[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1559 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1559

  To increase the level of funding for the Partnerships in Character 
               Education Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 12, 2005

   Mr. Ford introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To increase the level of funding for the Partnerships in Character 
               Education Program, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Character Education Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. INCREASED FUNDING FOR PARTNERSHIPS IN CHARACTER EDUCATION 
              PROGRAM.

    Section 5401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7241) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``There are'' and inserting ``(a) In General.--There are'';
            (2) in paragraph (5), by striking ``$650,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 2006'' and inserting ``$675,000,000 for fiscal year 
        2006'';
            (3) in paragraph (6), by striking ``$675,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 2007'' and inserting ``$700,000,000 for fiscal year 
        2007''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Partnerships in Character Education.--From the amount 
appropriated to carry out this part for each of fiscal years 2006, 
2007, and 2008, the Secretary shall reserve $50,000,000 to carry out 
subpart 3.''.

SEC. 3. MODEL STATE CHARACTER EDUCATION CURRICULUM.

    (a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
shall--
            (1) conduct a study of best practices in the field of 
        character education; and
            (2) develop a model State character education curriculum 
        for kindergarten through grade 12.
    (b) Model State Character Education Curriculum.--
            (1) Principles of curriculum.--The model State character 
        education curriculum developed under this section shall embody 
        the principles that character education--
                    (A) is premised on the notion that widely shared 
                core ethical values, including honesty, fairness, 
                justice, caring, responsibility, and respect for self 
                and others, form the basis of good character;
                    (B) by promoting the validity of these values and 
                the responsibility to uphold them, affirms human 
                dignity, promotes the development and welfare of the 
                individual, serves the common good, and promotes the 
                exercise of citizenship in a democratic society; and
                    (C) should be an integral part of the curriculum at 
                all grade levels, should be part of a comprehensive 
                approach that integrates character development into 
                every aspect of school life, and should reach out to 
                families and include them in character-building 
                efforts.
            (2) Focus on aspects of character.--The model State 
        character education curriculum developed under this section 
        shall focus on aspects of character including honesty, 
        fairness, justice, caring, responsibility, and respect for self 
        and others.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
to the Congress a report containing--
            (1) the results of the study conducted under this section; 
        and
            (2) the model State character education curriculum 
        developed under this section.
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