II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2116

To amend title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

to support teacher corps programs, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 29, 2000

Mr. WELLSTONE (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee

on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to support teacher corps programs,

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. TEACHER CORPS PROGRAMS.

4 Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended—

6 (1) by redesignating part E (20 U.S.C. 6701 et

7 seq.) as part F;
2

•S 2116 IS

1 (2) by redesignating sections 2401 and 2402

2 (20 U.S.C. 6701, 6702) as sections 2501 and 2502,

3 respectively; and

4 (3) by inserting after part D the following:

5 ‘‘PART E—TEACHER CORPS PROGRAMS

6 ‘‘SEC. 2401. PURPOSES.

7 ‘‘The purposes of this part are as follows:

8 ‘‘(1) To reduce the shortage of qualified teach9 ers in high poverty urban and rural public elemen10 tary schools and secondary schools.

11 ‘‘(2) To attract high-quality candidates to teach

12 in geographic and academic subjects of highest need.

13 ‘‘(3) To retain the highest quality teachers in

14 the high poverty urban and rural schools.

15 ‘‘(4) To establish a program of intensive, sus16 tained support for new teachers in areas of high

17 need and high poverty.

18 ‘‘SEC. 2402. DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this part, the term ‘eligible

20 applicant’ means a Teacher Corps Collaborative (referred

21 to in this part as a ‘Collaborative’) that contains at least

22 1 agency or institution, located in the State in which the

23 Collaborative is established, in each of the following cat24 egories:
3

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(1) The State educational agency, or the State

2 agency responsible for teacher licensure or certifi3 cation.

4 ‘‘(2) A local educational agency that, or a con5 sortia of local educational agencies in which each

6 participating local educational agency, serves ele7 mentary schools and secondary schools (referred to

8 individually in this part as a ‘high-need school’)—

9 ‘‘(A)(i) for which a minimum of 50 percent

10 of the student population is eligible for a free

11 or reduced price lunch under the Richard B.

12 Russell National School Lunch Act; and

13 ‘‘(ii) that have an average rate that is

14 greater than the State average rate with respect

15 to—

16 ‘‘(I) the number of teacher vacancies,

17 uncertified or unlicensed teachers, or

18 teachers placed in teaching positions out19 side of the teachers’ area of certification or

20 licensing; or

21 ‘‘(II) teacher turnover; or

22 ‘‘(B)(i) for which the combined student

23 population is not greater than 800 students, of

24 whom—
4

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(I) not less than 15 percent of the

2 students are students from families with

3 incomes at or below the poverty line (as

4 defined by the Office of Management and

5 Budget, and revised annually in accord6 ance with section 673(2) of the Community

7 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C.

8 9902(2)) applicable to a family of the size

9 involved); or

10 ‘‘(II) the percentage of the student

11 population from families at or below such

12 poverty line is greater than the median

13 such percentage for all local educational

14 agencies in the State; and

15 ‘‘(ii) that have an average rate that is

16 greater than the State average rate with respect

17 to—

18 ‘‘(I) the number of teacher vacancies,

19 uncertified or unlicensed teachers, or

20 teachers placed in teaching positions out21 side of the teachers’ area of certification or

22 licensing; or

23 ‘‘(II) teacher turnover.

24 ‘‘(3) An institution of higher education that has

25 documented success in teacher preparation.
5

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—A Collaborative may

2 include other members, such as a tribal college, commu3 nity college, nonprofit organization, or professional edu4 cation organization.

5 ‘‘SEC. 2403. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award

7 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible applicants sub8 mitting applications under section 2404(a) to establish

9 teacher corps programs under this part.

10 ‘‘(b) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary shall establish

11 a peer review system to review applications submitted

12 under section 2404(a). The peer review shall be conducted

13 by peer review panels established by the Secretary, com14 prised of professional educators, representatives of parent,

15 teacher, and community groups, and such other individ16 uals as the Secretary determines to be necessary.

17 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to

18 an application submitted by an eligible applicant—

19 ‘‘(1) in a State that has developed, or is in the

20 process of developing, a system of incentives to en21 courage effective teachers and strong teaching can22 didates to teach in high poverty urban or rural areas

23 (as determined by the Secretary); and
6

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(2) that has documented evidence of experi2 ence with a high-quality preservice or inservice

3 teacher training program.

4 ‘‘(d) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary

5 shall ensure an equitable geographic distribution of grants

6 among the regions of the United States and among

7 Collaboratives that represent local educational agencies

8 described in section 2402(a)(2).

9 ‘‘(e) DURATION OF GRANT.—A grant awarded under

10 this part shall be awarded for a period of 5 years.

11 ‘‘SEC. 2404. APPLICATION AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.

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

13 under this part, members of a Collaborative shall jointly

14 prepare and submit an application to the Secretary, at

15 such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such in16 formation as the Secretary shall require. At a minimum,

17 the application shall—

18 ‘‘(1) describe how the Collaborative will meet

19 the teacher corps program requirements described in

20 subsection (b); and

21 ‘‘(2) describe the individual and collective re22 sponsibilities of members of the Collaborative in

23 meeting the requirements and goals of the teacher

24 corps program.

25 ‘‘(b) TEACHER CORPS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—
7

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(1) RECRUITMENT.—A Collaborative shall

2 broadly recruit and screen a highly qualified pool of

3 candidates who demonstrate the potential to become

4 effective teachers. Each candidate shall meet—

5 ‘‘(A) the requirements described in section

6 2405(b); and

7 ‘‘(B) any additional standard that the Col8 laborative establishes to enhance the quality

9 and diversity of candidates and to meet the aca10 demic and grade level needs of the Collabo11 rative.

12 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED CURRICULUM AND PLACE13 MENT.—Members of the Collaborative shall work to14 gether to plan and develop a teacher corps program

15 that includes—

16 ‘‘(A) a curriculum that includes a

17 preservice training program, for a period not to

18 exceed 1 year, that provides participants in the

19 teacher corps program (referred to individually

20 in this part as a ‘corps member’) with the skills

21 and knowledge necessary to become effective

22 teachers, by—

23 ‘‘(i) requiring completed hours of

24 study in basic areas of teaching, such as

25 principles of learning and child develop-
8

•S 2116 IS

1 ment, effective teaching strategies, assess2 ments, and classroom management, and in

3 pedagogy related to the academic subjects

4 in which a corps member intends to teach;

5 ‘‘(ii) providing extensive preparation

6 in the pedagogy of reading to corps mem7 bers that intend to teach in the early ele8 mentary grades, including preparation

9 components that focus on—

10 ‘‘(I) understanding reading psy11 chology and development;

12 ‘‘(II) understanding the structure

13 of the English language; and

14 ‘‘(III) learning and applying the

15 best teaching methods to all aspects

16 of reading instruction;

17 ‘‘(iii) providing training in the use of

18 technology as a tool to enhance a corps

19 member’s effectiveness as a teacher and

20 improve the achievement of the corps mem21 ber’s students; and

22 ‘‘(iv) focusing on the pedagogical

23 skills and knowledge that corps members

24 need to enable all students to meet the
9

•S 2116 IS

1 State’s highest challenging content and

2 student performance standards;

3 ‘‘(B) placement of a corps member with a

4 local educational agency participating in the

5 Collaborative in a teaching internship that—

6 ‘‘(i) is heavily mentored;

7 ‘‘(ii) provides a reduced teaching load;

8 ‘‘(iii) provides regular opportunities

9 for the corps member to co-teach with a

10 mentor teacher, observe other teachers,

11 and be observed and coached by other

12 teachers; and

13 ‘‘(iv) pays participating corps mem14 bers a salary that is lower than a first-year

15 teacher salary;

16 ‘‘(C) individualized inservice training over

17 the course of the corps member’s first 2 years

18 of full-time teaching that provides—

19 ‘‘(i) high-quality professional develop20 ment, coordinated jointly by members of

21 the Collaborative, and the hours of study

22 necessary to provide additional or supple23 mentary knowledge to meet the specific

24 needs of the corps member; and
10

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) ongoing mentoring by a teacher

2 who meets the criteria for a mentor teach3 er described in paragraph (5)(B); and

4 ‘‘(D) collaboration between the Collabo5 rative, and local community, student, or parent

6 groups, to assist corps members in enhancing

7 their understanding of the community in which

8 the members are placed.

9 ‘‘(3) DISCRETIONARY ACTIVITIES.—In addition

10 to the activities described in paragraph (2), a teach11 er corps program may include a program of inten12 sive course work, prior to a corps member’s second

13 year in the teacher corps program, that will provide

14 additional or supplementary knowledge to meet the

15 specific needs of the corps member.

16 ‘‘(4) EVALUATION.—A Collaborative shall

17 evaluate a corps member and the corps member’s

18 course work at regular intervals during the 2-year

19 period beginning on the first date of the corps mem20 ber’s participation in the teacher corps program.

21 ‘‘(5) MENTOR TEACHERS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Collaborative shall

23 develop a plan for the program, which shall in24 clude strategies for identifying, recruiting,

25 training, and providing ongoing support to indi-
11

•S 2116 IS

1 viduals who will serve as mentor teachers to

2 corps members.

3 ‘‘(B) MENTOR TEACHER REQUIRE4 MENTS.—The plan described in subparagraph

5 (A) shall specify the criteria that the Collabo6 rative will use to identify and select mentor

7 teachers, and at a minimum, shall—

8 ‘‘(i) require a mentor teacher—

9 ‘‘(I) to meet the requirements of

10 section 2405;

11 ‘‘(II) to have not less than 5

12 years of teaching experience in a

13 school located in a school district of a

14 local educational agency described in

15 section 2402(a)(2);

16 ‘‘(III) to provide substantial evi17 dence that the mentor teacher has

18 been consistently effective in helping

19 students from school districts referred

20 to in subclause (II) make substantial

21 achievement gains; and

22 ‘‘(IV) to be selected for the pro23 gram by a peer review process; and
12

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) require that consideration be

2 given to a mentor teacher with national

3 board certification.

4 ‘‘(C) COMPENSATION.—The plan shall

5 specify the compensation—

6 ‘‘(i) for mentor teachers, including re7 lease time and a reduced work load to en8 sure that mentor teachers can provide on9 going support for corps members; and

10 ‘‘(ii) for corps members, including sal11 ary levels and any stipends that will be

12 provided during a corps member’s summer

13 or preservice training.

14 ‘‘(6) ASSURANCES.—The plan shall include as15 surances that—

16 ‘‘(A) the Collaborative will make every ef17 fort to place corps members in elementary

18 schools and secondary schools with the highest

19 need (as determined by the Collaborative) in the

20 area served by the participating local edu21 cational agency or consortia of local educational

22 agencies;

23 ‘‘(B) a corps member will be assigned to

24 teach only academic subjects and grade levels

25 for which the member is fully qualified;
13

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(C) corps members, to the extent prac2 ticable, will be placed in schools with teams of

3 corps members; and

4 ‘‘(D) no mentor teacher will be assigned to

5 mentor more than 12 corps members.

6 ‘‘(7) PROJECT EVALUATION.—In order for the

7 Collaborative to determine progress toward the

8 Collaborative’s program goals identified in the

9 Collaborative’s application submitted under sub10 section (a), the plan shall describe how the Collabo11 rative will conduct evaluations and put in place a

12 system of accountability, including mechanisms to

13 track corps members, and to determine the mem14 bers’ effectiveness, progress toward certification or

15 licensing, and service longevity in the districts or

16 schools served by the Collaborative.

17 ‘‘(8) ENSURING PERMANENCY.—The plan shall

18 demonstrate how the Collaborative will support and

19 institutionalize the teacher corps program beyond

20 the duration of the grant period.

21 ‘‘SEC. 2405. CORPS MEMBER QUALIFICATIONS.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each Collaborative shall estab23 lish standards for the acceptance of individual corps mem24 bers to ensure that—

25 ‘‘(1) each group of corps members—
14

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(A) includes individuals who have exper2 tise in and will teach in an academic subject

3 that meets specific needs of the district served;

4 and

5 ‘‘(B) to the extent practicable, includes

6 members of populations that are underrep7 resented in the teaching profession; and

8 ‘‘(2) each corps member possesses appropriate,

9 high-level credentials and presents the likelihood of

10 becoming an effective teacher.

11 ‘‘(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—

12 ‘‘(1) CANDIDATES INTENDING TO TEACH IN EL13 EMENTARY SCHOOLS.—At a minimum, to be accept14 ed by a teacher corps program, a candidate who in15 tends to teach at the elementary school level shall—

16 ‘‘(A) in the case of a candidate who grad17 uated from an institution of higher education

18 not more than 3 years prior to applying to a

19 teacher corps program—

20 ‘‘(i) possess a record of high academic

21 achievement at the postsecondary level;

22 ‘‘(ii) possess an outstanding commit23 ment to working with children and youth;

24 and
15

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) pass any basic skills and subject

2 matter tests required by the State for

3 teacher certification or licensure; and

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of a candidate who grad5 uated from an institution of higher education

6 more than 3 years prior to applying to a teach7 er corps program—

8 ‘‘(i) possess an outstanding commit9 ment to working with children and youth;

10 and

11 ‘‘(ii) possess a strong professional or

12 postsecondary record of achievement.

13 ‘‘(2) CANDIDATES INTENDING TO TEACH IN

14 SECONDARY SCHOOLS.—At a minimum, to be ac15 cepted by a teacher corps program, a candidate who

16 intends to teach at the secondary school level shall—

17 ‘‘(A) in the case of a candidate who grad18 uated from an institution of higher education

19 not more than 3 years prior to applying to a

20 teacher corps program—

21 ‘‘(i) meet the requirements described

22 in paragraph (1)(A); and

23 ‘‘(ii)(I) possess at least an academic

24 major or postsecondary degree in each aca-
16

•S 2116 IS

1 demic subject in which the candidate in2 tends to teach; or

3 ‘‘(II) if the candidate did not major or

4 earn a postsecondary degree in an aca5 demic subject in which the candidate in6 tends to teach, have completed a rigorous

7 course of instruction in that subject that is

8 equivalent to having majored in the sub9 ject; and

10 ‘‘(B) in the case of a candidate who grad11 uated from an institution of higher education

12 more than 3 years prior to applying to a teach13 er corps program—

14 ‘‘(i) meet the requirements described

15 in paragraph (1)(B); and

16 ‘‘(ii)(I) possess at least an academic

17 major or postsecondary degree in each aca18 demic subject in which the candidate in19 tends to teach; or

20 ‘‘(II) if the candidate did not major or

21 earn a postsecondary degree in an aca22 demic subject in which the candidate in23 tends to teach, have completed a rigorous

24 course of instruction in that subject, such
17

•S 2116 IS

1 as completion of a preprofessional prepara2 tion program in that subject.

3 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwithstanding subpara4 graphs (A)(ii)(II) and (B)(ii)(II) of subsection (b)(2), the

5 Collaborative may consider the candidate to be an eligible

6 corps member and accept the candidate for a teacher corps

7 program if the candidate has worked successfully and di8 rectly in a field and in a position that provided the can9 didate with direct and substantive knowledge in the aca10 demic subject in which the candidate intends to teach.

11 ‘‘(d) THREE-YEAR COMMITMENT TO TEACHING IN

12 ELIGIBLE DISTRICTS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In return for acceptance to

14 a teacher corps program, a corps member shall com15 mit to 3 years of full-time teaching in a school or

16 district served by a local educational agency partici17 pating in a Collaborative eligible for funds under

18 this part.

19 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a corps member

21 leaves the school district to which the corps

22 member has been assigned prior to the end of

23 the 3-year period described in paragraph (1),

24 the corps member shall be required to reim25 burse the Department of Education for the
18

•S 2116 IS

1 amount of the Federal share of the cost of the

2 corps member’s participation in the teacher

3 corps program.

4 ‘‘(B) ACCOUNTABILITY.—A Collaborative

5 shall be responsible for including in its applica6 tion described in section 2404(a), information

7 on a method of accountability to assure return

8 of the Federal share.

9 ‘‘(C) COLLABORATIVE CLAIMS.—A Collabo10 rative that provides a teacher corps program to

11 a corps member who leaves the school district

12 as described in subparagraph (A) may submit a

13 claim to the corps member requiring the corps

14 member to reimburse the Collaborative for the

15 amount of the Collaborative’s share of the cost

16 described in subparagraph (A).

17 ‘‘(D) REDUCTION; WAIVER.—

18 ‘‘(i) REDUCTION.—Reimbursements

19 required under this paragraph may be re20 duced proportionally based on the amount

21 of time a corps member remained in the

22 teacher corps program beyond the corps

23 member’s initial 2 years of service.

24 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may

25 waive the reimbursements required under
19

•S 2116 IS

1 this paragraph in the case of severe hard2 ship to a corps member who leaves the

3 school district, as described in subpara4 graph (A).

5 ‘‘SEC. 2406. LICENSING AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAM RE6 QUIREMENTS.

7 ‘‘(a) LICENSING OR CERTIFICATION.—The State

8 agency responsible for teacher licensure or certification in

9 the State in which a Collaborative is established shall en10 sure that—

11 ‘‘(1) a corps member that successfully com12 pletes a teacher corps program will have the aca13 demic requirements necessary for certification or li14 censure as a teacher in the State; and

15 ‘‘(2) the teacher corps program provides the

16 academic credentials necessary to enable a corps

17 member to obtain permanent teacher certification or

18 licensure.

19 ‘‘(b) ALTERNATIVE ROUTES TO CERTIFICATION.—

20 The State agency described in subsection (a) shall work

21 with the Collaborative to ensure the Collaborative uses

22 high-quality methods and establishes high-quality require23 ments concerning alternative routes to certification, in

24 order to meet State requirements for certification.
20

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY FOR HIRING.—A local educational

2 agency or consortia of local educational agencies partici3 pating in a Collaborative shall—

4 ‘‘(1) to the extent practicable, give hiring pri5 ority to teachers who have successfully completed a

6 teacher corps program; and

7 ‘‘(2) make every effort to place a corps member

8 in an elementary school or a secondary school that

9 has the greatest need for qualified teachers.

10 ‘‘SEC. 2407. ACCOUNTABILITY.

11 ‘‘(a) COLLABORATIVE EVALUATIONS.—A Collabo12 rative shall annually submit a report to the Secretary pro13 viding information that—

14 ‘‘(1) meets reporting requirements for alter15 native certification programs under the Higher Edu16 cation Act of 1965;

17 ‘‘(2) describes the manner and sites of the

18 Collaborative’s recruiting efforts for the teacher

19 corps program carried out by the Collaborative;

20 ‘‘(3) specifies the number of candidates re21 cruited, disaggregated by race, age, and the aca22 demic subjects to which the candidates were as23 signed;
21

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(4) specifies the number and percentage of

2 candidates receiving preliminary and permanent cer3 tification and licensing;

4 ‘‘(5) specifies the number and percentage of

5 candidates assigned to high-need schools described

6 in section 2402(2);

7 ‘‘(6) describes the quality of performance of

8 candidates described in paragraph (5);

9 ‘‘(7) specifies the percentage of corps members

10 who are student teaching for a local educational

11 agency served by the Collaborative; and

12 ‘‘(8) provides such other information as the

13 Secretary may require.

14 ‘‘(b) INELIGIBILITY.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If not more than 90 per16 cent of the graduates of a teacher corps program as17 sisted under this part for a fiscal year pass applica18 ble State or local initial teacher licensing or certifi19 cation examinations, the Collaborative providing the

20 teacher corps program shall be ineligible to receive

21 grant funds for the succeeding fiscal year.

22 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the

23 requirement described in paragraph (1) for

24 Collaboratives serving school districts that have spe-
22

•S 2116 IS

1 cial circumstances, such as a district with a small

2 number of corps members.

3 ‘‘(c) DEPARTMENTAL EVALUATION AND TECHNICAL

4 ASSISTANCE.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall retain

6 not more than $2,000,000 of the amount appro7 priated for a fiscal year under section 2409—

8 ‘‘(A) to conduct a comprehensive program

9 evaluation of teacher corps programs, not more

10 than 4 years after the date on which the Sec11 retary first makes grant awards under this

12 part; and

13 ‘‘(B) to provide Collaboratives with tech14 nical assistance and information on exemplary

15 programs and effective practices of recruitment,

16 training, and mentoring.

17 ‘‘(2) EVALUATIONS.—The comprehensive pro18 gram evaluation described in paragraph (1)(A) shall

19 evaluate—

20 ‘‘(A) the effectiveness of individual

21 Collaboratives in recruiting large numbers of

22 highly qualified applicants and recruiting, to

23 the extent practicable, from groups that are

24 underrepresented in the teaching profession, to
23

•S 2116 IS

1 meet specific academic subject and grade level

2 needs of Collaboratives;

3 ‘‘(B) the qualifications of teachers re4 cruited and trained through the teacher corps

5 program as compared to other teachers teach6 ing in local educational agencies participating in

7 a Collaborative;

8 ‘‘(C) the retention rates of corps members

9 as compared to retention rates of other new

10 teachers teaching for local educational agencies

11 participating in a Collaborative; and

12 ‘‘(D) the qualifications of mentor teachers

13 participating in teacher corps programs and the

14 success of the mentoring programs.

15 ‘‘SEC. 2408. FEDERAL SHARE; NON-FEDERAL SHARE.

16 ‘‘(a) PAYMENT OF FEDERAL SHARE.—The Secretary

17 shall pay to each eligible applicant having an application

18 approved under section 2404 the Federal share of the cost

19 of the activities described in the application.

20 ‘‘(b) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—A Collaborative’s

21 share of the cost of the activities described in the

22 Collaborative’s application submitted under section

23 2404(a)—

24 ‘‘(1) may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated,

25 including plant, equipment, or services; and
24

•S 2116 IS

1 ‘‘(2)(A) for the first year for which the Collabo2 rative receives assistance under this part, shall be

3 not less than 10 percent;

4 ‘‘(B) for the second such year, shall be not less

5 than 20 percent;

6 ‘‘(C) for the third year such year, shall be not

7 less than 30 percent;

8 ‘‘(D) for the fourth such year, shall be not less

9 than 40 percent; and

10 ‘‘(E) for the fifth such year, shall be not less

11 than 50 percent.

12 ‘‘SEC. 2409. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

14 this part $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and such sums

15 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2002 through

16 2005.’’.

Æ