(a) In general From amounts made available under section
1030 (1) of this title 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) of this section.
(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 and the individual, entity, or agency designated under paragraph (1) 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, at the time of the initial grant application, submit an application to the Secretary that
(1) meets the requirement of this section;
(2) includes a description of how the eligible State intends to use funds provided under this section; and
(3) 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, and to ensure that current and future teachers possess the necessary teaching skills and academic content knowledge in the subject areas in which the teachers are assigned to teach, by carrying out 1 or more of the following activities:
(1) Reforms
Implementing reforms that hold institutions of higher education with teacher preparation programs accountable for preparing teachers who are highly competent in the academic content areas in which the teachers plan to teach, and possess strong teaching skills, which may include the use of rigorous subject matter competency tests and the requirement that a teacher have an academic major in the subject area, or related discipline, in which the teacher plans to teach.
(2) Certification or licensure requirements
Reforming teacher certification or licensure requirements to ensure that teachers have the necessary teaching skills and academic content knowledge in the subject areas in which teachers are assigned to teach.
(3) Alternatives to traditional preparation for teaching Providing prospective teachers with alternatives to traditional preparation for teaching through programs at colleges of arts and sciences or at
nonprofit">
nonprofit educational organizations.
(4) Alternative routes to State certification Carrying out programs that
(A) include support during the initial teaching experience; and
(B) establish, expand, or improve alternative routes to State certification of teachers for highly qualified individuals, including mid-career professionals from other occupations, paraprofessionals, former military personnel and recent college graduates with records of academic distinction.
(5) Recruitment; pay; removal
Developing and implementing effective mechanisms to ensure that local educational agencies and schools are able to effectively recruit highly qualified teachers, to financially reward those teachers and principals whose students have made significant progress toward high academic performance, such as through performance-based compensation systems and access to ongoing professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators, and to expeditiously remove incompetent or unqualified teachers consistent with procedures to ensure due process for the teachers.
(6) Social promotion
Development and implementation of efforts to address the problem of social promotion and to prepare teachers to effectively address the issues raised by ending the practice of social promotion.
(7) Recruitment Activities described in section
1024 (d) of this title.
