I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1611
To authorize grants to local educational agencies for teacher mentoring 
programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 3, 2003
Mr. HONDA (for himself, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. 
FROST, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Ms. 
HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. INSLEE, 
Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Mr. HOLT, Ms. SOLIS, Ms. 
LOFGREN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. EHLERS, 
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. 
BECERRA, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. CASE, Mr. OWENS, and Mr. ENGEL) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To authorize grants to local educational agencies for teacher 
mentoring programs.
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 ‘‘Teacher Mentoring 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following:
(1) High-quality teaching is essential to improv-
ing the Nation’s educational system. 
(2) High teacher turnover rates severely ham-
per the ability to create and maintain a high-quality 
teaching and learning environment. 
(3) Approximately one-third of the Nation’s 
new teachers leave the teaching profession during 
their first 3 years of teaching, and almost one-half 
leave during their first 5 years of teaching. 
(4) Turnover is highest in low-income schools, 
where the turnover rate is almost one-third higher 
than the corresponding rate for all teachers in all 
schools. 
(5) Teachers who have left the profession report 
that better support for beginning teachers is among 
the 5 top policy reforms that would help school sys-
tems retain more teachers. 
(6) Teachers without mentoring programs have 
been shown to leave the profession at a rate almost 
70 percent higher than those with mentoring pro-
grams. 
(7) It is in the best interest of the United 
States to ensure that all students have access to a 
high-quality education through the promotion of 
mentoring programs that assist in the development
of highly qualified teachers, particularly in low-in-
come areas. 
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR TEACHER MENTORING PROGRAMS. 
(a) GRANTS.—Part C of title II of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6671 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Subpart 6—Teacher Mentoring Programs 
‘‘SEC. 2371. GRANT PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—For the purpose of pro-
viding guidance and assistance to new teachers and im-
proving teacher quality, the Secretary may award grants 
on a competitive basis to local educational agencies to es-
tablish or implement teacher mentoring programs. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may not award 
a grant under this section to a local educational agency 
unless the agency agrees to use the grant to establish or 
implement a teacher mentoring program that—
‘‘(1) will establish and implement minimum 
qualifications for mentors; 
‘‘(2) will provide training and stipends for men-
tors; 
‘‘(3) will provide mentoring programs for teach-
ers in their first year of teaching; 
‘‘(4) will provide regular and ongoing opportu-
nities for mentors and mentees to observe each oth-
er’s teaching methods in classroom settings during 
the school day; 
‘‘(5) will establish an evaluation and account-
ability plan for activities conducted under such grant 
that includes rigorous objectives to measure the im-
pact of such activities; and 
‘‘(6) will report to the Secretary on an annual 
basis regarding the agency’s progress in meeting the 
objectives described in paragraph (5). 
‘‘(c) LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS.—The Secretary 
may not award a grant under this section to a local edu-
cational agency unless the agency agrees that, in estab-
lishing or implementing a teacher mentoring program with 
the grant, the agency will prioritize funding for mentoring 
activities at elementary and secondary schools which the 
agency identifies under section 1116(b) as failing to make 
adequate yearly progress. 
‘‘(d) DURATION.—Each grant awarded under this 
section shall be for a period of 3 years. 
‘‘SEC. 2372. LOW-INCOME LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) PRIORITY.—Of the grants awarded under sec-
tion 2371 for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall award 
not less than 50 percent of such grants to low-income local 
educational agencies.
(c) REPORT.—Not less than 3 years after the date 
of the first award of a grant under the program estab-
lished by the amendments made by this section, the Sec-
retary of Education shall submit a report to the Congress 
on the results of such program, including the impact of 
mentoring programs assisted under this Act on teacher re-
tention rates.
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