tion to participate as necessary in accordance
with the provisions of this section, including an
assurance that the matching requirements in
paragraph (6) will be satisfied, from—
‘‘(i) the head of the State educational
agency;
‘‘(ii) the head of the State higher edu-
cation agency or the State university sys-
tem (if the head of such agency or system
is different from the head of the State edu-
cational agency); and
‘‘(iii) the head of the State agency
that is responsible for teacher licensure or
certification (if the head of such agency is
different from the person described in
clause (ii)).
‘‘(5) 
MINIMUM
GRANT
AMOUNT.—Grants
awarded under this section—
‘‘(A) subject to subparagraph (B), shall be
for not less than $250,000 per grantee, per
year; and
‘‘(B) shall be for not less than $5,000,000
per State, per year.
‘‘(6) CARRYOVER.—A collaborative receiving a
grant under this section may use any grant funds
that remain at the end of a grant year in the suc-
ceeding year.
‘‘(b) USES OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.—A collabo-
rative shall use funds received under this section for
the following purposes:
‘‘(A) Developing and implementing an in-
tensive full-time pre-service training program
for collaborative participants that—
‘‘(i) provides a minimum of 240 hours
of instruction to prepare participants to
commence 
teaching 
duties 
in 
eligible
schools; and
‘‘(ii) makes successful completion of
the program contingent on receipt of an
evaluation incorporating a finding that the
graduate is prepared to begin teaching in
an eligible school.
‘‘(B) Recruiting and screening of training
program applicants to ensure both quality and
diversity.
‘‘(C) Providing stipends to collaborative
participants during their initial 240-hour train-
ing period, including stipends to cover the costs
of housing, board, and relocation, if such pay-
ments will help to ensure quality and diversity
in the corps of participants.
‘‘(D) Recruiting, screening, training, and
providing ongoing support for, mentors for col-
laborative participants.
‘‘(E) Purchasing release time for mentor
teachers and for collaborative participants for
induction activities during the first 3 years of
collaborative participation.
‘‘(F) Evaluating individual collaborative
participants at the conclusion of their first year
of teaching.
‘‘(G) Evaluating the collaborative’s pro-
grams as a whole to determine to what extent
they are an effective means of increasing the
percentage of fully qualified teachers in eligible
schools and improving student achievement in
those schools.
‘‘(2) ALLOWABLE USES OF FUNDS.—A collabo-
rative may use funds received under this section for
the following purposes:
‘‘(A) Providing bonuses to mentor teach-
ers.
‘‘(B) Providing signing bonuses to collabo-
rative participants prior to the commencement
of their training.
‘‘(c) QUALIFICATION OF COLLABORATIVE PARTICI-
PANTS.—
‘‘(1) STANDARDS FOR MEMBER ACCEPTANCE.—
Each collaborative shall establish standards for ac-
ceptance of collaborative participants to ensure that
each class of collaborative participants is diverse and
that each collaborative participant possesses appro-
priate and high level credentials and is likely to be-
come a highly effective teacher in an eligible school.
At a minimum, all candidates accepted by any col-
laborative funded under this section shall possess the
following qualifications:
‘‘(A) RECENT
GRADUATES.—Individuals
who completed a bachelor’s degree 3 years or
less prior to applying to be a collaborative
participant—
‘‘(i) shall have been in the top 25 per-
cent of their graduating class or have
placed in the top 25 percent nationally on
a widely used examination for entry into
graduate or professional school;
‘‘(ii) if the individual intends to teach
at the elementary school level, shall possess
a bachelor’s degree that provides them
with the content area knowledge needed to
teach the full range of subjects included in
the elementary school curriculum; and
‘‘(iii) if the individual intends to teach
at the secondary school level, shall possess
a bachelor’s degree in each subject area in
which the individual plans to provide in-
struction, or a closely related field.
‘‘(B) 
OTHER
GRADUATES.—Individuals
who completed a bachelor’s degree more than 3
years prior to applying to be a collaborative
participant—
‘‘(i) shall have a record of outstanding
achievement in their profession;
‘‘(ii) if the individual intends to teach
at the elementary school level, shall possess
a bachelor’s degree or professional back-
ground and experience that provides them
with the content area knowledge needed to
teach the full range of subjects included in
the elementary school curriculum; and