[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 373 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 373
To provide for the professional development of elementary and secondary
school educators.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 15, 2001
Mr. Reed introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the professional development of elementary and secondary
school educators.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Professional
Development Reform Act''.
(b) Amendments.--Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating part E as part F; and
(2) by inserting after part D the following:
``PART E--PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
``SEC. 2351. PURPOSES.
``The purposes of this part are as follows:
``(1) To improve the academic achievement of students by
providing every student with a well-prepared teacher and every
school with an effective principal.
``(2) To provide every beginning teacher with structured
support, including a qualified and trained mentor teacher, to
facilitate the transition into successful teaching.
``(3) To ensure that every teacher is given the assistance,
tools, and professional development opportunities, throughout
the teacher's career, to help the teacher teach to the highest
academic standards and help students succeed.
``(4) To provide training to prepare and support principals
to serve as instructional leaders and to work with teachers to
create a school climate that fosters excellence in teaching and
learning.
``(5) To transform, strengthen, and improve professional
development from a fragmented, one-shot approach to sustained,
high quality, and intensive activities that--
``(A) are collaborative, content-centered,
standards-based, results-driven, and embedded in the
daily work of the school;
``(B) allow teachers regular opportunities to
practice and reflect upon their teaching and learning;
and
``(C) are responsive to teacher needs.
``SEC. 2352. DEFINITIONS.
``In this part:
``(1) Professional development.--The term `professional
development' means effective professional development that--
``(A) is sustained, high quality, intensive, and
comprehensive;
``(B) is content-centered, collaborative, school-
embedded, tied to practice, focused on student work,
supported by research, and aligned with and designed to
help elementary school or secondary school students
meet challenging State content standards and
challenging State student performance standards;
``(C) includes sustained in-service activities to
improve elementary school or secondary school teaching
in the core academic subjects;
``(D) includes sustained activities to encourage
and provide instruction on how to work with and involve
parents to foster student achievement, to address the
specific needs of diverse students, including limited
English proficient students, individuals with
disabilities, and economically disadvantaged
individuals, to integrate technology into the
curriculum, to improve understanding and the use of
student assessments, and to improve classroom
management skills; and
``(E) includes sustained onsite training
opportunities that provide active learning and
observational opportunities for elementary school or
secondary school teachers to model effective practice.
``(2) Administrator.--The term `administrator' means a
school principal or superintendent.
``(3) Beginning teacher.--The term `beginning teacher'
means an elementary school or secondary school teacher who has
taught for 3 years or less.
``(4) Mentoring.--The term `mentoring' means structured
guidance and induction activities that provide ongoing and
regular support to beginning teachers.
``SEC. 2353. STATE ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.
``From the amount appropriated under section 2361 that is not
reserved under section 2360 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make
an allotment to each State educational agency having an application
approved under section 2354 in an amount that bears the same relation
to the amount appropriated under section 2361 that is not reserved
under section 2360 for the fiscal year as the amount the State
educational agency received under part A of title I for the fiscal year
bears to the amount received under such part by all States having
applications so approved for the fiscal year.
``SEC. 2354. STATE APPLICATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS.
``Each State educational agency desiring an allotment under section
2353 for a fiscal year shall submit to the Secretary an application at
such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the
Secretary may require. The application shall include--
``(1) a description of the strategy to be used to implement
State activities described in section 2355;
``(2) a description of how the State educational agency
will assist local educational agencies in transforming,
strengthening, and improving professional development;
``(3) a description of how the activities described in
section 2355 and the assistance described in paragraph (2) will
assist the State in achieving the State's goals for
comprehensive education reform, will help all students meet
challenging State content standards and challenging State
student performance standards, and will help all teachers meet
State standards for teaching excellence;
``(4) a description of the manner in which the State
educational agency will ensure, consistent with the State's
comprehensive education reform plan policies, or statutes, that
funds provided under this part will be effectively coordinated
with all Federal and State professional development funds and
activities, including funds and activities under this title,
titles I, III, VI, and VII of this Act, title II of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, section 307 of the Department of
Education Appropriations Act, 1999, and the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act; and
``(5) a description of--
``(A) how the State educational agency will collect
and utilize data for evaluation of the activities
carried out by local educational agencies under this
part, including collecting baseline data in order to measure changes in
the professional development opportunities provided to teachers and
measure improvements in teaching practice and student performance; and
``(B) the specific performance measures the State
educational agency will use to determine the need for
technical assistance described in section 2355(3) and
to make a continuation of funding determination under
section 2358.
``SEC. 2355. STATE ACTIVITIES.
``From the amount allotted to a State educational agency under
section 2353 for a fiscal year, the State educational agency--
``(1) shall reserve not more than 5 percent to support,
through grants made on a competitive basis to local educational
agencies or consortia of local educational agencies, or through
contracts with entities that are educational nonprofit
organizations, professional associations of administrators,
institutions of higher education, or other groups or
institutions that are responsive to the needs of
administrators, or partnerships of those entities, programs
that provide effective leadership training--
``(A) to encourage highly qualified individuals to
become administrators; and
``(B) to develop and enhance instructional
leadership, school management, parent involvement,
mentoring, and staff evaluation skills of
administrators;
``(2) shall reserve 3 percent to support, through grants
made on a competitive basis to local educational agencies or
consortia of local educational agencies, or through contracts
with entities that are educational nonprofit organizations,
institutions of higher education, or other groups or
institutions that are responsive to the needs of teachers, or
partnerships of those entities, programs that provide effective
leadership and mentor training--
``(A) to encourage highly qualified and effective
teachers to become mentor teachers; and
``(B) to develop and enhance the mentoring and peer
coaching skills of such qualified and effective
teachers;
``(3) may reserve not more than 2.5 percent for providing
technical assistance and dissemination of information to
schools and local educational agencies to help the schools and
local educational agencies implement effective professional
development activities that are aligned with challenging State
content standards, challenging State student performance
standards, and State standards for teaching excellence; and
``(4) may reserve not more than 2.5 percent for evaluating
the effectiveness of the professional development provided by
schools and local educational agencies under this part in
improving teaching practice, increasing the academic
achievement of students, and helping students meet challenging
State content standards and challenging State student
performance standards, and for administrative costs.
``SEC. 2356. LOCAL PROVISIONS.
``(a) Allocations to Local Educational Agencies.--Each State
educational agency receiving an allotment under section 2353 for a
fiscal year shall make an allocation from the allotted funds that are
not reserved under section 2355 for the fiscal year to each local
educational agency in the State that is eligible to receive assistance
under part A of title I for the fiscal year in an amount that bears the
same relation to the allotted funds that are not reserved under section
2355 as the amount such local educational agency received under such
part for the fiscal year bears to the amount all such local educational
agencies in the State received under such part for the fiscal year.
``(b) Application and Accountability Provisions.--Each local
educational agency desiring a grant under this part shall submit an
application to the State educational agency at such time, in such
manner, and accompanied by such information as the State educational
agency may require. The application shall include--
``(1) a description of how the local educational agency
plans--
``(A) to work with schools served by the local
educational agency that are described in section 2357
to carry out the local activities described in section
2357; and
``(B) to meet the purposes described in section
2351;
``(2) a description of the manner in which the local
educational agency will ensure that--
``(A) the grant funds will be used--
``(i) to provide teachers with the
knowledge and skills necessary, including
subject matter and teaching methods, to teach
students to meet the proficient or advanced
level of performance on challenging State
content standards and challenging State student
performance standards, and to carry out any
local education reform plans or policies; and
``(ii) to help teachers meet standards for
teaching excellence; and
``(B) funds provided under this part will be
effectively coordinated with all Federal, State, and
local professional development funds and activities;
``(3) a description of how the professional development and
mentoring activities to be carried out through the grant will
address the ongoing professional development and mentoring of
teachers and administrators;
``(4) a description of the local educational agency's
strategy for--
``(A) selecting and training highly qualified
mentor teachers (utilizing teachers certified by the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and
teachers granted advanced certification as a master or
mentor teacher by the State, where possible), for
matching such mentor teachers (from the beginning
teachers' teaching disciplines) with the beginning
teachers; and
``(B) providing release time for the teachers
(utilizing highly qualified substitute teachers and
high quality retired teachers, where possible);
``(5) a description of how the local educational agency
will provide training to enable the teachers to address the
needs of students with disabilities, students with limited
English proficiency, and other students with special needs;
``(6) a description of how the professional development and
mentoring activities will have a substantial, measurable, and
positive impact on student achievement and how the activities
will be used as part of a broader strategy to eliminate the
achievement gap that separates low-income and minority students
from other students;
``(7) a description of how the local educational agency
will provide training to teachers to enable the teachers to
work with parents, involve parents in their child's education,
and encourage parents to become collaborators with schools in
promoting their child's education;
``(8) a description of how the local educational agency
will collect and analyze data on the quality and impact of
activities carried out in schools under this part, and the
specific performance measures the local educational agency will
use in the local educational agency's evaluation process;
``(9) a description of the local educational agency's plan
to develop and carry out the activities described in section
2357 with the extensive participation of administrators,
teachers, parents, and the partnering institution described in
section 2357(4); and
``(10) a description of the local educational agency's
strategy to ensure that there is schoolwide participation in
the schools to be served.
``SEC. 2357. LOCAL ACTIVITIES.
``Each local educational agency receiving an allocation under this
part shall use the allocation to carry out professional development
activities in schools served by the local educational agency that have
the highest percentages of students living in poverty, as measured in
accordance with section 1113(a)(5), including--
``(1) mentoring, team teaching, and peer observation and
coaching;
``(2) dedicated time for collaborative lesson planning and
curriculum development meetings;
``(3) consultation with exemplary teachers and short-term
and long-term visits to other classrooms and schools;
``(4) partnering with institutions of higher education and,
where appropriate, educational nonprofit organizations, for
joint efforts in designing the sustained professional
development opportunities, for providing advanced content area
courses and other assistance to improve the content knowledge
and pedagogical practices of teachers, and providing training
to address areas of teacher and administrator shortages, as
appropriate;
``(5) providing release time (including compensation for
mentor teachers and substitute teachers as necessary) for
activities described in this section; and
``(6) developing professional development networks, through
Internet links, where available, that--
``(A) provide a forum for interaction among
teachers and administrators; and
``(B) allow the exchange of information regarding
advances in content and pedagogy.
``SEC. 2358. CONTINUATION OF FUNDING.
``Each local educational agency or school that receives funding
under this part shall be eligible to continue to receive the funding
after the third year the local educational agency or school receives
the funding if the local educational agency or school demonstrates that
the local educational agency or school has--
``(1) improved student performance;
``(2) increased participation in sustained professional
development and mentoring programs;
``(3) reduced the number of out-of-field placements and the
number of teachers who are not certified or licensed;
``(4) reduced the beginning teacher attrition rate for the
local educational agency or school; and
``(5) increased partnerships and linkages with institutions
of higher education.
``SEC. 2359. SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.
``Funds made available under this part shall be used to supplement
and not supplant other Federal, State, and local funds expended to
carry out activities relating to teacher programs or professional
development.
``SEC. 2360. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
``(a) Reservation.--The Secretary shall reserve not more than 5
percent of the amount appropriated under section 2361 for each fiscal
year for the national evaluation described in subsection (b) and the
dissemination activities described in subsection (c).
``(b) National Evaluation.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for an
annual, independent, national evaluation of the activities
assisted under this part not later than 3 years after the date
of enactment of the Professional Development Reform Act. The
evaluation shall include information on the impact of the
activities assisted under this part on student performance.
``(2) State reports.--Each State receiving an allotment
under this part shall submit to the Secretary the results of
the evaluation described under section 2355(4).
``(3) Report to congress.--The Secretary annually shall
submit to Congress a report that describes the information in
the national evaluation and the State reports.
``(c) Dissemination.--The Secretary shall collect and broadly
disseminate information (including creating and maintaining a national
database or clearinghouse) to help States, local educational agencies,
schools, teachers, and institutions of higher education learn about
effective professional development policies, practices, and programs,
data projections of teacher and administrator supply and demand, and
available teaching and administrator opportunities.
``SEC. 2361. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part
$1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as may be necessary
for each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2006.''.
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