Elementary and Secondary

4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6661i(a)) is

5 amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(3) FISCAL YEARS 2001 TO 2004.—There are

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part

8 $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and such sums as

9 may be necessary for fiscal years 2002 through

10 2004.’’.

11 SEC. 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Elementary and

13 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et

14 seq.) is amended—

15 (1) by repealing part D;

16 (2) by redesignating part E as part C; and

17 (3) by striking sections 2401 and 2402 and in18 serting the following:

19 ‘‘SEC. 2401. PROHIBITION ON MANDATORY NATIONAL CER20 TIFICATION OF TEACHERS.

21 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION ON MANDATORY TESTING OR

22 CERTIFICATION.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

23 law, the Secretary is prohibited from using Federal funds

24 to plan, develop, implement, or administer any mandatory

25 national teacher test or certification.
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1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON WITHHOLDING FUNDS.—The

2 Secretary is prohibited from withholding funds from any

3 State or local educational agency if such State or local

4 educational agency fails to adopt a specific method of

5 teacher certification.

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

7 ‘‘The provisions of sections 14503 through 14506

8 apply to programs under this title.

9 ‘‘SEC. 2403. HOME SCHOOLS.

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

11 allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal control over

12 any aspect of any private, religious, or home school,

13 whether or not a home school is treated as a private school

14 or home school under State law. This section shall not be

15 construed to bar private, religious, or home schools from

16 participation in programs or services under this title.’’.

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

18 (1) DEFINITION OF COVERED PROGRAM.—Sec19 tion 14101(10)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary

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

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

22 part D)’’.

23 (2) PRIVATE SCHOOL PARTICIPATION.—Section

24 14503(b)(1)(B) (20 U.S.C. 8893(b)(1)(B)) of such
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1 Act is amended by striking ‘‘(other than section

2 2103 and part D of such title)’’.

3 SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

4 It is the sense of the Congress that high quality

5 teachers are an important part of the development of our

6 children and it is essential that Congress work to ensure

7 that the teachers who instruct our children are of the high8 est quality possible.

Passed the House of Representatives July 20, 1999.

Attest:

Clerk.