§ 9833. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs

(a) Program authorized

From the amounts appropriated under subsection (l), the Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to carry out the authorized activities described in subsection (g).

(b) Duration of grants

The Secretary may award grants under this section for a period of not more than 5 years.

The Secretary shall coordinate the activities carried out under this section with the activities carried out under section 6535 of this title.

(d) Priority

In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that are part of a statewide strategy for increasing—

(1) the availability of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, and critical foreign languages, and pre-Advanced Placement or pre-International Baccalaureate courses in such subjects, in high-need schools; and

(2) the number of students who participate in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, and critical foreign language in high-need schools, and take and score a 3, 4, or 5 on an Advanced Placement examination in such a subject, or pass an examination administered by the International Baccalaureate Organization in such a subject in such schools.

(e) Equitable distribution

The Secretary, to the extent practicable, shall—

(1) ensure an equitable geographic distribution of grants under this section among the States; and

(2) promote an increase in participation in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate mathematics, science, and critical foreign language courses and examinations in all States.

(f) Application

(1) In general

Each eligible entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(2) Contents

The application shall, at a minimum, include a description of—

(A) the goals and objectives for the project, including—

(i) increasing the number of teachers serving high-need schools who are qualified to teach Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or critical foreign languages;

(ii) increasing the number of qualified teachers serving high-need schools who are teaching Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or critical foreign languages to students in the high-need schools;

(iii) increasing the number of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, and critical foreign languages that are available to students attending high-need schools; and

(iv) increasing the number of students attending a high-need school, particularly low-income students, who enroll in and pass—

(I) Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or critical foreign languages; and

(II) pre-Advanced Placement or pre-International Baccalaureate courses in such a subject (where provided in accordance with subparagraph (B));

(B) how the eligible entity will ensure that students have access to courses, including pre-Advanced Placement and pre-International Baccalaureate courses, that will prepare the students to enroll and succeed in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or critical foreign languages;

(D) how the eligible entity will ensure that teachers serving high-need schools are qualified to teach Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or critical foreign languages;

(E) how the eligible entity will provide for the involvement of business and community organizations and other entities, including institutions of higher education, in the activities to be assisted; and

(F) how the eligible entity will use funds received under this section, including how the eligible entity will evaluate the success of its project.

(g) Authorized activities

(1) In general

Each eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to carry out activities designed to increase—

(A) the number of qualified teachers serving high-need schools who are teaching Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or critical foreign languages; and

(B) the number of students attending high-need schools who enroll in, and pass, the examinations for such Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses.

(2) Permissive activities

The activities described in paragraph (1) may include—

(A) teacher professional development, in order to expand the pool of teachers in the participating State, local educational agency, or high-need school who are qualified to teach Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or critical foreign languages;

(B) pre-Advanced Placement or pre-International Baccalaureate course development and professional development;

(C) coordination and articulation between grade levels to prepare students to enroll and succeed in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or critical foreign languages;

(D) purchase of instructional materials;

(E) activities to increase the availability of, and participation in, online Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, and critical foreign languages;

(F) reimbursing low-income students attending high-need schools for part or all of the cost of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate examination fees;

(G) carrying out subsection (j), relating to collecting and reporting data;

(H) in the case of a State educational agency that receives a grant under this section, awarding subgrants to local educational agencies to enable the local educational agencies to carry out authorized activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (G); and

(I) providing salary increments or bonuses to teachers serving high-need schools who—

(i) become qualified to teach, and teach, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or a critical foreign language; or

(ii) increase the number of low-income students, who take Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate examinations in mathematics, science, or a critical foreign language with the goal of successfully passing such examinations.

(h) Matching requirement

(1) In general

Subject to paragraph (2), each eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall provide, toward the cost of the activities assisted under the grant, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 200 percent of the amount of the grant, except that an eligible entity that is a high-need local educational agency shall provide an amount equal to not more than 100 percent of the amount of the grant.

(2) Waiver

The Secretary may waive all or part of the matching requirement described in paragraph (1) for any fiscal year for an eligible entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 9832 (2) of this title, if the Secretary determines that applying the matching requirement to such eligible entity would result in serious hardship or an inability to carry out the authorized activities described in subsection (g).

(i) Supplement not supplant

Grant funds provided under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other Federal and non-Federal funds available to carry out the activities described in subsection (g).

(j) Collecting and reporting requirements

(1) Report

Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall collect and report to the Secretary annually such data on the results of the grant as the Secretary may reasonably require, including data regarding—

(A) the number of students enrolling in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or a critical foreign language, and pre-Advanced Placement or pre-International Baccalaureate courses in such a subject, by the grade the student is enrolled in, and the distribution of grades those students receive;

(B) the number of students taking Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate examinations in mathematics, science, or a critical foreign language, and the distribution of scores on those examinations by the grade the student is enrolled in at the time of the examination;

(C) the number of teachers receiving training in teaching Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or a critical foreign language who will be teaching such courses in the next school year;

(D) the number of teachers becoming qualified to teach Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or a critical foreign language; and

(E) the number of qualified teachers who are teaching Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses in mathematics, science, or critical foreign languages to students in a high-need school.

(2) Reporting of data

Each eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall report data required under paragraph (1)—

(A) disaggregated by subject area;

(B) in the case of student data, disaggregated in the same manner as information is disaggregated under section 6311 (h)(1)(C)(i) of this title; and

(k) Evaluation and report

From the amount made available for any fiscal year under subsection (l), the Secretary shall reserve such sums as may be necessary—

(1) to conduct an annual independent evaluation, by grant or by contract, of the program carried out under this section, which shall include an assessment of the impact of the program on student academic achievement; and

(2) to prepare and submit an annual report on the results of the evaluation described in paragraph (1) to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives, and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and House of Representatives.

(l) Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 2 succeeding fiscal years.

U.S. Code

§ 9833. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs