II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1603

To improve teacher quality, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 21, 1999

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

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

A BILL

To improve teacher quality, 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 ‘‘Quality Teachers for

5 All Act’’.

6 TITLE I—PARENTAL RIGHTS

7 SEC. 101. PARENTAL RIGHT TO KNOW.

8 Part E of title XIV of the Elementary and Secondary

9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8891 et seq.) is amend10 ed by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 14515. TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS.

2 ‘‘Any public elementary school or secondary school

3 that receives funds under this Act shall provide to the par4 ents of each student enrolled in the school information

5 regarding—

6 ‘‘(1) the professional qualifications of each of

7 the student’s teachers, both generally and with re8 spect to the subject area in which the teacher pro9 vides instruction; and

10 ‘‘(2) the minimum professional qualifications

11 required by the State for teacher certification or li12 censure.’’.

13 TITLE II—TEACHER QUALITY

14 SEC. 201. TEACHER QUALITY.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1111 of the Elementary

16 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311)

17 is amended—

18 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (g)

19 as subsections (f) through (j), respectively; and

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(c) TEACHER QUALITY.—

23 ‘‘(1) STATE STANDARDS AND POLICIES.—Each

24 State plan shall contain assurances, with respect to

25 schools served under this part, that—
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1 ‘‘(A) no student in those schools in the

2 State will be taught for more than 1 year by an

3 elementary school teacher, or for more than 2

4 consecutive years in the same subject by a sec5 ondary school teacher, who has not dem6 onstrated the subject matter knowledge, teach7 ing knowledge, and teaching skill necessary to

8 teach effectively in the subject in which the

9 teacher provides instruction;

10 ‘‘(B) the State provides incentives for

11 teachers in those schools to pursue and achieve

12 advanced teaching and subject area content

13 standards;

14 ‘‘(C) the State has in place effective mech15 anisms to ensure that local educational agencies

16 and schools served under this part are able—

17 ‘‘(i) to recruit effectively fully quali18 fied teachers;

19 ‘‘(ii) to reward financially those teach20 ers and principals whose students have

21 made significant progress toward high aca22 demic performance, such as through per23 formance-based compensation systems and

24 access to ongoing professional development
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1 opportunities for teachers and administra2 tors; and

3 ‘‘(iii) to remove expeditiously incom4 petent or unqualified teachers consistent

5 with procedures to ensure due process for

6 teachers;

7 ‘‘(D) the State aggressively helps those

8 schools, particularly in high need areas, recruit

9 and retain fully qualified teachers;

10 ‘‘(E) during the period that begins on the

11 date of enactment of the Quality Teachers for

12 All Act and ends 4 years after such date, ele13 mentary school and secondary school teachers

14 in those schools will be at least as well quali15 fied, in terms of experience and credentials, as

16 the instructional staff in schools served by the

17 same local educational agency that are not

18 schools served under this part; and

19 ‘‘(F) any teacher who meets the standards

20 set by the National Board for Professional

21 Teaching Standards will be considered fully

22 qualified to teach in those schools in any school

23 district or community in the State.

24 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS OF CERTAIN INSTRUC25 TIONAL STAFF.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State plan shall

2 contain assurances that, not later than 4 years

3 after the date of enactment of the Quality

4 Teachers for All Act—

5 ‘‘(i) all instructional staff who provide

6 services to students under section 1114 or

7 1115 will have demonstrated the subject

8 matter knowledge, teaching knowledge, and

9 teaching skill necessary to teach effectively

10 in the subject in which the staff provides

11 instruction, according to the criteria de12 scribed in this paragraph; and

13 ‘‘(ii) funds provided under this part

14 will not be used to support instructional

15 staff—

16 ‘‘(I) who provide services to stu17 dents under section 1114 or 1115;

18 and

19 ‘‘(II) for whom State qualifica20 tion or licensing requirements have

21 been waived or who are teaching

22 under an emergency or other provi23 sional credential.

24 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL INSTRUC25 TIONAL STAFF.—For purposes of making the
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1 demonstration described in subparagraph

2 (A)(i), each member of the instructional staff

3 who teaches elementary school students shall, at

4 a minimum—

5 ‘‘(i) have State certification (which

6 may include certification obtained through

7 alternative means) or a State license to

8 teach; and

9 ‘‘(ii) hold a bachelor’s degree and

10 demonstrate subject matter knowledge,

11 teaching knowledge, and teaching skill re12 quired to teach effectively in reading, writ13 ing, mathematics, social studies, science,

14 and other elements of a liberal arts edu15 cation.

16 ‘‘(C) MIDDLE SCHOOL AND SECONDARY

17 SCHOOL INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF.—For purposes

18 of making the demonstration described in sub19 paragraph (A)(i), each member of the instruc20 tional staff who teaches in middle schools and

21 secondary schools shall, at a minimum—

22 ‘‘(i) have State certification (which

23 may include certification obtained through

24 alternative means) or a State license to

25 teach; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) hold a bachelor’s degree or high2 er degree and demonstrate a high level of

3 competence in all subject areas in which

4 the staff member teaches through—

5 ‘‘(I) achievement of a high level

6 of performance on rigorous academic

7 subject area tests;

8 ‘‘(II) completion of an academic

9 major (or courses totaling an equiva10 lent number of credit hours) in each

11 of the subject areas in which the staff

12 member provides instruction; or

13 ‘‘(III) achievement of a high level

14 of performance in relevant subject

15 areas through other professional em16 ployment experience.

17 ‘‘(D) TEACHER AIDES AND OTHER PARA18 PROFESSIONALS.—For purposes of subpara19 graph (A) funds provided under this part may

20 be used to employ teacher aides or other para21 professionals who do not meet the requirements

22 under subparagraphs (B) and (C) only if such

23 aides or paraprofessionals—

24 ‘‘(i) provide instruction only when

25 under the direct and immediate super-
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1 vision, and in the immediate presence, of

2 instructional staff who meet the criteria of

3 this paragraph; and

4 ‘‘(ii) possess particular skills nec5 essary to assist instructional staff in pro6 viding services to students served under

7 this Act.

8 ‘‘(E) USE OF FUNDS.—Each State plan

9 shall contain assurances that, beginning on the

10 date of enactment of the Quality Teachers for

11 All Act, no school served under this part will

12 use funds received under this Act to hire in13 structional staff who do not fully meet all the

14 criteria for instructional staff described in this

15 paragraph.

16 ‘‘(F) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the

17 term ‘instructional staff’ includes any individual

18 who has responsibility for providing any student

19 or group of students with instruction in any of

20 the core academic subject areas, including read21 ing, writing, language arts, mathematics,

22 science, and social studies.

23 ‘‘(d) ASSISTANCE BY STATE EDUCATIONAL AGEN24 CY.—Each State plan shall describe how the State edu25 cational agency will help each local educational agency and
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1 school in the State develop the capacity to comply with

2 the requirements of this section.

3 ‘‘(e) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—The appropriate State

4 educational agency shall take corrective action consistent

5 with section 1116(c)(5)(B)(i), against any local edu6 cational agency that does not make sufficient effort to

7 comply with subsection (c). Such corrective action shall

8 be taken regardless of the conditions set forth in section

9 1116(c)(5)(B)(ii). In a case in which the State fails to

10 take the corrective action, the Secretary shall withhold

11 funds from such State up to an amount equal to that re12 served under sections 1003(a) and 1603(c).’’.

13 (b) INSTRUCTIONAL AIDES.—Section 1119 of Ele14 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

15 6320) is amended by striking subsection (i).

16 SEC. 202. FULLY QUALIFIED TEACHER IN EVERY CLASS17 ROOM.

18 Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education

19 Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after section 1119

20 (20 U.S.C. 6320) the following new sections:

21 ‘‘SEC. 1119A. A FULLY QUALIFIED TEACHER IN EVERY

22 CLASSROOM.

23 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make

25 grants, on a competitive basis, to States or local
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1 educational agencies, to assist schools that receive

2 assistance under this part by carrying out the activi3 ties described in paragraph (3).

4 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a

5 grant under paragraph (1), a State or local edu6 cational agency shall submit an application to the

7 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con8 taining such information as the Secretary may re9 quire.

10 ‘‘(3) USES OF FUNDS.—

11 ‘‘(A) STATES.—In order to meet the goal

12 under section 1111(c)(2) of ensuring that all

13 instructional staff in schools served under this

14 part have the subject matter knowledge, teach15 ing knowledge, and teaching skill necessary to

16 teach effectively in the subject in which the

17 staff provides instruction, a State may use

18 funds received under this section—

19 ‘‘(i) to collaborate with programs that

20 recruit, place, and train fully qualified

21 teachers;

22 ‘‘(ii) to provide the necessary edu23 cation and training, including establishing

24 continuing education programs and paying

25 the costs of tuition at an institution of
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1 higher education and other student fees

2 (for programs that meet the criteria under

3 section 203(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Higher Edu4 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

5 1023(b)(2)(A)(i))), to help teachers or

6 other school personnel who do not meet the

7 necessary qualifications and licensing re8 quirements to meet the requirements, ex9 cept that in order to qualify for a payment

10 of tuition or fees under this clause an indi11 vidual shall agree to teach for each of at

12 least 2 subsequent academic years after re13 ceiving such degree in a school that—

14 ‘‘(I) is located in a school district

15 served by a local educational agency

16 that is eligible in that academic year

17 for assistance under this title; and

18 ‘‘(II) for that academic year, has

19 been determined by the Secretary to

20 be a school in which the enrollment of

21 children counted under section

22 1124(c) exceeds 50 percent of the

23 total enrollment of that school;

24 ‘‘(iii) to establish, expand, or improve

25 alternative means of State certification of
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1 teachers for highly qualified individuals

2 with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree,

3 including mid-career professionals from

4 other occupations, paraprofessionals,

5 former military personnel, and recent grad6 uates of an institution of higher education

7 with records of academic distinction who

8 demonstrate the potential to become highly

9 effective teachers;

10 ‘‘(iv) for projects to increase the port11 ability of teacher pensions or credited

12 years of experience or to promote reci13 procity of teacher certification or licensure

14 between or among States, except that no

15 reciprocity agreement developed under this

16 clause or developed using funds provided

17 under this part may lead to the weakening

18 of any State teaching certification or li19 censing requirement; or

20 ‘‘(v) to establish, expand, or improve

21 induction programs designed to support

22 new teachers and promote retention of new

23 teachers in schools served under this part.

24 ‘‘(B) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—In

25 order to meet the goal described in subpara-
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1 graph (A), a local educational agency may use

2 funds received under this section—

3 ‘‘(i) to recruit fully qualified teachers,

4 including through the use of signing bo5 nuses or other financial incentives; and

6 ‘‘(ii) to carry out the activities de7 scribed in clauses (i), (ii), and (v) of sub8 paragraph (A).

9 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

11 this subsection $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

12 such sums as may be necessary for each subsequent

13 fiscal year.

14 ‘‘(b) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding any

15 other provision of law, in order to meet the goal described

16 in subsection (a)(3)(A)—

17 ‘‘(1) a State receiving assistance under title II,

18 title VI, title II of the Higher Education Act of

19 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.), or the Goals 2000:

20 Educate America Act (20 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.) may

21 use such assistance for the activities described in

22 subsection (a)(3)(A); and

23 ‘‘(2) a local educational agency receiving assist24 ance under an authority described in paragraph (1)
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1 may use such assistance for the activities described

2 in subsection (a)(3)(B).

3 ‘‘SEC. 1119B. CERTIFICATION GRANTS.

4 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary may make grants to

5 State educational agencies, local educational agencies, or

6 schools that receive assistance under this part to pay for

7 the Federal share of the cost of providing financial assist8 ance to teachers in such schools who obtain certification

9 from the National Board of Professional Teaching Stand10 ards.

11 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant

12 under this section an agency or school shall submit an ap13 plication to the Secretary at such time, in such manner,

14 and containing such information as the Secretary may re15 quire.

16 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE TEACHERS.—To be eligible to receive

17 financial assistance under subsection (a), a teacher shall

18 obtain the certification described in subsection (a).

19 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the

20 cost described in subsection (a) shall be 50 percent.

21 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

22 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

23 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may

24 be necessary for each subsequent fiscal year.’’.
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1 SEC. 203. LIMITATION.

2 Part E of title XIV of the Elementary and Secondary

3 Education Act of 1965, as amended in section 101, is fur4 ther amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 14516. PROHIBITION REGARDING PROFESSIONAL DE6 VELOPMENT SERVICES.

7 ‘‘None of the funds provided under this Act may be

8 used for any professional development services for a teach9 er that are not directly related to the curriculum and sub10 jects in which the teacher provides or will provide instruc11 tion.’’.

12 TITLE III—ACADEMIC ACHIEVE13 MENT AWARDS PROGRAM

14 SEC. 301. ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS.

15 Subpart 1 of part A of title I of the Elementary and

16 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et

17 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘SEC. 1120C. ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS.

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAMS.—Each State

20 receiving a grant under this title shall establish an Aca21 demic Achievement Awards Program to recognize and

22 reward—

23 ‘‘(1) local educational agencies and schools that

24 operate programs under section 1114 or 1115 and

25 that demonstrate yearly progress, consistent with
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1 section 1111(b)(2)(A), that is outstanding for 2 or

2 more consecutive years; and

3 ‘‘(2) teachers who provide instruction in such

4 programs.

5 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION.—Each State receiving funds

6 under this title (other than subsection (c)) for a fiscal year

7 in an amount that exceeds the amount received by the

8 State under this title (other than subsection (c)) for the

9 preceding fiscal year shall reserve 25 percent of such ex10 cess amount (plus any additional part of such excess

11 amount the State may find to be necessary to address a

12 demonstrated need for an Academic Achievement Award

13 Program), for awards to local educational agencies,

14 schools, and teachers described in subsection (a).

15 ‘‘(c) ALLOTMENT.—From any funds appropriated

16 under subsection (g) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall

17 allot to each State for that fiscal year an amount that

18 bears the same relationship to such funds as the amount

19 the State received under this part for the preceding fiscal

20 year bears to the amount all States received under this

21 part for the preceding fiscal year. The Secretary shall

22 make the allotments for awards to local educational agen23 cies, schools, and teachers described in subsection (a).

24 ‘‘(d) TYPES OF AWARDS.—Each State shall use

25 funds reserved or allotted under this section to present
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1 financial awards through an Academic Achievement

2 Awards Program to—

3 ‘‘(1) the schools and local educational agencies

4 that the State determines have demonstrated the

5 greatest progress in improving the performance of

6 children served under this part (consistent with sec7 tion 1111(b)(2)(B)); and

8 ‘‘(2) teachers who demonstrate the ability to

9 consistently help children served under this part

10 make significant performance gains, consistent with

11 section 1111(b)(2)(B), in the subject areas in which

12 the teachers provide instruction.

13 ‘‘(e) CALCULATION OF AWARD AMOUNTS.—The

14 amount of an award made to a local educational agency

15 or school under this section for a fiscal year shall be pro16 portionate to the amount of aid such local educational

17 agency or school received under this part for the preceding

18 fiscal year. The amount awarded under this section to a

19 teacher that qualifies for an award under this section shall

20 be uniform throughout the State.

21 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE.—Each State shall allocate not

22 less than 85 percent of funds reserved under subsection

23 (b) or allotted under subsection (c) to—

24 ‘‘(1) schools, each of which—
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1 ‘‘(A) is served by a local educational agen2 cy that is eligible in the academic year involved

3 for assistance under section 1124; and

4 ‘‘(B) for that academic year, has been de5 termined by the Secretary to be a school in

6 which the enrollment of children counted under

7 section 1124(c) exceeds 50 percent of the total

8 enrollment of that school; or

9 ‘‘(2) teachers providing instruction within such

10 schools.

11 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

12 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

13 such additional sums (in addition to sums otherwise made

14 available under this title) as may be necessary to carry

15 out the Academic Achievement Awards Programs.’’.

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