[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 833 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 833

    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
  authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants for recruiting, 
training, and retaining individuals, with a preference for individuals 
  from underrepresented groups, as teachers at public elementary and 
               secondary schools, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 2015

   Mrs. Davis of California introduced the following bill; which was 
        referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to 
  authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants for recruiting, 
training, and retaining individuals, with a preference for individuals 
  from underrepresented groups, as teachers at public elementary and 
               secondary schools, 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 ``Diverse Teachers Recruitment Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Issues of teacher diversity and cultural awareness are 
        critical factors influencing the achievement gap among 
        elementary school and secondary school students and must be 
        addressed by national education policy, as recommended in the 
        report entitled ``Assessment of Diversity in America's Teaching 
        Force'', presented by the National Collaborative on Diversity 
        in the Teaching Force in 2004.
            (2) Some experts believe the lack of diversity among public 
        schoolteachers inhibits positive learning outcomes generally, 
        and can leave students in underrepresented groups without role 
        models to whom the students can relate, which may lead to 
        poorer performance in the classroom. Statistics show that for 
        students in some underrepresented groups, a lack of diversity 
        among public school teachers contributes to lower standardized 
        test scores and lower graduation rates.
            (3) Department of Education statistics confirm a lack of 
        diversity among public schoolteachers. During the school year 
        of 2007 through 2008, an estimated 83.1 percent of public 
        schoolteachers were Caucasian, while 7.1 percent were Latino, 7 
        percent were African-American, and 1.2 percent were Asian. Of 
        all public schoolteachers, 24.1 percent were male and 75.9 
        percent were female.
            (4) Teacher demographics should be sufficiently diverse to 
        provide the educational benefits described in paragraphs (1) 
        and (2), including ensuring that students have role models--
                    (A) from diverse backgrounds and racial and ethnic 
                groups; and
                    (B) of different genders.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to further a compelling interest in obtaining the 
        educational benefits that result, particularly for schools with 
        a concentration of individuals in 1 or more categories 
        described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)), from a diverse group of elementary 
        school and secondary school teachers, including--
                    (A) promoting learning outcomes generally, and 
                reducing achievement gaps for diverse student bodies; 
                and
                    (B) increasing student cultural awareness by better 
                preparing students for an increasingly diverse 
                workforce and society;
            (2) to provide narrowly tailored activities by funding the 
        activities for the period needed to attain meaningful numbers 
        or a critical mass of teachers who are individuals from 
        underrepresented groups, sufficient to address the low 
        employment of teachers from such groups, and offering the 
        activities for other teachers as well; and
            (3) to remedy the historically low employment among 
        teachers in public elementary schools and secondary schools who 
        are individuals from underrepresented groups.

SEC. 3. RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS, INCLUDING 
              TEACHERS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS.

    (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 new part:

 ``PART E--RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS, INCLUDING 
                 TEACHERS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS

``SEC. 2501. GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Authorization.--From amounts appropriated under section 2505, 
the Secretary shall make grants on a competitive basis to eligible 
entities for--
            ``(1) recruitment and outreach targeted toward recruiting 
        individuals from underrepresented groups as teachers at public 
        elementary schools and secondary schools; and
            ``(2) providing training (on promoting learning outcomes, 
        reducing achievement gaps for diverse student bodies, and 
        increasing student cultural awareness) and retention incentives 
        (other than retention rights) to teachers at public elementary 
        schools and secondary schools.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--The Secretary may only make a grant under 
subsection (a) to an eligible entity that--
            ``(1) serves schools that have difficulty in--
                    ``(A) recruitment and outreach targeted toward 
                recruiting individuals from underrepresented groups as 
                teachers; and
                    ``(B) training and retaining such individuals as 
                teachers; and
            ``(2) submits an application at such time, in such form, 
        and containing such information and assurances as the Secretary 
        may require, including--
                    ``(A) a description of how the eligible entity 
                through the activities the entity carries out with the 
                grant funds--
                            ``(i) will seek to conduct recruitment and 
                        outreach targeted toward recruiting individuals 
                        from underrepresented groups as teachers; and
                            ``(ii) will provide training and retention 
                        activities to all teachers at eligible 
                        elementary and secondary schools;
                    ``(B) a description of the difficulty conducting 
                recruitment and outreach targeted toward, and training 
                and retaining, individuals from underrepresented groups 
                experienced by the schools served by the eligible 
                entity; and
                    ``(C) information--
                            ``(i) demonstrating the educational 
                        benefits that the activities are designed to 
                        provide, resulting from a diverse group of 
                        elementary school and secondary school 
                        teachers, including--
                                    ``(I) promoting positive learning 
                                outcomes generally, and reducing 
                                achievement gaps for diverse student 
                                bodies; and
                                    ``(II) increasing student cultural 
                                awareness by better preparing students 
                                for an increasingly diverse workforce 
                                and society; and
                            ``(ii) demonstrating that the schools 
                        involved do not have a sufficiently diverse 
                        group of teachers to provide the benefits.
    ``(c) Priority.--In making grants under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall give priority to--
            ``(1) eligible entities (or consortia of eligible entities) 
        that serve the most high-need schools; and
            ``(2) eligible entities (or consortia of eligible entities) 
        that serve schools with concentrations of students in 1 or more 
        categories described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)) in their student populations.
    ``(d) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity shall use funds received 
under this section to conduct the recruitment and outreach described in 
subsection (a)(1), which may include--
            ``(1) promotional and informational activities at 
        institutions of higher education that serve large numbers of 
        individuals from underrepresented groups;
            ``(2) promotional and informational activities targeted 
        toward candidates who are--
                    ``(A) in career fields other than teaching; and
                    ``(B) individuals from underrepresented groups;
            ``(3) promotional and informational activities targeted 
        toward undergraduate students who graduated from a high school 
        located within the eligible entity; and
            ``(4) provision of funds to cover travel or lodging 
        expenses of individuals from underrepresented groups who are 
        being recruited as teachers under this section.
    ``(e) Matching Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may not make a grant to an 
        eligible entity under subsection (a) unless the eligible entity 
        agrees that, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the 
        eligible entity in carrying out the activities for which the 
        grant is awarded, the eligible entity will make available non-
        Federal contributions in an amount equal to not less than 10 
        percent of the Federal funds provided under the grant.
            ``(2) Satisfying matching requirement.--The non-Federal 
        contributions required under paragraph (1) may be--
                    ``(A) in cash or in-kind, including services, 
                fairly evaluated; and
                    ``(B) from--
                            ``(i) any private source; or
                            ``(ii) a State educational agency or local 
                        educational agency.
            ``(3) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive or reduce the non-
        Federal contribution required by paragraph (1) if the eligible 
        entity involved demonstrates that the eligible entity cannot 
        meet the contribution requirement due to financial hardship.
    ``(f) Duration.--
            ``(1) Determination.--In determining whether to make a 
        grant to an eligible entity for a local educational agency, the 
        Secretary shall determine whether the elementary schools and 
        secondary schools in the agency have attracted a sufficiently 
        diverse group of teachers to provide the educational benefits 
        described under subsection (b)(2)(C).
            ``(2) Grant.--The Secretary shall make the grant only if 
        the Secretary determines that the schools described in 
        paragraph (1) have not attracted that group and need additional 
        activities under this section to provide the educational 
        benefits.

``SEC. 2502. REPORTS TO SECRETARY.

    ``An eligible entity receiving a grant under section 2501(a) shall 
submit to the Secretary not later than 90 days after the end of each 
school year in which the eligible entity receives grant funds a report 
that contains--
            ``(1) a description of the activities for which the 
        eligible entity used grant funds during such school year;
            ``(2) data concerning, with respect to the schools served 
        by the eligible entity--
                    ``(A) the number of individuals from 
                underrepresented groups that began teaching during such 
                school year;
                    ``(B) the retention rate of teachers who are 
                individuals from underrepresented groups;
                    ``(C) in the case of the report covering the last 
                school year in which the eligible entity receives grant 
                funds, indicators of student academic achievement 
                during such school year as compared with previous 
                school years, disaggregated, if possible, by the 
                achievement of--
                            ``(i) economically disadvantaged students;
                            ``(ii) students from major racial and 
                        ethnic groups;
                            ``(iii) students with disabilities; and
                            ``(iv) students with limited English 
                        proficiency;
                    ``(D) student graduation rates for the school year 
                covered by the report as compared with previous school 
                years, if applicable in the case of the schools served 
                by the eligible entity; and
                    ``(E) student attendance rates for the school year 
                covered by the report as compared with previous school 
                years; and
            ``(3) a description of and data regarding such 
        characteristics of the schools served by the eligible entity, 
        and the students of such schools, as the Secretary considers 
        appropriate, including the number and percentage of students in 
        each of the groups listed in clauses (i) through (iv) of 
        paragraph (2)(C).

``SEC. 2503. BEST PRACTICES INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall evaluate the success of the 
activities carried out by eligible entities using grant funds received 
under section 2501(a) and compile a database of best practices for 
recruiting, conducting outreach to, training, and retaining individuals 
from underrepresented groups as public elementary school and secondary 
school teachers. The Secretary shall make such database available to 
eligible entities (regardless of whether the eligible entities have 
received grants under such section) through an Internet Web site.
    ``(b) Funds Available.--Of the amounts appropriated to carry out 
this part for a fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than 10 
percent to carry out this section during such fiscal year.

``SEC. 2504. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this part, the following definitions apply:
            ``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) a local educational agency (or consortium of 
                local educational agencies); or
                    ``(B) an entity that--
                            ``(i) has entered into a partnership with a 
                        local educational agency (or consortium of 
                        local educational agencies) in which the local 
                        educational agency (or consortium of local 
                        educational agencies) is the primary partner; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) is a private nonprofit organization, 
                        an educational service agency, an institution 
                        of higher education, or a State educational 
                        agency.
            ``(2) High-need high school.--The term `high-need high 
        school' means a secondary school--
                    ``(A) in which the entering grade of the school is 
                not lower than grade 9 and that includes grade 12; and
                    ``(B) that has a graduation rate of not more than 
                65 percent in each of the 2 academic years prior to the 
                submission of the grant application.
            ``(3) High-need middle school.--The term `high-need middle 
        school' means a secondary school--
                    ``(A) in which the entering grade is not lower than 
                grade 6 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 
                9; and
                    ``(B) from which not less than 35 percent of the 
                students who complete such school enroll in a high-need 
                high school.
            ``(4) High-need school.--The term `high-need school' means 
        a public school, including a charter school (as such term is 
        defined in section 5210(1))--
                    ``(A) in which not less than 40 percent of the 
                enrolled students are eligible to receive free or 
                reduced price lunches under section 9(b) of the Richard 
                B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1758(b)); or
                    ``(B) that is a high-need high school or a high-
                need middle school.
            ``(5) Individual from an underrepresented group.--The term 
        `individual from an underrepresented group' means an individual 
        who is a member of a racial or gender group that has 
        historically been underrepresented among teachers in public 
        elementary schools and secondary schools in the school district 
        involved.

``SEC. 2505. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part 
such sums as are necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 2021.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by adding 
after the item related to section 2441 the following:

 ``Part E--Recruitment, Training, and Retention of Teachers, Including 
                 Teachers From Underrepresented Groups

``Sec. 2501. Grant program.
``Sec. 2502. Reports to Secretary.
``Sec. 2503. Best practices information clearinghouse.
``Sec. 2504. Definitions.
``Sec. 2505. Authorization of appropriations.''.
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