[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 102 (Friday, July 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1458]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       READY TO TEACH ACT OF 2003

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                               speech of

                          HON. MAJOR R. OWENS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 9, 2003

  The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 
had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2211) to reauthorize title II of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965:
  Mr. OWENS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 2211 the Ready to 
Teach Act of 2003. The bill provides $300 million for FY04 to improve 
teacher quality and retention programs at institutions of higher 
learning. During full committee markup, my amendment which creates the 
``Centers for Excellence'' was unanimously passed by a broad bipartisan 
coalition. The new provision will dramatically increase the number of 
minority teaching candidates at Minority Serving Institutions 
(Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving 
Institutions and Tribally Controlled Colleges). This bipartisan 
amendment provides more than $10 million to recruit more minorities 
into the teaching profession.
  H.R. 2211 also requires States and teacher college programs to report 
the pass rate of prospective teachers enrolled in teacher preparation 
programs. The new provision will help improve teacher quality programs 
by monitoring how well teacher college programs prepare students for 
certification and licensure. In addition, the bill also ensures that 
prospective teachers understand how to properly integrate technology 
into the classroom. The bill also creates a partnership program between 
universities and under-served school districts to improve teacher 
preparation and retain highly qualified teachers.

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