II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2276

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

programs to recruit, retain, and retrain teachers, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 22, 2000

Mr. FRIST 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 establish programs to recruit, retain, and

retrain teachers, 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 ‘‘A Million Quality

5 Teachers Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND RETRAINING OF

7 TEACHERS.

8 Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education

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

10 (1) by redesignating part E as part F;
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1 (2) by redesignating sections 2401 and 2402 as

2 sections 2501 and 2502, respectively; and

3 (3) by inserting before part F the following:

4 ‘‘PART E—QUALITY TEACHER RECRUITMENT,

5 RETENTION, AND RETRAINING

6 ‘‘SEC. 2401. STATE RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, AND RE7 TRAINING GRANTS.

8 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to

9 provide assistance to States to develop statewide quality

10 teacher recruitment, retention, and retraining programs.

11 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary may award grants, on

12 a competitive basis, to eligible States submitting applica13 tions under subsection (d) to carry out the activities de14 scribed in subsection (e).

15 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE STATE.—

16 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term

17 ‘eligible State’ means—

18 ‘‘(A) the Governor of a State; or

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of a State for which the

20 constitution or law of such State designates an21 other individual, entity, or agency in the State

22 to be responsible for teacher certification and

23 preparation activity, such individual, entity, or

24 agency.
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1 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Governor, or the in2 dividual, entity, or agency designated as described in

3 paragraph (1), as appropriate, shall consult with the

4 Governor, State board of education, State edu5 cational agency, or State agency for higher edu6 cation, as appropriate, with respect to the activities

7 assisted under this section.

8 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub9 section shall be construed to negate or supersede the

10 legal authority under State law of any State agency,

11 State entity, or State public official over programs

12 that are under the jurisdiction of the agency, entity,

13 or official.

14 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An eligible State that seeks to

15 receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica16 tion to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner

17 as the Secretary may require, that—

18 ‘‘(1) meets the requirements of this section;

19 ‘‘(2) includes a description of how the eligible

20 State intends to use funds provided under this sec21 tion, including—

22 ‘‘(A) if the State intends to carry out ac23 tivities described in subsection (e)(2)—
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1 ‘‘(i) a description of how the State in2 tends to increase teacher quality through

3 the activities; and

4 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the State in5 tends to increase, through the activities,

6 the number of teachers who majored in the

7 academic subjects in which the teachers

8 teach, and the number of teachers who re9 ceived certification through alternative

10 routes; and

11 ‘‘(B) if the State intends to carry out ac12 tivities described in subsection (e)(3)—

13 ‘‘(i) a description of how the State in14 tends to increase teacher quality through

15 the activities; and

16 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the State in17 tends to decrease the rate of teacher attri18 tion, and to increase the number of teach19 ers who have the necessary teaching skills

20 and academic subject knowledge in the

21 academic subjects in which the teachers

22 teach, through the activities; and

23 ‘‘(3) contains such other information and assur24 ances as the Secretary may require.

25 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State that re2 ceives a grant under this section shall use the grant

3 funds—

4 ‘‘(A) to recruit high-quality teachers by

5 carrying out 1 or more of the activities de6 scribed in paragraph (2); or

7 ‘‘(B) to retain and retrain high-quality

8 teachers by carrying out 1 or more of the activi9 ties described in paragraph (3).

10 ‘‘(2) RECRUITMENT ACTIVITIES.—The activities

11 referred to in paragraph (1)(A) consist of—

12 ‘‘(A) providing signing bonuses for teach13 ers;

14 ‘‘(B) providing stipends to teachers for cer15 tification through alternative routes;

16 ‘‘(C) providing loan forgiveness to students

17 with academic degrees in core academic sub18 jects who agree to teach;

19 ‘‘(D) providing State income tax credits for

20 new teachers; and

21 ‘‘(E) carrying out any other program that

22 the State believes to be effective in recruiting

23 individuals with strong academic backgrounds

24 into the teaching field.
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1 ‘‘(3) RETENTION AND RETRAINING ACTIVI2 TIES.—The activities referred to in paragraph

3 (1)(B) consist of—

4 ‘‘(A) carrying out teacher testing and

5 merit pay programs;

6 ‘‘(B) providing performance bonuses to

7 teachers;

8 ‘‘(C) providing scholarships for teachers to

9 pursue advanced course work in the academic

10 subjects in which the teachers teach;

11 ‘‘(D) providing mentoring programs for

12 teachers; and

13 ‘‘(E) carrying out any other program that

14 the State believes to be effective in retaining

15 and retraining quality teachers.

16 ‘‘(4) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds ap17 propriated pursuant to the authority of this section

18 shall be used to supplement and not supplant other

19 Federal, State, and local public funds expended to

20 provide services for eligible individuals.

21 ‘‘(f) DURATION OF GRANTS.—The Secretary may

22 make grants under this section for periods of 3 years.

23 ‘‘(g) REPORTING.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State that re25 ceives a grant under this section shall prepare and
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1 submit to the Secretary, at the end of the grant pe2 riod, a report on how the activities carried out with

3 funds made available through the grant increased

4 teacher quality in the State.

5 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include—

6 ‘‘(A) in the case of activities conducted

7 under subsection (e)(2), information indicating

8 the impact of the activities, including the num9 ber of additional teachers with a major in the

10 academic subject in which the teachers teach,

11 and the number of additional teachers who re12 ceived certification through alternative routes,

13 as a result of the activities;

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of activities conducted

15 under subsection (e)(3), information indicating

16 the impact of the activities, including the de17 crease in the rate of teacher attrition, and the

18 increase in the number of teachers who have

19 the necessary teaching skills and academic sub20 ject knowledge in the academic subjects in

21 which the teachers teach, as a result of the ac22 tivities; and

23 ‘‘(C) any other information that indicates

24 how teacher quality has improved in the State
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1 as a result of activities carried out with funds

2 made available through the grant.

3 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be

4 appropriated to carry out this section $1,155,000,000 for

5 fiscal year 2001 and such sums as may be necessary for

6 each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

7 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘high8 quality’, used with respect to a teacher, means—

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

10 teacher, a teacher—

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

12 arts and sciences; or

13 ‘‘(ii) who can demonstrate competence

14 through a high level of performance in core

15 academic subjects; and

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

17 teacher, a teacher—

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

19 academic subject in which the teacher

20 teaches or in a related field;

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

22 of competence through rigorous academic

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

4 ‘‘SEC. 2402. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR STUDENTS.

5 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en6 courage individuals who have majored in, or obtained

7 graduate degrees in, core academic subjects, as opposed

8 to education, to enter the teaching profession by providing

9 an incentive, through loan forgiveness, for the individuals

10 to enter the profession.

11 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall

12 carry out a program, through the holder of a federally sub13 sidized or federally guaranteed loan made to enable an in14 dividual to attend an institution of higher education, of—

15 ‘‘(1) permitting an eligible borrower to defer

16 payments on the loan; or

17 ‘‘(2) assuming the obligation to repay part or

18 all of a qualified loan amount for the loan for the

19 eligible borrower.

20 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—

21 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term

22 ‘core academic subject’ means—

23 ‘‘(A) mathematics;

24 ‘‘(B) science;

25 ‘‘(C) English;
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1 ‘‘(D) a foreign language;

2 ‘‘(E) civics or government;

3 ‘‘(F) a subject in the arts;

4 ‘‘(G) geography;

5 ‘‘(H) history; or

6 ‘‘(I) economics.

7 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—To be eligible to

8 receive assistance under this section, a borrower

9 shall demonstrate—

10 ‘‘(A) that the borrower—

11 ‘‘(i) obtained an undergraduate degree

12 with a major in a core academic subject at

13 an institution of higher education; or

14 ‘‘(ii) obtained a graduate degree in a

15 core academic subject at an institution of

16 higher education;

17 ‘‘(B) that the borrower achieved at least a

18 3.0 grade point average in the major or the

19 graduate program for which the borrower ob20 tained the degree;

21 ‘‘(C)(i) in the case of a borrower seeking

22 assistance described in subsection (d)(1)—

23 ‘‘(I) that the borrower is seeking or

24 has obtained employment as a teacher in a
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1 public elementary school or secondary

2 school; and

3 ‘‘(II) for each year after the first year

4 that the borrower receives the assistance,

5 that the borrower has maintained such em6 ployment; or

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a borrower seeking as8 sistance described in subsection (d)(2), that the

9 borrower is enrolled in an alternative certifi10 cation program, as defined in subsection (d)(2);

11 and

12 ‘‘(D) that the borrower has not previously

13 served as a full-time teacher in a public elemen14 tary school or secondary school, prior to receiv15 ing assistance under this section.

16 ‘‘(d) DEFERRAL AND REPAYMENT.—

17 ‘‘(1) DEFERRAL AND REPAYMENT FOR TEACH18 ING IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL.—

19 ‘‘(A) DEFERRAL.—In the case of an eligi20 ble borrower who has provided notification to

21 the Secretary that the borrower is seeking or

22 has obtained employment as a teacher in a pub23 lic school or secondary school, the Secretary

24 shall permit the eligible borrower to defer all

25 payments relating to the outstanding loan obli-
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1 gation on the loan described in subsection (b)

2 until the earlier of—

3 ‘‘(i) the last day on which the bor4 rower maintains employment as such a

5 teacher; or

6 ‘‘(ii) 8 years after the date on which

7 the borrower begins such employment.

8 ‘‘(B) REPAYMENT.—

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an

10 eligible borrower who has provided such

11 notification, the Secretary shall repay a

12 portion of the outstanding loan obligation

13 on the loan for each 2-year period during

14 which the eligible borrower teaches in a

15 public elementary school or secondary

16 school.

17 ‘‘(ii) REPAYMENT PERIODS.—The

18 Secretary shall repay—

19 ‘‘(I) 35 percent of the out20 standing loan obligation, for an eligi21 ble borrower who has taught at a pub22 lic elementary school or secondary

23 school for 2 years;

24 ‘‘(II) an additional 30 percent of

25 the obligation, for an eligible borrower
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1 who has taught at such a school for 4

2 years;

3 ‘‘(III) an additional 20 percent of

4 the obligation, for a teacher who has

5 taught in such a school for 6 years;

6 and

7 ‘‘(IV) the remaining 15 percent

8 of the obligation, for a teacher who

9 has taught in such a school for 8

10 years.

11 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN EMPLOY12 MENT.—If the borrower seeks assistance under

13 this paragraph for a 2-year period and fails to

14 maintain employment as a teacher in a public

15 elementary school or secondary school for that

16 period, the deferral period, for purposes of sub17 paragraph (A), shall be considered to end on

18 the last date of the employment, and the bor19 rower shall be required to repay (or resume re20 paying) the remaining loan obligation on the

21 loan. The borrower shall not be required to

22 repay any amount that was paid on behalf of

23 the borrower under this paragraph for an ear24 lier 2-year period, or to pay interest on the loan
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1 for any period during which the borrower was

2 so employed.

3 ‘‘(2) DEFERRAL FOR PARTICIPATION IN AN AL4 TERNATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.—

5 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the

6 term ‘alternative certification program’ means a

7 program to obtain teacher certification through

8 an alternative route.

9 ‘‘(B) DEFERRAL.—In the case of an eligi10 ble borrower who has provided notification to

11 the Secretary that the borrower has enrolled in

12 an alternative certification program, the Sec13 retary shall permit the eligible borrower to

14 defer all payments relating to the outstanding

15 loan obligation of a loan described in subsection

16 (b) until—

17 ‘‘(i) if the borrower fails to complete

18 the program, the last day on which the

19 borrower maintains participation in the

20 program; or

21 ‘‘(ii) if the borrower completes the

22 program, 6 months after the date on which

23 the borrower completes the program.

24 ‘‘(C) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PARTICIPA25 TION.—If the borrower seeks assistance under
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1 this paragraph and fails to complete the alter2 native certification program, the deferral pe3 riod, for purposes of subparagraph (B), shall be

4 considered to end on the last date of the bor5 rower’s participation in the program. The bor6 rower shall not be required to pay interest on

7 the loan for any period during which the bor8 rower participated in the program.

9 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall not estab10 lish a limit on the amount of a loan that may be re11 paid under this section.

12 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive assist13 ance under this section, a borrower shall submit an appli14 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and

15 containing such information as the Secretary may require.

16 ‘‘SEC. 2403. ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION STIPENDS.

17 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en18 courage individuals described in section 2402(c)(2) to

19 enter the teaching profession, by paying for the costs in20 curred by an eligible student in obtaining certification

21 through an alternative route for employment as an ele22 mentary school or secondary school teacher.

23 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make

2 payments to eligible students to pay for the costs in3 curred by the students in obtaining the certification.

4 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall make a

5 payment to a student under paragraph (1) in an

6 amount equal to the lesser of—

7 ‘‘(A) $5,000; or

8 ‘‘(B) the total costs of the type described

9 in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (8), and (9) of sec10 tion 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965

11 incurred by the student while obtaining the cer12 tification.

13 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—To be eligible to receive

14 a payment under this section a student shall be an indi15 vidual who—

16 ‘‘(1)(A) obtained an undergraduate degree with

17 a major in a core academic subject at an institution

18 of higher education; or

19 ‘‘(B) obtained a graduate degree in a core aca20 demic subject at an institution of higher education;

21 ‘‘(2) achieved at least a 3.0 grade point average

22 in the major or the graduate program for which the

23 individual obtained the degree; and

24 ‘‘(3) has not previously served as a full-time

25 teacher in a public elementary school or secondary
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1 school, prior to receiving assistance under this sec2 tion.

3 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a pay4 ment under this section, a student shall submit an applica5 tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and

6 containing such information as the Secretary may require,

7 including—

8 ‘‘(1) documentation of the costs described in

9 subsection (b)(2)(B); and

10 ‘‘(2) an assurance that the student will teach in

11 an elementary school or secondary school for 2

12 years, beginning in the first full school year after the

13 date on which the student obtains the certification.

14 ‘‘(e) AWARD BASIS; PRIORITY.—

15 ‘‘(1) AWARD BASIS.—Subject to paragraph (2),

16 payments made under this section shall be made on

17 a first-come, first-served basis and subject to the

18 availability of appropriations.

19 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In making payments under

20 this section, the Secretary shall give priority to indi21 viduals who have received assistance under section

22 2402.

23 ‘‘(f) REIMBURSEMENT UNDER CERTAIN CIR24 CUMSTANCES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible individual

2 who receives assistance under this section fails to ob3 tain teacher certification or employment as an ele4 mentary school or secondary school teacher or volun5 tarily leaves, or is terminated for cause, from the

6 employment during the 2 years of required service,

7 the eligible individual shall be required to reimburse

8 the State for any payment made to the eligible indi9 vidual under subsection (b)(1) in an amount that

10 bears the same ratio to the amount of the payment

11 as the unserved portion of the required service bears

12 to the 2 years of required service.

13 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO SECRETARY.— A

14 State shall transfer any reimbursement funds re15 ceived under this subsection to the Secretary. The

16 Secretary shall establish an account for reimburse17 ment funds transferred to the Secretary under this

18 subsection. The Secretary shall deposit the funds in

19 the account, and may use funds in the account to

20 carry out this section.

21 ‘‘(3) OBLIGATION TO REIMBURSE.—The obliga22 tion to reimburse the State under this subsection is,

23 for all purposes, a debt owing the United States. A

24 discharge in bankruptcy under title 11, United

25 States Code, shall not release an eligible individual
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1 from the obligation to reimburse the State. Any

2 amount owed by an eligible individual under para3 graph (1) shall bear interest at the rate equal to the

4 highest rate being paid by the United States, on the

5 day on which the reimbursement is determined to be

6 due, for securities having maturities of 90 days or

7 less and shall accrue from the day on which the eli8 gible individual is first notified of the amount due.

9 ‘‘(g) EXCEPTIONS TO REIMBURSEMENT PROVI10 SIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible individual who

12 receives assistance under this section shall be ex13 cused from reimbursement under subsection (f) dur14 ing any period in which the individual—

15 ‘‘(A) is pursuing a full-time course of

16 study related to the field of teaching at an eligi17 ble institution;

18 ‘‘(B) is serving on active duty as a member

19 of the Armed Forces;

20 ‘‘(C) is temporarily totally disabled for a

21 period of time of not more than 3 years as es22 tablished by the sworn affidavit of a qualified

23 physician;

24 ‘‘(D) is unable to secure employment for a

25 period of not more than 12 months by reason
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1 of the care required by a spouse who is dis2 abled;

3 ‘‘(E) is seeking and unable to find full4 time employment as a teacher in an elementary

5 school or secondary school for a single period of

6 not more than 27 months; or

7 ‘‘(F) satisfies the provisions of additional

8 reimbursement exceptions that may be pre9 scribed by the Secretary.

10 ‘‘(2) FORGIVENESS.—An eligible individual

11 shall be excused from reimbursement under sub12 section (f) if the eligible individual becomes perma13 nently totally disabled, as established by the sworn

14 affidavit of a qualified physician. The Secretary may

15 also waive reimbursement in cases of extreme hard16 ship to the individual, as determined by the Sec17 retary.

18 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

19 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

20 $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and such sums as may

21 be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

22 ‘‘SEC. 2404. NOTIFICATION, PUBLIC AWARENESS, AND AD23 VERTISING ACTIVITIES.

24 ‘‘(a) NOTIFICATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall notify

2 all institutions of higher education concerning both

3 the loan forgiveness program described in section

4 2402 and the alternative certification stipend pro5 gram described in section 2403. Each institution of

6 higher education that accepts Federal funds shall

7 notify all students who receive Federal aid to attend

8 an institution of higher education of the opportuni9 ties afforded by the programs.

10 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may enter

11 into contracts with appropriate public agencies, non12 profit private organizations, for-profit organizations,

13 and institutions of higher education to conduct an

14 information program designed—

15 ‘‘(A) to broaden awareness of the opportu16 nities afforded under the programs described in

17 paragraph (1); and

18 ‘‘(B) to encourage eligible students to take

19 advantage of the programs.

20 ‘‘(b) ADVERTISING ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may

21 disseminate information about the loan forgiveness pro22 gram described in section 2402 and the alternative certifi23 cation stipend program described in section 2403 through

24 television advertisements, the publication of brochures, ad25 vertisements in college newspapers or other newspapers,
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1 or any other means that the Secretary determines to be

2 effective to broaden awareness of the program.

3 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section,

5 $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2001 and such sums as may

6 be necessary for each of the 2 succeeding fiscal years.’’.

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