I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2902 
To establish a grant program to ensure that students in high-need schools 
have equal access to a quality education delivered by an effective, diverse 
workforce. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 
Ms. CHU introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish a grant program to ensure that students in 
high-need schools have equal access to a quality edu-
cation delivered by an effective, diverse workforce. 
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 ‘‘Equal Access to Qual-
ity Education Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. EQUAL ACCESS TO QUALITY EDUCATION GRANT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education shall 
make grants on a competitive basis to eligible partnerships 
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in high-need areas to develop and strengthen high-quality 
pathways for the teaching and education leadership pro-
fessions, to create professional induction programs for the 
teaching profession, and to provide a stable and collabo-
rative learning environment for educators and students. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the grant program 
established under this section shall be to— 
(1) increase the percentage of highly qualified 
teachers in a State, including teachers from under- 
represented minority groups; 
(2) close the achievement gap for students with-
in subgroups that are not showing expected perform-
ance; 
(3) decrease shortages of highly qualified teach-
ers in poor urban and rural areas; 
(4) decrease high turnover rates for educators 
in high-need schools; 
(5) increase the number of highly qualified 
teachers in shortage areas, including special edu-
cation, bilingual education, and education for 
English language learners, and in science, mathe-
matics, engineering, and technology; 
(6) increase opportunities for enhanced and on-
going professional development that— 
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(A) improves the academic content knowl-
edge of teachers in the subject areas in which 
teachers are certified or licensed to teach or in 
which the teachers are working toward certifi-
cation or licensure to teach; 
(B) promotes strong teaching skills, includ-
ing instructional strategies that address diverse 
needs, the use of data to inform instruction, 
and strategies to improve student achievement; 
and 
(C) provides time for teachers to share 
their knowledge and innovation; and 
(7) provide all educators with the knowledge 
base and professional skills to meet the needs of di-
verse learners, including English language learners 
and students with disabilities. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) REQUIRED USES.—A partnership that re-
ceives a grant under this section shall use the funds 
to— 
(A) establish or support a teacher prepara-
tion program that— 
(i) requires participants in the pro-
gram to complete at least one year of resi-
dency at a high-need school in the local 
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educational agency participating in the eli-
gible partnership; 
(ii) requires participants in the pro-
gram to teach in a high-need school in 
such local educational agency for at least 3 
years after completing residency; and 
(iii) awards a teaching credential, an 
undergraduate degree, or a Masters degree 
that meets State requirements for a teach-
ing license or certification upon completion 
of the program; 
(B) establish or support a teacher induc-
tion and retention program that— 
(i) provides high-quality professional 
development to teachers to assist them in 
improving their knowledge, skills, and 
teaching practices in order to help students 
to improve their achievement and meet 
State academic standards; 
(ii) provides teachers with updated in-
formation on developments in curricula, as-
sessments, and educational research, in-
cluding the manner in which the research 
and data can be used to improve teaching 
skills and practice; 
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(iii) provides a mentor teacher and 
other support for new teachers; and 
(iv) provides leadership opportunities 
for teachers, including access to career lad-
ders and roles as curriculum and instruc-
tional leaders, mentors, and coaches; and 
(C) otherwise fulfill the purposes described 
in subsection (b). 
(2) AUTHORIZED USES.—In addition to the ac-
tivities described in paragraph (1), a partnership 
that receives a grant under this section may use the 
funds for any of the following: 
(A) Providing support to each mentor 
teacher working with new teachers. 
(B) Providing preparation in effective, evi-
dence-based instructional assessment practices 
and classroom management strategies for gen-
eral education teachers serving students with 
disabilities and students with limited English 
proficiency. 
(C) Enabling teachers to engage in study 
groups, professional learning communities, and 
other collaborative activities and collegial inter-
actions regarding instruction assessment. 
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(D) Paying for release time and substitute 
teachers in order to enable teachers to partici-
pate in professional development and mentoring 
activities. 
(E) Creating libraries of professional mate-
rial, catalogues of expert instruction, and edu-
cation technology. 
(F) Providing high-quality professional de-
velopment for other instructional staff, such as 
paraprofessionals, librarians, and counselors. 
(G) Developing partnerships with busi-
nesses and community-based organizations. 
(H) Providing tuition assistance, scholar-
ships, or student loan repayment to teachers. 
(I) Providing stipends to participants in 
the teacher preparation program under para-
graph (1)(A). 
(J) Providing support for home visitation, 
parenting education, and family engagement, 
especially for parents who have limited English 
proficiency. 
(d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible partner-
ships that— 
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(1) demonstrate a plan to recruit teachers from 
among minority and local candidates and from indi-
viduals with disabilities; 
(2) demonstrate the use of a valid and reliable 
teacher performance assessment; or 
(3) include— 
(A) an institution of higher education that 
is an ‘‘eligible institution’’ for purposes of the 
TEACH Grant program under subpart 9 of 
part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.); 
(B) a Tribal College or University, as de-
fined in section 316(b)(3) of such Act (20 
U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)); 
(C) an Asian American and Native Amer-
ican Pacific Islander-serving institution, as de-
fined in section 320(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
1059g(a)); 
(D) a Hispanic-serving institution, as de-
fined in section 502(a)(5) of such Act (20 
U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5)); or 
(E) a historically Black college and univer-
sity, as defined in section 631(a)(5) of such Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1132(a)). 
(e) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 
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(1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 
the cost of any activities funded by a grant received 
under this section shall not exceed 75 percent. 
(2) PAYMENT OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The 
non-Federal share may be paid in cash or in kind, 
fairly evaluated, including services. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘eligi-
ble partnership’’ means a partnership— 
(A) between a high-need local educational 
agency and an institution of higher education; 
and 
(B) that may include a teacher organiza-
tion or a nonprofit educational organization. 
(2) FAMILY ENGAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘family 
engagement’’ means a shared responsibility of fami-
lies and schools for student success, in which schools 
and community-based organizations are committed 
to reaching out to engage families, especially parents 
of non-Native English speakers, in meaningful ways 
that encourage the families to actively support their 
children’s learning and development, as well as the 
learning and development of other children. The 
shared responsibility is continuous from birth 
through young adulthood and reinforces learning 
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that takes place in the home, school, and commu-
nity. 
(3) HIGH-NEED
LOCAL
EDUCATIONAL
AGEN-
CY.—The term ‘‘high-need local educational agency’’ 
means a local educational agency— 
(A)(i) that serves not fewer than 10,000 
low-income children; 
(ii) for which not less than 20 percent of 
the children served by the agency are low-in-
come children; or 
(iii) that has a percentage of low-income 
children that is above the highest quartile 
among such agencies in the State; and 
(B)(i) for which one or more schools served 
by the agency has a high percentage of teachers 
who are not highly qualified; or 
(ii) for which one or more schools served 
by the agency has a high teacher turnover rate. 
(4) HIGHLY
QUALIFIED.—The term ‘‘highly 
qualified’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act (20 U.S.C. 7801(23)). The definition 
given the term ‘‘highly qualified teacher’’ in section 
163 of Public Law 111–242 shall not apply with re-
spect to this section. 
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(5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965. 
(6) LOW-INCOME CHILDREN.—The term ‘‘low- 
income children’’ means— 
(A) children from families with incomes 
below the poverty line (as defined by the Office 
of Management and Budget and revised annu-
ally in accordance with section 673(2) of the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981) 
applicable to a family of the size involved; or 
(B) children who are eligible for free or re-
duced price lunches under the Richard B. Rus-
sell National School Lunch Act. 
(7) MENTOR
TEACHER.—The term ‘‘mentor 
teacher’’ means a teacher who— 
(A) is highly qualified; 
(B) has a minimum of 3 years of teaching 
experience; and 
(C) is recommended by the principal and 
other current master and mentor teachers on 
the basis of— 
(i) instructional excellence through ob-
servations and other evidence of classroom 
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practice, including standards-based evalua-
tions, such as certification by the National 
Board for Professional Teaching Stand-
ards; 
(ii) an ability, as demonstrated by evi-
dence of student learning in high-need 
schools, to increase student learning; and 
(iii) excellent instruction and commu-
nication with an understanding of how to 
facilitate growth in other teachers, includ-
ing new teachers. 
(8) TEACHER
PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT.— 
The term ‘‘teacher performance assessment’’ means 
a program, based on State or national professional 
teaching standards, that will measure teachers’ cur-
riculum planning, instruction, and assessment of 
students, including appropriate plans and adapta-
tions for English language learners and students 
with disabilities, and multiple sources of evidence 
about student learning. Such assessment will be vali-
dated against professional assessment standards and 
reliably scored by trained external evaluators with 
appropriate auditing of scoring to ensure consist-
ency. 
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(9) TEACHING CREDENTIAL.—The term ‘‘teach-
ing credential’’ means a program of instruction for 
individuals who have completed a baccalaureate de-
gree, that does not lead to a graduate degree, and 
that consists of courses required by a State for a 
teacher candidate to receive a professional certifi-
cation or license that is required for employment as 
a teacher in an elementary school or secondary 
school in that State. 
Æ 
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