Elevating Educator Preparation Through Innovation Act of 2016

To amend title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Elevating Educator Preparation Through Innovation Act of 2016 2. Definitions under title II Section 200 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1021 (1) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following: (6) Eligible partnership (A) Eligible entity In this paragraph, the term eligible entity (i) a high-need local educational agency; and (ii) (I) a high-need school or a consortium of high-need schools served by the high-need local educational agency; or (II) as applicable, a high-need early childhood education program. (B) In general Except as otherwise provided in section 251, the term eligible partnership (i) A partner institution. (ii) A school, department, or program of education within such partner institution, which may include an existing teacher professional development program with proven outcomes within a four-year institution of higher education that provides intensive and sustained collaboration between faculty and local educational agencies consistent with the requirements of this title. (iii) A school or department of arts and sciences within such partner institution. (iv) An entity operating a program that provides alternative routes to State certification of teachers. (v) A public or private nonprofit educational organization. (vi) An educational service agency. (C) Permissive partners An eligible partnership (i) The Governor of the State. (ii) The State educational agency. (iii) The State board of education. (iv) The State agency for higher education. (v) A business. (vi) A teacher organization. (vii) A high-performing local educational agency, or a consortium of such local educational agencies, that can serve as a resource to the partnership. (viii) A charter school (as defined in section 4310 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965). (ix) A school or department within the partner institution that focuses on psychology and human development. (x) A school or department within the partner institution with comparable expertise in the disciplines of teaching, learning, and child and adolescent development. ; (2) in paragraph (22)— (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking the partner institution an eligible partner described in any of clauses (i) through (vi) of paragraph (6)(B) (B) by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting the following: (D) prior to completion of the program, attains full State teacher certification or licensure and, with respect to special education teachers, meets the qualifications described in section 612(a)(14)(C) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. ; and (3) in paragraph (23)(A), by inserting , which may include through the use of data, including data from interim, formative, and summative assessments, and student growth data, attendance, behavior, and course grades to improve student achievement and to improve classroom instruction knowledge 3. Use of grants Section 202(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1022a(c) (1) in paragraph (1), by striking and (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (3) may use not more than 10 percent of grant funds to— (A) encourage the preservice and inservice clinical experiences and interactions of prospective and resident teachers to inform the design of high-quality professional development, as described in section 8101(42) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and induction programs for new teachers, if the student teaching or teaching residency program school and the placement school of such teachers are served by the same local educational agency; (B) improve teacher preparation programs' clinical experiences, interactions, and curricula by identifying skill deficits of prospective teachers; and (C) create a feedback loop using data between teacher preparation programs and local educational agencies’ professional development for new teachers. . 4. Evaluations Section 204(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1022b (d) Evaluation and dissemination From amounts appropriated under section 209, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, shall— (1) carry out an independent evaluation to measure the effectiveness of the programs operated by the partnerships assisted under this part; (2) report the findings regarding the evaluation to the authorizing committees; and (3) disseminate— (A) successful practices developed by eligible partnerships under this part; and (B) information regarding such practices that were found to be ineffective. .

Summary: Elevating Educator Preparation Through Innovation Act of 2016 This bill amends title II (Teacher Quality Enhancement) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise provisions related to the Teacher Quality Partnership grant program. Specifically, the bill: modifies requirements regarding which types of entities must, or may, be included in a grant-eligible partnership; eliminates the requirement that a teaching residency program must culminate in the attainment of a master's degree; and expands the purposes for which grant funds may be used.