§ 6651. National activities of demonstrated effectiveness

(a) National teacher recruitment campaign

The Secretary is authorized to establish and carry out a national teacher recruitment campaign, which may include activities carried out through the National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse, to assist high-need local educational agencies in recruiting teachers (particularly those activities that are effective in retaining new teachers) and training teachers and to conduct a national public service campaign concerning the resources for, and the routes to, entering the field of teaching. In carrying out the campaign, the Secretary may promote and link the activities of the campaign to the information and referral activities of the National Teacher Recruitment Clearinghouse. The Secretary shall coordinate activities under this subsection with State and regional recruitment activities.

(b) School leadership

(1) In general

The Secretary is authorized to establish and carry out a national principal recruitment program to assist high-need local educational agencies in recruiting and training principals (including assistant principals) through such activities as—

(A) providing financial incentives to aspiring new principals;

(B) providing stipends to principals who mentor new principals;

(D) providing incentives that are appropriate for teachers or individuals from other fields who want to become principals and that are effective in retaining new principals.

(2) Grants

If the Secretary uses sums made available under section 6603 (b) of this title to carry out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall carry out such paragraph by making grants, on a competitive basis, to—

(A) high-need local educational agencies;

(B) consortia of high-need local educational agencies; and

(1) In general

The Secretary is authorized to support activities to encourage and support teachers seeking advanced certification or advanced credentialing through high quality professional teacher enhancement programs designed to improve teaching and learning.

(2) Implementation

In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make grants to eligible entities to—

(A) develop teacher standards that include measures tied to increased student academic achievement; and

(B) promote outreach, teacher recruitment, teacher subsidy, or teacher support programs, related to teacher certification or credentialing by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the National Council on Teacher Quality, or other nationally recognized certification or credentialing organizations.

(3) Eligible entities

In this subsection, the term “eligible entity” includes—

(A) a State educational agency;

(B) a local educational agency;

(C) the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, in partnership with a high-need local educational agency or a State educational agency;

(D) the National Council on Teacher Quality, in partnership with a high-need local educational agency or a State educational agency; or

(E) another recognized entity, including another recognized certification or credentialing organization, in partnership with a high-need local educational agency or a State educational agency.

(d) Special education teacher training

The Secretary is authorized to award a grant to the University of Northern Colorado to enable such university to provide, to other institutions of higher education, assistance in training special education teachers.

(e) Early childhood educator professional development

(1) Purpose

The purpose of this subsection is to enhance the school readiness of young children, particularly disadvantaged young children, and to prevent young children from encountering difficulties once the children enter school, by improving the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators who work in communities that have high concentrations of children living in poverty.

(2) Program authorized

(A) Grants to partnerships

The Secretary is authorized to carry out the purpose of this subsection by awarding grants, on a competitive basis, to partnerships consisting of—

(i)

(I) one or more institutions of higher education that provide professional development for early childhood educators who work with children from low-income families in high-need communities; or

(II) another public or private entity that provides such professional development;

(ii) one or more public agencies ( ^[1] including local educational agencies, State educational agencies, State human services agencies, and State and local agencies administering programs under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), Head Start agencies, or private organizations; and

(iii) to the extent feasible, an entity with demonstrated experience in providing training to educators in early childhood education programs concerning identifying and preventing behavior problems or working with children identified as or suspected to be victims of abuse.

(B) Duration and number of grants

(i) Duration The Secretary shall award grants under this subsection for periods of not more than 4 years.

(ii) Number No partnership may receive more than one grant under this subsection.

(3) Applications

(A) Applications required

Any partnership that desires to receive a grant under this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

(B) Contents

Each such application shall include—

(i) a description of the high-need community to be served by the project proposed to be carried out through the grant, including such demographic and socioeconomic information as the Secretary may request;

(ii) information on the quality of the early childhood educator professional development program currently conducted (as of the date of the submission of the application) by the institution of higher education or another provider in the partnership;

(iii) the results of a needs assessment that the entities in the partnership have undertaken to determine the most critical professional development needs of the early childhood educators to be served by the partnership and in the broader community, and a description of how the proposed project will address those needs;

(iv) a description of how the proposed project will be carried out, including a description of—

(I) how individuals will be selected to participate;

(II) the types of professional development activities, based on scientifically based research, that will be carried out;

(III) how research on effective professional development and on adult learning will be used to design and deliver project activities;

(IV) how the project will be coordinated with and build on, and will not supplant or duplicate, early childhood education professional development activities in the high-need community;

(V) how the project will train early childhood educators to provide developmentally appropriate school-readiness services that are based on the best available research on early childhood pedagogy and child development and learning domains;

(VI) how the project will train early childhood educators to meet the diverse educational needs of children in the community, including children who have limited English proficiency, children with disabilities, or children with other special needs; and

(VII) how the project will train early childhood educators in identifying and preventing behavioral problems in children or working with children identified as or suspected to be victims of abuse;

(v) a description of—

(I) the specific objectives that the partnership will seek to attain through the project, and the methods that the partnership will use to measure progress toward attainment of those objectives; and

(II) how the objectives and the measurement methods align with the achievement indicators established by the Secretary under paragraph (6)(A);

(vi) a description of the partnership’s plan for continuing the activities carried out under the project after Federal funding ceases;

(vii) an assurance that, where applicable, the project will provide appropriate professional development to volunteers working directly with young children, as well as to paid staff; and

(viii) an assurance that, in developing the application and in carrying out the project, the partnership has consulted with, and will consult with, relevant agencies, early childhood educator organizations, and early childhood providers that are not members of the partnership.

(4) Selection of grant recipients

(A) Criteria

The Secretary shall select partnerships to receive grants under this subsection on the basis of the degree to which the communities proposed to be served require assistance and the quality of the applications submitted under paragraph (3).

(B) Geographic distribution

In selecting partnerships to receive grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall seek to ensure that communities in different regions of the Nation, as well as both urban and rural communities, are served.

(5) Uses of funds

(A) In general

Each partnership receiving a grant under this subsection shall use the grant funds to carry out activities that will improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators who are working in early childhood programs that are located in high-need communities and serve concentrations of children from low-income families.

(B) Allowable activities

Such activities may include—

(i) professional development for early childhood educators, particularly to familiarize those educators with the application of recent research on child, language, and literacy development and on early childhood pedagogy;

(ii) professional development for early childhood educators in working with parents, so that the educators and parents can work together to provide and support developmentally appropriate school-readiness services that are based on scientifically based research on early childhood pedagogy and child development and learning domains;

(iii) professional development for early childhood educators to work with children who have limited English proficiency, children with disabilities, and children with other special needs;

(iv) professional development to train early childhood educators in identifying and preventing behavioral problems in children or working with children identified as or suspected to be victims of abuse;

(v) activities that assist and support early childhood educators during their first 3 years in the field;

(vi) development and implementation of early childhood educator professional development programs that make use of distance learning and other technologies;

(vii) professional development activities related to the selection and use of screening and diagnostic assessments to improve teaching and learning; and

(viii) data collection, evaluation, and reporting needed to meet the requirements of paragraph (6) relating to accountability.

(6) Accountability

(A) Achievement indicators

On the date on which the Secretary first issues a notice soliciting applications for grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall announce achievement indicators for this subsection, which shall be designed—

(i) to measure the quality and accessibility of the professional development provided;

(ii) to measure the impact of that professional development on the early childhood education provided by the individuals who receive the professional development; and

(iii) to provide such other measures of program impact as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

(B) Annual reports; termination

(i) Annual reports Each partnership receiving a grant under this subsection shall report annually to the Secretary on the partnership’s progress toward attaining the achievement indicators.

(ii) Termination The Secretary may terminate a grant under this subsection at any time if the Secretary determines that the partnership receiving the grant is not making satisfactory progress toward attaining the achievement indicators.

(7) Cost-sharing

(A) In general

Each partnership carrying out a project through a grant awarded under this subsection shall provide, from sources other than the program carried out under this subsection, which may include Federal sources—

(i) at least 50 percent of the total cost of the project for the grant period; and

(ii) at least 20 percent of the project cost for each year.

(B) Acceptable contributions

A partnership may meet the requirements of subparagraph (A) by providing contributions in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, and services.

The Secretary may waive or modify the requirements of subparagraph (A) for partnerships in cases of demonstrated financial hardship.

(8) Federal coordination

The Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall coordinate activities carried out through programs under this subsection with activities carried out through other early childhood programs administered by the Secretary or the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(9) Definitions

In this subsection:

(A) Early childhood educator

The term “early childhood educator” means a person providing, or employed by a provider of, nonresidential child care services (including center-based, family-based, and in-home child care services) that is legally operating under State law, and that complies with applicable State and local requirements for the provision of child care services to children at any age from birth through the age at which a child may start kindergarten in that State.

(B) High-need community

(i) In general The term “high-need community” means—

(I) a political subdivision of a State, or a portion of a political subdivision of a State, in which at least 50 percent of the children are from low-income families; or

(II) a political subdivision of a State that is among the 10 percent of political subdivisions of the State having the greatest numbers of such children.

(ii) Determination In determining which communities are described in clause (i), the Secretary shall use such data as the Secretary determines are most accurate and appropriate.

The term “low-income family” means a family with an income below the poverty line for the most recent fiscal year for which satisfactory data are available.

(f) Teacher mobility

(1) Establishment

The Secretary is authorized to establish a panel to be known as the National Panel on Teacher Mobility (referred to in this subsection as the “panel”).

(2) Membership

The panel shall be composed of 12 members appointed by the Secretary. The Secretary shall appoint the members from among practitioners and experts with experience relating to teacher mobility, such as teachers, members of teacher certification or licensing bodies, faculty of institutions of higher education that prepare teachers, and State policymakers with such experience.

(3) Period of appointment; vacancies

Members shall be appointed for the life of the panel. Any vacancy in the panel shall not affect the powers of the panel, but shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

(4) Duties

(A) Study

(i) In general The panel shall study strategies for increasing mobility and employment opportunities for highly qualified teachers, especially for States with teacher shortages and States with school districts or schools that are difficult to staff.

(ii) Data and analysis As part of the study, the panel shall evaluate the desirability and feasibility of State initiatives that support teacher mobility by collecting data and conducting effective analysis concerning—

(I) teacher supply and demand;

(II) the development of recruitment and hiring strategies that support teachers; and

(III) increasing reciprocity of certification and licensing across States.

(B) Report

Not later than 1 year after the date on which all members of the panel have been appointed, the panel shall submit to the Secretary and to the appropriate committees of Congress a report containing the results of the study.

(5) Powers

(A) Hearings

The panel may hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence as the panel considers advisable to carry out the objectives of this subsection.

(B) Information from Federal agencies

The panel may secure directly from any Federal department or agency such information as the panel considers necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection. Upon request of a majority of the members of the panel, the head of such department or agency shall furnish such information to the panel.

The panel may use the United States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as other departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

(6) Personnel

(A) Travel expenses

The members of the panel shall not receive compensation for the performance of services for the panel, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the panel. Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, the Secretary may accept the voluntary and uncompensated services of members of the panel.

(B) Detail of Government employees

Any Federal Government employee may be detailed to the panel without reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege.

(7) Permanent committee

Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the panel.

[1] So in original. There is no closing parenthesis.

U.S. Code

§ 6651. National activities of demonstrated effectiveness