[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 604 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 604

  To amend title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
          1965 to provide for digital education partnerships.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 23, 2001

 Mr. Cochran (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Warner) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
          1965 to provide for digital education partnerships.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ready to Learn, Ready to Teach Act 
of 2001''.

SEC. 2. REVISION OF PART C OF TITLE III.

    Part C of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:

              ``PART C--READY-TO-LEARN DIGITAL TELEVISION

``SEC. 3301. FINDINGS.

    ``Congress makes the following findings:
            ``(1) In 1994, Congress and the Department collaborated to 
        make a long-term, meaningful and public investment in the 
        principle that high quality preschool television programming 
        will help children be ready to learn by the time the children 
        entered first grade.
            ``(2) The Ready to Learn Television Program through the 
        Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and local public television 
        stations has proven to be an extremely cost-effective national 
        response to improving early childhood cognitive development and 
        helping parents, caregivers, and professional child care 
        providers learn how to use television as a means to help 
        children learn and develop social skills and values.
            ``(3) Independent research shows that parents who 
        participate in Ready to Learn workshops are more selective of 
        the programs that they choose for their children, limit the 
        number of hours of television viewing of their children, and 
        use the television programs as a catalyst for learning.
            ``(4) The Ready to Learn (RTL) Television Program is 
        supporting and creating commercial-free broadcast programs for 
        young children that are of the highest possible educational 
        quality.
            ``(5) Through the Nation's 350 local public television 
        stations, these programs and other programming elements reach 
        tens of millions of children, their parents, and caregivers 
        without regard to their economic circumstances, location, or 
        access to cable. Public television is a partner with Federal 
        policy to make television an instrument of preschool children's 
        education and early development.
            ``(6) The Ready to Learn Television Program supports 
        thousands of local workshops organized and run by local public 
        television stations, child care service providers, Head Start 
        Centers, Even Start family literacy centers and schools. These 
        workshops have trained 630,587 parents and professionals who, 
        in turn, serve and support over 6,312,000 children across the 
        Nation.
            ``(7) The Ready to Learn Television Program has published 
        and distributed a periodic magazine entitled `PBS Families' 
        that contains developmentally appropriate material to 
        strengthen reading skills and enhance family literacy.
            ``(8) Ready to Learn Television stations also have 
        distributed millions of age-appropriate books in their 
        communities. Each station receives a minimum of 300 books each 
        month for free local distribution. Some stations are now 
        distributing more than 1,000 books per month. Nationwide, more 
        than 653,494 books have been distributed in low-income and 
        disadvantaged neighborhoods free of charge.
            ``(9) Demand for Ready To Learn Television Program outreach 
        and training has increased from 10 Public Broadcasting Service 
        stations to 133 stations in 5 years. This growth has put a 
        strain on available resources resulting in an inability to meet 
        the demand for the service and to reach all the children who 
        would benefit from the service.
            ``(10) Federal policy played a crucial role in the 
        evolution of analog television by funding the television 
        program entitled `Sesame Street' in the 1960's. Federal policy 
        should continue to play an equally crucial role for children in 
        the digital television age.

``SEC. 3302. READY-TO-LEARN.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to award grants to 
eligible entities described in section 3303(b) to develop, produce, and 
distribute educational and instructional video programming for 
preschool and elementary school children and their parents in order to 
facilitate the achievement of the National Education Goals.
    ``(b) Availability.--In making such grants, the Secretary shall 
ensure that eligible entities make programming widely available, with 
support materials as appropriate, to young children, their parents, 
child care workers, and Head Start providers to increase the effective 
use of such programming.

``SEC. 3303. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.

    ``(a) Awards.--The Secretary shall award grants under section 3302 
to eligible entities to--
            ``(1) facilitate the development directly, or through 
        contracts with producers of children and family educational 
        television programming, of--
                    ``(A) educational programming for preschool and 
                elementary school children; and
                    ``(B) accompanying support materials and services 
                that promote the effective use of such programming;
            ``(2) facilitate the development of programming and digital 
        content especially designed for nationwide distribution over 
        public television stations' digital broadcasting channels and 
        the Internet, containing Ready to Learn-based children's 
        programming and resources for parents and caregivers; and
            ``(3) enable eligible entities to contract with entities 
        (such as public telecommunications entities) so that programs 
        developed under this section are disseminated and distributed--
                    (A) to the widest possible audience appropriate to 
                be served by the programming; and
                    (B) by the most appropriate distribution 
                technologies.
    ``(b) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), an entity shall be--
            ``(1) a public telecommunications entity that is able to 
        demonstrate a capacity for the development and national 
        distribution of educational and instructional television 
        programming of high quality for preschool and elementary school 
        children;
            ``(2) able to demonstrate a capacity to contract with the 
        producers of children's television programming for the purpose 
        of developing educational television programming of high 
        quality for preschool and elementary school children; and
            ``(3) able to demonstrate a capacity to localize 
        programming and materials to meet specific State and local 
        needs and provide educational outreach at the local level.
    ``(c) Cultural Experiences.--Programming developed under this 
section shall reflect the recognition of rural/urban cultural and 
ethnic diversity of the Nation's children and the needs of both boys 
and girls in preparing young children for success in school.

``SEC. 3304. DUTIES OF SECRETARY.

    ``The Secretary is authorized--
            ``(1) to award grants to eligible entities described in 
        section 3303(b), local public television stations, or such 
        public television stations that are part of a consortium with 1 
        or more State educational agencies, local educational agencies, 
        local schools, institutions of higher education, or community-
        based organizations of demonstrated effectiveness, for the 
        purpose of--
                    ``(A) addressing the learning needs of young 
                children in limited English proficient households, and 
                developing appropriate educational and television 
                programming to foster the school readiness of such 
                children;
                    ``(B) developing programming and support materials 
                to increase family literacy skills among parents to 
                assist parents in teaching their children and utilizing 
                educational television programming to promote school 
                readiness; and
                    ``(C) identifying, supporting, and enhancing the 
                effective use and outreach of innovative programs that 
                promote school readiness;
                    ``(D) developing and disseminating education and 
                training materials, including--
                            ``(i) interactive programs and programs 
                        adaptable to distance learning technologies 
                        that are designed to enhance knowledge of 
                        children's social and cognitive skill 
                        development and positive adult-child 
                        interactions;
                            ``(ii) teacher training and professional 
                        development to ensure qualified caregivers; and
                            ``(iii) support materials to promote the 
                        effective use of materials developed under 
                        subparagraph (B) among parents, Head Start 
                        providers, in-home and center-based daycare 
                        providers, early childhood development 
                        personnel, elementary school teachers, public 
                        libraries, and after-school program personnel 
                        caring for preschool and elementary school 
                        children; and
                    ``(E) distributing books to low-income individuals 
                to leverage high-quality television programming;
            ``(2) to establish within the Department a clearinghouse to 
        compile and provide information, referrals, and model program 
        materials and programming obtained or developed under this part 
        to parents, child care providers, and other appropriate 
        individuals or entities to assist such individuals and entities 
        in accessing programs and projects under this part; and
            ``(3) to coordinate activities assisted under this part 
        with the Secretary of Health and Human Services in order to--
                    ``(A) maximize the utilization of quality 
                educational programming by preschool and elementary 
                school children, and make such programming widely 
                available to federally funded programs serving such 
                populations; and
                    ``(B) provide information to recipients of funds 
                under Federal programs that have major training 
                components for early childhood development, including 
                programs under the Head Start Act and Even Start, and 
                State training activities funded under the Child Care 
                Development Block Grant Act of 1990, regarding the 
                availability and utilization of materials developed 
                under paragraph (1)(D) to enhance parent and child care 
                provider skills in early childhood development and 
                education.

``SEC. 3305. APPLICATIONS.

    ``Each entity desiring a grant under section 3302 or 3304 shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
require.

``SEC. 3306. REPORTS AND EVALUATION.

    ``(a) Annual Report to Secretary.--An eligible entity receiving 
funds under section 3302 shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an 
annual report which contains such information as the Secretary may 
require. At a minimum, the report shall describe the program activities 
undertaken with funds received under section 3302, including--
            ``(1) the programming that has been developed directly or 
        indirectly by the eligible entity, and the target population of 
        the programs developed;
            ``(2) the support materials that have been developed to 
        accompany the programming, and the method by which such 
        materials are distributed to consumers and users of the 
        programming;
            ``(3) the means by which programming developed under this 
        section has been distributed, including the distance learning 
        technologies that have been utilized to make programming 
        available and the geographic distribution achieved through such 
        technologies; and
            ``(4) the initiatives undertaken by the eligible entity to 
        develop public-private partnerships to secure non-Federal 
        support for the development, distribution, and broadcast of 
        educational and instructional programming.
    ``(b) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall prepare and submit 
to the relevant committees of Congress a biannual report which 
includes--
            ``(1) a summary of activities assisted under section 
        3303(a); and
            ``(2) a description of the training materials made 
        available under section 3304(1)(D), the manner in which 
        outreach has been conducted to inform parents and child care 
        providers of the availability of such materials, and the manner 
        in which such materials have been distributed in accordance 
        with such section.

``SEC. 3307. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

    ``With respect to the implementation of section 3303, eligible 
entities receiving a grant from the Secretary may use not more than 5 
percent of the amounts received under such section for the normal and 
customary expenses of administering the grant.

``SEC. 3308. DEFINITION.

    ``For the purposes of this part, the term `distance learning' means 
the transmission of educational or instructional programming to 
geographically dispersed individuals and groups via telecommunications.

``SEC. 3309. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this part, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and such sums as may 
be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.
    ``(b) Funding Rule.--Not less than 60 percent of the amounts 
appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal year shall be used to 
carry out section 3303.''.

SEC. 3. REVISION OF PART D OF TITLE III.

     Part D of title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6951 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:

                   ``PART D--THE TEACHERLINE PROGRAM

``SEC. 3401. FINDINGS.

    ``Congress makes the following findings:
            ``(1) Since 1995, the Telecommunications Demonstration 
        Project for Mathematics (as established under this part 
        pursuant to the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994) (in 
        this section referred to as `MATHLINE') has allowed the Public 
        Broadcasting Service to pioneer and refine a new model of 
        teacher professional development for kindergarten through grade 
        12 teachers. MATHLINE uses video modeling of standards-based 
        lessons, combined with professionally facilitated online 
        learning communities of teachers, to help mathematics teachers 
        from elementary school through secondary school adopt and 
        implement standards-based practices in their classrooms. This 
        approach allows teachers to update their skills on their own 
        schedules through video, while providing online interaction 
        with peers and master teachers to reinforce that learning. This 
        integrated, self-paced approach breaks down the isolation of 
        classroom teaching while making standards-based best practices 
        available to all participants.
            ``(2) MATHLINE was developed specifically to disseminate 
        the first national voluntary standards for teaching and 
        learning as developed by the National Council of Teachers of 
        Mathematics (NCTM). During 3 years of actual deployment, more 
        than 5,800 teachers have participated for at least a full year 
        in the demonstration. These teachers, in turn, have taught more 
        than 1,500,000 students cumulatively.
            ``(3) Independent evaluations indicate that teaching 
        improves and students benefit as a result of the MATHLINE 
        program.
            ``(4) The MATHLINE program is ready to be expanded to reach 
        many more teachers in more subject areas under the broader 
        title of Teacherline. The Teacherline Program will link the 
        digitized public broadcasting infrastructure with education 
        networks by working with the program's digital membership, and 
        Federal and State agencies, to expand and build upon the 
        successful MATHLINE model and take advantage of greatly 
        expanded access to the Internet and technology in schools, 
        including digital television. Tens of thousands of teachers 
        will have access to the Teacherline Program to advance their 
        teaching skills and their ability to integrate technology into 
        teaching and learning. The Teacherline Program also will 
        leverage the Public Broadcasting Service's historic 
        relationships with higher education to improve preservice 
        teacher training.
            ``(5) The congressionally appointed Web-based Education 
        Commission recently issued a comprehensive report on Internet 
        learning that called for powerful new Internet resources, 
        especially broadband access, to be made widely and equitably 
        available and affordable for all learners.
            ``(6) The Web-based Education Commission also called for 
        continuous and relevant training and support for educators and 
        administrators at all levels.
            ``(7) The National Research Council recently issued a 
        report entitled `Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn 
        Mathematics' that concluded that professional development in 
        mathematics needs to be sustained over years in order to be 
        effective.
            ``(8) Furthermore, the Glenn Commission, appointed by the 
        Secretary of Education to consider ways of improving 
        preparation and professional growth for mathematics and science 
        teachers concluded that teacher training `depends upon 
        sustained, high-quality professional development'. The 
        Commission recommended the establishment of an ongoing system 
        to improve the quality of mathematics and science teaching in 
        grades K-12.
            ``(9) Over the past several years tremendous progress has 
        been made in wiring classrooms, equipping the classrooms with 
        multimedia computers, and connecting the classrooms to the 
        Internet.
            ``(10) There is a great need for aggregating high quality, 
        curriculum-based digital content for teachers and students to 
        easily access and use in order to meet State and local 
        standards for student performance.
            ``(11) The congressionally appointed Web-based Education 
        Commission called for the development of high quality public-
        private online educational content that meets the highest 
        standards of educational excellence.
            ``(12) Most local public television stations and State 
        networks provide high-quality video programs, and teacher 
        professional development, as a part of their mission to serve 
        local schools. Programs distributed by public broadcast 
        stations are used by more classroom teachers than any other 
        because of their high quality and relevance to the curriculum.
            ``(13) Digital broadcasting can dramatically increase and 
        improve the types of services public broadcasting stations can 
        offer kindergarten through grade 12 schools.
            ``(14) Digital broadcasting can contribute to the 
        improvement of schools and student performance as follows:
                    ``(A) Broadcast of multiple video channels and data 
                information simultaneously.
                    ``(B) Data can be transmitted along with the video 
                content enabling students to interact, access 
                additional information, communicate with featured 
                experts, and contribute their own knowledge to the 
                subject.
                    ``(C) Both the video and data can be stored on 
                servers and made available on demand to teachers and 
                students.
            ``(15) Interactive digital education content will be an 
        important component of Federal support for States in setting 
        high standards and increasing student performance.

``SEC. 3402. PROJECT AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) The Secretary is authorized to make grants to a nonprofit 
telecommunications entity, or partnership of such entities, for the 
purpose of carrying out a national telecommunications-based program to 
improve teaching in core curriculum areas. The program shall be 
designed to assist elementary school and secondary school teachers in 
preparing all students for achieving State and local content standards 
in core curriculum areas.
    ``(b) The Secretary is also authorized to award grants to eligible 
entities described in section 3404(b) to develop, produce, and 
distribute innovative educational and instructional video programming 
that is designed for use by kindergarten through grade 12 schools and 
based on State and local standards. In making the grants, the Secretary 
shall ensure that eligible entities enter into multiyear content 
development collaborative arrangements with State educational agencies, 
local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, 
businesses, or other agencies and organizations.

``SEC. 3403. APPLICATION REQUIRED.

    ``(a) Each nonprofit telecommunications entity, or partnership of 
such entities, desiring a grant under section 3402(a) shall submit an 
application to the Secretary. Each such application shall--
            ``(1) demonstrate that the applicant will use the public 
        broadcasting infrastructure and school digital networks, where 
        available, to deliver video and data in an integrated service 
        to train teachers in the use of standards-based curricula 
        materials and learning technologies;
            ``(2) ensure that the project for which assistance is 
        sought will be conducted in cooperation with appropriate State 
        educational agencies, local educational agencies, national, 
        State or local nonprofit public telecommunications entities, 
        and national education professional associations that have 
        developed content standards in the subject areas;
            ``(3) ensure that a significant portion of the benefits 
        available for elementary schools and secondary schools from the 
        project for which assistance is sought will be available to 
        schools of local educational agencies which have a high 
        percentage of children counted for the purpose of part A of 
        title I; and
            ``(4) contain such additional assurances as the Secretary 
        may reasonably require.
    ``(b) In approving applications under section 3402(a), the 
Secretary shall ensure that the program authorized by section 3402(a) 
is conducted at elementary school and secondary school sites across the 
Nation.
    ``(c) Each eligible entity desiring a grant under section 3402(b) 
shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
reasonably require.

``SEC. 3404. REPORTS AND EVALUATION.

    ``An eligible entity receiving funds under section 3402(a) shall 
prepare and submit to the Secretary an annual report which contains 
such information as the Secretary may require. At a minimum, the report 
shall described the program activities undertaken with funds received 
under section 3402(a), including--
            ``(1) the core curriculum areas for which program 
        activities have been undertaken and the number of teachers 
        using the program in each core curriculum area; and
            ``(2) the States in which teachers using the program are 
        located.

``SEC. 3405. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.

    ``(a) Awards.--The Secretary shall award grants under section 
3402(b) to eligible entities to--
            ``(1) facilitate the development of educational programming 
        that shall--
                    ``(A) include student assessment tools to give 
                feedback on student performance;
                    ``(B) include built-in teacher utilization and 
                support components to ensure that teachers understand 
                and can easily use the content of the programming with 
                group instruction or for individual student use;
                    ``(C) be created for, or adaptable to, State and 
                local content standards; and
                    ``(D) be capable of distribution through digital 
                broadcasting and school digital networks.
    ``(b) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
section 3402(b), an entity shall be a local public telecommunications 
entity as defined by section 397(12) of the Communications Act of 1934 
that is able to demonstrate a capacity for the development and 
distribution of educational and instructional television programming of 
high quality.
    ``(c) Competitive Basis.--Grants under section 3402(b) shall be 
awarded on a competitive basis as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(d) Duration.--Each grant under section 3402(b) shall be awarded 
for a period of 3 years in order to allow time for the creation of a 
substantial body of significant content.

``SEC. 3406. MATCHING REQUIREMENT.

    ``Each eligible entity desiring a grant under section 3402(b) shall 
contribute to the activities assisted under section 3402(b) non-Federal 
matching funds equal to not less than 100 percent of the amount of the 
grant. Matching funds may include funds provided for the transition to 
digital broadcasting, as well as in-kind contributions.

``SEC. 3407. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

    ``With respect to the implementation of section 3402(b), entities 
receiving a grant from the Secretary may use not more than 5 percent of 
the amounts received under the grant for the normal and customary 
expenses of administering the grant.

``SEC. 3408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part, 
$45,000,000 for the fiscal year 2002, and such sums as may be necessary 
for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years. However, for any fiscal year 
in which appropriations for section 3402 exceeds the amount 
appropriated under such section for the preceding fiscal year, the 
Secretary shall only award the amount of such excess minus at least 
$500,000 to applicants under section 3402(b).''.
                                 <all>