[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 2, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H3628-H3638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TEACHER TRAINING ENHANCEMENT ACT
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4409) to reauthorize title II of the Higher Education Act of
1965.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4409
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 ``Teacher Training Enhancement
Act''.
SEC. 2. TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS.
Part A of title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:
``PART A--TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS FOR STATES AND
PARTNERSHIPS
``SEC. 201. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS.
``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this part are to--
``(1) improve student academic achievement;
``(2) improve the quality of the current and future
teaching force by improving the preparation of prospective
teachers and enhancing professional development activities;
``(3) hold institutions of higher education accountable for
preparing highly qualified teachers; and
``(4) recruit qualified individuals, including minorities
and individuals from other occupations, into the teaching
force.
``(b) Definitions.--In this part:
``(1) Arts and sciences.--The term `arts and sciences'
means--
``(A) when referring to an organizational unit of an
institution of higher education, any academic unit that
offers 1 or more academic majors in disciplines or content
areas corresponding to the academic subject matter areas in
which teachers provide instruction; and
``(B) when referring to a specific academic subject matter
area, the disciplines or content areas in which academic
majors are offered by the arts and science organizational
unit.
``(2) Exemplary teacher.--The term `exemplary teacher' has
the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
``(3) Highly qualified.--The term `highly qualified' has
the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
``(4) High-need local educational agency.--The term `high-
need local educational agency' means a local educational
agency--
``(A)(i)(I) that serves not fewer than 10,000 children from
families with incomes below the poverty line; or
``(II) for which not less than 25 percent of the children
served by the agency are from families with incomes below the
poverty line;
``(ii) that is among those serving the highest number or
percentage of children from families with incomes below the
poverty line in the State, but this clause applies only in a
State that has no local educational agency meeting the
requirements of clause (i); or
``(iii) with a total of less than 600 students in average
daily attendance at the schools that are served by the agency
and all of whose schools are designated with a school locale
code of 7, as determined by the Secretary; and
``(B)(i) for which there is a high percentage of teachers
not teaching in the academic subjects or grade levels that
the teachers were trained to teach; or
``(ii) for which there is a high percentage of teachers
with emergency, provisional, or temporary certification or
licensing.
``(5) Poverty line.--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 (42 U.S.C.
9902(2))) applicable to a family of the size involved.
``(6) Professional development.--The term `professional
development' has the meaning given such term in section 9101
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7801).
``(7) Scientifically based reading research.--The term
`scientifically based reading research' has the meaning given
such term in section 1208 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6368).
``(8) Scientifically based research.--The term
`scientifically based research' has the meaning given such
term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
``(9) Teaching skills.--The term `teaching skills' means
skills that--
``(A) are based on scientifically based research;
``(B) enable teachers to effectively convey and explain
subject matter content;
``(C) lead to increased student academic achievement; and
``(D) use strategies that--
``(i) are specific to subject matter;
``(ii) include ongoing assessment of student learning;
``(iii) focus on identification and tailoring of academic
instruction to students's specific learning needs; and
``(iv) focus on classroom management.
``SEC. 202. STATE GRANTS.
``(a) In General.--From amounts made available under
section 210(1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary is authorized
to award grants under this section, on a competitive basis,
to eligible States to enable the eligible States to carry out
the activities described in subsection (d).
``(b) Eligible State.--
``(1) Definition.--In this part, the term `eligible State'
means--
``(A) the Governor of a State; or
``(B) in the case of a State for which the constitution or
law of such State designates another individual, entity, or
agency in the State to be responsible for teacher
certification and preparation activity, such individual,
entity, or agency.
``(2) Consultation.--The Governor or the individual,
entity, or agency designated under paragraph (1)(B) shall
consult with the Governor, State board of education, State
educational agency, or State agency for higher education, as
appropriate, with respect to the activities assisted under
this section.
``(3) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to negate or supersede the legal authority under
State law of any State agency, State entity, or State public
official over programs that are under the jurisdiction of the
agency, entity, or official.
``(c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, an eligible State shall submit an application
to the Secretary that--
``(1) meets the requirement of this section;
``(2) demonstrates that the State is in full compliance
with sections 207 and 208;
``(3) includes a description of how the eligible State
intends to use funds provided under this section;
[[Page H3629]]
``(4) includes measurable objectives for the use of the
funds provided under the grant;
``(5) demonstrates the State has submitted and is actively
implementing a plan that meets the requirements of sections
1111(h)(1)(C)(viii) and 1119 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C)(viii) and
6319); and
``(6) contains such other information and assurances as the
Secretary may require.
``(d) Uses of Funds.--An eligible State that receives a
grant under this section shall use the grant funds to reform
teacher preparation requirements, to coordinate with State
activities under section 2113(c) of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6613(c)), and to
ensure that current and future teachers are highly qualified,
by carrying out one or more of the following activities:
``(1) Reforms.--Ensuring that all teacher preparation
programs in the State are preparing teachers who are highly
qualified, are able to understand scientifically based
research and its applicability, and are able to use advanced
technology effectively in the classroom, including use for
instructional techniques to improve student academic
achievement, by assisting such programs--
``(A) to retrain faculty; and
``(B) to design (or redesign) teacher preparation programs
so they--
``(i) are based on rigorous academic content,
scientifically based research (including scientifically based
reading research), and challenging State student academic
content standards; and
``(ii) promote strong teaching skills.
``(2) Certification or licensure requirements.--Reforming
teacher certification (including recertification) or
licensing requirements to ensure that--
``(A) teachers have the subject matter knowledge and
teaching skills in the academic subjects that the teachers
teach that are necessary to help students meet challenging
State student academic achievement standards; and
``(B) such requirements are aligned with challenging State
academic content standards.
``(3) Alternatives to traditional teacher preparation and
state certification.--Providing prospective teachers with
alternative routes to State certification and traditional
preparation to become highly qualified teachers through--
``(A) innovative approaches that reduce unnecessary
barriers to State certification while producing highly
qualified teachers;
``(B) programs that provide support to teachers during
their initial years in the profession; and
``(C) alternative routes to State certification of teachers
for qualified individuals, including mid-career professionals
from other occupations, former military personnel, and recent
college graduates with records of academic distinction.
``(4) Innovative programs.--Planning and implementing
innovative programs to enhance the ability of institutions of
higher education to prepare highly qualified teachers, such
as charter colleges of education or university and local
educational agency partnership schools, that--
``(A) permit flexibility in meeting State requirements as
long as graduates, during their initial years in the
profession, increase student academic achievement;
``(B) provide long-term data gathered from teachers'
performance over multiple years in the classroom on the
ability to increase student academic achievement;
``(C) ensure high-quality preparation of teachers from
underrepresented groups; and
``(D) create performance measures that can be used to
document the effectiveness of innovative methods for
preparing highly qualified teachers.
``(5) Merit pay.--Developing, or assisting local
educational agencies in developing--
``(A) merit-based performance systems that reward teachers
who increase student academic achievement; and
``(B) strategies that provide differential and bonus pay in
high-need local educational agencies to retain--
``(i) principals;
``(ii) highly qualified teachers who teach in high-need
academic subjects, such as reading, mathematics, and science;
``(iii) highly qualified teachers who teach in schools
identified for school improvement under section 1116(b) of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6316(b));
``(iv) special education teachers;
``(v) teachers specializing in teaching limited English
proficient children; and
``(vi) highly qualified teachers in urban and rural schools
or districts.
``(6) Teacher advancement.--Developing, or assisting local
educational agencies in developing, teacher advancement and
retention initiatives that promote professional growth and
emphasize multiple career paths (such as paths to becoming a
highly qualified mentor teacher or exemplary teacher) and pay
differentiation.
``(7) Teacher removal.--Developing and implementing
effective mechanisms to ensure that local educational
agencies and schools are able to remove expeditiously
incompetent or unqualified teachers consistent with
procedures to ensure due process for the teachers.
``(8) Technical assistance.--Providing technical assistance
to low-performing teacher preparation programs within
institutions of higher education identified under section
208(a).
``(9) Teacher effectiveness.--Developing--
``(A) systems to measure the effectiveness of teacher
preparation programs and professional development programs;
and
``(B) strategies to document gains in student academic
achievement or increases in teacher mastery of the academic
subjects the teachers teach as a result of such programs.
``(10) Teacher recruitment and retention.--Undertaking
activities that--
``(A) develop and implement effective mechanisms to ensure
that local educational agencies and schools are able
effectively to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers;
or
``(B) are described in section 204(d).
``(11) Preschool teachers.--Developing strategies--
``(A) to improve the qualifications of preschool teachers,
which may include State certification for such teachers; and
``(B) to improve and expand preschool teacher preparation
programs.
``(e) Evaluation.--
``(1) Evaluation system.--An eligible State that receives a
grant under this section shall develop and utilize a system
to evaluate annually the effectiveness of teacher preparation
programs and professional development activities within the
State in producing gains in--
``(A) the teacher's annual contribution to improving
student academic achievement, as measured by State academic
assessments required under section 1111(b)(3) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6311(b)(3)); and
``(B) teacher mastery of the academic subjects they teach,
as measured by pre- and post-participation tests of teacher
knowledge, as appropriate.
``(2) Use of evaluation system.--Such evaluation system
shall be used by the State to evaluate--
``(A) activities carried out using funds provided under
this section; and
``(B) the quality of its teacher education programs.
``(3) Public reporting.--The State shall make the
information described in paragraph (1) widely available
through public means, such as posting on the Internet,
distribution to the media, and distribution through public
agencies.
``SEC. 203. PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.
``(a) Grants.--From amounts made available under section
210(2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary is authorized to
award grants under this section, on a competitive basis, to
eligible partnerships to enable the eligible partnerships to
carry out the activities described in subsections (d) and
(e).
``(b) Definitions.--
``(1) Eligible partnerships.--In this part, the term
`eligible partnership' means an entity that--
``(A) shall include--
``(i) a partner institution;
``(ii) a school of arts and sciences;
``(iii) a high-need local educational agency; and
``(iv) a public or private educational organization; and
``(B) may include a Governor, State educational agency, the
State board of education, the State agency for higher
education, an institution of higher education not described
in subparagraph (A), a public charter school, a public or
private elementary school or secondary school, a public or
private educational organization, a business, a science-,
mathematics-, or technology-oriented entity, a faith-based or
community organization, a prekindergarten program, a teacher
organization, an education service agency, a consortia of
local educational agencies, or a nonprofit telecommunications
entity.
``(2) Partner institution.--In this section, the term
`partner institution' means an institution of higher
education, the teacher training program of which demonstrates
that--
``(A) graduates from the teacher training program exhibit
strong performance on State-determined qualifying assessments
for new teachers through--
``(i) demonstrating that the graduates of the program who
intend to enter the field of teaching have passed all of the
applicable State qualification assessments for new teachers,
which shall include an assessment of each prospective
teacher's subject matter knowledge in the content area or
areas in which the teacher intends to teach; or
``(ii) being ranked among the highest-performing teacher
preparation programs in the State as determined by the
State--
``(I) using criteria consistent with the requirements for
the State report card under section 207(a); and
``(II) using the State report card on teacher preparation
required under section 207(a); or
``(B) the teacher training program requires all the
students of the program to participate in intensive clinical
experience, to meet high academic standards, and--
``(i) in the case of secondary school candidates, to
successfully complete an academic major in the subject area
in which the candidate intends to teach or to demonstrate
competence through a high level of performance in relevant
content areas; and
``(ii) in the case of elementary school candidates, to
successfully complete an academic major in the arts and
sciences or to demonstrate competence through a high level of
performance in core academic subject areas.
[[Page H3630]]
``(c) Application.--Each eligible partnership desiring a
grant under this section shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by
such information as the Secretary may require. Each such
application shall--
``(1) contain a needs assessment of all the partners with
respect to teaching and learning and a description of how the
partnership will coordinate with other teacher training or
professional development programs, and how the activities of
the partnership will be consistent with State, local, and
other education reform activities that promote student
academic achievement;
``(2) contain a resource assessment that describes the
resources available to the partnership, the intended use of
the grant funds, including a description of how the grant
funds will be used in accordance with subsection (f), and the
commitment of the resources of the partnership to the
activities assisted under this part, including financial
support, faculty participation, time commitments, and
continuation of the activities when the grant ends;
``(3) contain a description of--
``(A) how the partnership will meet the purposes of this
part;
``(B) how the partnership will carry out the activities
required under subsection (d) and any permissible activities
under subsection (e);
``(C) the partnership's evaluation plan pursuant to section
206(b);
``(D) how faculty of the teacher preparation program at the
partner institution will serve, over the term of the grant,
with highly qualified teachers in the classrooms of the high-
need local educational agency included in the partnership;
``(E) how the partnership will ensure that teachers,
principals, and superintendents in private elementary and
secondary schools located in the geographic areas served by
an eligible partnership under this section will participate
equitably in accordance with section 9501 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881);
``(F) how the partnership will design and implement a
clinical program component that includes close supervision of
student teachers by faculty of the teacher preparation
program at the partner institution and mentor teachers;
``(G) how the partnership will design and implement an
induction program to support all new teachers through the
first 3 years of teaching that includes mentors who are
trained and compensated by the partnership for their work
with new teachers; and
``(H) how the partnership will collect, analyze, and use
data on the retention of all teachers in schools located in
the geographic areas served by the partnership to evaluate
the effectiveness of its teacher support system; and
``(4) contain a certification from the high-need local
educational agency included in the partnership that it has
reviewed the application and determined that the grant
proposed will comply with subsection (f).
``(d) Required Uses of Funds.--An eligible partnership that
receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds
to reform teacher preparation requirements, to coordinate
with State activities under section 2113(c) of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6613(c)), and
to ensure that current and future teachers are highly
qualified, by carrying out one or more of the following
activities:
``(1) Reforms.--Implementing reforms within teacher
preparation programs to ensure that such programs are
preparing teachers who are highly qualified, are able to
understand scientifically based research and its
applicability, and are able to use advanced technology
effectively in the classroom, including use for instructional
techniques to improve student academic achievement, by--
``(A) retraining faculty; and
``(B) designing (or redesigning) teacher preparation
programs so they--
``(i) are based on rigorous academic content,
scientifically based research (including scientifically based
reading research), and challenging State student academic
content standards; and
``(ii) promote strong teaching skills.
``(2) Clinical experience and interaction.--Providing
sustained and high-quality preservice and in-service clinical
experience, including the mentoring of prospective teachers
by exemplary teachers, substantially increasing interaction
between faculty at institutions of higher education and new
and experienced teachers, principals, and other
administrators at elementary schools or secondary schools,
and providing support for teachers, including preparation
time and release time, for such interaction.
``(3) Professional development.--Creating opportunities for
enhanced and ongoing professional development that improves
the academic content knowledge of teachers in the subject
areas in which the teachers are certified to teach or in
which the teachers are working toward certification to teach,
and that promotes strong teaching skills.
``(4) Teacher preparation.--Developing, or assisting local
educational agencies in developing, professional development
activities that--
``(A) provide training in how to teach and address the
needs of students with different learning styles,
particularly students with disabilities, limited English
proficient students, and students with special learning
needs; and
``(B) provide training in methods of--
``(i) improving student behavior in the classroom; and
``(ii) identifying early and appropriate interventions to
help students described in subparagraph (A) learn.
``(e) Allowable Uses of Funds.--An eligible partnership
that receives a grant under this section may use such funds
to carry out the following activities:
``(1) Alternatives to traditional teacher preparation and
state certification.--Providing prospective teachers with
alternative routes to State certification and traditional
preparation to become highly qualified teachers through--
``(A) innovative approaches that reduce unnecessary
barriers to teacher preparation while producing highly
qualified teachers;
``(B) programs that provide support during a teacher's
initial years in the profession; and
``(C) alternative routes to State certification of teachers
for qualified individuals, including mid-career professionals
from other occupations, former military personnel, and recent
college graduates with records of academic distinction.
``(2) Dissemination and coordination.--Broadly
disseminating information on effective practices used by the
partnership, and coordinating with the activities of the
Governor, State board of education, State higher education
agency, and State educational agency, as appropriate.
``(3) Managerial and leadership skills.--Developing and
implementing professional development programs for principals
and superintendents that enable them to be effective school
leaders and prepare all students to meet challenging State
academic content and student academic achievement standards.
``(4) Teacher recruitment.--Activities--
``(A) to encourage students to become highly qualified
teachers, such as extracurricular enrichment activities; and
``(B) activities described in section 204(d).
``(5) Clinical experience in science, mathematics, and
technology.--Creating opportunities for clinical experience
and training, by participation in the business, research, and
work environments with professionals, in areas relating to
science, mathematics, and technology for teachers and
prospective teachers, including opportunities for use of
laboratory equipment, in order for the teacher to return to
the classroom for at least 2 years and provide instruction
that will raise student academic achievement.
``(6) Coordination with community colleges.--Coordinating
with community colleges to implement teacher preparation
programs, including through distance learning, for the
purposes of allowing prospective teachers--
``(A) to attain a bachelor's degree and State certification
or licensure; and
``(B) to become highly qualified teachers.
``(7) Teacher mentoring.--Establishing or implementing a
teacher mentoring program that--
``(A) includes minimum qualifications for mentors;
``(B) provides training and stipends for mentors;
``(C) provides mentoring programs for teachers in their
first 3 years of teaching;
``(D) provides regular and ongoing opportunities for
mentors and mentees to observe each other's teaching methods
in classroom settings during the school day;
``(E) establishes an evaluation and accountability plan for
activities conducted under this paragraph that includes
rigorous objectives to measure the impact of such activities;
and
``(F) provides for a report to the Secretary on an annual
basis regarding the partnership's progress in meeting the
objectives described in subparagraph (E).
``(8) Computer software for multilingual education.--
Training teachers to use computer software for multilingual
education to address the needs of limited English proficient
students.
``(f) Special Rule.--At least 50 percent of the funds made
available to an eligible partnership under this section shall
be used directly to benefit the high-need local educational
agency included in the partnership. Any entity described in
subsection (b)(1)(A) may be the fiscal agent under this
section.
``(g) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit an eligible partnership from using
grant funds to coordinate with the activities of more than
one Governor, State board of education, State educational
agency, local educational agency, or State agency for higher
education.
``(h) Supplement, not Supplant.--Funds made available under
this section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant,
other Federal, State, and local funds that would otherwise be
expended to carry out the purposes of this section.
``SEC. 204. TEACHER RECRUITMENT GRANTS.
``(a) Program Authorized.--From amounts made available
under section 210(3) for a fiscal year, the Secretary is
authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to
eligible applicants to enable the eligible applicants to
carry out activities described in subsection (d).
``(b) Eligible Applicant Defined.--In this part, the term
`eligible applicant' means--
``(1) an eligible State described in section 202(b); or
``(2) an eligible partnership described in section 203(b).
``(c) Application.--Any eligible applicant desiring to
receive a grant under this section
[[Page H3631]]
shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in
such form, and containing such information as the Secretary
may require, including--
``(1) a description of the assessment that the eligible
applicant, and the other entities with whom the eligible
applicant will carry out the grant activities, have
undertaken to determine the most critical needs of the
participating high-need local educational agencies;
``(2) a description of the activities the eligible
applicant will carry out with the grant, including the extent
to which the applicant will use funds to recruit minority
students to become highly qualified teachers; and
``(3) a description of the eligible applicant's plan for
continuing the activities carried out with the grant, once
Federal funding ceases.
``(d) Uses of Funds.--Each eligible applicant receiving a
grant under this section shall use the grant funds--
``(1)(A) to award scholarships to help students, such as
individuals who have been accepted for their first year, or
who are enrolled in their first or second year, of a program
of undergraduate education at an institution of higher
education, pay the costs of tuition, room, board, and other
expenses of completing a teacher preparation program;
``(B) to provide support services, if needed to enable
scholarship recipients--
``(i) to complete postsecondary education programs; or
``(ii) to transition from a career outside of the field of
education into a teaching career; and
``(C) for followup services provided to former scholarship
recipients during the recipients first 3 years of teaching;
or
``(2) to develop and implement effective mechanisms to
ensure that high-need local educational agencies and schools
are able effectively to recruit highly qualified teachers.
``(e) Additional Discretionary Uses of Funds.--In addition
to the uses described in subsection (d), each eligible
applicant receiving a grant under this section may use the
grant funds--
``(1) to develop and implement effective mechanisms to
recruit into the teaching profession employees from--
``(A) high-demand industries, including technology
industries; and
``(B) the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering;
and
``(2) to conduct outreach and coordinate with inner city
and rural secondary schools to encourage students to pursue
teaching as a career.
``(f) Service Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish such
requirements as the Secretary determines necessary to ensure
that recipients of scholarships under this section who
complete teacher education programs--
``(A) subsequently teach in a high-need local educational
agency for a period of time equivalent to--
``(i) one year; increased by
``(ii) the period for which the recipient received
scholarship assistance; or
``(B) repay the amount of the scholarship.
``(2) Use of repayments.--The Secretary shall use any such
repayments to carry out additional activities under this
section.
``(g) Priority.--The Secretary shall give priority under
this section to eligible applicants who provide an assurance
that they will recruit a high percentage of minority students
to become highly qualified teachers.
``SEC. 205. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
``(a) Duration; One-Time Awards; Payments.--
``(1) Duration.--
``(A) Eligible states and eligible applicants.--Grants
awarded to eligible States and eligible applicants under this
part shall be awarded for a period not to exceed 3 years.
``(B) Eligible partnerships.--Grants awarded to eligible
partnerships under this part shall be awarded for a period of
5 years.
``(2) One-time award.--An eligible partnership may receive
a grant under each of sections 203 and 204, as amended by the
Teacher Training Enhancement Act, only once.
``(3) Payments.--The Secretary shall make annual payments
of grant funds awarded under this part.
``(b) Peer Review.--
``(1) Panel.--The Secretary shall provide the applications
submitted under this part to a peer review panel for
evaluation. With respect to each application, the peer review
panel shall initially recommend the application for funding
or for disapproval.
``(2) Priority.--In recommending applications to the
Secretary for funding under this part, the panel shall--
``(A) with respect to grants under section 202, give
priority to eligible States that--
``(i) have initiatives to reform State teacher
certification requirements that are based on rigorous
academic content, scientifically based research, including
scientifically based reading research, and challenging State
student academic content standards;
``(ii) have innovative reforms to hold institutions of
higher education with teacher preparation programs
accountable for preparing teachers who are highly qualified
and have strong teaching skills; or
``(iii) have innovative efforts aimed at reducing the
shortage of highly qualified teachers in high poverty urban
and rural areas; and
``(B) with respect to grants under section 203--
``(i) give priority to applications from broad-based
eligible partnerships that involve businesses and community
organizations; and
``(ii) take into consideration--
``(I) providing an equitable geographic distribution of the
grants throughout the United States; and
``(II) the potential of the proposed activities for
creating improvement and positive change.
``(3) Secretarial selection.--The Secretary shall
determine, based on the peer review process, which
application shall receive funding and the amounts of the
grants. In determining grant amounts, the Secretary shall
take into account the total amount of funds available for all
grants under this part and the types of activities proposed
to be carried out.
``(c) Matching Requirements.--
``(1) State grants.--Each eligible State receiving a grant
under section 202 or 204 shall provide, from non-Federal
sources, an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount of the
grant (in cash or in kind) to carry out the activities
supported by the grant.
``(2) Partnership grants.--Each eligible partnership
receiving a grant under section 203 or 204 shall provide,
from non-Federal sources (in cash or in kind), an amount
equal to 25 percent of the grant for the first year of the
grant, 35 percent of the grant for the second year of the
grant, and 50 percent of the grant for each succeeding year
of the grant.
``(d) Limitation on Administrative Expenses.--An eligible
State or eligible partnership that receives a grant under
this part may not use more than 2 percent of the grant funds
for purposes of administering the grant.
``SEC. 206. ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVALUATION.
``(a) State Grant Accountability Report.--An eligible State
that receives a grant under section 202 shall submit an
annual accountability report to the Secretary, the Committee
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and
the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives. Such report shall include a description of
the degree to which the eligible State, in using funds
provided under such section, has made substantial progress in
meeting the following goals:
``(1) Percentage of highly qualified teachers.--Increasing
the percentage of highly qualified teachers in the State as
required by section 1119 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6319).
``(2) Student academic achievement.--Increasing student
academic achievement for all students as defined by the
eligible State.
``(3) Raising standards.--Raising the State academic
standards required to enter the teaching profession as a
highly qualified teacher.
``(4) Initial certification or licensure.--Increasing
success in the pass rate for initial State teacher
certification or licensure, or increasing the numbers of
qualified individuals being certified or licensed as teachers
through alternative programs.
``(5) Decreasing teacher shortages.--Decreasing shortages
of highly qualified teachers in poor urban and rural areas.
``(6) Increasing opportunities for professional
development.--Increasing opportunities for enhanced and
ongoing professional development that--
``(A) improves the academic content knowledge of teachers
in the subject areas in which the teachers are certified or
licensed to teach or in which the teachers are working toward
certification or licensure to teach; and
``(B) promotes strong teaching skills.
``(7) Technology integration.--Increasing the number of
teachers prepared effectively to integrate technology into
curricula and instruction and who use technology to collect,
manage, and analyze data to improve teaching, learning, and
decisionmaking for the purpose of increasing student academic
achievement.
``(b) Eligible Partnership Evaluation.--Each eligible
partnership applying for a grant under section 203 shall
establish, and include in the application submitted under
section 203(c), an evaluation plan that includes strong
performance objectives. The plan shall include objectives and
measures for--
``(1) increased student achievement for all students, as
measured by the partnership;
``(2) increased teacher retention in the first 3 years of a
teacher's career;
``(3) increased success in the pass rate for initial State
certification or licensure of teachers;
``(4) increased percentage of highly qualified teachers;
and
``(5) increasing the number of teachers trained effectively
to integrate technology into curricula and instruction and
who use technology to collect, manage, and analyze data to
improve teaching, learning, and decisionmaking for the
purpose of improving student academic achievement.
``(c) Revocation of Grant.--
``(1) Report.--Each eligible State or eligible partnership
receiving a grant under section 202 or 203 shall report
annually on the progress of the eligible State or eligible
partnership toward meeting the purposes of this part and the
goals, objectives, and measures described in subsections (a)
and (b).
``(2) Revocation.--
``(A) Eligible states and eligible applicants.--If the
Secretary determines that an eligible State or eligible
applicant is not making substantial progress in meeting the
purposes, goals, objectives, and measures, as
[[Page H3632]]
appropriate, by the end of the second year of a grant under
this part, then the grant payment shall not be made for the
third year of the grant.
``(B) Eligible partnerships.--If the Secretary determines
that an eligible partnership is not making substantial
progress in meeting the purposes, goals, objectives, and
measures, as appropriate, by the end of the third year of a
grant under this part, then the grant payments shall not be
made for any succeeding year of the grant.
``(d) Evaluation and Dissemination.--The Secretary shall
evaluate the activities funded under this part and report
annually the Secretary's findings 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. The Secretary shall broadly
disseminate successful practices developed by eligible States
and eligible partnerships under this part, and shall broadly
disseminate information regarding such practices that were
found to be ineffective.
``SEC. 207. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PROGRAMS THAT PREPARE
TEACHERS.
``(a) State Report Card on the Quality of Teacher
Preparation.--Each State that receives funds under this Act
shall provide to the Secretary annually, in a uniform and
comprehensible manner that conforms with the definitions and
methods established by the Secretary, a State report card on
the quality of teacher preparation in the State, both for
traditional certification or licensure programs and for
alternative certification or licensure programs, which shall
include at least the following:
``(1) A description of the teacher certification and
licensure assessments, and any other certification and
licensure requirements, used by the State.
``(2) The standards and criteria that prospective teachers
must meet in order to attain initial teacher certification or
licensure and to be certified or licensed to teach particular
subjects or in particular grades within the State.
``(3) A description of the extent to which the assessments
and requirements described in paragraph (1) are aligned with
the State's standards and assessments for students.
``(4) The percentage of students who have completed at
least 50 percent of the requirements for a teacher
preparation program at an institution of higher education or
alternative certification program and who have taken and
passed each of the assessments used by the State for teacher
certification and licensure, and the passing score on each
assessment that determines whether a candidate has passed
that assessment.
``(5) For students who have completed at least 50 percent
of the requirements for a teacher preparation program at an
institution of higher education or alternative certification
program, and who have taken and passed each of the
assessments used by the State for teacher certification and
licensure, each such institution's and each such program's
average raw score, ranked by teacher preparation program,
which shall be made available widely and publicly.
``(6) A description of each State's alternative routes to
teacher certification, if any, and the number and percentage
of teachers certified through each alternative certification
route who pass State teacher certification or licensure
assessments.
``(7) For each State, a description of proposed criteria
for assessing the performance of teacher preparation programs
in the State, including indicators of teacher candidate
skills and academic content knowledge and evidence of gains
in student academic achievement.
``(8) For each teacher preparation program in the State,
the number of students in the program, the average number of
hours of supervised practice teaching required for those in
the program, and the number of full-time equivalent faculty
and students in supervised practice teaching.
``(b) Report of the Secretary on the Quality of Teacher
Preparation.--
``(1) Report card.--The Secretary shall provide to
Congress, and publish and make widely available, a report
card on teacher qualifications and preparation in the United
States, including all the information reported in paragraphs
(1) through (8) of subsection (a). Such report shall identify
States for which eligible States and eligible partnerships
received a grant under this part. Such report shall be so
provided, published and made available annually.
``(2) Report to congress.--The Secretary shall report to
Congress--
``(A) a comparison of States' efforts to improve teaching
quality; and
``(B) regarding the national mean and median scores on any
standardized test that is used in more than 1 State for
teacher certification or licensure.
``(3) Special rule.--In the case of programs with fewer
than 10 students who have completed at least 50 percent of
the requirements for a teacher preparation program taking any
single initial teacher certification or licensure assessment
during an academic year, the Secretary shall collect and
publish information with respect to an average pass rate on
State certification or licensure assessments taken over a 3-
year period.
``(c) Coordination.--The Secretary, to the extent
practicable, shall coordinate the information collected and
published under this part among States for individuals who
took State teacher certification or licensure assessments in
a State other than the State in which the individual received
the individual's most recent degree.
``(d) Institution and Program Report Cards on Quality of
Teacher Preparation.--
``(1) Report card.--Each institution of higher education or
alternative certification program that conducts a teacher
preparation program that enrolls students receiving Federal
assistance under this Act shall report annually to the State
and the general public, in a uniform and comprehensible
manner that conforms with the definitions and methods
established by the Secretary, both for traditional
certification or licensure programs and for alternative
certification or licensure programs, the following
information:
``(A) Pass rate.--(i) For the most recent year for which
the information is available, the pass rate of each student
who has completed at least 50 percent of the requirements for
the teacher preparation program on the teacher certification
or licensure assessments of the State in which the
institution is located, but only for those students who took
those assessments within 3 years of receiving a degree from
the institution or completing the program.
``(ii) A comparison of the institution or program's pass
rate for students who have completed at least 50 percent of
the requirements for the teacher preparation program with the
average pass rate for institutions and programs in the State.
``(iii) A comparison of the institution or program's
average raw score for students who have completed at least 50
percent of the requirements for the teacher preparation
program with the average raw scores for institutions and
programs in the State.
``(iv) In the case of programs with fewer than 10 students
who have completed at least 50 percent of the requirements
for a teacher preparation program taking any single initial
teacher certification or licensure assessment during an
academic year, the institution shall collect and publish
information with respect to an average pass rate on State
certification or licensure assessments taken over a 3-year
period.
``(B) Program information.--The number of students in the
program, the average number of hours of supervised practice
teaching required for those in the program, and the number of
full-time equivalent faculty and students in supervised
practice teaching.
``(C) Statement.--In States that require approval or
accreditation of teacher education programs, a statement of
whether the institution's program is so approved or
accredited, and by whom.
``(D) Designation as low-performing.--Whether the program
has been designated as low-performing by the State under
section 208(a).
``(2) Requirement.--The information described in paragraph
(1) shall be reported through publications such as school
catalogs and promotional materials sent to potential
applicants, secondary school guidance counselors, and
prospective employers of the institution's program graduates,
including materials sent by electronic means.
``(3) Fines.--In addition to the actions authorized in
section 487(c), the Secretary may impose a fine not to exceed
$25,000 on an institution of higher education for failure to
provide the information described in this subsection in a
timely or accurate manner.
``(e) Data Quality.--Either--
``(1) the Governor of the State; or
``(2) in the case of a State for which the constitution or
law of such State designates another individual, entity, or
agency in the State to be responsible for teacher
certification and preparation activity, such individual,
entity, or agency;
shall attest annually, in writing, as to the reliability,
validity, integrity, and accuracy of the data submitted
pursuant to this section.
``SEC. 208. STATE FUNCTIONS.
``(a) State Assessment.--In order to receive funds under
this Act, a State shall have in place a procedure to identify
and assist, through the provision of technical assistance,
low-performing programs of teacher preparation within
institutions of higher education. Such State shall provide
the Secretary an annual list of such low-performing
institutions that includes an identification of those
institutions at risk of being placed on such list. Such
levels of performance shall be determined solely by the State
and may include criteria based upon information collected
pursuant to this part. Such assessment shall be described in
the report under section 207(a).
``(b) Termination of Eligibility.--Any institution of
higher education that offers a program of teacher preparation
in which the State has withdrawn the State's approval or
terminated the State's financial support due to the low
performance of the institution's teacher preparation program
based upon the State assessment described in subsection (a)--
``(1) shall be ineligible for any funding for professional
development activities awarded by the Department of
Education; and
``(2) shall not be permitted to accept or enroll any
student who receives aid under title IV of this Act in the
institution's teacher preparation program.
``SEC. 209. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
``(a) Methods.--In complying with sections 207 and 208, the
Secretary shall ensure that States and institutions of higher
education use fair and equitable methods in reporting
[[Page H3633]]
and that the reporting methods do not allow identification of
individuals.
``(b) Special Rule.--For each State in which there are no
State certification or licensure assessments, or for States
that do not set minimum performance levels on those
assessments--
``(1) the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable,
collect data comparable to the data required under this part
from States, local educational agencies, institutions of
higher education, or other entities that administer such
assessments to teachers or prospective teachers; and
``(2) notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the
Secretary shall use such data to carry out requirements of
this part related to assessments or pass rates.
``(c) Limitations.--
``(1) Federal control prohibited.--Nothing in this part
shall be construed to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize
any Federal control over any aspect of any private,
religious, or home school, whether or not a home school is
treated as a private school or home school under State law.
This section shall not be construed to prohibit private,
religious, or home schools from participation in programs or
services under this part.
``(2) No change in state control encouraged or required.--
Nothing in this part shall be construed to encourage or
require any change in a State's treatment of any private,
religious, or home school, whether or not a home school is
treated as a private school or home school under State law.
``(3) National system of teacher certification
prohibited.--Nothing in this part shall be construed to
permit, allow, encourage, or authorize the Secretary to
establish or support any national system of teacher
certification.
``SEC. 210. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
part $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may
be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years, of
which--
``(1) 45 percent shall be available for each fiscal year to
award grants under section 202;
``(2) 45 percent shall be available for each fiscal year to
award grants under section 203; and
``(3) 10 percent shall be available for each fiscal year to
award grants under section 204.''.
SEC. 3. PREPARING TOMORROW'S TEACHERS TO USE TECHNOLOGY.
(a) Eligibility.--Section 222(a)(3)(D) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1042(a)(3)(D)) is amended by
inserting ``nonprofit telecommunications entity,'' after
``community-based organization,''.
(b) Permissible Uses of Funds.--Section 223(b)(1)(E) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1043(b)(1)(E)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(E) To use technology to collect, manage, and analyze
data to improve teaching, learning, and decisionmaking for
the purpose of increasing student academic achievement.''.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 224 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1044) is amended by
striking ``each of fiscal years 2002 and 2003.'' and
inserting ``fiscal year 2004 and each of the 4 succeeding
fiscal years.''.
SEC. 4. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.
Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1021 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``PART C--CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
``SEC. 231. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS.
``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this part are--
``(1) to help recruit and prepare teachers, including
minority teachers, to meet the national demand for a highly
qualified teacher in every classroom; and
``(2) to increase opportunities for Americans of all
educational, ethnic, class, and geographic backgrounds to
become highly qualified teachers.
``(b) Definitions.--As used in this part:
``(1) Eligible institution.--The term `eligible
institution' means--
``(A) an institution of higher education that has a teacher
preparation program that meets the requirements of section
203(b)(2) and that is--
``(i) a part B institution (as defined in section 322);
``(ii) a Hispanic-serving institution (as defined in
section 502);
``(iii) a Tribal College or University (as defined in
section 316);
``(iv) an Alaska Native-serving institution (as defined in
section 317(b)); or
``(v) a Native Hawaiian-serving institution (as defined in
section 317(b));
``(B) a consortium of institutions described in
subparagraph (A); or
``(C) an institution described in subparagraph (A), or a
consortium described in subparagraph (B), in partnership with
any other institution of higher education, but only if the
center of excellence established under section 232 is located
at an institution described in subparagraph (A).
``(2) Highly qualified.--The term `highly qualified' has
the meaning given such term in section 9101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
``(3) Scientifically based reading research.--The term
`scientifically based reading research' has the meaning given
such term in section 1208 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6368).
``(4) Scientifically based research.--The term
`scientifically based research' has the meaning given such
term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
``SEC. 232. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.
``(a) Program Authorized.--From the amounts appropriated to
carry out this part, the Secretary is authorized to award
competitive grants to eligible institutions to establish
centers of excellence.
``(b) Use of Funds.--Grants provided by the Secretary under
this part shall be used to ensure that current and future
teachers are highly qualified, by carrying out one or more of
the following activities:
``(1) Implementing reforms within teacher preparation
programs to ensure that such programs are preparing teachers
who are highly qualified, are able to understand
scientifically based research, and are able to use advanced
technology effectively in the classroom, including use for
instructional techniques to improve student academic
achievement, by--
``(A) retraining faculty; and
``(B) designing (or redesigning) teacher preparation
programs that--
``(i) prepare teachers to close student achievement gaps,
are based on rigorous academic content, scientifically based
research (including scientifically based reading research),
and challenging State student academic content standards; and
``(ii) promote strong teaching skills.
``(2) Providing sustained and high-quality preservice
clinical experience, including the mentoring of prospective
teachers by exemplary teachers, substantially increasing
interaction between faculty at institutions of higher
education and new and experienced teachers, principals, and
other administrators at elementary schools or secondary
schools, and providing support, including preparation time,
for such interaction.
``(3) Developing and implementing initiatives to promote
retention of highly qualified teachers and principals,
including minority teachers and principals, including
programs that provide--
``(A) teacher or principal mentoring from exemplary
teachers or principals; or
``(B) induction and support for teachers and principals
during their first 3 years of employment as teachers or
principals, respectively.
``(4) Awarding scholarships based on financial need to help
students pay the costs of tuition, room, board, and other
expenses of completing a teacher preparation program.
``(5) Disseminating information on effective practices for
teacher preparation and successful teacher certification and
licensure assessment preparation strategies.
``(6) Activities authorized under sections 202, 203, and
204.
``(c) Application.--Any eligible institution desiring a
grant under this section shall submit an application to the
Secretary at such a time, in such a manner, and accompanied
by such information the Secretary may require.
``(d) Minimum Grant Amount.--The minimum amount of each
grant under this part shall be $500,000.
``(e) Limitation on Administrative Expenses.--An eligible
institution that receives a grant under this part may not use
more than 2 percent of the grant funds for purposes of
administering the grant.
``(f) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe such
regulations as may be necessary to carry out this part.
``SEC. 233. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
part $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may be
necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.''.
SEC. 5. TRANSITION.
The Secretary of Education shall take such actions as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate to provide for the
orderly implementation of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. McKeon) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon).
General Leave
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 4409.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4409, the Teacher
Training Enhancement Act, a bipartisan bill that seeks to meet the call
of the No Child Left Behind Act to place a highly qualified teacher in
every classroom. It makes improvements to title II of the Higher
Education Act to help ensure teacher-training programs are producing
well-prepared teachers to meet the needs of America's students.
I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), for
his leadership and commitment to
[[Page H3634]]
this important issue for our teachers. There is widespread awareness
that the subject matter knowledge and teaching skills of teachers play
a central role in the success of elementary and secondary education
reform.
More than half of the 2.2 million teachers that America's schools
will need to hire over the next 10 years will be first-time teachers,
and they will need to be well prepared for the challenges of today's
classrooms. For these reasons, the Nation's attention is increasingly
focused on the role that institutions of higher education and States
play in ensuring that new teachers have the content knowledge and
teaching skills they need to ensure that all students are held to
higher standards.
Accordingly, building on current law, the Teacher Training
Enhancement Act authorizes three types of teacher training grants that
each play a unique, yet critical, role in the education of tomorrow's
teachers. State grant funds must be used to reform teacher preparation
requirements and ensure that current and future teachers are highly
qualified. Partnership grants allow effective partners to join together
combining strengths and resources to train highly qualified teachers
and achieve success where it matters most, in the classroom. Teacher
recruitment grants help bring high-quality individuals into teacher
programs and ultimately put more highly qualified teachers in the
classrooms.
H.R. 4409 includes a new program to authorize grants for the creation
of teacher preparation programs at minority-serving institutions around
the country. This new Centers of Excellence program will help to
increase teacher recruitment and make institutional improvements to
teacher preparation programs at minority-serving institutions.
This legislation also includes activities authorized under the
Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology program, which is part
B of title II of the Higher Education Act. This program was updated and
transferred to the Higher Education Act during consideration of the No
Child Left Behind Act during the 107th Congress. The purpose of this
program is to prepare prospective teachers to use advanced technology
to prepare all students to meet challenging State and local academic
content and student academic achievement standards.
In general, the Teacher Training Enhancement Act focuses on three key
objectives: accountability, flexibility, and effectiveness to improve
the quality of teacher preparation. The bill bolsters accountability
requirements in current law to ensure States, schools, and prospective
teachers have access to accurate and reliable data about the quality of
teacher-training programs.
{time} 1315
The bill also recognizes the need for flexibility in methods used for
training highly qualified teachers and for that reason allows funds to
be used for innovative methods in teacher-preparation programs which
can provide an alternative gateway for teachers to become highly
qualified. Pioneering programs such as charter colleges of education
would also implement systems to gauge the true measure of teacher
effectiveness, the academic achievement of students.
In addition to strengthening accountability measures, the Teacher
Training Enhancement Act increases the effectiveness and quality in
teacher training programs by including provisions to focus training on
the skills and knowledge needed to prepare highly qualified teachers.
The bill places a renewed emphasis on a broad range of skills required
for effective teaching, such as the use of advanced technology in the
classroom, rigorous academic content knowledge, scientifically based
research, and challenging State student academic content standards.
Teacher-preparation programs have a great deal of responsibility in
contributing to the preparation of our Nation's teachers, and this bill
will make sure they are meeting their responsibilities. We owe our
teachers the opportunities they are seeking to become highly qualified
and ready to teach.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill, and I urge my colleagues
to vote ``yes.'' We stand in solidarity and support of America's school
teachers.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I think I have seen this movie before. It was known at
that time as H.R. 2211. It brings to mind, if I could sing I might sing
it, but it seems to me I heard this song before. It is from an old
familiar score. However, despite the fact that we are running this bill
through again, the substance of this bill is certainly acceptable to
this side.
I know this because, as I say, we voted on this before. It is over in
the Senate under its previous title. In fact, we voted on this exact
bill a few months ago. I think it was last year this House reported the
bill by a vote of 404 to 17. And I would hope we would get even more
votes on this second time around today. I intend to support this bill
today again.
Why are we doing this? Why pass the exact same bill in the same
Congress? Why is the House starting to repass the same bills in the
same Congress? I do not think we have had a constitutional amendment
that if a bill passes one House twice, it goes straight to the
President, but nevertheless we are doing that. No one, however,
watching this debate today should be fooled by it. We are not breaking
new ground with this bill. In fact, we are not really even legislating.
The action taken by the House today on this bill and the other two
bills that will follow are really unnecessary. Rather than wasting our
time repassing legislation, as we are today, we should be investing in
America's students and America's families. This investment would mean
increasing Pell grants, holding down tuition, and allowing all students
to benefit from today's low interest rates. The buying power of today's
Pell grant is $500 less in real terms than these grants were worth 30
years ago.
President Bush has frozen the maximum Pell grant over the last 3
years. This bill does not add a single dime to Pell grants. Instead of
expanding college access through increased Pell funding, we are
repassing bills already passed by the House. Tuition has skyrocketed as
States cut their higher education budgets. Tuition has risen by more
than 30 percent since 2001. The Republican answer, repass bills already
considered by the House.
We are at a time of historically low interest rates, the lowest in a
generation. Some individuals who have previously consolidated their
students loans now cannot benefit from these low rates. Instead, they
are trapped with student loans at high interest rates. Is this
legislation going to allow these students to reconsolidate their
student loans at today's low interest rates? The answer is no. Instead
of reducing the cost of college, this Congress is repassing bills
already passed by this House.
Mr. Speaker, I again want to say that I am going to support the
legislation which is before us today. However, we are simply
squandering our time and resources by repassing this bill. This
legislation is not making a single improvement to our higher education
programs, nor does it ensure that a single teacher is more qualified.
Again, Mr. Speaker, though I have seen this movie before, I will
support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
Mr. Speaker, to respond to the refrain from the other side, my good
friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), has heard this hymn
before. I have heard the song that we just heard before. I would say in
the last 3 years we have increased Pell grants $1 billion a year. And
in the last 8 years we have almost doubled the amount of money going
into Pell grants and doubled the amount of young people in our country
that are receiving Pell grants.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Gingrey), the author of my bill, my friend and colleague.
Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from California
(Mr. McKeon), the chairman of the Subcommittee on 21st Century
Competitiveness, and I appreciate his great work on this legislation,
as well as the gentleman from Michigan for this bipartisan bill.
I rise today in support of H.R. 4409, the Teacher Enhancement Act. It
is a
[[Page H3635]]
bill I am proud to offer on behalf of our Nation's school teachers.
H.R. 4409 will help ensure teacher-training programs produce well-
prepared teachers to meet the needs of America's students.
The goals of the Teacher Training Enhancement Act are to increase
student achievement, academic achievement, improve the quality of the
current and future teacher workforce by improving teacher preparation
and enhancing professional development activities, hold teacher-
preparation programs accountable for preparing highly qualified
teachers, and recruit highly qualified individuals from diverse ethnic
and occupational backgrounds into the teaching profession.
As in current law, H.R. 4409 authorizes three types of competitive
grant programs: the State grants, partnership grants, and teacher
recruitment grants. The State grant funds must be used to reform
teacher-preparation requirements, coordinate with the activities set
forth under title II of the No Child Left Behind Act, and ensure that
current and future teachers are indeed highly qualified. Programs
administered through State grants will focus on effective teacher
preparation, placing a renewed emphasis on the skills needed to meet
the highly qualified standard.
The partnership grants allow effective partners to join together,
combining strengths and resources to train highly qualified teachers
and to achieve success in the classroom. Eligible partnerships now must
include four partners: a high qualified teacher-preparation program at
an institution of higher education; second, a college of arts and
sciences; third, a high-need local education agency; and, this is new,
fourth, a public or a private education organization.
These partnerships will require the faculty of the teacher-
preparation program to serve with a highly qualified teacher in the
classroom, allowing effective in-class experience to ensure that we do
have highly qualified teachers who are truly prepared to teach.
As we work to hold teacher-preparation programs accountable for
preparing teachers, the need to recruit individuals into the teaching
profession will only increase. Teacher recruitment grants will help
bring high-quality individuals into teaching programs and ultimately
put more highly qualified teachers into the classroom. H.R. 4409
recognizes the need to ensure high-need local educational agencies are
able to effectively recruit highly qualified teachers and will help
answer that need by increasing the number of teachers being trained.
This bill also includes a new program which is based on provisions
submitted to the Committee on Education and the Workforce by the United
Negro College Fund and the Hispanic Education Coalition to authorize a
teacher-preparation Center of Excellence at minority-serving
institutions. This program will increase teacher recruitment and make
institutional improvements to teacher-preparation programs at minority-
serving institutions.
While current higher education law contains annual reporting and
accountability requirements for institutions of higher education, these
measures have proven ineffective in determining the true quality of
teacher-preparation programs. H.R. 4409 adds an accountability
provision to the Higher Education Act that will strengthen these
current law provisions and hold teacher-preparation programs
accountable for providing accurate and useful information about the
quality of their program.
The bill is specifically designed to align teacher-preparation
programs with the high standards for accountability on the results
provided for in No Child Left Behind. The Teacher Training Enhancement
Act places a strong focus on the quality of teacher preparation, and a
renewed emphasis on the skills needed to meet the ``highly qualified''
definition found in No Child Left Behind.
H.R. 4409 recognizes flexibility should exist in the methods used for
training highly qualified teachers, and it allows funds to be used for
innovative teacher-preparation programs such as charter colleges which
can provide an alternative gateway for teachers to become highly
qualified.
The future competitiveness of our Nation will depend on our ability
to strengthen education at all levels. We need to prepare our teachers
so that they may fulfill the high standards for students' achievement
outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act.
I am pleased, Mr. Speaker, to be offering this bill today which takes
a step in the right direction to ensure that the teachers of tomorrow
have access to the high-quality training they need and deserve. And I
encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill and stand in
support of America's teachers.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), the ranking member on the
Subcommittee on Education Reform.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, you do not have to be a baseball fan to be
familiar with those famous words of Yogi Berra, ``It is like deja vu
all over again.''
Why are we back here on the House floor for a second time to consider
bills to reauthorize teacher education and graduate education in the
Higher Education Act?
The House has already passed these bills. It is time to move forward.
It is time to address the real needs of students. Those real needs are
to make higher education more accessible and more affordable. College
tuition and college tuition fees have increased by almost 30 percent
over the last 3 years. At State schools last year, 49 of the 50 States
increased tuition. The average student debt is now almost $19,000, up
66 percent since 1997. Nearly half of all working postsecondary
students work more than 25 hours a week in order to afford to stay in
school.
What solutions do my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have
for American students? They bring back for the second time two
perfectly fine bills that the House has already passed and that do
nothing to make college more affordable.
What they do not bring to this House floor is H.R. 4283, which would
reauthorize the student loan programs. Well, it is not hard to
understand why my colleagues do not want a public debate on that bill.
H.R. 4283 freezes through the year 2011 the maximum Pell grant, the
greatest source of postsecondary funding for low-income students. It
would eliminate the current fixed rate on consolidated loans which will
force most student borrowers to pay $5,500 more on their student loans.
{time} 1330
It raises interest rates on all student loans, and it does nothing to
address the problem of rapidly rising tuition.
Mr. Speaker, certainly, many in the Chamber should be talking about
higher education, how to help more students go to college, how to help
more students pay for college, not a tired replay of the debate on
these two bills. So do not vote for it. Insist that we do something
more.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), who comes from an experience as a teacher, as
professor, as a coach.
Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from
California (Mr. McKeon) and also the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Gingrey) for bringing this bill to the floor. It seems like we get
involved in extraneous arguments here and do not pay attention to the
specific bill before us. I am sure we will eventually get to student
loans and Pell grants as time goes on.
I am particularly interested in two aspects of this bill. As my
colleague mentioned, I did serve as a faculty member, 2 years as a
young man in graduate school, and then just 3 years ago I again was in
a teacher's college for 2 years. So really there are two aspects of
this bill that are very interesting to me.
One is the issue of accountability. Because we give Federal grants to
colleges and universities for teacher training, and oft-times we really
have no rating as to what the results are. So, as the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) and as the Chairman have mentioned,
accountability is a big part of this bill. So this is done by comparing
one college, one university with another, which I think is very
important, State-by-State comparison.
Then, of course, the Secretary of Education must report to Congress
each year on the overall state of the Nation's teacher training. Some
colleges and universities do a great job of
[[Page H3636]]
training teachers, and some really do a rather poor job, and I think
that will eventually show up.
The second main point of encouragement here is I serve a very rural
district, a lot of small schools, roughly 400 that have 600 or less
students. So, as a result, most of these school districts do not have
somebody teaching advanced math, they do not have somebody teaching
Russian, they do not have somebody teaching German, they have nobody
teaching physics, and so it has to be done by distance learning. A big
part of this bill is to ensure competence on the part of teachers in
terms of technology, the ability to deliver successfully classroom
education via ESUs and via the Internet. So I think this is really
going to serve those schools that are widely dispersed and those
students that are served in very small schools very well.
This is a well-crafted piece of legislation. I want to congratulate
the Chairman and the author.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, on this summer rerun I now yield as much
time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the time.
I think it is very important that the American people understand the
charade that the Republican leadership is engaged in here today. The
two education bills that are being taken up this afternoon, as my
colleague has said, are identical to the education bills that this
House has already passed by large margins. They have simply been
repackaged, dressed up and trotted out again as if they were something
new, but this bill we are considering now was passed last year by the
House by an overwhelming vote of 404 to 17.
I do not think anyone has changed their mind in the House. This is a
good bill, and it should be passed once again, but those who are close
followers of the House of Representatives will begin to see a pattern
here. Just 3 weeks ago, the House leadership brought out three other
pieces of legislation at that time which were ostensibly health-related
issues; and, again, those were three pieces of health legislation that
had already passed the House of Representatives.
So what is going on? Why are we doing this? Why are we wasting
taxpayer dollars? Why are we tying up the time of the House of
Representatives on useless, unnecessary and meaningless exercises?
There is only one answer here, which is to create the illusion with
the American people that the House of Representatives, that the House
Republican leadership is actually doing something new to improve the
higher education system and expand access to college and universities.
We should not be wasting taxpayer dollars on what is simply a PR ploy,
a cynical ploy.
We are facing many challenges in this country. We are facing
challenges abroad. We are facing challenges here at home. In the area
of education, we should get about the business of fully funding No
Child Left Behind. This year's budget is $9 billion short that was
submitted by the White House. Let us fully fund that.
Let us do something about the growing opportunity gap in higher
education. We have got rising tuitions around the country. Federal
support for students has been going down in real terms. Let us try and
close that gap, but, instead, we are doing, as my colleagues have said,
reruns, summer reruns.
This bill today accomplishes nothing new. That is bad enough. What is
worse is that we are trying to create the impression that we are doing
something new.
Sadly, it is a procedural hoax. It is an example of waste, fraud and
abuse: waste of taxpayer dollars to be here and abusing the time of the
House, a fraud on the American people in that we are trying to tell
them we are doing something new when we just did this last year. We do
not have to be doing it again. Abuse of process because we are taking
the same bills, just giving them new bill numbers and telling people we
are going to do something again.
So I think that whether a person is a Democrat or a Republican or
Independent they should be offended by this farce. We should get about
the business of doing something new in the area of education, the area
of higher education, do something about the big problems we face in
this country and not going through meaningless exercises to try and
create the impression that something is new.
Madison Avenue would be very jealous of what is happening here today
in terms of trying to create an impression that something is being done
when it is not.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I am happy that we are here today working on
something to help better our teachers and better education for our
young people.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Burns), a strong member of the committee, a person who was a college
professor for 20 years and knows what he is speaking about.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the time.
I thank the gentleman for bringing this legislation to the floor.
I sat here and I listened to the rhetoric from the other side, and
they do not seem to get it. They do not seem to get that education is
important to America. They do not seem to get the fact that, as we
improve education and teacher training, we can improve America. They do
not seem to get the fact that it is important that the future of our
Nation depends on education.
I want to speak specifically to a portion of this legislation that we
worked out with our colleagues from the other side; and that is the
demand for more ethnically and culturally diverse, highly qualified
teachers. It is critical, especially as the significant growth in the
numbers of minority students in K through 12 is present across our
Nation.
Opportunities that increase the numbers of minority teachers and
enhance their training will support the broader strategies to enhance
instructional opportunities for and can help to eliminate the
achievement gaps of minority students.
According to part C of H.R. 4411, it authorizes the creation of
centers of excellence at high-quality, minority-serving institutions.
During the discussion of H.R. 2211, the Ready to Teach Act, the bill
that we are discussing from last year, I offered an amendment that was
cosponsored by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens) and the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) that authorizes grants for teacher
preparation at centers of excellence that are based on language that
was submitted by the committee or to the committee by the United Negro
College Fund and the Hispanic Education Coalition.
I am pleased that the bill before the House today, H.R. 4409, the
Teacher Enhancement Training Act, also contains this important new
program.
I believe that these centers of excellence will provide minority-
serving institutions that have demonstrated a record of preparing
highly qualified teachers with a leadership role in recruiting and
preparing those teachers and increase the opportunities for Americans
of all educational, of all ethnic and of all geographic backgrounds to
become highly qualified teachers.
In general, the purpose of these centers are to increase teacher
recruitment at minority-serving institutions and make institutional
improvements to teacher preparation programs at these schools.
Mr. Speaker, I have two HBCUs in the 12th district. Paine College in
Augusta and Savannah State University in Savannah will both benefit
from this legislation. They provide grants. Grants are competitively
awarded to high-quality teacher preparation programs at HBCUs, the
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving
Institutions, Tribally-Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska
Native-Serving Institutions and the Native Hawaiian-Serving
Institutions.
This is a good bill. It provides a positive reinforcement for the
future for teachers and teacher training and for minorities across our
Nation. These grants can be used for numerous opportunities at these
institutions to enhance and create opportunities for minorities in the
teaching environment: reforms within teacher preparation programs;
high-quality preservice clinical experiences; initiatives that promote
the retention of highly qualified
[[Page H3637]]
teachers and principals; and scholarships to help teachers pay for
tuition, room, board and other experiences.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, to
support minority-serving institutions and vote yes for H.R. 4409, the
Teacher Training Enhancement Act.
Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4409, the Teacher
Training Enhancement Act, and I would like to thank the gentleman from
Georgia [Representative Gingrey] for his leadership on this issue. The
bill before us complements the No Child Left Behind Act and will help
to improve the quality and accountability of our nation's teacher
preparation programs.
In exchange for significant new funding, the No Child Left Behind Act
calls on states to place a highly qualified teacher in every public
school classroom by the 2005-2006 school year. We can all agree highly
qualified teachers play a pivotal role in the successful education of
our nation's children, and those children deserve nothing less than the
best.
Congress has kept its word to increase funding to help ensure
teachers can become highly qualified--in fact, funding for teacher
quality grants increased by 35 percent in the first year of No Child
Left Behind alone. We're providing the resources, and this bill will
build on that effort by ensuring our teachers are highly qualified and
prepared to teach.
There is no doubt highly qualified teachers are essential if we are
to provide every child in America with a high quality education. In
fact, the future competitiveness of our workforce is directly dependent
on the quality of education in our schools. Today's students are
tomorrow's workers, and highly qualified teachers play a vital role in
providing our students with the skills and knowledge they need to
succeed. Yet the nation's teacher training programs suffer from a
serious lack of accountability, and this time it's the teachers who are
being left behind.
The bill before us today takes important steps to ensure teacher
training programs are giving prospective teachers the skills and
knowledge they need to meet the highly qualified standard in No Child
Left Behind. Let's be clear on this point: this bill is about
supporting our teachers. We're expecting a lot from them, and they
deserve high quality training programs that will ensure they are ready
to teach when they step into the classroom.
This legislation makes several improvements to Title II of the Higher
Education Act to strengthen the programs that train the teachers of
tomorrow. This bill is about helping teachers, pure and simple--giving
them the tools and training they need to meet the needs of the nation's
students.
H.R. 4409 authorizes competitively awarded grants under the Higher
Education Act to: increase the quality our teaching force by improving
teacher preparation and enhancing professional development; hold
teacher preparation programs accountable for preparing highly qualified
teachers; and recruit highly qualified individuals, including
minorities and individuals from other occupations, into the teaching
force.
The Teacher Training Enhancement Act ensures program effectiveness
can be accurately measured and places a renewed emphasis on the skills
needed to meet the ``highly qualified'' standard found in the No Child
Left Behind Act. This includes areas such as: the use of advanced
technology in the classroom, rigorous academic content knowledge,
scientifically based research, and challenging state student academic
standards.
Under this bill, funds can also be used to recruit individuals, and
specifically minorities, into the teaching profession. This bill allows
for the creation of Centers of Excellence at high quality minority
serving institutions. These Centers of Excellence will help increase
teacher recruitment and strengthen teacher preparation programs at
minority serving institutions.
As we work to place highly qualified teachers in classrooms across
the nation, I'm particularly pleased that the Teacher Training
Enhancement Act allows for innovative programs that provide alternative
options to the traditional teacher training programs. Proposals
outlined in the bill, such as charter colleges of education, provide a
much-needed alternate route to training highly qualified and effective
teachers.
This bill recognizes that individuals seeking to enter the teaching
profession often have varied backgrounds. And by creating flexible
approaches that step outside the box, these individuals can become
highly qualified teachers through training programs as unique as their
individual experiences.
H.R. 4409 will also bolster accountability so that the effectiveness
of teacher training programs can be measured. While current higher
education law contains annual reporting requirements, these measures
have proven ineffective in gauging the true quality of teacher training
programs. In fact, the current requirements have sometimes been
manipulated, leaving data skewed and often irrelevant. This bill will
strengthen reporting measures and hold teacher preparation programs
accountable for providing accurate and useful information.
A highly educated workforce is critical to America's future
competitiveness. And the quality of education is directly related to
the quality of teachers entrusted with the vital task of educating our
students. I've said it before and I'll say it again; we are expecting a
lot from teachers, and they deserve our full support. This bill will do
exactly that--support the teachers of tomorrow, and the teaching
profession as a whole, by strengthening teacher training. Our teachers
deserve it, our schools deserve it, and our students deserve it. Mr.
Speaker, I strongly support this bill and encourage my colleagues to do
the same.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4409, the Teacher
Training Enhancement Act, which will strengthen teacher training
programs to ensure teachers are highly-qualified and ready to teach
when they enter the classroom.
A year and a half ago, the President signed the No Child Left Behind
Act into law. Ever since states and school districts across the country
have been answering its call to reform. The Teacher Training
Enhancement Act follows the momentum of No Child Left Behind and meets
its requirement to place a highly qualified teacher in every classroom.
A requirement of great import, as the value of a qualified teacher on a
student's ability to learn has been proven, over and over again. H.R.
4409 achieves this by making improvements to the Higher Education Act
to help ensure teacher training programs are producing highly qualified
teachers to meet the needs of America's students.
All states and nearly all teacher education programs in the country
are affected by general accountability provisions in this legislation.
Schools receiving federal funds must report annually on the quality of
teacher preparation, including information on the pass rates of their
graduates on initial certification assessments. Higher education
institutions enrolling federally-aided students in their teacher
preparation programs must report annually detailing, among other
things, the certification pass rates of graduates.
Unfortunately, this data has proven ineffective in measuring the true
quality of teacher preparation programs. Current requirements have
often been manipulated, leaving data skewed and often irrelevant. For
example, if a student fails to pass the state certification exam, upon
completion of the institution's program, the school will award them a
degree in another field rather than in education. A school will only
award students an education degree if that student has passed the state
exam. That way, the school will always have a 100 percent pass rate.
H.R. 4409 sets forth more useful information. This includes requiring a
school to report on all students who have completed 50 percent of the
program and requiring an average score of students rather than the pass
rates.
We are fortunate in the State of Delaware to have the University of
Delaware's Elementary Teacher Education program. In many ways the
University of Delaware has already begun to address the need to have a
highly qualified teacher in our classrooms. They have been innovative
and forward thinking always recognizing the importance of providing
their students with a strong academic base as well as a practical
experience.
In their freshman year at the University of Delaware, students
participate in field experiences in the school setting. Freshmen have
the opportunity to observe, tutor, and offer general assistance in the
classroom. As sophomores and juniors, the experiences include planning,
implementing, and assessing limited instructional units with small
groups or an entire class. As seniors, students become engaged in an
extended student teaching experience.
Technology is integrated throughout the curriculum and all students
will graduate with the skills necessary to utilize technology in their
instructional planning. The Elementary Teacher Education program's goal
is to prepare teachers who are reflective practitioners serving a
diverse community of learners as scholars, problem solvers and
partners.
I am committed to ensuring No Child Left Behind is a success for
America's children. The Committee and this Congress have been working
since passage to ensure other laws in the education arena are aligned
with No Child Left Behind. We have accomplished this with IDEA, Head
Start and hopefully today with the Teacher Training Enhancement Act. I
encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 4409.
Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this carbon copy of H.R.
2211 and urge its adoption; and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I ask
that my colleagues support this legislation, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Quinn). The question is on the motion
[[Page H3638]]
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4409.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________