To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide technology for tomorrow's teachers.

May 3, 2001

Mr. WU (for himself, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. POMEROY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, and Mr. WELDON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide technology for tomorrow's teachers.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `XXXXX Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. TECHNOLOGY FOR TOMORROW'S TEACHERS.

Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new part:

`PART G--TEACHING TECHNOLOGY FOR THE FUTURE

`SEC. 3701. PURPOSE; PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

`(a) PURPOSE- The purpose of this part is to assist consortia of public and private entities in carrying out programs that prepare prospective teachers to use advanced technology to enable all students to achieve to challenging State and local content and student performance standards.

`(b) PROGRAM AUTHORITY-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary is authorized, through the Office of Educational Technology, to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements on a competitive basis to eligible applicants in order to assist them in developing or redesigning teacher preparation programs to enable prospective teachers to use technology effectively in their classrooms.

`(2) PERIOD OF AWARD- The Secretary may award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under this part for a period of not more than 5 years.

`SEC. 3702. ELIGIBILITY.

`(a) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS- In order to receive an award under this part, an eligible applicant shall be a consortium that includes--

`(1) at least one institution of higher education that offers a baccalaureate degree and prepares teachers for their initial entry into teaching, is in full compliance with all of the reporting requirements of section 207(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1027(f)), and has not been identified by the State as low performing under section 208 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1028);

`(2) at least one State educational agency or local educational agency with a high number or percentage of children in poverty; and

`(3) one or more of the following entities:

`(A) An institution of higher education (other than the institution described in paragraph (1)).

`(B) A school or department of education at an institution of higher education that is in full compliance with all of the reporting requirements of section 207 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1027) and has not been identified by their State as low performing under section 208 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1028).

`(C) A school or college of arts and sciences at an institution of higher education that is in full compliance with the reporting requirements of section 207(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1027(f)) and has not bee identified by its State as low performing under section 208 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1028).

`(D) A professional association, foundation, museum, library, for-profit business, public or private nonprofit organization, community-based organization, or other entity with the demonstrated capacity to contribute to the technology-related reform of teacher preparation programs.

`(b) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS- In order to receive an award under this part, an eligible applicant shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, and containing such information, as the Secretary may require. Such application shall include--

`(1) a description of the proposed project and how the project shall--

`(A) ensure that individuals participating in the project would be prepared to use technology to enable all students to achieve to challenging State and local content and student performance standards, and integrate such technology into their instructional practices; and

`(B) include the adoption of specific, quantifiable objectives that the program will achieve over the duration of the award;

`(2) a demonstration of--

`(A) the commitment, including the financial commitment, of each of the members of the consortium; and

`(B) the active support of the leadership of each member of the consortium for the proposed project;

`(3) a description of how each member of the consortium would be included in project activities;

`(4) a description of how the proposed project would be continued once the Federal funds awarded under this part end; and

`(5) a plan for the evaluation of the program, which shall include annual measurable benchmarks to monitor progress toward specific project objectives, as described in paragraph (1)(B).

`(c) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Federal share of the cost of any project funded under this part shall not exceed 50 percent. Except as provided in paragraph (2), the non-Federal share of such project may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including services.

`(2) ACQUISITION OF EQUIPMENT- Not more than 10 percent of the funds awarded for a project under this part may be used to acquire equipment, networking capabilities or infrastructure, and the non-Federal share of the cost of any such acquisition shall be in cash.

`SEC. 3703. USES OF FUNDS.

`(a) REQUIRED USES- A recipient shall use funds under this part for--

`(1) creating programs that enable prospective teachers to use advanced technology to prepare all students to achieve to challenging State and local content and student performance standards in the core academic subjects and integrate such technology into their instructional practices; and

`(2) evaluating the effectiveness of the project.

`(b) PERMISSIBLE USES- A recipient may use funds under this part for activities, described in its application, that carry out the purpose of this part, such as--

`(1) developing and implementing high-quality teacher preparation programs that enable educators to--

`(A) learn the full range of resources that can be accessed through the use of technology;

`(B) integrate a variety of technologies into the classroom in order to expand students' knowledge;

`(C) evaluate educational technologies and their potential for use in instruction; and

`(D) help students develop their own technical skills and digital learning environments;

`(2) developing alternative teacher development paths that provide elementary and secondary schools with well-prepared, technology-proficient educators;

`(3) developing performance-based standards and aligned assessments to measure the capacity of prospective teachers to use technology effectively in their classrooms;

`(4) providing technical assistance to other teacher preparation programs;

`(5) developing and disseminating resources and information in order to assist institutions of higher education to prepare teachers to use technology effectively in their classrooms; and

`(6) subject to section 3702(c)(2), acquiring equipment, networking capabilities, and infrastructure to carry out the project.'.

END