II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1479

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 3, 1999

Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. LOTT, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr.

HAGEL, Mr. COVERDELL, Mr. GORTON, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. MACK, and

Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

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’’.
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1 SEC. 2. TEACHER EMPOWERMENT.

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

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

4 seq.) is amended—

5 (1) by striking the heading for title II and in6 serting the following:

7 ‘‘TITLE II—TEACHER QUALITY’’;

8 (2) by repealing sections 2001 through 2003;

9 and

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

11 ‘‘PART A—TEACHER EMPOWERMENT

12 ‘‘SEC. 2001. PURPOSE.

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

14 States and local educational agencies, in order to assist

15 their efforts to increase student academic achievement

16 through such strategies as improving teacher quality.

17 ‘‘Subpart 1—Grants to States

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

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

20 in accordance with section 2014, submits to the Secretary

21 and obtains approval of an application for a fiscal year,

22 the Secretary shall make a grant for the year to the State

23 for the uses specified in section 2012. The grant shall con24 sist of the allotment determined for the State under sub25 section (b).
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1 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF ALLOT2 MENT.—

3 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—From the total

5 amount made available to carry out this sub6 part for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall

7 reserve—

‘‘(i) 1 8 ⁄2 of 1 percent for allotments for

9 the United States Virgin Islands, Guam,

10 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth

11 of the Northern Mariana Islands, to be dis12 tributed among those outlying areas on the

13 basis of their relative need, as determined

14 by the Secretary in accordance with the

15 purpose of this part; and

‘‘(ii) 1 16 ⁄2 of 1 percent for the Secretary

17 of the Interior for programs under this

18 part for professional development activities

19 for teachers, other staff, and administra20 tors in schools operated or funded by the

21 Bureau of Indian Affairs.

22 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In reserving an

23 amount for the purposes described in clauses (i)

24 and (ii) of subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year,

25 the Secretary shall not reserve more than the
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1 total amount the outlying areas and the schools

2 operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Af3 fairs received under the authorities described in

4 paragraph (2)(A)(i) for fiscal year 1999.

5 ‘‘(2) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—

6 ‘‘(A) HOLD HARMLESS.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub8 paragraph (B), from the total amount

9 made available to carry out this subpart

10 for any fiscal year and not reserved under

11 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall allot to

12 each of the 50 States, the District of Co13 lumbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto

14 Rico an amount equal to the total amount

15 that such State received for fiscal year

16 1999 under—

17 ‘‘(I) section 2202(b) of this Act

18 (as in effect on the day before the

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

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

23 Act, 1999; and
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1 ‘‘(III) section 304(b) of the Goals

2 2000: Educate America Act (20

3 U.S.C. 5884(b)).

4 ‘‘(ii) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the

5 total amount made available to carry out

6 this subpart for any fiscal year and not re7 served under paragraph (1) is insufficient

8 to pay the full amounts that all States are

9 eligible to receive under clause (i) for any

10 fiscal year, the Secretary shall ratably re11 duce such amounts for such fiscal year.

12 ‘‘(B) ALLOTMENT OF ADDITIONAL

13 FUNDS.—

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

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

16 amount made available to carry out this

17 subpart and not reserved under paragraph

18 (1) exceeds the total amount made avail19 able to the 50 States, the District of Co20 lumbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto

21 Rico for fiscal year 1999 under the au22 thorities described in subparagraph (A)(i),

23 the Secretary shall allot to each of those

24 States the sum of—
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1 ‘‘(I) an amount that bears the

2 same relationship to 50 percent of the

3 excess amount as the number of indi4 viduals age 5 through 17 in the State,

5 as determined by the Secretary on the

6 basis of the most recent satisfactory

7 data, bears to the number of those in8 dividuals in all such States, as so de9 termined; and

10 ‘‘(II) an amount that bears the

11 same relationship to 50 percent of the

12 excess amount as the number of indi13 viduals age 5 through 17 from fami14 lies with incomes below the poverty

15 line in the State, as determined by the

16 Secretary on the basis of the most re17 cent satisfactory data, bears to the

18 number of those individuals in all

19 such States, as so determined.

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

21 an allotment under clause (i) may receive

less than 1 22 ⁄2 of 1 percent of the total ex23 cess amount allotted under clause (i) for a

24 fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(3) REALLOTMENT.—If any State does not

2 apply for an allotment under this subsection for any

3 fiscal year, the Secretary shall reallot such amount

4 to the remaining States in accordance with this sub5 section.

6 ‘‘SEC. 2012. ALLOCATIONS WITHIN STATES.

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

8 under this subpart shall use the funds provided under the

9 grant in accordance with this section to carry out activities

10 for the improvement of teaching and learning.

11 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED AND AUTHORIZED EXPENDI12 TURES.—

13 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED EXPENDITURES.—The Sec14 retary may make a grant to a State under this sub15 part only if the State agrees to expend not less than

16 90 percent of the amount of the funds provided

17 under the grant for the purpose of making sub18 grants to local educational agencies and eligible

19 partnerships (as defined in section 2021(d)), in ac20 cordance with subsection (c).

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

22 that receives a grant under this subpart may expend

23 a portion equal to not more than 10 percent of the

24 amount of the funds provided under the grant for 1

25 or more of the authorized State activities described
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1 in section 2013 or to make grants to eligible part2 nerships to enable the partnerships to carry out sub3 part 2 (but not more than 5 percent of such portion

4 may be used for planning and administration related

5 to carrying out such purpose).

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

8 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATIONS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

9 AGENCIES.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara11 graph (B), a State receiving a grant under this

12 subpart shall distribute a portion equal to 80

13 percent of the amount described in subsection

14 (b)(1) by allocating to each eligible local edu15 cational agency the sum of—

16 ‘‘(i) an amount that bears the same

17 relationship to 50 percent of the portion as

18 the number of individuals enrolled in pub19 lic and private nonprofit elementary

20 schools and secondary schools in the geo21 graphic area served by the agency bears to

22 the number of those individuals in the geo23 graphic areas served by all the local edu24 cational agencies in the State; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) an amount that bears the same

2 relationship to 50 percent of the portion as

3 the number of individuals age 5 through

4 17 from families with incomes below the

5 poverty line, in the geographic area served

6 by the agency, as determined by the Sec7 retary on the basis of the most recent sat8 isfactory data, bears to the number of

9 those individuals in the geographic areas

10 served by all the local educational agencies

11 in the State, as so determined.

12 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATIVE FORMULA.—A State

13 may increase the percentage described in sub14 paragraph (A)(ii) (and commensurately de15 crease the percentage described in subpara16 graph (A)(i)).

17 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—The State shall

18 make subgrants to local educational agencies

19 from allocations made under this paragraph to

20 enable the agencies to carry out subpart 3.

21 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDU22 CATIONAL AGENCIES AND ELIGIBLE PARTNER23 SHIPS.—

24 ‘‘(A) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—A State re25 ceiving a grant under this subpart shall dis-
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1 tribute a portion equal to 20 percent of the

2 amount described in subsection (b)(1) through

3 a competitive process.

4 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPANTS.—The competitive

5 process carried out under subparagraph (A)

6 shall be open to local educational agencies and

7 eligible partnerships (as defined in section

8 2021(d)). In carrying out the process, the State

9 shall give priority to high-need local educational

10 agencies that focus on math, science, or reading

11 professional development programs.

12 ‘‘(C) SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE PARTNER13 SHIPS.—A State receiving a grant under this

14 subpart shall distribute at least 3 percent of the

15 portion described in subparagraph (A) to the el16 igible partnerships through the competitive

17 process.

18 ‘‘(D) USE OF FUNDS.—In distributing

19 funds under this paragraph, the State shall

20 make subgrants—

21 ‘‘(i) to local educational agencies to

22 enable the agencies to carry out subpart 3;

23 and

24 ‘‘(ii) to the eligible partnerships to en25 able the partnerships to carry out subpart
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1 2 (but not more than 5 percent of the

2 funds made available to the eligible part3 nerships through the subgrants may be

4 used for planning and administration re5 lated to carrying out such purpose).

6 ‘‘SEC. 2013. STATE USE OF FUNDS.

7 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZED STATE ACTIVITIES.—The author8 ized State activities referred to in section 2012(b)(2) are

9 the following:

10 ‘‘(1) Reforming teacher certification (including

11 recertification) or licensure requirements to ensure

12 that—

13 ‘‘(A) teachers have the necessary teaching

14 skills and academic content knowledge in the

15 academic subjects in which the teachers are as16 signed to teach;

17 ‘‘(B) the requirements are aligned with the

18 State’s challenging State content standards;

19 and

20 ‘‘(C) teachers have the knowledge and

21 skills necessary to help students meet chal22 lenging State student performance standards.

23 ‘‘(2) Carrying out programs that—
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1 ‘‘(A) include support during the initial

2 teaching experience, such as mentoring pro3 grams; and

4 ‘‘(B) establish, expand, or improve alter5 native routes to State certification of teachers

6 for highly qualified individuals with a bacca7 laureate degree, including mid-career profes8 sionals from other occupations, paraprofes9 sionals, former military personnel, and recent

10 college or university graduates with records of

11 academic distinction who demonstrate the po12 tential to become highly effective teachers.

13 ‘‘(3) Developing and implementing effective

14 mechanisms to assist local educational agencies and

15 schools in effectively recruiting and retaining highly

16 qualified and effective teachers and principals.

17 ‘‘(4) Reforming tenure systems and imple18 menting teacher testing and other procedures to re19 move expeditiously incompetent and ineffective

20 teachers from the classroom.

21 ‘‘(5) Developing or improving systems of per22 formance measures to evaluate the effectiveness of

23 professional development programs and activities in

24 improving teacher quality, skills, and content knowl25 edge, and increasing student achievement.
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1 ‘‘(6) Developing or improving systems to evalu2 ate the impact of teachers on student achievement.

3 ‘‘(7) Providing technical assistance to local edu4 cational agencies consistent with this part.

5 ‘‘(8) Funding projects to promote reciprocity of

6 teacher certification or licensure between or among

7 States, except that no reciprocity agreement devel8 oped under this paragraph or developed using funds

9 provided under this part may lead to the weakening

10 of any State teaching certification or licensing re11 quirement.

12 ‘‘(9) Developing or assisting local educational

13 agencies or eligible partnerships (as defined in sec14 tion 2021(d)) in the development and utilization of

15 proven, innovative strategies to deliver intensive pro16 fessional development programs and activities that

17 are both cost-effective and easily accessible, such as

18 through the use of technology and distance learning.

19 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION.—A State that receives a grant

20 to carry out this subpart and a grant under section 202

21 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1022)

22 shall coordinate the activities carried out under this sec23 tion and the activities carried out under that section 202.

24 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a

2 grant under this subpart—

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

4 State report cards on education, shall include in

5 such report cards information on the State’s

6 progress with respect to—

7 ‘‘(i) subject to paragraph (2), improv8 ing student academic achievement, as de9 fined by the State;

10 ‘‘(ii) closing academic achievement

11 gaps, as defined by the State, between

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

13 and

14 ‘‘(iii) increasing the percentage of

15 classes in core academic subjects that are

16 taught by highly qualified teachers; or

17 ‘‘(B) in the event the State provides no

18 such report card, shall publicly report the infor19 mation described in subparagraph (A) through

20 other means.

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

22 described in clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(A)

23 and clauses (i) and (ii) of section 2014(b)(2)(A)

24 shall be—

25 ‘‘(A) disaggregated—
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1 ‘‘(i) by minority and non-minority

2 group and by low-income and non-low-in3 come group; and

4 ‘‘(ii) using assessments under section

5 1111(b)(3); and

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

7 disaggregated data only when such data are

8 statistically sound.

9 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Such information

10 shall be made widely available to the public, includ11 ing parents and students, through major print and

12 broadcast media outlets throughout the State.

13 ‘‘SEC. 2014. APPLICATIONS BY STATES.

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

15 under this subpart, a State shall submit an application

16 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con17 taining such information as the Secretary may reasonably

18 require.

19 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted under

20 this section shall include the following:

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

22 that a local educational agency receiving a subgrant

23 to carry out subpart 3 will comply with the require24 ments of such subpart.
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1 ‘‘(2)(A) A description of the performance indi2 cators that the State will use to measure the annual

3 progress of the local educational agencies and

4 schools in the State with respect to—

5 ‘‘(i) subject to section 2013(c)(2), improv6 ing student academic achievement, as defined

7 by the State;

8 ‘‘(ii) closing academic achievement gaps, as

9 defined by the State, between groups described

10 in section 2013(c)(2)(A)(i); and

11 ‘‘(iii) increasing the percentage of classes

12 in core academic subjects that are taught by

13 highly qualified teachers.

14 ‘‘(B) An assurance that the State will require

15 each local educational agency and school in the State

16 receiving funds under this part to publicly report in17 formation on the agency’s or school’s annual

18 progress, as measured by the performance indica19 tors.

20 ‘‘(3) A description of how the State will hold

21 the local educational agencies and schools account22 able for making annual gains toward meeting the

23 performance indicators described in paragraph (2).

24 ‘‘(4)(A) A description of how the State will co25 ordinate professional development activities author-
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1 ized under this part with professional development

2 activities provided under other Federal, State, and

3 local programs, including those authorized under

4 title I, title III, title IV, part A of title VII, and

5 (where applicable) the Individuals with Disabilities

6 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) and the

7 Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education

8 Act of 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).

9 ‘‘(B) A description of the comprehensive strat10 egy that the State will use as part of the effort to

11 carry out the coordination, to ensure that teachers

12 are trained in the utilization of technology so that

13 technology and technology applications are effec14 tively used in the classroom to improve teaching and

15 learning in all curriculum areas and academic sub16 jects, as appropriate.

17 ‘‘(5) A description of how the State will encour18 age the development of proven, innovative strategies

19 to deliver intensive professional development pro20 grams that are both cost-effective and easily acces21 sible, such as through the use of technology and dis22 tance learning.

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

24 submitted to the Secretary under this section shall be ap25 proved by the Secretary unless the Secretary makes a
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1 written determination, within 90 days after receiving the

2 application, that the application is in violation of the provi3 sions of this Act.

4 ‘‘Subpart 2—Subgrants to Eligible Partnerships

5 ‘‘SEC. 2021. PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.

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

7 section 2012(c)(2)(C), the State agency for higher edu8 cation, working in conjunction with the State educational

9 agency (if such agencies are separate), shall award sub10 grants on a competitive basis under section 2012(c) to eli11 gible partnerships to enable such partnerships to carry out

12 activities described in subsection (b). Such subgrants shall

13 be equitably distributed by geographic area within the

14 State.

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

16 receives funds under section 2012 shall use the funds

17 for—

18 ‘‘(1) professional development activities in core

19 academic subjects to ensure that teachers have con20 tent knowledge in the academic subjects that the

21 teachers teach; and

22 ‘‘(2) developing and providing assistance to

23 local educational agencies and the teachers, prin24 cipals, and administrators of public and private

25 schools served by each such agency, for sustained,
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1 high-quality professional development activities

2 that—

3 ‘‘(A) ensure the agencies and individuals

4 are able to use State content standards, per5 formance standards, and assessments to im6 prove instructional practices and improve stu7 dent achievement; and

8 ‘‘(B) may include intensive programs de9 signed to prepare teachers who will return to a

10 school to provide such instruction to other

11 teachers within such school.

12 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE.—No single participant in an eli13 gible partnership may use more than 50 percent of the

14 funds made available to the partnership under section

15 2012.

16 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION.—An eligible partnership that

17 receives a grant to carry out this subpart and a grant

18 under section 203 of the Higher Education Act of 1965

19 (20 U.S.C. 1023) shall coordinate the activities carried out

20 under this section and the activities carried out under that

21 section 203.

22 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—In this section, the

23 term ‘eligible partnership’ means an entity that—

24 ‘‘(1) shall include—

25 ‘‘(A) a high-need local educational agency;
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1 ‘‘(B) a school of arts and sciences; and

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

3 and

4 ‘‘(2) may include other local educational agen5 cies, a public charter school, a public or private ele6 mentary school or secondary school, an educational

7 service agency, a public or private nonprofit edu8 cational organization, or a business.

9 ‘‘Subpart 3—Subgrants to Local Educational

10 Agencies

11 ‘‘SEC. 2031. LOCAL USE OF FUNDS.

12 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—

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

14 agency that receives a subgrant to carry out this

15 subpart shall use the subgrant to carry out the ac16 tivities described in this subsection.

17 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

18 ACTIVITIES.—

19 ‘‘(A) MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each local edu21 cational agency that receives a subgrant to

22 carry out this subpart shall use a portion

23 of the funds made available through the

24 subgrant for professional development ac-
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1 tivities in mathematics and science in ac2 cordance with section 2032.

3 ‘‘(ii) GRANDFATHER OF OLD WAIV4 ERS.—A waiver provided to a local edu5 cational agency under part D of title XIV

6 prior to the date of enactment of the

7 Teacher Empowerment Act shall be

8 deemed to be in effect until such time as

9 the waiver otherwise would have ceased to

10 be effective.

11 ‘‘(B) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AC12 TIVITIES.—Each local educational agency that

13 receives a subgrant to carry out this subpart

14 shall use a portion of the funds made available

15 through the subgrant for professional develop16 ment activities that give teachers, principals,

17 and administrators the knowledge and skills to

18 provide students with the opportunity to meet

19 challenging State or local content standards

20 and student performance standards. Such ac21 tivities shall be consistent with section 2032.

22 ‘‘(b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—Each local edu23 cational agency that receives a subgrant to carry out this

24 subpart may use the funds made available through the

25 subgrant to carry out the following activities:
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1 ‘‘(1) Recruiting and hiring certified or licensed

2 teachers, including teachers certified through State

3 and local alternative routes, in order to reduce class

4 size, or hiring special education teachers.

5 ‘‘(2) Initiatives to assist in recruitment of high6 ly qualified teachers who will be assigned teaching

7 positions within their fields, including—

8 ‘‘(A) providing signing bonuses or other fi9 nancial incentives, such as differential pay, for

10 teachers to teach in academic subjects in which

11 there exists a shortage of such teachers within

12 a school or the area served by the local edu13 cational 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

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

2 alternative routes, and by implementing a sys3 tem of intensive screening designed to hire the

4 most qualified applicants.

5 ‘‘(3) Initiatives to promote retention of highly

6 qualified teachers and principals, including—

7 ‘‘(A) programs that provide mentoring to

8 newly hired teachers, such as mentoring from

9 master teachers, and to newly hired principals;

10 and

11 ‘‘(B) programs that provide other incen12 tives, including financial incentives, to retain

13 teachers who have a record of success in help14 ing low-achieving students improve their aca15 demic success.

16 ‘‘(4) Programs and activities that are designed

17 to improve the quality of the teacher force, such

18 as—

19 ‘‘(A) innovative professional development

20 programs (which may be through partnerships

21 including institutions of higher education), in22 cluding programs that train teachers to utilize

23 technology to improve teaching and learning,

24 that are consistent with the requirements of

25 section 2032;
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1 ‘‘(B) development and utilization of prov2 en, cost-effective strategies for the implementa3 tion of professional development activities, such

4 as through the utilization of technology and dis5 tance learning;

6 ‘‘(C) professional development programs

7 that provide instruction in how to teach chil8 dren with different learning styles, particularly

9 children with disabilities and children with spe10 cial learning needs (including children who are

11 gifted and talented); and

12 ‘‘(D) professional development programs

13 that provide instruction in how best to dis14 cipline children in the classroom and identify

15 early and appropriate interventions to help chil16 dren described in subparagraph (C) to learn.

17 ‘‘(5) Programs and activities related to—

18 ‘‘(A) tenure reform;

19 ‘‘(B) provision of merit pay; and

20 ‘‘(C) testing of elementary school and sec21 ondary school teachers in the academic subjects

22 taught by such teachers.

23 ‘‘(6) Activities that provide teacher opportunity

24 payments, consistent with section 2033.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 2032. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS.

2 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION RELATING TO CURRICULUM AND

3 ACADEMIC SUBJECTS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), funds made available to carry out this

6 subpart may not be provided for a teacher and a

7 professional development activity if the activity is

8 not—

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

10 academic subjects in which the teacher provides

11 instruction; or

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

13 teacher to understand and use State standards

14 for the academic subjects in which the teacher

15 provides instruction.

16 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not be

17 construed to prohibit the use of the funds for profes18 sional development activities that provide instruction

19 described in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of section

20 2031(b)(4).

21 ‘‘(b) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Professional develop22 ment activities provided under this subpart—

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

24 using the specific performance indicators established

25 by the State involved in accordance with section

26 2014(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 the activities in

6 increasing student achievement or substantially in7 creasing the knowledge and teaching skills of the

8 teachers participating in the activities;

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

10 to have a positive and lasting impact on the per11 formance of a teacher in the classroom (which shall

12 not include 1-day or short-term workshops and con13 ferences), except that this paragraph shall not apply

14 to an activity if such activity is 1 component de15 scribed in a long-term comprehensive professional

16 development plan established by the teacher and the

17 teacher’s supervisor based upon an assessment of

18 the needs of the teacher, the students of the teacher,

19 and the local educational agency involved; and

20 ‘‘(5) shall be developed with extensive participa21 tion of teachers, principals, and administrators of

22 schools to be served under this part.

23 ‘‘(c) ACCOUNTABILITY AND REQUIRED PAYMENTS.—

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

25 educational agency that the agency may be subject
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1 to the requirement of paragraph (3) if, after any fis2 cal year, the State determines that the professional

3 development activities funded by the agency under

4 this subpart fail to meet the requirements of sub5 sections (a) and (b).

6 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—A local edu7 cational agency that has received notification pursu8 ant to paragraph (1) may request technical assist9 ance from the State in order to provide the oppor10 tunity for such local educational agency to comply

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

12 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE TEACHER OP13 PORTUNITY PAYMENTS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A local educational

15 agency that has received notification from the

16 State pursuant to paragraph (1) during any 2

17 consecutive fiscal years shall expend under sec18 tion 2033 for the succeeding fiscal year a pro19 portion of the funds made available to the agen20 cy to carry out this subpart equal to the pro21 portion of such funds expended by the agency

22 for professional development activities for the

23 second fiscal year in which the agency received

24 the notification.
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1 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS.—On request by a group

2 of teachers in schools served by the local edu3 cational agency, the agency shall use a portion

4 of the funds provided to the agency to carry out

5 this subpart, to provide payments in accordance

6 with section 2033.

7 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘profes8 sional development activity’ means an activity described

9 in subsection (a)(2) or (b)(4) of section 2031.

10 ‘‘SEC. 2033. TEACHER OPPORTUNITY PAYMENTS.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency re12 ceiving funds to carry out this subpart may (or in the case

13 of section 2032(c)(3), shall) provide payments directly to

14 a teacher or a group of teachers seeking opportunities to

15 participate in a professional development activity of their

16 choice.

17 ‘‘(b) NOTICE TO TEACHERS.—Each local educational

18 agency distributing payments under this section—

19 ‘‘(1) shall establish and implement a timely

20 process through which proper notice of availability of

21 the payments will be given to all teachers in schools

22 served by the agency; and

23 ‘‘(2) shall develop a process through which

24 teachers will be specifically recommended by prin-
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1 cipals to participate in such opportunities by virtue

2 of—

3 ‘‘(A) the teachers’ lack of full certification

4 or licensing to teach the academic subjects in

5 which the teachers teach; or

6 ‘‘(B) the teachers’ need for additional as7 sistance to ensure that their students make

8 progress toward meeting challenging State con9 tent standards and student performance stand10 ards.

11 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF TEACHERS.—In the event ade12 quate funding is not available to provide payments under

13 this section to all teachers seeking such payments, or rec14 ommended under subsection (b)(2), a local educational

15 agency shall establish procedures for selecting teachers for

16 the payments, which shall provide priority for those teach17 ers recommended under subsection (b)(2).

18 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITY.—A teacher receiving a

19 payment under this section shall have the choice of attend20 ing any professional development activity that meets the

21 criteria set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of section

22 2032.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 2034. LOCAL APPLICATIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency seek3 ing to receive a subgrant from a State to carry out this

4 subpart shall submit an application to the State—

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

6 and

7 ‘‘(2) that is coordinated with other programs

8 carried out under this Act (other than programs car9 ried out under this subpart).

10 ‘‘(b) LOCAL APPLICATION CONTENTS.—The local ap11 plication described in subsection (a) shall include, at a

12 minimum, the following:

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

14 agency intends to use funds provided to carry out

15 this subpart.

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

17 agency will target funds to schools served by the

18 local educational agency that—

19 ‘‘(A) have the lowest proportions of highly

20 qualified teachers; or

21 ‘‘(B) are identified for school improvement

22 under section 1116(c).

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

24 agency will coordinate professional development ac25 tivities authorized under this subpart with profes26 sional development activities provided through other
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1 Federal, State, and local programs, including those

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

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

4 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.)

5 and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical

6 Education Act of 1998 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).

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

8 agency will integrate funds received to carry out this

9 subpart with funds received under title III that are

10 used for professional development to train teachers

11 in how to use technology to improve learning and

12 teaching.

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

14 agency has collaborated with teachers, principals,

15 parents, and administrators in the preparation of

16 the application.

17 ‘‘(c) PARENTS’ RIGHT-TO-KNOW.—A local edu18 cational agency that receives funds to carry out this sub19 part shall provide, upon request and in an understandable

20 and uniform format, to any parent of a student attending

21 any school receiving funds under this subpart from the

22 agency, information regarding the professional qualifica23 tions of the student’s classroom teachers, including, at a

24 minimum, whether the teachers are highly qualified.
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1 ‘‘Subpart 4—National Activities

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

3 ‘‘(a) TEACHER EXCELLENCE ACADEMIES.—

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

5 grants on a competitive basis to eligible consortia to

6 carry out activities described in this subsection.

7 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—

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

9 receiving funds under this subsection shall use

10 the funds to pay the costs associated with the

11 establishment or expansion of a teacher acad12 emy, in an elementary school or secondary

13 school facility, that carries out—

14 ‘‘(i) the activities promoting alter15 native routes to State teacher certification

16 specified in subparagraph (B); or

17 ‘‘(ii) the model professional develop18 ment activities specified in subparagraph

19 (C).

20 ‘‘(B) PROMOTING ALTERNATIVE ROUTES

21 TO TEACHER CERTIFICATION.—The activities

22 promoting alternative routes to State teacher

23 certification specified in this subparagraph are

24 the design and implementation of a course of

25 study and activities providing an alternative

26 route to State teacher certification that—
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•S 1479 IS

1 ‘‘(i) provide opportunities to highly

2 qualified individuals with a baccalaureate

3 degree, including mid-career professionals

4 from other occupations, paraprofessionals,

5 former military personnel, and recent col6 lege or university graduates with records of

7 academic distinction;

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

9 than 2 years, to permit individuals de10 scribed in clause (i) to participate as stu11 dent teachers able to fill teaching needs in

12 academic subjects in which there is a dem13 onstrated shortage of teachers;

14 ‘‘(iii) provide for the recruitment and

15 hiring of master teachers to mentor and

16 train student teachers within such acad17 emies; and

18 ‘‘(iv) include a reasonable service re19 quirement for individuals completing the

20 course of study and alternative certifi21 cation activities established by the eligible

22 consortium.

23 ‘‘(C) MODEL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP24 MENT.—The model professional development

25 activities specified in this subparagraph are ac-
34

•S 1479 IS

1 tivities providing ongoing professional develop2 ment opportunities for teachers, such as—

3 ‘‘(i) innovative programs and model

4 curricula in the area of professional devel5 opment, which may serve as models to be

6 disseminated to other schools and local

7 educational agencies; and

8 ‘‘(ii) the development of innovative

9 techniques for evaluating the effectiveness

10 of professional development programs.

11 ‘‘(3) GRANT FOR SPECIAL CONSORTIUM.—In

12 making grants under this subsection, the Secretary

13 shall award not less than 1 grant to an eligible con14 sortium that—

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

16 agency located in a rural area; and

17 ‘‘(B) proposes activities that involve the

18 extensive use of distance learning in order to

19 provide the applicable course work to student

20 teachers.

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

22 an eligible consortium may use more than 50 per23 cent of the funds made available to the consortium

24 under this subsection.
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•S 1479 IS

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

2 grant under this subsection, an eligible consortium

3 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such

4 time, in such manner, and containing such informa5 tion as the Secretary may reasonably require.

6 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE CONSORTIUM.—In this sub7 section, the term ‘eligible consortium’ means a con8 sortium for a State that—

9 ‘‘(A) shall include—

10 ‘‘(i) the State agency responsible for

11 certifying or licensing teachers;

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

13 educational agency;

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

15 and

16 ‘‘(iv) an institution that prepares

17 teachers; and

18 ‘‘(B) may include local educational agen19 cies, public charter schools, public or private el20 ementary schools or secondary schools, edu21 cational service agencies, public or private non22 profit educational organizations, museums, or

23 businesses.

24 ‘‘(b) TROOPS-TO-TEACHERS PROGRAM.—
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•S 1479 IS

1 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection

2 is to authorize a mechanism for the funding and ad3 ministration after September 30, 2000, of the

4 Troops-to-Teachers Program established by the

5 Troops-to-Teachers Program Act of 1999 (subtitle I

6 of title V of the National Defense Authorization Act

7 for Fiscal Year 2000).

8 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRA9 TION OF PROGRAM.—Subject to paragraph (3), to

10 the extent that funds are made available under this

11 Act for the Troops-to-Teachers Program, the Sec12 retary of Education shall transfer the funds to the

13 Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education

14 Support of the Department of Defense. The Defense

15 Activity shall use the funds to perform the actual

16 administration of the Troops-to-Teachers Program,

17 including the selection of participants in the Pro18 gram under section 594 of the Troops-to-Teachers

19 Program Act of 1999. The Secretary of Education

20 may retain a portion of the funds to identify local

21 educational agencies with teacher shortages and

22 States with alternative certification requirements, as

23 required by section 592 of such Act.

24 ‘‘(3) DEFENSE AND COAST GUARD CONTRIBU25 TION.—The Secretary of Education may not trans-
37

•S 1479 IS

1 fer funds under paragraph (2) unless the Secretary

2 of Defense, and the Secretary of Transportation

3 with respect to the Coast Guard, agree to pay for

4 not less than 25 percent of the costs associated with

5 the activities conducted under the Troops-to-Teach6 ers Program. The contributions may be in cash or

7 in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment,

8 and services, and may be from private contributions

9 made for purposes of the 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 an entity to continue the Eisenhower Na15 tional Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Edu16 cation.

17 ‘‘Subpart 5—Funding

18 ‘‘SEC. 2051. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 ‘‘(a) FISCAL YEAR 2000.—There are authorized to

20 be appropriated to carry out this part $2,060,000,000 for

21 fiscal year 2000, of which $15,000,000 shall be available

22 to carry out subpart 4.

23 ‘‘(b) OTHER FISCAL YEARS.—There are authorized

24 to be appropriated to carry out this part such sums as

25 may be necessary for fiscal years 2001 through 2004.
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1 ‘‘Subpart 6—General Provisions

2 ‘‘SEC. 2061. DEFINITIONS.

3 ‘‘In this part:

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

5 sciences’ has the meaning given the term in section

6 201(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20

7 U.S.C. 1021(b)).

8 ‘‘(2) HIGHLY QUALIFIED.—The term ‘highly

9 qualified’ means—

10 ‘‘(A) with respect to an elementary school

11 teacher, a teacher—

12 ‘‘(i) with an academic major in the

13 arts and sciences; or

14 ‘‘(ii) who can demonstrate competence

15 through a high level of performance in core

16 academic subjects; and

17 ‘‘(B) with respect to a secondary school

18 teacher, a teacher—

19 ‘‘(i) with an academic major in the

20 academic subject in which the teacher

21 teaches or in a related field;

22 ‘‘(ii) who can demonstrate a high level

23 of competence through rigorous academic

24 subject tests; or
39

•S 1479 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) who can demonstrate com2 petence through a high level of perform3 ance in relevant content areas.

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

6 means a local educational agency that serves an ele7 mentary school or secondary school located in an

8 area in which there is—

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

10 families with incomes below the poverty line;

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

12 teachers not teaching in the academic subject in

13 which the teachers were trained to teach; or

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

15 ‘‘(4) OUT-OF-FIELD TEACHER.—The term ‘out16 of-field teacher’ means a teacher—

17 ‘‘(A) teaching an academic subject for

18 which the teacher is not highly qualified, as de19 termined by the State involved; or

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

21 institution of higher education with a major or

22 minor in the field in which the teacher teaches.

23 ‘‘(5) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘poverty line’

24 means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of

25 Management and Budget and revised annually in ac-
40

•S 1479 IS

1 cordance with section 673(2) of the Community

2 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) ap3 plicable to a family of the size involved.

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

5 term ‘scientifically based research’—

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

7 systematic, and objective procedures to obtain

8 valid knowledge relevant to professional devel9 opment of teachers; and

10 ‘‘(B) includes research that—

11 ‘‘(i) employs systematic, empirical

12 methods that draw on observation or ex13 periment;

14 ‘‘(ii) involves rigorous data analyses

15 that are adequate to test the stated

16 hypotheses and justify the general conclu17 sions drawn;

18 ‘‘(iii) relies on measurements or obser19 vational methods that provide valid data

20 across evaluators and observers and across

21 multiple measurements and observations;

22 and

23 ‘‘(iv) has been accepted by a peer-re24 viewed journal or approved by a panel of
41

•S 1479 IS

1 independent experts through a comparably

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

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 13302(1)

4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

5 (20 U.S.C. 8672(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘2102(b)’’

6 and inserting ‘‘2042’’.

7 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO READING EXCEL8 LENCE ACT.

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

10 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

11 U.S.C. 6641 et seq.) is repealed.

12 (b) READING EXCELLENCE ACT.—

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

14 Act is redesignated as part B and the heading for

15 such part B is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘PART B—READING EXCELLENCE ACT’’.

17 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

18 Section 2260(a) of the Elementary and Secondary

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

20 amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(3) FISCAL YEARS 2001 THROUGH 2004.—

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

23 this part $260,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and

24 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2002

25 through 2004.’’.
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1 (3) SHORT TITLE.—Part B of title II of the El2 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20

3 U.S.C. 6661) is amended by adding at the end the

4 following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 2261. SHORT TITLE.

6 ‘‘This part may be cited as the ‘Reading Excellence

7 Act’.’’.

8 SEC. 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

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

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

11 seq.) is amended—

12 (1) by repealing part D;

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

14 (3) by repealing sections 2401 and 2402 and

15 inserting the following:

16 ‘‘SEC. 2401. PROHIBITION ON MANDATORY NATIONAL CER17 TIFICATION OR LICENSING OF TEACHERS.

18 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION ON MANDATORY TESTING, CER19 TIFICATION, OR LICENSING.—Notwithstanding any other

20 provision of law, the Secretary may not use Federal funds

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

22 national teacher test or method of certification or licens23 ing.

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

25 Secretary may not withhold funds from any State or local
43

•S 1479 IS

1 educational agency if such State or local educational agen2 cy fails to adopt a specific method of teacher certification

3 or licensing.

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

5 ‘‘The provisions of sections 14503 through 14506

6 apply to programs carried out under this title.

7 ‘‘SEC. 2403. HOME SCHOOLS.

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

9 allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal control over

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

11 whether a home school is treated as a private school or

12 home school under the law of the State involved, except

13 that the Secretary may require that funds provided to a

14 school under this title be used for the purposes described

15 in this title. This section shall not be construed to bar

16 private, religious, or home schools from participating in

17 or receiving programs or services under this title.’’.

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

19 (1) COORDINATION.—Section 1202(c)(2)(C) of

20 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6362(c)(2)(C)) is amended, in the

22 subparagraph heading, by striking ‘‘PART C’’ and in23 serting ‘‘PART B’’.

24 (2) DEFINITION OF COVERED PROGRAM.—Sec25 tion 14101(10)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary
44

•S 1479 IS

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

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

3 part D)’’.

4 (3) PRIVATE SCHOOL PARTICIPATION.—Section

5 14503(b)(1)(B) (20 U.S.C. 8893(b)(1)(B)) of such

6 Act is amended by striking ‘‘(other than section

7 2103 and part D of such title)’’.

Æ