II 109th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3710 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 20, 2006 Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve retention of public elementary and secondary school teachers, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Teacher Center Act of 2006.

2.

Findings

Congress finds as follows: (1)There are not enough qualified teachers in the Nation’s classrooms, and an unprecedented number of teachers will retire over the next 5 years. Over the next decade, the Nation will need to bring 2,000,000 new teachers into public schools. (2)Too many teachers do not receive adequate preparation for their jobs. (3)More than one-third of children in grades 7 through 12 are taught by a teacher who lacks both a college major and certification in the subject being taught. Rates of “out-of-field teaching” are especially high in high-poverty schools. (4)Teacher turnover is a serious problem, particularly in urban and rural areas. Over one-third of new teachers leave the profession within their first 3 years of teaching, and 14 percent of new teachers leave the field within the first year. After 5 years—the average time it takes for teachers to maximize students’ learning—half of all new teachers will have exited the profession. Rates of teacher attrition are highest in high-poverty schools. Between 2000 and 2001, 1 out of 5 teachers in the Nation’s high-poverty schools either left to teach in another school or dropped out of teaching altogether. (5)African-American, Latino, and low-income students are much less likely than other students to have highly-qualified teachers. (6)Research shows that individual teachers have a great impact on how well their students learn. The most effective teachers have been shown to be able to boost their pupils’ learning by a full grade level relative to students taught by less effective teachers. (7)Only 16 States finance new teacher induction programs, and fewer still require inductees to be matched with mentors who teach the same subject. (8)Large-scale studies of effective professional development have documented that student achievement and teacher learning increases when professional development is teacher-led, ongoing, and collaborative. (9)Research shows that the characteristics of successful professional development include a focus on concrete classroom applications and practice, and opportunities for teacher observation, critique, reflection, group support, and collaboration. (10)Data on school reform shows that teachers are attracted to and continue to teach in academically challenged schools when appropriate supports are in place to help them succeed. Appropriate supports include high-quality induction programs, job-embedded professional development, and small classes which allow teachers to tailor instruction to meet the needs of individual students.

3.

Improving retention of and professional development for public elementary and secondary school teachers

(a)

In general

Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: E

Teacher Retention

2501.

Improving professional development opportunities through teacher centers

(a)

Grants

The Secretary may make grants to eligible entities for the establishment and operation of new teacher centers or the support of existing teacher centers. (b)

Special consideration

In making grants under this section, the Secretary shall give special consideration to any application submitted by an eligible entity that is— (1)a high-need local educational agency; or (2)a consortium that includes at least one high-need local educational agency. (c)

Duration

Each grant under this section shall be for a period of 3 years. (d)

Required activities

A teacher center receiving assistance under this section shall carry out each of the following activities: (1)Providing high-quality professional development to teachers to assist the teachers in improving their knowledge, skills, and teaching practices in order to help students to improve the students' achievement and meet State academic standards. (2)Providing teachers with information on developments in curricula, assessments, and educational research, including the manner in which the research and data can be used to improve teaching skills and practice. (3)Providing training and support for new teachers. (e)

Permissible activities

A teacher center may use assistance under this section for any of the following: (1)Assessing the professional development needs of the teachers and other instructional school employees, such as librarians, counselors, and paraprofessionals, to be served by the center. (2)Providing intensive support to staff to improve instruction in literacy, mathematics, science, and other curricular areas necessary to provide a well-rounded education to students. (3)Providing support to mentors working with new teachers. (4)Providing training in effective instructional services and classroom management strategies for mainstream teachers serving students with disabilities and students with limited English proficiency. (5)Enabling teachers to engage in study groups and other collaborative activities and collegial interactions regarding instruction. (6)Paying for release time and substitute teachers in order to enable teachers to participate in the activities of the teacher center. (7)Creating libraries of professional materials and educational technology. (8)Providing high-quality professional development for other instructional staff, such as paraprofessionals, librarians, and counselors. (9)Assisting teachers to become highly qualified and paraprofessionals to become teachers. (10)Assisting paraprofessionals to meet the requirements of section 1119. (11)Developing curricula. (12)Incorporating additional on-line professional development resources for participants. (13)Providing funding for individual- or group-initiated classroom projects. (14)Developing partnerships with businesses and community-based organizations. (15)Establishing a teacher center site. (f)

Teacher center policy board

(1)

In general

A teacher center receiving assistance under this section shall be operated under the supervision of a teacher center policy board. (2)

Membership

(A)

Teacher representatives

The majority of the members of a teacher center policy board shall be representatives of, and selected by, the elementary and secondary school teachers to be served by the teacher center. Such representatives shall be selected through the teacher organization, or if there is no teacher organization, by the teachers directly. (B)

Other representatives

The members of a teacher center policy board— (i)shall include at least 2 members who are representatives of, or designated by, the school board of the local educational agency to be served by the teacher center; (ii)shall include at least 1 member who is a representative of, and is designated by, the institutions of higher education (with departments or schools of education) located in the area; and (iii)may include paraprofessionals. (g)

Application

(1)

In general

To seek a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. (2)

Assurance of compliance

An application under paragraph (1) shall include an assurance that the eligible entity will require any teacher center receiving assistance through the grant to comply with the requirements of this section. (3)

Teacher center policy board

An application under paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A)An assurance that— (i)the eligible entity has established a teacher center policy board; (ii)the board participated fully in the preparation of the application; and (iii)the board approved the application as submitted. (B)A description of the membership of the board and the method of selection of the membership. (h)

Definitions

In this section: (1)The term eligible entity means a local educational agency or a consortium of 2 or more local educational agencies. (2)The term high-need means, with respect to an elementary school or a secondary school, a school— (A)that serves an eligible school attendance area (as defined in section 1113) in which not less than 65 percent of the children are from low-income families, based on the number of children eligible for free and reduced priced lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; or (B)in which not less than 65 percent of the children enrolled are from such families. (3)The term high-need local educational agency means a local educational agency— (A)that serves not fewer than 10,000 children from families with incomes below the poverty line, or for which not less than 20 percent of the children served by the agency are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and (B)that is having or expected to have difficulty filling teacher vacancies or hiring new teachers who are highly qualified. (4)The term teacher center policy board means a teacher center policy board described in subsection (f). (i)

Authorization of appropriations

To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2007 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

. (b)

Conforming amendment

The table of contents at section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2441 of such Act the following new items: Part E—Teacher Retention Sec. 2501. Improving professional development opportunities. .