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Authorizes a new State formula grant program that combines the Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants and Class-Size Reduction programs into one program that focuses on preparing, training, and recruiting high-quality teachers.
Major Changes from Current Law
Increased Flexibility - Allows LEAs increased flexibility to allocate funds among professional development, class-size reduction, and other teacher quality activities, without the requirements that are in current law.
Mathematics and Science Activities - Eliminates the Eisenhower priority for professional development in mathematics and science and creates a separate Math and Science Partnerships competitive grant program.
Competitive Funds - Caps the amount for competitive grants awarded by State agencies for higher education working in conjunction with the SEA at $125 million, rather than providing that a certain percentage of program funds be reserved for this purpose. This will reduce the percentage of funds available for this part of the program as appropriations increase.
State Uses of Funds - New State activities include, among others, reforming teacher and principal certification/licensing requirements, alternative routes to State certification, teacher and principal recruitment and retention initiatives, reforming tenure systems, teacher testing, and merit pay.
Local Uses of Funds - New local activities include, among others, teacher and principal recruitment and retention initiatives, signing bonuses and other financial incentives, teacher and principal mentoring, reforming tenure systems, merit pay, teacher testing, and pay differentiation initiatives.
Class-Size Reduction - Allows LEAs to use program funds to reduce class size, and does not limit the use of program funds for class-size reduction activities in grades 1 through 3, as current law does.
National Activities - Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish a national teacher recruitment campaign, which includes activities carried out through the National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse, to assist high-need LEAs in recruiting and training teachers and to conduct a national public service campaign about the resources for, and routes to, entering the field of teaching; (2) make competitive grants to assist high-need LEAs to recruit and train principals and assistant principals; (3) make competitive grants to support teachers seeking advanced certification or advanced credentialing to SEAs, LEAs, the National Council on Teacher Quality working with an LEA or SEA, or another certification or credentialing organization working with an LEA or SEA; (4) make competitive grants to LEAs and partnerships to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators who work in communities that have high concentrations of children living in poverty; and (5) establish a National Panel on Teacher Mobility to study strategies for increasing mobility and employment opportunities for highly qualified teachers. Also authorizes funds for the University of Northern Colorado to assist other IHEs in training special education teachers.
Accountability (new requirements)
If the SEA determines, based on reports submitted by LEAs describing their performance under the Title I teacher qualification requirements (after these requirements have been in effect for two years), that an LEA in the State has failed to make progress toward meeting its measurable objectives, the LEA must develop an improvement plan to help it meet its objectives. The SEA must provide technical assistance to the LEA and, if applicable, to schools within the LEA while the LEA is developing the improvement plan.
After an additional year, if the SEA determines that an LEA still has failed to make progress toward meeting its measurable objectives and has failed to make Title I adequate yearly progress for 3 consecutive years, the SEA must enter into an agreement with the LEA on the use of the LEA's funds under this program, including developing professional development strategies and activities and prohibiting the use of Title I, Part A funds for any paraprofessional hired after the determination is made.
In addition, after 3 years of poor performance, SEAs would also provide funds directly to schools to enable teachers to choose, in consultation with the school principal, the professional development activities in which they would like to participate.
Allocations
Federal to State - Funds are allocated by formula, with each State first receiving its FY 2001 amount for the Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants and Class-Size Reduction programs. Remaining funds are allocated based 35 percent on child population (ages 5 to 17) and 65 percent on child poverty, with each State receiving a minimum of ½ of 1 percent.
State to Local - Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies are suballocated to LEAs by formula. LEAs first receive the amount they received in FY 2001 for the Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants and Class-Size Reduction programs. Remaining funds are allocated based 20 percent on child population (ages 5 to 17) and 80 percent on child poverty. Subgrants to Eligible Partnerships are awarded competitively by the State agency for higher education (SAHE) working in conjunction with the SEA.
Set-Asides
Federal - One-half of 1 percent each for the outlying areas and the BIA.
State - Ninety-five percent of funds for Subgrants to Local Educational Agencies; the lesser of 2.5 percent or $125 million for Subgrants to Eligible Partnerships; and remaining funds are for State-level activities. An SAHE or SEA may use up to 1 percent of its funds for planning and administration.
Overview
New program authorizing $450 million for competitive 3-year grants to partnerships for activities to improve the academic achievement of students in the areas of mathematics and science. Authorizes competitive awards directly to partnerships at appropriation levels below $100 million and formula allocations to SEAs at appropriation levels of $100 million or more.
Program Description
Eligible Applicants - Partnerships include an SEA (if the Secretary awards the grants); an engineering, math, or science department of an IHE; and a high-need LEA. They may include another engineering, math, science, or teacher training department of an IHE; additional LEAs, public charter schools, or public or private schools; a business; or a nonprofit or for-profit organization of demonstrated effectiveness in improving the quality of math and science teachers.
Use of Funds - Authorizes grantees to use funds to: (1) develop or redesign more rigorous math and science curricula; (2) provide professional development for teachers designed to improve their subject knowledge; (3) promote strong teaching skills that include those based on scientific research and technology-based teaching methods; (4) operate summer workshops or institutes; (5) recruit math, science, and engineering majors into teaching; (6) establish distance learning programs; (7) design programs to prepare teachers to mentor other teachers; (8) operate programs to bring math and science teachers into contact with working scientists, mathematicians, and engineers; (9) design programs to identify and develop exemplary math and science teachers in grades K-8; and (10) develop programs to encourage young women and other underrepresented groups to pursue careers in math, science, engineering, and technology.
Accountability
Allocations
Federal to LEA - At appropriation levels below $100 million, the Secretary makes competitive awards directly to eligible partnerships.
Federal to State - At appropriation levels at or above $100 million, formula allocations to States based on each State's share of children age 5 to 17 from families with incomes below the poverty line, with each State receiving a minimum of ½ of 1 percent.
Within State - Competitive awards to eligible partnerships (if the States receive funds by formula).
Overview
Authorizes the funding and administration of the Troops-to-Teachers program, which was previously authorized as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000.
Requires the Secretary of Education to transfer funds for this program (except for a new "Innovative Preretirement Teacher Certification" component) to the Secretary of Defense to: (1) assist eligible members of the Armed Forces to obtain certification or licensing as elementary, secondary, or vocational/technical teachers and to become highly qualified; and (2) facilitate the employment of these individuals by LEAs or public charter schools that receive Title I, Part A grants or are experiencing a shortage of highly qualified teachers.
New Provisions Affecting the Department of Education
Authorizes the Secretary to award program funds to SEAs, institutions of higher education, or consortia of those entities to develop, implement, and demonstrate Innovative Preretirement Certification programs for members of the Armed Forces. Entities receiving funds would be expected to continue the programs after Federal funding ends. Up to $10 million of Troops-to-Teachers funds could be used for this purpose annually.
Requires the Secretary to provide to the Secretary of Defense information regarding participation in the program and applications for use in "preseparation counseling" for individuals leaving the military, and allows the Secretary of Education to provide placement assistance and referral services to those individuals.
Requires the Secretary of Education to submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness of the program in the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel by LEAs and public charter schools no later than March 31, 2006. The report must include information about the number of participants, the schools in which they are employed, the grade levels and academic subjects they teach, and retention rates.
Overview
Authorizes competitive 5-year grants to partnerships and eligible entities to establish programs to recruit and retain highly qualified mid-career professionals and recent college graduates as teachers in high-need schools, including recruiting teachers through alternative routes to certification, and to encourage alternative routes to certification under State-approved programs that enable individuals to be eligible for teacher certification within a reduced period of time. This is a new authority in the reauthorized ESEA, but Congress provided $31 million for similar activities in the FY 2001 appropriations act.
Program Description
Eligible Partnerships - Include an SEA; a high-need LEA (serves at least 10,000 children or 20 percent of children from families with incomes below the poverty line, and has a high percentage of teachers not teaching in their academic subjects or at grade levels in which the teachers were trained to teach or that has a high percentage of teachers with emergency or provisional certification); a for-profit or nonprofit organization that has a proven record of effectively recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers, in partnership with a high-need LEA or an SEA; an IHE, in partnership with a high-need LEA or an SEA; a regional consortium of SEAs; or a consortium of high-need LEAs.
Use of Funds - Authorizes grantees to use funds for: (1) scholarships, stipends, bonuses, and other financial incentives to eligible participants in an amount not to exceed $5,000 per participant; (2) pre- and post-placement induction or support activities; (3) placement activities to ensure that teachers are placed in fields in which they are highly qualified to teach and are placed in high-need schools in high-need LEAs; (4) payments to schools to provide financial incentives to prospective teachers; (5) collaborations with IHEs in developing and implementing teacher recruitment (including teacher credentialing) and teacher retention programs; and (6) development of long-term recruitment and retention strategies.
Period of Service - Requires program participants to teach in a high-need school (a school that: (1) is located in an area where the percentage of students from families with incomes below the poverty line is at least 30 percent; (2) is located in an area where there is a high percentage of teachers not teaching in the academic subjects or grade levels in which the teachers were trained to teach; (3) is within the top quartile of schools in the State in the number of unfilled available teacher positions; (4) is located in an area with high teacher turnover; or (5) is located in an area where a high percentage of teachers are not certified) in a high-need LEA for at least 3 years. Requires the Secretary to establish guidelines for participants to repay all or a portion of their stipend or other incentive if they fail to complete their service obligation.
Accountability
Allocations
Set-Asides
Overview
Authorizes grant to the National Writing Project, a nonprofit educational organization that contracts with institutes of higher education and nonprofit education providers to operate programs that train classroom teachers to teach writing effectively.
Changes from Current Law
Cost sharing - Increases maximum federal share of costs for a contractor from $40,000 to $100,000. Maximum Federal share of costs for a contractor administering at least five sites throughout the State is still $200,000.
Authorization - Deletes authority to use program funds for Classroom Teacher Grants for classroom research, publication of models of student writing, research on effective practices to improve teaching of writing, and other activities to improve the teaching and uses of writing.
Accountability
Allocations
Set-Asides
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