I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2852
To amend title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve and
strengthen the recruitment and training of American teachers.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 6, 1997
Mr. KILDEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965
to improve and strengthen the recruitment and training
of American teachers.
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 ‘‘New Century Teachers
Act’’.
SEC. 2. REVISION OF TITLE V.
Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘TITLE V—EDUCATOR RECRUIT-
MENT, 
PREPARATION, 
AND
INDUCTION
‘‘SEC. 501. FINDINGS.
‘‘The Congress finds as follows:
‘‘(1) What teachers know and can do has a crit-
ical impact on student achievement, yet too often
prospective teachers are not receiving the initial
preparation they need in order to teach children
from diverse backgrounds to challenging standards.
‘‘(2) A number of elementary and secondary
schools throughout the United States are implement-
ing educational reform strategies that are research-
based, have records of demonstrated effectiveness in
enabling students to achieve to high State or local
standards, are replicable in diverse and challenging
circumstances, and are supported by networks of re-
searchers and experienced practitioners. Yet prepa-
ration to implement these strategies is not generally
a central component of initial teacher preparation.
‘‘(3) Institutions of higher education that pro-
vide teachers for urban and rural schools that enroll
concentrations of children from low-income families
often have the greatest need to restructure their
teacher preparation programs because the teachers
they graduate will face the greatest classroom chal-
lenges.
‘‘(4) Improvement of teacher preparation in
mathematics and reading represents a particular
challenge for American education. For example,
most future elementary and middle-school mathe-
matics teachers take no more than one or two col-
lege-level mathematics courses, and these courses
are not designed for prospective teachers and do not
cover the mathematics content that elementary and
middle-school teachers should teach to enable stu-
dents to meet challenging mathematics standards. In
reading, most teacher preparation programs have
not incorporated the large body of research on effec-
tive reading instruction.
‘‘(5) If current trends continue, American
schools will need to hire more than two million
teachers in the next decade to educate an increasing
number of students and to replace current teachers
who will retire or leave the profession. High-poverty
urban and rural schools will experience the most se-
vere teacher shortages. Of the more than two million
teachers needed, approximately 15 percent, or
345,000, will be needed in central cities, in schools
with large concentrations of low-income students. An
additional 207,000 teachers will be needed in iso-
lated, and often poor, rural areas. Recent trends in
the number of people preparing to enter teaching in-
dicate that the normal operation of the labor mar-
ket, by itself, will not produce the number of quali-
fied teachers schools will need.
‘‘(6) Schools are already having trouble recruit-
ing qualified teachers. Nearly three-quarters of phys-
ical science students and one-third of English stu-
dents in high-poverty schools take classes with
teachers who lack even a college minor in their field.
The National Commission on Teaching and Ameri-
ca’s Future found that 50,000 uncertified individ-
uals annually enter teaching because schools, fre-
quently those in urban and rural areas with large
concentrations of children from low-income families,
cannot find all the certified teachers they need.
‘‘(7) Teaching excellence and diversity are inex-
tricably connected. By bringing distinctive life expe-
riences and perspectives into the classroom, enrich-
ing the instructional curriculum and the school cli-
mate, and strengthening connections to parents and
communities, teachers from diverse racial and ethnic
groups, and those with disabilities, enhance the qual-
ity of American education. Yet today, while one-third
of American students are members of minority
groups, members of racial and ethnic minority
groups make up only 13 percent of the teaching
force and nearly half the school districts in the Na-
tion have no minority teachers. In addition, few indi-
viduals with disabilities are teaching in American
classrooms.
‘‘(8) The Federal Government, by itself, cannot
ensure needed improvements in teacher preparation
or solve the problem of teacher shortages. However,
the Government can make limited, targeted invest-
ments that—
‘‘(A) encourage more institutions of higher
education that operate teacher preparation pro-
grams, working in partnership with local edu-
cational agencies and States, to adopt the prac-
tices and strategies of the best programs;
‘‘(B) encourage a more diverse mix of
Americans to enter teaching and complete high-
quality preparation programs; and
‘‘(C) encourage more Americans to serve
as teachers in underserved communities.
‘‘SEC. 502. PURPOSE.
‘‘The purpose of this title is to help meet the national
need to recruit, prepare, and retain a high-quality and di-
verse supply of elementary and secondary education teach-
ers, and to help meet the needs of schools in urban and
rural areas with concentrations of children from low-in-
come families, by—
‘‘(1) authorizing support for partnerships
among institutions of higher education that operate
exemplary teacher preparation programs, other insti-
tutions of higher education seeking to improve their
programs, public elementary and secondary schools,
and States, in order to improve the quality of the
initial preparation of teachers for high-poverty com-
munities;
‘‘(2) authorizing support for partnerships to in-
crease the number and diversity of students who
enter teacher education programs and complete
high-quality preparation programs, and to increase
the quality of teaching in underserved urban and
rural communities; and
‘‘(3) encouraging, through such partnerships,
the creation of a more diverse teaching force,
through the recruitment and preparation of minority
individuals, including language minority individuals,
and individuals with disabilities, to enter teaching.
‘‘SEC. 503. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION FOR PARTS A AND B.—There
are authorized to be appropriated—
‘‘(1) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and such
sums as may be necessary for each of the four suc-
ceeding fiscal years to carry out the program of
Lighthouse Partnerships under part A; and
‘‘(2) $37,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and such
sums as may be necessary for each of the four suc-
ceeding fiscal years to carry out the program of Re-
cruiting New Teachers for Underserved Areas under
part B.
‘‘(b) TRANSITION.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Secretary may use funds appropriated
under subsection (a) to make continuation awards for
projects that were funded under subpart 2 of part E of
title V of this Act, as in effect prior to enactment of the
ll Act of 1997.
‘‘PART A—LIGHTHOUSE PARTNERSHIPS
‘‘SEC. 511. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘As used in this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:
‘‘(1)(A) The term ‘lead institution’ means an
institution of higher education that—
‘‘(i) operates an exemplary teacher prepa-
ration program of significant size in one or
more areas of teacher preparation, which may
include the preparation of principals and other
educational administrators;
‘‘(ii) desires to assist other institutions of
higher education in improving their programs
and to serve as a national model for effective
teacher preparation; and
‘‘(iii) places a significant percentage of its
teacher preparation graduates in teaching posi-
tions in urban and rural communities with con-
centrations of children from low-income fami-
lies.
‘‘(B) A lead institution may participate in a
consortium with one or more two-year colleges with
which it has articulation agreements relating to
teacher preparation.
‘‘(2) The term ‘lighthouse partnership’ means a
partnership of a lead institution, partner institu-
tions, and State and local educational agencies, that
is dedicated to improving the quality of teacher
preparation programs. Within each partnership, the
lead institution shall act as the fiscal agent for the
grant.
‘‘(3) The term ‘local educational agency’ has
the meaning given that term in section 14101(18) of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965.
‘‘(4) The term ‘partner institution’ means an
institution of higher education that—
‘‘(A) prepares teachers for their initial
entry into the teaching profession;
‘‘(B) desires to improve its program with
assistance from a lead institution; and
‘‘(C) prepares teachers for teaching posi-
tions in urban and rural communities with con-
centrations of children from low-income fami-
lies.
‘‘(5) The term ‘teacher preparation program’
means a program operated by an institution of high-
er education that prepares students to obtain initial
teacher licensure and to teach in elementary and
secondary schools. Such a program may also prepare
students to become preschool teachers if the institu-
tion serves a State or school districts in which pre-
school education is provided as free, public edu-
cation.
‘‘SEC. 512. GRANTS TO LIGHTHOUSE PARTNERSHIPS.
‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—
‘‘(1) From funds appropriated under section
503(a)(1) for this part for each fiscal year, the Sec-
retary shall make competitive grants to lighthouse
partnerships.
‘‘(2) Subject to the availability of appropria-
tions therefor, each grant under paragraph (1) shall
be for a period not to exceed five years.
‘‘(3) The Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) make continuation awards, for the
second and succeeding years, only after deter-
mining that the partnership is making satisfac-
tory progress in carrying out the grant; and
‘‘(B) conduct an intensive review of the
partnership’s progress, with the assistance of
outside experts, before making the continuation
award for the fourth year of the grant.
‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—No partnership may receive more
than two grants under this part.
‘‘SEC. 513. PREAPPLICATIONS AND APPLICATIONS.
‘‘(a) PREAPPLICATIONS.—Each lead institution that
wishes to participate in a lighthouse partnership that will
apply for a grant under this part shall submit a
preapplication to the Secretary at such time, in such man-
ner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require, except that the lead institution need not identify
the other members of the partnership until it submits an
application under subsection (b). The Secretary shall use
a peer review process to review these preapplications.
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS
REQUIRED.—Any lighthouse
partnership desiring to receive a grant under this part
shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time,
in such form, and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require.
‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—Each application shall include—
‘‘(1) a description of the teacher preparation
program operated by the lead institution, including
information on the curriculum, the faculty, and the
number and characteristics of students served;
‘‘(2) evidence of the quality of the institution’s
teacher preparation program, covering—
‘‘(A) the extent to which the institution
provides a coherent program that—
‘‘(i) reflects the best of what is
known, from research and practice;
‘‘(ii) prepares teachers to implement
research-based instructional programs of
demonstrated effectiveness and to teach
their students, particularly those in high-
poverty schools, to high State and local
content standards; and
‘‘(iii) reflects high standards for
teaching, such as the standards of the Na-
tional Board for Professional Teaching
Standards, and for teacher education;
‘‘(B) the commitment of the institution to
its program of teacher preparation;
‘‘(C) the connections between the institu-
tion’s teacher preparation program and its de-
partments or schools of arts and sciences, to
ensure the integration of pedagogy and content
in teacher preparation;
‘‘(D) the extent to which the institution
operates a clinically based teacher preparation
program, particularly in high-poverty schools,
through which prospective teachers participate
in intensive, structured clinical experiences,
with extensive faculty involvement, throughout
their preservice education, and the extent to
which those experiences are integrated into the
curriculum;
‘‘(E) the extent to which the institution’s
program offers continuous assistance to its
graduates during their initial years in the class-
room;
‘‘(F) the extent to which the institution’s
program meets the needs of, and has strong
connections with, elementary and secondary
education (particularly with urban and rural
schools and school systems that serve con-
centrations of students from low-income fami-
lies and with the education reforms under way
in the institution’s State), which may include
the involvement of elementary and secondary
educators in the continuing development, im-
provement, and implementation of the teacher
preparation program;
‘‘(G) the success of the institution in pre-
paring teachers to teach individuals from di-
verse populations effectively;
‘‘(H) the extent to which the institution is
preparing teachers to use technology to teach
children to high standards;
‘‘(I) the record of the institution’s teacher
preparation program in attracting and graduat-
ing a diverse student body (including the re-
cruitment and enrollment of individuals with
disabilities);
‘‘(J) the procedures the institution uses to
measure the quality of its teacher preparation
‘‘(A) graduates have taken teaching posi-
tions in urban and rural schools in communities
with concentrations of students from low-in-
come families; and
‘‘(B) the institution recruits and serves
students (such as education paraprofessionals)
from those communities;
‘‘(4) evidence of the experience of the lead insti-
tution in creating or participating in networks with
other institutions to improve the quality of teacher
preparation programs;
‘‘(5) a description of how the partnership will
operate a program under this part, including—
‘‘(A) a description of the governance struc-
ture that the partnership will establish (through
a written partnership agreement) for the grant,
which shall include the active involvement of
high-level administrators of the lead institution
and representatives of—
‘‘(i) both the teacher preparation pro-
gram and the school or department of arts
and sciences in the lead institution;
‘‘(ii) the partner institutions involved
with the grant;
‘‘(iii) local educational agencies (in-
cluding teachers and other school-level offi-
cials) served by the lead institution and
one or more of the partner institutions;
and
‘‘(iv) State officials with authority
over teacher licensure and teacher prepara-
tion in the States in which the lead institu-
tion and one or more of the partner insti-
tutions are located;
‘‘(B) a description of how the partnership
will fully engage local educational agencies in
the activities carried out under the grant, in-
cluding how the partnership will use grant
funds to address the teacher training needs of
the local educational agencies that are members
of the partnership, consistent with section 514;
‘‘(C) a description of how the activities un-
dertaken with the grant will support, and be in-
tegrated with, the educational reforms under
way in the States of the lead and the partner
institutions, including a description of plans for
coordinating activities carried out under the
grant with activities carried out under other
Federal or State professional development pro-
grams or activities designed to improve pre-
service and in-service teacher training; and
‘‘(D) a description of—
‘‘(i) the measurable goals the partner-
ship expects to achieve through the grant,
including—
‘‘(I) goals for improvements in
the teacher preparation programs of
the partner institutions;
‘‘(II) goals for improvements in
the quality, and increases in the num-
ber, of the graduates of teacher prep-
aration programs operated by mem-
bers of the partnership who take
teaching positions in high-poverty
schools of the local educational agen-
cies in the partnership;
‘‘(III) goals for meeting the
teacher preparation needs of the local
educational agencies in the partner-
ship, in order to improve student
achievement; and
‘‘(IV) such other goals, consistent
with the purposes of this part, as the
partnership may select;
‘‘(ii) how the partnership will achieve
the goal of increased diversity among its
teacher preparation graduates; and
‘‘(iii) how the partnership will deter-
mine whether it is meeting the goals de-
scribed in clauses (i) and (ii); and
‘‘(6) a description of the partnership’s plan for
institutionalizing the activities it is carrying out
under this part, so that those activities will continue
once Federal funding ceases.
‘‘SEC. 514. USES OF FUNDS.
‘‘(a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—In order to increase
the quality and number of teachers it is preparing for posi-
tions in urban and rural areas with concentrations of low-
income families, and to increase the diversity of elemen-
tary and secondary teachers, each partnership selected to
receive a grant under this part shall use the grant funds
for each of the following purposes:
‘‘(1) Further development, refinement, assess-
ment of, and dissemination of information on, the
teacher preparation programs operated by the lead
institution, including activities that document, for
other institutions nationally and for policy-makers,
effective practices in teacher preparation and that
produce curricular and other materials for use by
other institutions preparing teachers.
‘‘(2) Technical assistance by the lead institution
to the partner institutions in improving the partner
institutions’ teacher preparation programs (and, if
applicable, their principal and other administrator
preparation programs), based on the experience of
the lead institution and the particular needs of the
partners.
‘‘(3) Making subgrants to the partner institu-
tions for implementation of program improvements
at those institutions, through adoption or adaptation
of the teacher preparation practices of the lead insti-
tution, to meet the needs of the high-poverty schools
in the urban and rural communities they serve. Each
partnership shall use at least 40 percent of its grant
for this purpose.
‘‘(4) Joint activities with the local educational
agencies in the partnership, and with other local
educational agencies, that increase the involvement
of classroom teachers and school administrators in
the design and implementation of teacher prepara-
tion programs operated by the lead and partner in-
stitutions (and thereby make those programs more
responsive to the needs of teachers and administra-
tors), and other activities to improve teaching and
administration, and to support new teachers, in the
high-poverty schools of those local educational agen-
cies.
‘‘(5) Cooperation and interaction with other
lighthouse partnerships and with other institutions,
organizations, and public agencies, on activities
aimed at the improvement of teacher preparation na-
tionally, including improvement of teacher licensure
and relicensure requirements.
‘‘(6) Assessment of the effectiveness of the ac-
tivities carried out under the grant, including the ex-
tent to which the partnership is achieving its goals
under section 513(c)(5)(D).
‘‘(b) OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—Each partnership se-
lected to receive a grant under this part may also use the
grant funds for joint activities with States that promote
the development and implementation of State policies to
facilitate the improvement of teacher preparation pro-
grams (and, if applicable, principal and other adminis-
trator preparation programs) within the States, as a com-
ponent of comprehensive education reforms.
‘‘SEC. 515. SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS.
‘‘(a) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary shall, using a
peer review process, select applicants to receive grants
under this part on the basis of—
‘‘(1) the quality of the teacher preparation pro-
gram operated by the lead institution in a proposed
partnership;
‘‘(2) the quality of the partnership’s plan for
carrying out activities under the grant; and
‘‘(3) the capacity of the lead institution and its
partners to carry out the proposed activities success-
fully.
‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—
(1) In selecting grantees under this part, the
Secretary shall seek to ensure that—
‘‘(A) lighthouse partnerships represent a
variety of approaches to teacher preparation;
‘‘(B) lead institutions represent a variety
of institutions of higher education; and
‘‘(C) there is an equitable geographic dis-
tribution of awards.
‘‘(2) In addition to complying with paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall give special consideration to
applications for—
‘‘(A) projects that are likely to have the
most significant impact on the quality of teach-
ing in high-poverty urban and rural schools;
‘‘(B) projects that are likely to result in
improvement of teacher preparation in the
areas of mathematics and reading; and
‘‘(C) projects that are likely to prepare a
significant number of minority individuals, in-
cluding language minority individuals, and indi-
viduals with disabilities to be effective teachers.
‘‘(c) SECOND
FIVE-YEAR
GRANTS.—In selecting
grantees to receive second grants under this part, the Sec-
retary shall give a preference to applicants whose projects
have resulted in—
‘‘(1) the placement and retention of a substan-
tial number of high-quality graduates in teaching po-
sitions in underserved, high-poverty schools;
‘‘(2) the adoption of effective teacher prepara-
tion programs, particularly those meeting the needs
of high-poverty urban and rural areas, by the part-
ner institutions; and
‘‘(3) effective partnerships with elementary and
secondary schools that are supporting improvements
in student achievement.
‘‘SEC. 516. EVALUATION.
‘‘The Secretary shall provide for an evaluation of the
program carried out under this part, including an assess-
ment of such issues as—
‘‘(1) the extent to which the activities carried
out through Lighthouse Partnership grants result in
significant and positive changes in the teacher prep-
aration programs operated by partner institutions,
as well as improvements in the programs operated
by lead institutions, that are likely to lead to im-
provements in teaching and learning;
‘‘(2) the extent to which Lighthouse Partner-
ship grants enhance the effectiveness, including the
technological proficiency, and the diversity, of stu-
dents completing teacher preparation programs in
the institutions of higher education participating in
the grants; and
‘‘(3) the involvement of elementary and second-
ary schools and school districts serving concentra-
tions of children from low-income families in the ac-
tivities carried out under this part, and the extent
to which those activities result in benefits to those
schools and districts, including information on the
extent to which involvement in the grants improves
the instructional programs and the educational out-
comes for students in those schools and districts.
‘‘SEC. 517. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
‘‘The Secretary may reserve up to 5 percent of the
funds appropriated to carry out this part for any fiscal
year for—
‘‘(1) peer review of applications;
‘‘(2) evaluation of the program under section
516, and measurement of its effectiveness in accord-
ance with the Government Performance and Results
Act of 1993;
‘‘(3) conferences and networks of lighthouse
partnerships, and other entities, in order to facilitate
the exchange of information and ideas among the
participating partnerships and other institutions,
agencies, and individuals, including recipients of
funds under part B of this title, who are interested
in the improvement of teacher preparation and par-
allel improvements in principal and administrator
preparation; and
‘‘(4) technical assistance and other activities to
enhance the success of the program carried out
under this part or of teacher education more gen-
erally.
‘‘PART B—RECRUITING NEW TEACHERS FOR
UNDERSERVED AREAS
‘‘SEC. 521. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
‘‘From funds appropriated to carry out this part
under section 503(a)(2) for each fiscal year, the Secretary
shall make competitive grants to eligible applicants for
programs that—
‘‘(1) provide scholarships and, as necessary,
support services for students with high potential to
become effective teachers, particularly minority stu-
dents, including language minority students, and
students with disabilities, seeking to complete teach-
er preparation programs;
‘‘(2) increase the quality and number of new
teachers nationally; and
‘‘(3) increase the ability of schools in under-
served areas to recruit a qualified teaching staff.
‘‘SEC. 522. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘As used in this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:
‘‘(1)(A) The term ‘eligible applicant’ means a
partnership of—
‘‘(i) an institution of higher education that
grants baccalaureate degrees and prepares
teachers for their initial entry into the teaching
profession; and
‘‘(ii) one or more local educational agencies
that are in underserved areas.
‘‘(B) Such a partnership may also include—
‘‘(i) two-year colleges that operate teacher
preparation programs and maintain articulation
agreements, with the baccalaureate-granting in-
stitution, for the transfer of credits in teacher
preparation;
‘‘(ii) State agencies that have responsibility
for policies related to teacher preparation and
licensure; and
‘‘(iii) other public and private, nonprofit
agencies and organizations that serve, or are lo-
cated in, communities served by the local edu-
cational agencies in the partnership, and that
have an interest in teacher recruitment, prepa-
ration, and induction.
‘‘(2) The term ‘local educational agency’ has
the meaning given that term in section 14101(18) of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965.
‘‘(3) The term ‘support services’ includes—
‘‘(A) academic advice and counseling;
‘‘(B) tutorial services;
‘‘(C) mentoring; and
‘‘(D) child care and transportation, if
funding for those services cannot be arranged
from other sources.
‘‘(4) The term ‘underserved area’ means—
‘‘(A) the three local educational agencies in
the State that have the highest numbers of chil-
dren, ages 5 through 17, from families below
the poverty level (based on data satisfactory to
the Secretary); and
‘‘(B) any other local educational agency in
which the percentage of such children is at least
20 percent, or the number of such children is
at least 10,000.
‘‘SEC. 523. GRANT CONDITIONS.
‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—
‘‘(1)(A) The Secretary shall carry out this part
by making competitive grants to eligible applicants.
‘‘(B) Subject to the availability of appropria-
tions therefor, each grant under subparagraph (A)
shall be for a period not to exceed five years.
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) make continuation awards, for the
second and succeeding years, only after deter-
mining that the grantee is making satisfactory
progress in carrying out the grant; and
‘‘(B) conduct an intensive review of the
grantee’s progress, with the assistance of out-
side experts, before making the award for the
fourth year of the grant.
‘‘(3) No partnership may receive more than two
grants under this subsection.
‘‘(b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—
‘‘(1) The Federal share of the cost of activities
carried out under a grant made under subsection (a)
shall not exceed—
‘‘(A) 90 percent of the cost in the first
year of the grant;
‘‘(B) 80 percent in the second year;
‘‘(C) 70 percent in the third year;
‘‘(D) 60 percent in the fourth year; and
‘‘(E) 50 percent in the fifth year and any
succeeding year (including each year of the sec-
ond grant, if any).
‘‘(2) The non-Federal share of activities carried
out with a grant under subsection (a) may be pro-
vided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, and may
be obtained from any non-Federal public or private
source.
‘‘(c) PLANNING GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) The Secretary may make planning grants
to eligible applicants that are not yet ready to imple-
ment programs under subsection (a).
‘‘(2) Each planning grant shall be for a period
of not more than one year, which shall be in addition
to the period of any grant under subsection (a).
‘‘(3) Any recipient of a planning grant under
this subsection that wishes to receive a grant under
subsection (a)(1) shall separately apply for a com-
petitive grant under that subsection.
‘‘SEC. 524. GRANT APPLICATIONS.
‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS REQUIRED.—Any eligible appli-
cant desiring to receive a grant under this part shall sub-
mit an application at such time, in such form, and contain-
ing such information as the Secretary may require.
‘‘(b) APPLICATION CONTENTS.—Each application for
a grant under section 523(a) shall include—
‘‘(1) a designation of the institution or agency,
within the partnership, that will serve as the fiscal
agent for the grant;
‘‘(2) information on the quality of the institu-
tion’s teacher preparation program, which may in-
clude the types of information described in section
513(c)(2), and how the applicant will ensure,
through improvements in its teacher preparation
practices or other appropriate strategies, that schol-
arship recipients will receive high-quality prepara-
tion;
‘‘(3) a description of the assessment the institu-
tion, the local educational agency partners, and
other partners have undertaken—
‘‘(A) to determine—
‘‘(i) the most critical needs of the
local educational agencies, particularly the
needs of schools in high-poverty areas, for
new teachers (which may include teachers
in particular subject areas or at certain
grade levels, including the prekindergarten
level, minority teachers, and teachers who
are disabled who will contribute to the di-
versity of the local educational agency’s
teachers, or teachers who are fluent in lan-
guages spoken by students in the local
educational agency); and
‘‘(ii) how the project carried out
under the grant will address those needs;
and
‘‘(B) that reflects the input of all signifi-
cant entities in the community (including orga-
nizations representing teachers and parents)
that have an interest in teacher recruitment,
preparation, and induction;
‘‘(4) a description of the project the applicant
will carry out with the grant, including information
on—
‘‘(A) the recruitment and outreach efforts
the applicant will undertake to publicize the
availability of scholarships and other assistance
under the program;
‘‘(B)(i) the number and types of students
that the applicant will serve under the program,
which may include education paraprofessionals
seeking to achieve full teacher certification;
teachers whom the partner local educational
agencies have hired under ‘emergency certifi-
cation’ procedures; or former military person-
nel, mid-career professionals, or AmeriCorps or
Peace Corps volunteers, who desire to enter
teaching; and
‘‘(ii) the criteria that the applicant will use
in selecting those students, including criteria to
determine whether individuals have the capacity
to benefit from the program, complete teacher
certification requirements, and become effective
teachers;
subject areas or grade levels for which the recipients
will be trained, and a description of the actions the
grantee institution, the local educational agencies,
and the other partners will take to facilitate the suc-
cessful transition of those recipients into teaching;
and
‘‘(7) a description of the applicant’s plan for in-
stitutionalizing the activities it is carrying out under
this part, so that those activities will continue once
Federal funding ceases.
‘‘SEC. 525. USES OF FUNDS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each grantee under section
523(a) shall use the grant funds for the following:
‘‘(1) Scholarships to help students pay the costs
of tuition, room, board, and other expenses of com-
pleting a teacher preparation program.
‘‘(2) Support services, if needed to enable schol-
arship recipients to complete postsecondary edu-
cation programs.
‘‘(3) Follow-up services provided to former
scholarship recipients during their first three years
of teaching.
‘‘(4) Payments to partner local educational
agencies, if needed to enable them to permit para-
professional staff to participate in teacher prepara-
tion programs (such as the cost of ’release time’ for
those staff).
‘‘(5) If appropriate, and if no other funds are
available, paying the costs of additional courses
taken by former scholarship recipients during their
initial three years of teaching.
‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.—A recipient of a planning
grant under section 523(c) shall use the grant funds for
the costs of planning for the implementation of a grant
under section 523(a).
‘‘SEC. 526. SELECTION OF APPLICANTS.
‘‘(a) PEER REVIEW.—The Secretary, using a peer re-
view process, shall select applicants to receive funding
under this part on the basis of—
‘‘(1) the quality of the teacher preparation pro-
gram offered by the institution;
‘‘(2) the quality of the program that would be
carried out under the application; and
‘‘(3) the capacity of the partnership to carry
out the grant successfully.
‘‘(b) CRITERIA.—
‘‘(1) In making selections, the Secretary shall
seek to ensure that—
‘‘(A) in the aggregate, grantees carry out
a variety of approaches to preparing new teach-
ers; and
‘‘(B) there is an equitable geographic dis-
tribution of awards.
‘‘(2) In addition to complying with paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall give special consideration
to—
‘‘(A) applications most likely to result in
the preparation of increased numbers of individ-
uals with high potential for effective teaching
who are minority individuals, including lan-
guage minority individuals, and individuals with
disabilities; and
‘‘(B) applications from historically Black
colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving insti-
tutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities, as
defined in title III of this Act.
‘‘(c) SECOND
FIVE-YEAR
GRANTS.—In selecting
grantees to receive second grants under this part, the Sec-
retary shall give a preference to applicants whose projects
have resulted in—
‘‘(1) the placement and retention of a substan-
tial number of high-quality graduates in teaching po-
sitions in underserved, high-poverty schools;
‘‘(2) the adoption of effective programs that
meet the teacher preparation needs of high-poverty
urban and rural areas; and
‘‘(3) effective partnerships with elementary and
secondary schools that are supporting improvements
in student achievement.
‘‘SEC. 527. DURATION AND AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE; RELA-
TION TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.
‘‘(a) DURATION OF ASSISTANCE.—No individual may
receive scholarship assistance under this part—
‘‘(1) for more than five years of postsecondary
education; and
‘‘(2) unless that individual satisfies the require-
ments of section 484(a)(5) of this Act.
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—No individual may
receive an award under this program that exceeds the cost
of attendance, as defined in section 472 of this Act, at
the institution the individual is attending.
‘‘(c) RELATION TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—A scholar-
ship awarded under this part—
‘‘(1) shall not be reduced on the basis of the in-
dividual’s receipt of other forms of Federal student
financial assistance; and
‘‘(2) shall be regarded as other financial assist-
ance available to the student, within the meaning of
sections 471(3) and 480(j)(1) of this Act, in deter-
mining the student’s eligibility for grant, loan, or
work assistance under title IV of this Act.
‘‘SEC. 528. SCHOLARSHIP CONDITIONS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a scholarship
under this part shall continue to receive that assistance
only as long as he or she is—
‘‘(1) enrolled as a full-time student and pursu-
ing a course of study leading to teacher certification,
unless he or she is working in a public school (as a
paraprofessional, or as a teacher under emergency
credentials) while participating in the program; and
‘‘(2) maintaining satisfactory progress as deter-
mined by the institution.
‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE.—Each grantee shall modify the
application of section 527(a)(1) and of subsection (a)(1)
of this section to the extent necessary to accommodate the
rights of students with disabilities under section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
‘‘SEC. 529. SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Each partnership receiving a
grant under this part shall enter into an agreement, with
each student to whom it awards a scholarship under this
part, providing that a scholarship recipient who completes
a teacher preparation program under this part shall, with-
in five years of completing that program, teach full-time
for at least three years in a high-poverty school in an un-
derserved geographic area or repay the amount of the
scholarship, under the terms and conditions established by
the Secretary.
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe
regulations relating to the requirements of subsection (a),
including any provisions for waiver of those requirements.
‘‘SEC. 530. EVALUATION.
‘‘The Secretary shall provide for an evaluation of the
program carried out under this part, which shall assess
such issues as—
‘‘(1) whether institutions taking part in the
partnerships are successful in preparing scholarship
recipients to teach to high State and local standards;
‘‘(2) whether scholarship recipients are success-
ful in completing teacher preparation programs, be-
coming fully certified teachers, and obtaining teach-
ing positions in underserved areas, and whether they
continue teaching in those areas over a period of
years;
‘‘(3) the national impact of the program in as-
sisting local educational agencies in underserved
areas to recruit, prepare, and retain diverse, high-