II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2538 

To provide a grant program to support the establishment and operation 

of Teachers Institutes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2004 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself and Mr. DODD) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide a grant program to support the establishment 

and operation of Teachers Institutes. 

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 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN4 STITUTES. 

5 Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 
2 

•S 2538 IS 

1 ‘‘PART C—TEACHER PROFESSIONAL 

2 DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTES 

3 ‘‘SEC. 241. SHORT TITLE. 

4 ‘‘This part may be cited as the ‘Teacher Professional 

5 Development Institutes Act’. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 242. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 ‘‘(1) The ongoing professional development of 

10 teachers in the subjects the teachers teach is essen11 tial for improved student learning. 

12 ‘‘(2) Attaining the goal of the No Child Left 

13 Behind Act of 2001, of having a teacher who is 

14 highly qualified in every core subject classroom, will 

15 require innovative and effective approaches to im16 proving the quality of teaching. 

17 ‘‘(3) The Teachers Institute Model is an inno18 vative approach that encourages a collaboration be19 tween urban school teachers and university faculty. 

20 The Teachers Institute Model focuses on the con21 tinuing academic preparation of school teachers and 

22 the application of what the teachers study to their 

23 classrooms and potentially to the classrooms of other 

24 teachers. 

25 ‘‘(4) The Teachers Institute Model has also 

26 been successfully demonstrated over a 3-year period 
3 

•S 2538 IS 

1 in a National Demonstration Project (hereafter in 

2 this part referred to as the ‘National Demonstration 

3 Project’) in several cities. 

4 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this part is to pro5 vide Federal assistance to support the establishment and 

6 operation of Teachers Institutes for local educational 

7 agencies that serve significant low-income populations in 

8 States throughout the Nation— 

9 ‘‘(1) to improve student learning; and 

10 ‘‘(2) to enhance the quality of teaching by 

11 strengthening the subject matter mastery of current 

12 teachers through continuing teacher preparation. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 243. DEFINITIONS. 

14 ‘‘In this part: 

15 ‘‘(1) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘poverty line’ 

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

17 Management and Budget, and revised annually in 

18 accordance with section 673(2) of the Community 

19 Services Block Grant Act) applicable to a family of 

20 the size involved. 

21 ‘‘(2) SIGNIFICANT LOW-INCOME POPULATION.— 

22 The term ‘significant low-income population’ means 

23 a student population of which not less than 25 per24 cent are from families with incomes below the pov25 erty line. 
4 

•S 2538 IS 

1 ‘‘(3) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

2 the several States of the United States, the District 

3 of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

4 ‘‘(4) TEACHERS INSTITUTE.—The term ‘Teach5 ers Institute’ means a partnership or joint venture 

6 between or among 1 or more institutions of higher 

7 education, and 1 or more local educational agencies 

8 serving a significant low-income population, which 

9 partnership or joint venture— 

10 ‘‘(A) is entered into for the purpose of im11 proving the quality of teaching and learning 

12 through collaborative seminars designed to en13 hance both the subject matter and the peda14 gogical resources of the seminar participants; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) works in collaboration to determine 

17 the direction and content of the collaborative 

18 seminars. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 244. GRANT AUTHORITY. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized— 

21 ‘‘(1) to award grants to Teachers Institutes to 

22 encourage the establishment and operation of Teach23 ers Institutes; and 

24 ‘‘(2) to provide technical assistance, either di25 rectly or through existing Teachers Institutes, to as-
5 

•S 2538 IS 

1 sist local educational agencies and institutions of 

2 higher education in preparing to establish and in op3 erating Teachers Institutes. 

4 ‘‘(b) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting a Teachers 

5 Institute for a grant under this part, the Secretary shall 

6 consider— 

7 ‘‘(1) the extent to which the proposed Teachers 

8 Institute will serve a community with a significant 

9 low-income population; 

10 ‘‘(2) the extent to which the proposed Teachers 

11 Institute will follow the Understandings and Nec12 essary Procedures that have been developed fol13 lowing the National Demonstration Project; 

14 ‘‘(3) the extent to which the local educational 

15 agency participating in the proposed Teachers Insti16 tute has a high percentage of teachers who are un17 prepared or under prepared to teach the core aca18 demic subjects the teachers are assigned to teach; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(4) the extent to which the proposed Teachers 

21 Institute will receive a level of support from the 

22 community and other sources that will ensure the 

23 requisite long-term commitment for the success of a 

24 Teachers Institute. 

25 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.— 
6 

•S 2538 IS 

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In evaluating applications 

2 under subsection (b), the Secretary may request the 

3 advice and assistance of existing Teachers Institutes. 

4 ‘‘(2) STATE AGENCIES.—If the Secretary re5 ceives 2 or more applications for new Teachers Insti6 tutes that propose serving the same State, the Sec7 retary shall consult with the State educational agen8 cy regarding the applications. 

9 ‘‘(d) FISCAL AGENT.—For the purpose of this part, 

10 an institution of higher education participating in a 

11 Teachers Institute shall serve as the fiscal agent for the 

12 receipt of grant funds under this part. 

13 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.—A grant under this part— 

14 ‘‘(1) shall be awarded for a period not to exceed 

15 5 years; and 

16 ‘‘(2) shall not exceed 50 percent of the total 

17 costs of the eligible activities, as determined by the 

18 Secretary. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 245. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds awarded under this 

21 part may be used— 

22 ‘‘(1) for the planning and development of appli23 cations for the establishment of Teachers Institutes; 
7 

•S 2538 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) to provide assistance to the Teachers Insti2 tutes established during the National Demonstration 

3 Project to enable the Teachers Institutes— 

4 ‘‘(A) to develop further the Teachers Insti5 tutes; or 

6 ‘‘(B) to support the planning and develop7 ment of applications for new Teachers Insti8 tutes; 

9 ‘‘(3) for the salary and necessary expenses of a 

10 full-time director to plan and manage the Teachers 

11 Institute and to act as liaison between the local edu12 cational agency and the institution of higher edu13 cation participating in the Teachers Institute; 

14 ‘‘(4) to provide suitable office space, staff, 

15 equipment, and supplies, and to pay other operating 

16 expenses, for the Teachers Institute; 

17 ‘‘(5) to provide a stipend for teachers partici18 pating in collaborative seminars in the sciences and 

19 humanities, and to provide remuneration for those 

20 members of the faculty of the institution of higher 

21 education participating in the Teachers Institute 

22 who lead the seminars; and 

23 ‘‘(6) to provide for the dissemination through 

24 print and electronic means of curriculum units pre-
8 

•S 2538 IS 

1 pared in the seminars conducted by the Teachers In2 stitute. 

3 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

4 use not more than 50 percent of the funds appropriated 

5 to carry out this part to provide technical assistance to 

6 facilitate the establishment and operation of Teachers In7 stitutes. For the purpose of this subsection, the Secretary 

8 may contract with existing Teachers Institutes to provide 

9 all or a part of the technical assistance under this sub10 section. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 246. APPLICATION, APPROVAL, AND AGREEMENT. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under this 

13 part, a Teachers Institute shall submit an application to 

14 the Secretary that— 

15 ‘‘(1) meets the requirement of this part and any 

16 regulations under this part; 

17 ‘‘(2) includes a description of how the Teachers 

18 Institute intends to use funds provided under the 

19 grant; 

20 ‘‘(3) includes such information as the Secretary 

21 may require to apply the criteria described in section 

22 244(b); 

23 ‘‘(4) includes measurable objectives for the use 

24 of the funds provided under the grant; and 
9 

•S 2538 IS 

1 ‘‘(5) contains such other information and assur2 ances as the Secretary may require. 

3 ‘‘(b) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) promptly evaluate an application received 

5 for a grant under this part; and 

6 ‘‘(2) notify the applicant within 90 days of the 

7 receipt of a completed application of the Secretary’s 

8 approval or disapproval of the application. 

9 ‘‘(c) AGREEMENT.—Upon approval of an application, 

10 the Secretary and the Teachers Institute shall enter into 

11 a comprehensive agreement covering the entire period of 

12 the grant. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 247. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS. 

14 ‘‘(a) REPORT.—Each Teachers Institute receiving a 

15 grant under this part shall report annually on the progress 

16 of the Teachers Institute in achieving the purpose of this 

17 part and the purposes of the grant. 

18 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall evalu20 ate the activities funded under this part and submit 

21 an annual report regarding the activities to the 

22 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen23 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Education 

24 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives. 
10 

•S 2538 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) DISSEMINATION.—The Secretary shall 

2 broadly disseminate successful practices developed 

3 by Teachers Institutes. 

4 ‘‘(c) REVOCATION.—If the Secretary determines that 

5 a Teachers Institute is not making substantial progress 

6 in achieving the purpose of this part and the purposes of 

7 the grant by the end of the second year of the grant under 

8 this part, the Secretary may take appropriate action, in9 cluding revocation of further payments under the grant, 

10 to ensure that the funds available under this part are used 

11 in the most effective manner. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 248. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

14 this part— 

15 ‘‘(1) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

16 ‘‘(2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

17 ‘‘(3) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

18 ‘‘(4) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 

19 ‘‘(5) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2009.’’. 

Æ