I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2011 
To authorize the Secretary of Education to establish a competitive demonstra-
tion grant program to provide funds for local educational agencies in 
order to increase the effectiveness of substitute teaching, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 21, 2009 
Mr. PAYNE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Education to establish a com-
petitive demonstration grant program to provide funds 
for local educational agencies in order to increase the 
effectiveness of substitute teaching, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Substitute Teaching 
Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) As much as one full year of a child’s ele-
mentary and secondary education is taught by sub-
stitute teachers. 
(2) Less than one in four school districts pro-
vide training for substitute teachers. 
(3) No training is given to substitute teachers 
in 77 percent of school districts in the United 
States. 
(4) Over half (56 percent) of school districts 
never have a face-to-face interview with substitute 
teaching candidates. 
(5) Poorly trained substitute teachers have a 
negative impact on student academic performance 
and achievement. 
(6) Schools with high concentrations of dis-
advantaged populations are more likely to be taught 
by less qualified permanent teachers and under-pre-
pared substitute teachers. 
(7) Nine out of the ten lowest-ranked States in 
National 
Assessment 
of 
Educational 
Progress 
(NAEP) testing allowed substitute teachers with 
only a high school diploma to teach in their schools. 
(8) In fact, in 28 States, principals may hire 
anyone with a high school diploma or a general 
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equivalency diploma (GED) who is age 18 years of 
age or older. 
(9) Schools with lower academic achievement 
are twice as likely to allow less qualified substitutes 
in the classroom. 
(10) On any given day in the United States, 
more than 270,000 classes are taught by substitute 
teachers. 
(11) Formal training of substitute teachers has 
been shown to improve the quality of education, 
lower school district liability, reduce the number of 
student and faculty complaints, and increase reten-
tion rates of substitute teachers. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE EF-
FECTIVENESS OF SUBSTITUTE TEACHING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education is au-
thorized to make competitive demonstration grants to eli-
gible local educational agencies for the purposes of— 
(1) increasing the effectiveness of substitute 
teaching through a comprehensive training program 
for substitute teachers, principals, permanent class-
room teachers, and district managers of substitute 
teachers; and 
(2) evaluating the effectiveness of the program. 
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(b) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—In 
this Act, the term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’ 
means— 
(1) a high-need local educational agency; or 
(2) a partnership of a high-need local edu-
cational agency and an institution of higher edu-
cation, or non-profit education organization. 
SEC. 4. USE OF FUNDS. 
A local educational agency that receives a grant 
under section 3 shall use the funds made available through 
the grant— 
(1) to train substitute teachers in— 
(A) classroom management; 
(B) effective teaching strategies that ad-
dress a variety of student learning needs and 
styles; 
(C) teacher professionalism; and 
(D) educational laws and issues; 
(2) to train principals and permanent teachers 
in effectively integrating substitute teachers in 
school operations, such as— 
(A) best practices in recruiting and retain-
ing substitutes; 
(B) best practices in preparing students 
for substitutes; 
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(C) proper planning and follow-up for sub-
stitutes; and 
(D) use of permanent substitutes; 
(3) to develop a resource kit for substitute 
teachers that contains— 
(A) short whole-class critical thinking ac-
tivities; 
(B) independent student activities; and 
(C) teacher-directed activities and lessons 
organized by subject matter; and 
(4) to collect data on substitute teachers and 
the practices for managing substitute teachers in 
participating districts, including information on 
the— 
(A) demand for substitute teachers; 
(B) qualifications of substitute teachers; 
(C) number and percentage of substitute 
teachers that receive some form of training 
prior to entering the classroom; and 
(D) number of complaints registered 
against substitute teachers. 
SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND REPORTS. 
(a) STUDY ON SUBSTITUTE TEACHING.—Not later 
than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Education shall commission a national 
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independent evaluation of the prevalence of substitute 
teaching and current State and local efforts to improve 
the effectiveness of substitute teaching and their impact 
on student achievement. The Secretary shall report the 
findings of the evaluation to the Congress not later than 
two years after the date on which the study is commis-
sioned. 
(b) IMPACT OF FUNDED PROGRAMS.—Not later than 
1 year after the date on which the last demonstration 
grant made under section 3 expires, the Secretary of Edu-
cation shall submit a report to the Congress describing 
the impact on student achievement of programs funded 
under this Act. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums 
as may be necessary for fiscal years 2011 through 2014. 
Æ 
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