II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 990 

To provide a grant program to support the establishment and operation 

of Teachers Professional Development Institutes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 10, 2005 

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 Professional Development 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. TEACHERS 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: 
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1 ‘‘PART C—TEACHERS PROFESSIONAL 

2 DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTES 

3 ‘‘SEC. 241. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Development Institutes Act’. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 242. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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

9 ‘‘(1) Ongoing, subject-specific teacher profes10 sional development is essential to improved student 

11 learning. 

12 ‘‘(2) The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 

13 calls for a highly qualified teacher in every core-sub14 ject classroom; attaining this goal will require inno15 vative and effective approaches to improving the 

16 quality of teaching. 

17 ‘‘(3) The Teachers Institute Model is an inno18 vative and proven approach that encourages collabo19 ration between urban school teachers and university 

20 faculty. The model focuses on teachers’ continuing 

21 academic preparation and on the personal and col22 laborative application of their studies in their class23 rooms, schools, and districts. 

24 ‘‘(4) The Teachers Institute Model has a proven 

25 record, as demonstrated by the success of a 3-year 

26 national demonstration pilot project (referred to in 
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1 this part as the ‘National Demonstration Project’) in 

2 several United States cities. 

3 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this part is to pro4 vide Federal assistance to support the establishment and 

5 operation of Teachers Professional Development Institutes 

6 for local educational agencies that serve significant low7 income populations in States throughout the Nation— 

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

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

10 strengthening the subject matter mastery and peda11 gogical skills of current teachers through continuing 

12 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. 
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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 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

5 INSTITUTE.—The term ‘Teachers Professional De6 velopment Institute’ means a partnership or joint 

7 venture between or among 1 or more institutions of 

8 higher education, and 1 or more local educational 

9 agencies serving a significant low-income population, 

10 which partnership or joint venture— 

11 ‘‘(A) is entered into for the purpose of im12 proving the quality of teaching and learning 

13 through collaborative seminars designed to en14 hance both the subject matter and the peda15 gogical resources of the seminar participants; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) works in collaboration to determine 

18 the direction and content of the collaborative 

19 seminars. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 244. GRANT AUTHORITY. 

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

22 ‘‘(1) to award grants to Teachers Professional 

23 Development Institutes to encourage the establish24 ment and operation of Teachers Professional Devel25 opment Institutes; and 
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1 ‘‘(2) to provide technical assistance, either di2 rectly or through existing Teachers Professional De3 velopment Institutes, to assist local educational 

4 agencies and institutions of higher education in pre5 paring to establish and in operating Teachers Pro6 fessional Development Institutes. 

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

8 Professional Development Institute for a grant under this 

9 part, the Secretary shall consider— 

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

11 Professional Development Institute will serve a com12 munity with a significant low-income population; 

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

14 Professional Development Institute will follow the 

15 Understandings and Necessary Procedures that have 

16 been developed following the National Demonstra17 tion Project; 

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

19 agency participating in the proposed Teachers Pro20 fessional Development Institute has a high percent21 age of teachers who are unprepared or under pre22 pared to teach the core academic subjects the teach23 ers are assigned to teach; and 

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

25 Professional Development Institute will receive a 
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1 level of support from the community and other 

2 sources that will ensure the requisite long-term com3 mitment for the success of a Teachers Professional 

4 Development Institute. 

5 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.— 

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

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

8 advice and assistance of existing Teachers Profes9 sional Development Institutes. 

10 ‘‘(2) STATE AGENCIES.—If the Secretary re11 ceives 2 or more applications for new Teachers Pro12 fessional Development Institutes that propose serv13 ing the same State, the Secretary shall consult with 

14 the State educational agency regarding the applica15 tions. 

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

17 an institution of higher education participating in a 

18 Teachers Professional Development Institute shall serve 

19 as the fiscal agent for the receipt of grant funds under 

20 this part. 

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

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

23 5 years; and 
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1 ‘‘(2) shall not exceed 50 percent of the total 

2 costs of the eligible activities, as determined by the 

3 Secretary. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 245. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A Teachers Professional Devel6 opment Institute that receives a grant under this part may 

7 use the grant funds— 

8 ‘‘(1) for the planning and development of appli9 cations for the establishment of Teachers Profes10 sional Development Institutes; 

11 ‘‘(2) to provide assistance to existing Teachers 

12 Professional Development Institutes established dur13 ing the National Demonstration Project to enable 

14 the Teachers Professional Development Institutes— 

15 ‘‘(A) to further develop existing Teachers 

16 Professional Development Institutes; or 

17 ‘‘(B) to support the planning and develop18 ment of applications for new Teachers Profes19 sional Development Institutes; 

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

21 full-time director to plan and manage such Teachers 

22 Professional Development Institute and to act as li23 aison between the participating local educational 

24 agency and institution of higher education; 
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1 ‘‘(4) to provide suitable office space, staff, 

2 equipment, and supplies, and to pay other operating 

3 expenses for the development and maintenance of 

4 Teachers Professional Development Institutes; 

5 ‘‘(5) to provide stipends for teachers partici6 pating in collaborative seminars in the sciences and 

7 humanities, and to provide remuneration for those 

8 members of the higher education faculty who lead 

9 the seminars; and 

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

11 print and electronic means of curriculum units pre12 pared in conjunction with Teachers Professional De13 velopment Institutes seminars. 

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

15 use not more than 50 percent of the funds appropriated 

16 to carry out this part to provide technical assistance to 

17 facilitate the establishment and operation of Teachers 

18 Professional Development Institutes. For the purpose of 

19 this subsection, the Secretary may contract with existing 

20 Teachers Professional Development Institutes to provide 

21 all or a part of the technical assistance under this sub22 section. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 246. APPLICATION, APPROVAL, AND AGREEMENT. 

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

3 part, a Teachers Professional Development Institute shall 

4 submit an application to the Secretary that— 

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

6 regulations under this part; 

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

8 Professional Development Institute intends to use 

9 funds provided under the grant; 

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

11 may require to apply the criteria described in section 

12 244(b); 

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

14 of the funds provided under the grant; and 

15 ‘‘(5) contains such other information and assur16 ances as the Secretary may require. 

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

18 ‘‘(1) promptly evaluate an application received 

19 for a grant under this part; and 

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

21 receipt of a completed application of the Secretary’s 

22 approval or disapproval of the application. 

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

24 the Secretary and the Teachers Professional Development 

25 Institute shall enter into a comprehensive agreement cov26 ering the entire period of the grant. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 247. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) REPORT.—Each Teachers Professional Develop3 ment Institute receiving a grant under this part shall re4 port annually on the progress of the Teachers Professional 

5 Development Institute in achieving the purpose of this 

6 part and the purposes of the grant. 

7 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall evalu9 ate the activities funded under this part and submit 

10 an annual report regarding the activities to the 

11 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen12 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Education 

13 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

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

15 broadly disseminate successful practices developed 

16 by Teachers Professional Development Institutes. 

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

18 a Teachers Professional Development Institute is not 

19 making substantial progress in achieving the purpose of 

20 this part and the purposes of the grant by the end of the 

21 second year of the grant under this part, the Secretary 

22 may take appropriate action, including revocation of fur23 ther payments under the grant, to ensure that the funds 

24 available under this part are used in the most effective 

25 manner. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 248. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

3 this part— 

4 ‘‘(1) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

5 ‘‘(2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

6 ‘‘(3) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

7 ‘‘(4) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

8 ‘‘(5) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.’’.

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