H. R. 2272—53 
(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—The Director may seek advice 
on any aspect of ARPA-E from— 
(A) an existing Department of Energy advisory com-
mittee; and 
(B) a new advisory committee organized to support 
the programs of ARPA-E and to provide advice and assist-
ance on— 
(i) specific program tasks; or 
(ii) overall direction of ARPA-E. 
(2) ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF ADVICE.—In carrying out this 
section, the Director may seek advice and review from— 
(A) the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science 
and Technology; and 
(B) any professional or scientific organization with 
expertise in specific processes or technologies under 
development by ARPA-E. 
(k) ARPA-E EVALUATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—After ARPA-E has been in operation for 
4 years, the Secretary shall offer to enter into a contract with 
the National Academy of Sciences under which the National 
Academy shall conduct an evaluation of how well ARPA-E 
is achieving the goals and mission of ARPA-E. 
(2) INCLUSIONS.—The evaluation shall include— 
(A) the recommendation of the National Academy of 
Sciences on whether ARPA-E should be continued or termi-
nated; and 
(B) a description of lessons learned from operation 
of ARPA-E. 
(3) AVAILABILITY.—On completion of the evaluation, the 
evaluation shall be made available to Congress and the public. 
(l) EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—The authorities granted by this 
section are— 
(1) in addition to existing authorities granted to the Sec-
retary; and 
(2) are not intended to supersede or modify any existing 
authorities. 
(m) FUNDING.— 
(1) FUND.—There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a fund, to be known as the ‘‘Energy Trans-
formation Acceleration Fund’’, which shall be administered by 
the Director for the purposes of carrying out this section. 
(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subject to para-
graphs (4) and (5), there are authorized to be appropriated 
to the Director for deposit in the Fund, without fiscal year 
limitation— 
(A) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 
(B) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 
2009 and 2010. 
(3) SEPARATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATION.— 
(A) BUDGET REQUEST.—The budget request for ARPA- 
E shall be separate from the rest of the budget of the 
Department. 
(B) APPROPRIATIONS.—Appropriations to the Fund shall 
be separate and distinct from the rest of the budget for 
the Department. 
(4) LIMITATION.—No amounts may be appropriated for 
ARPA-E for fiscal year 2008 unless the amount appropriated
H. R. 2272—54 
for the activities of the Office of Science of the Department 
for fiscal year 2008 exceeds the amount appropriated for the 
Office for fiscal year 2007, as adjusted for inflation in accord-
ance with the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. 
(5) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts appropriated for a fiscal 
year under paragraph (2)— 
(A) not more than 50 percent of the amount shall 
be used to carry out subsection (e)(3)(D); 
(B) at least 2.5 percent of the amount shall be used 
for technology transfer and outreach activities; and 
(C) no funds may be used for construction of new 
buildings or facilities during the 5-year period beginning 
on the date of enactment of this Act. 
TITLE VI—EDUCATION 
SEC. 6001. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) A well-educated population is essential to retaining 
America’s competitiveness in the global economy. 
(2) The United States needs to build on and expand the 
impact of existing programs by taking additional, well-coordi-
nated steps to ensure that all students are able to obtain 
the knowledge the students need to obtain postsecondary edu-
cation and participate successfully in the workforce or the 
Armed Forces. 
(3) The next steps must be informed by independent 
information on the effectiveness of current programs in science, 
technology, engineering, mathematics, and critical foreign lan-
guage education, and by identification of best practices that 
can be replicated. 
(4) Teacher preparation and elementary school and sec-
ondary school programs and activities must be aligned with 
the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) and the requirements 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 
(5) The ever increasing knowledge and skill demands of 
the 21st century require that secondary school preparation 
and requirements be better aligned with the knowledge and 
skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education and the 
workforce, and States need better data systems to track edu-
cational achievement from prekindergarten through bacca-
laureate degrees. 
SEC. 6002. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—Unless otherwise specified in this title, 
the terms used in this title have the meanings given the terms 
in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this title: 
(1) CRITICAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE.—The term ‘‘critical for-
eign language’’ means a foreign language that the Secretary 
determines, in consultation with the heads of such Federal
H. R. 2272—55 
departments and agencies as the Secretary determines appro-
priate, is critical to the national security and economic competi-
tiveness of the United States. 
(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘institu-
tion of higher education’’ has the meaning given the term 
in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Education. 
(4) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘scientif-
ically valid research’’ includes applied research, basic research, 
and field-initiated research in which the rationale, design, and 
interpretation are soundly developed in accordance with 
accepted principles of scientific research. 
Subtitle A—Teacher Assistance 
PART I—TEACHERS FOR A COMPETITIVE 
TOMORROW 
SEC. 6111. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this part is— 
(1) to develop and implement programs to provide 
integrated courses of study in science, technology, engineering, 
mathematics, or critical foreign languages, and teacher edu-
cation, that lead to a baccalaureate degree in science, tech-
nology, engineering, mathematics, or a critical foreign language, 
with concurrent teacher certification; 
(2) to develop and implement 2- or 3-year part-time mas-
ter’s degree programs in science, technology, engineering, 
mathematics, or critical foreign language education for teachers 
in order to enhance the teachers’ content knowledge and peda-
gogical skills; and 
(3) to develop programs for professionals in science, tech-
nology, engineering, mathematics, or critical foreign language 
education that lead to a master’s degree in teaching that results 
in teacher certification. 
SEC. 6112. DEFINITIONS. 
In this part: 
(1) CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.—The term ‘‘chil-
dren from low-income families’’ means children described in 
section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A)). 
(2) ELIGIBLE
RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible recipient’’ 
means an institution of higher education that receives grant 
funds under this part on behalf of a department of science, 
technology, engineering, mathematics, or a critical foreign lan-
guage, or on behalf of a department or school with a com-
petency-based 
degree 
program 
(in 
science, 
technology, 
engineering, mathematics, or a critical foreign language) that 
includes teacher certification, for use in carrying out activities 
assisted under this part. 
(3) HIGH-NEED
LOCAL
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘high-need local educational agency’’ means a local educational 
agency or educational service agency—
H. R. 2272—56 
(A)(i) that serves not fewer than 10,000 children from 
low-income families; 
(ii) for which not less than 20 percent of the children 
served by the agency are children from low-income families; 
or 
(iii) with a total of less than 600 students in average 
daily attendance at the schools that are served by the 
agency and all of whose schools are designated with a 
school locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the 
Secretary; and 
(B)(i) for which there is a high percentage of teachers 
providing instruction in academic subject areas or grade 
levels for which the teachers are not highly qualified; or 
(ii) for which there is a high teacher turnover rate 
or a high percentage of teachers with emergency, provi-
sional, or temporary certification or licensure. 
(4) HIGHLY QUALIFIED.—The term ‘‘highly qualified’’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) and, 
with respect to special education teachers, in section 602 of 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
1401). 
(5) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘partnership’’ means a part-
nership that— 
(A) shall include— 
(i) an eligible recipient; 
(ii)(I)(aa) a department within the eligible recipient 
that provides a program of study in science, technology, 
engineering, mathematics, or a critical foreign lan-
guage; and 
(bb) a school, department, or program of education 
within the eligible recipient, or a 2-year institution 
of higher education that has a teacher preparation 
offering or a dual enrollment program with the eligible 
recipient; or 
(II) a department or school within the eligible 
recipient with a competency-based degree program (in 
science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or a 
critical foreign language) that includes teacher certifi-
cation; and 
(iii) not less than 1 high-need local educational 
agency and a public school or a consortium of public 
schools served by the agency; and 
(B) may include a nonprofit organization that has a 
demonstrated record of providing expertise or support to 
meet the purposes of this part. 
(6) TEACHING SKILLS.—The term ‘‘teaching skills’’ means 
the ability to— 
(A) increase student achievement and learning and 
increase a student’s ability to apply knowledge; 
(B) effectively convey and explain academic subject 
matter; 
(C) employ strategies grounded in the disciplines of 
teaching and learning that— 
(i) are based on scientifically valid research; 
(ii) are specific to academic subject matter; and