(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 State and an eligible partnership may receive a grant under each of sections
1022,
1023, and
1024 of this title 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
1022 of this title, give priority to eligible States serving States that
(i) have initiatives to reform State teacher certification requirements that are designed 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 certified or licensed to teach;
(ii) include innovative reforms to hold institutions of higher education with teacher preparation programs accountable for preparing teachers who are highly competent in the academic content area in which the teachers plan to teach and have strong teaching skills; or
(iii) involve the development of innovative efforts aimed at reducing the shortage of highly qualified teachers in high poverty urban and rural areas;
(B) with respect to grants under section
1023 of this title
(i) give priority to applications from eligible partnerships that involve businesses; 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
1022 or
1024 of this title 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
1023 or
1024 of this title 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.
(e) Teacher qualifications provided to parents upon request Any local educational agency or
school that benefits from the activities assisted under this part shall make available, upon request and in an understandable and uniform format, to any parent of a
student attending any
school served by the local educational agency, information regarding the qualification of the students classroom teacher with regard to the subject matter in which the teacher provides instruction. The local educational agency shall inform parents that the parents are entitled to receive the information upon request.
