1.Teachers professional
development institutesTitle
II of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
CTeachers
professional development institutes
241.This part may be cited
as the Teachers Professional Development Institutes Act
.
242.
(a)Congress
makes the following findings:
(1)Ongoing,
subject-specific teacher professional development is essential to improved
student learning.
(2)The No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 calls for a highly qualified teacher in every core-subject
classroom; attaining this goal will require innovative and effective approaches
to improving the quality of teaching.
(3)The Teachers
Institute Model is an innovative and proven approach that encourages
collaboration between urban school teachers and university faculty. The model
focuses on teachers’ continuing academic preparation and on the personal and
collaborative application of their studies in their classrooms, schools, and
districts.
(4)The Teachers
Institute Model has a proven record, as demonstrated by the success of a 3-year
national demonstration pilot project (referred to in this part as the
National Demonstration Project
) in several United States
cities.
(b)The
purpose of this part is to provide Federal assistance to support the
establishment and operation of Teachers Professional Development Institutes for
local educational agencies that serve significant low-income populations in
States throughout the Nation—
(1)to improve
student learning; and
(2)to enhance the
quality of teaching by strengthening the subject matter mastery and pedagogical
skills of current teachers through continuing teacher preparation.
243.In this part:
(1)The term poverty line means the poverty line
(as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually in
accordance with section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act)
applicable to a family of the size involved.
(2)Significant
low-income populationThe term significant low-income
population means a student population of which not less than 25 percent
are from families with incomes below the poverty line.
(3)The
term State means each of the several States of the United States,
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(4)Teachers
Professional Development InstituteThe term Teachers
Professional Development Institute means a partnership or joint venture
between or among 1 or more institutions of higher education, and 1 or more
local educational agencies serving a significant low-income population, which
partnership or joint venture—
(A)is entered into
for the purpose of improving the quality of teaching and learning through
collaborative seminars designed to enhance both the subject matter and the
pedagogical resources of the seminar participants; and
(B)works in
collaboration to determine the direction and content of the collaborative
seminars.
244.
(a)The Secretary is authorized—
(1)to award grants
to Teachers Professional Development Institutes to encourage the establishment
and operation of Teachers Professional Development Institutes; and
(2)to provide
technical assistance, either directly or through existing Teachers Professional
Development Institutes, to assist local educational agencies and institutions
of higher education in preparing to establish and in operating Teachers
Professional Development Institutes.
(b)In selecting a Teachers Professional Development
Institute for a grant under this part, the Secretary shall consider—
(1)the extent to
which the proposed Teachers Professional Development Institute will serve a
community with a significant low-income population;
(2)the extent to
which the proposed Teachers Professional Development Institute will follow the
Understandings and Necessary Procedures that have been developed following the
National Demonstration Project;
(3)the extent to
which the local educational agency participating in the proposed Teachers
Professional Development Institute has a high percentage of teachers who are
unprepared or under prepared to teach the core academic subjects the teachers
are assigned to teach; and
(4)the extent to
which the proposed Teachers Professional Development Institute will receive a
level of support from the community and other sources that will ensure the
requisite long-term commitment for the success of a Teachers Professional
Development Institute.
(c)
(1)In evaluating applications under subsection (b), the
Secretary may request the advice and assistance of existing Teachers
Professional Development Institutes.
(2)If the Secretary receives 2 or more applications for new
Teachers Professional Development Institutes that propose serving the same
State, the Secretary shall consult with the State educational agency regarding
the applications.
(d)For the purpose of this part, an institution of higher
education participating in a Teachers Professional Development Institute shall
serve as the fiscal agent for the receipt of grant funds under this
part.
(e)A
grant under this part—
(1)shall be awarded
for a period not to exceed 5 years; and
(2)shall not exceed
50 percent of the total costs of the eligible activities, as determined by the
Secretary.
245.
(a)A Teachers Professional Development Institute that
receives a grant under this part may use the grant funds—
(1)for the planning
and development of applications for the establishment of Teachers Professional
Development Institutes;
(2)to provide
assistance to existing Teachers Professional Development Institutes established
during the National Demonstration Project to enable the Teachers Professional
Development Institutes—
(A)to further
develop existing Teachers Professional Development Institutes; or
(B)to support the
planning and development of applications for new Teachers Professional
Development Institutes;
(3)for the salary
and necessary expenses of a full-time director to plan and manage such Teachers
Professional Development Institute and to act as liaison between the
participating local educational agency and institution of higher
education;
(4)to provide
suitable office space, staff, equipment, and supplies, and to pay other
operating expenses for the development and maintenance of Teachers Professional
Development Institutes;
(5)to provide
stipends for teachers participating in collaborative seminars in the sciences
and humanities, and to provide remuneration for those members of the higher
education faculty who lead the seminars; and
(6)to provide for
the dissemination through print and electronic means of curriculum units
prepared in conjunction with Teachers Professional Development Institutes
seminars.
(b)The Secretary may use not more than 50 percent of the
funds appropriated to carry out this part to provide technical assistance to
facilitate the establishment and operation of Teachers Professional Development
Institutes. For the purpose of this subsection, the Secretary may contract with
existing Teachers Professional Development Institutes to provide all or a part
of the technical assistance under this subsection.
246.Application,
approval, and agreement
(a)To receive a grant under this part, a Teachers
Professional Development Institute shall submit an application to the Secretary
that—
(1)meets the
requirement of this part and any regulations under this part;
(2)includes a
description of how the Teachers Professional Development Institute intends to
use funds provided under the grant;
(3)includes such
information as the Secretary may require to apply the criteria described in
section 244(b);
(4)includes
measurable objectives for the use of the funds provided under the grant;
and
(5)contains such
other information and assurances as the Secretary may require.
(b)The
Secretary shall—
(1)promptly evaluate
an application received for a grant under this part; and
(2)notify the
applicant within 90 days of the receipt of a completed application of the
Secretary’s approval or disapproval of the application.
(c)Upon
approval of an application, the Secretary and the Teachers Professional
Development Institute shall enter into a comprehensive agreement covering the
entire period of the grant.
247.
(a)Each
Teachers Professional Development Institute receiving a grant under this part
shall report annually on the progress of the Teachers Professional Development
Institute in achieving the purpose of this part and the purposes of the
grant.
(b)Evaluation and
dissemination
(1)The
Secretary shall evaluate the activities funded under this part and submit an
annual report regarding the activities to the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the
Workforce of the House of Representatives.
(2)The
Secretary shall broadly disseminate successful practices developed by Teachers
Professional Development Institutes.
(c)If
the Secretary determines that a Teachers Professional Development Institute is
not making substantial progress in achieving the purpose of this part and the
purposes of the grant by the end of the second year of the grant under this
part, the Secretary may take appropriate action, including revocation of
further payments under the grant, to ensure that the funds available under this
part are used in the most effective manner.
248.Authorization
of appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part—
(1)$4,000,000 for
fiscal year 2006;
(2)$5,000,000 for
fiscal year 2007;
(3)$6,000,000 for
fiscal year 2008;
(4)$7,000,000 for
fiscal year 2009; and
(5)$8,000,000 for
fiscal year
2010.
.