[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3943 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3943

 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow 
   members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty on or after 
  September 11, 2001, to be eligible to participate in the Troops-to-
               Teachers Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 27, 2009

 Mr. Courtney (for himself, Mr. Petri, and Ms. Matsui) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period 
    to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow 
   members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty on or after 
  September 11, 2001, to be eligible to participate in the Troops-to-
               Teachers 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.

    The Act may be cited as the ``Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers 
Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. YEARS OF SERVICE REQUIREMENTS; STIPEND.

    (a) Years of Service Requirements.--Section 2303(a) of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6673(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (B);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (C) and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) commencing on or after September 11, 2001, 
                serves at least 90 continuous days on active duty (as 
                such term is defined in section 101(d)(1) of title 10, 
                United States Code, except that such term does not 
                include a period of service described in paragraphs (1) 
                through (3) of section 3311(d) of title 38, United 
                States Code) in the Armed Forces (excluding service on 
                active duty in entry level or skills training) and, 
                after completion of such service, is discharged or 
                released as follows:
                            ``(i) A discharge from active duty in the 
                        Armed Forces with an honorable discharge.
                            ``(ii) A release after service on active 
                        duty in the Armed Forces characterized by the 
                        Secretary concerned as honorable service and 
                        placement on the retired list, transfer to the 
                        Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, or 
                        placement on the temporary disability retired 
                        list.
                            ``(iii) A release from active duty in the 
                        Armed Forces for further service in a reserve 
                        component of the Armed Forces after service on 
                        active duty characterized by the Secretary 
                        concerned as honorable service.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(A)(i), by striking ``6 or more years'' 
        and inserting ``4 or more years''.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY AND PUBLIC CHARTER 
              SCHOOLS.

    (a) Amendment.--Section 2304(a)(1)(B) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6674(a)(B)) is amended by 
striking ``high-need local educational agency or public charter school, 
as such terms are defined in section 2101'' and inserting ``local 
educational agency receiving funding under part A of title I or public 
charter school (as such term is defined in section 2102)''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. ADVISORY BOARD.

    Chapter A of subpart 1 of part C of title II of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 2308. ADVISORY BOARD.

    ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
enactment of the Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act, the 
Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall 
establish an Advisory Board composed of--
            ``(1) a representative from the Defense Activity for Non-
        Traditional Education Support Division of the Department of 
        Defense;
            ``(2) a representative from the Department of Innovation 
        and Improvement of the Department of Education;
            ``(3) a representatives from 3 State offices that operate 
        to recruit eligible members of the Armed Forces for 
        participation in the Program and facilitating the employment of 
        participants in the Program as elementary school teachers, 
        secondary school teachers, and vocational or technical 
        teachers; and
            ``(4) a representative from each of 3 veteran service 
        organizations.
    ``(b) Duties.--The Advisory Board established under subsection (a) 
shall--
            ``(1) collect, consider, and disseminate feedback from 
        participants and State offices described in subsection (a)(4) 
        on--
                    ``(A) the best practices for improving recruitment 
                of eligible members of the Armed Forces in States, 
                local educational agencies, and public charter schools 
                under served by the Program;
                    ``(B) ensuring that high-need local educational 
                agencies and public charter schools are aware of the 
                Program and how to participate in it;
                    ``(C) coordinating the goals of the Program with 
                other Federal, State, and local education needs and 
                programs; and
                    ``(D) other activities that the Advisory Board 
                deems necessary; and
            ``(2) not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
        of the Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act, and 
        annually thereafter, prepare and submit a report to the Health, 
        Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and the Armed 
        Services Committee, of the Senate and the Education and Labor 
        Committee, and the Armed Services Committee, of the House which 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) information with respect to the activities of 
                the Advisory Board;
                    ``(B) information with respect to the Program, 
                including--
                            ``(i) the number of participants in the 
                        Program;
                            ``(ii) the number of States participating 
                        in the Program;
                            ``(iii) local educational agencies and 
                        schools in where participants are employed;
                            ``(iv) the grade levels at which 
                        participants teach;
                            ``(v) the academic subjects taught by 
                        participants;
                            ``(vi) rates of retention of participants 
                        by the local educational agencies and public 
                        charter schools employing participant;
                            ``(vii) other demographic information as 
                        may be necessary to evaluate the effectiveness 
                        of the program; and
                            ``(viii) a review of the stipend and bonus 
                        available to participants under subsections (c) 
                        and (d)(1) of section 2304; and
                    ``(C) recommendations for--
                            ``(i) improvements to local, State, and 
                        Federal recruitment and retention efforts;
                            ``(ii) legislative or executive policy 
                        changes to improve the Program, enhance 
                        participant experience, and increase 
                        participation in the program; and
                            ``(iii) other changes necessary to ensure 
                        that the Program is meeting the purpose 
                        described in section 2302(a).''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 2321(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6691) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Reservation.--From the funds appropriated to carry out this 
subpart for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014, the Secretary shall 
reserve $50,000,000 to carry out chapter A for each such fiscal 
year.''.
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