HR 3345 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To authorize the Secretary of Education to establish a competitive demonstration grant program to provide funds for local educational agencies in order to increase the effectiveness of substitute teaching, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

August 2, 2007

Mr. PAYNE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and LaborCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To authorize the Secretary of Education to establish a competitive demonstration grant program to provide funds for local educational agencies in order to increase the effectiveness of substitute teaching, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Substitute Teaching Improvement Act'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) As much as one full year of a child's elementary and secondary education is taught by substitute teachers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Less than one in four school districts provide training for substitute teachers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) No training is given to substitute teachers in 77 percent of school districts in the United States.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) Over half (56 percent) of school districts never have a face-to-face interview with substitute teaching candidates.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) Poorly trained substitute teachers have a negative impact on student academic performance and achievement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) Schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged populations are more likely to be taught by less qualified permanent teachers and under-prepared substitute teachers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) Nine out of the ten lowest-ranked States in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) testing allowed substitute teachers with only a high school diploma to teach in their schools.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) In fact, in 28 States, principals may hire anyone with a high school diploma or a general equivalency diploma (GED) who is age 18 years of age or older.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(9) Schools with lower academic achievement are twice as likely to allow less qualified substitutes in the classroom.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(10) On any given day in the United States, more than 270,000 classes are taught by substitute teachers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(11) Formal training of substitute teachers has been shown to improve the quality of education, lower school district liability, reduce the number of student and faculty complaints, and increase retention rates of substitute teachers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHING A PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SUBSTITUTE TEACHING.

(a) In General- The Secretary of Education is authorized to make competitive demonstration grants to eligible local educational agencies for the purposes of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) increasing the effectiveness of substitute teaching through a comprehensive training program for substitute teachers, principals, permanent classroom teachers, and district managers of substitute teachers; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) evaluating the effectiveness of the program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Eligible Local Educational Agency- In this Act, the term `eligible local educational agency' means--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) a high-need local educational agency; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) a partnership of a high-need local educational agency and an institution of higher education, or non-profit education organization.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. USE OF FUNDS.

A local educational agency that receives a grant under section 3 shall use the funds made available through the grant--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) to train substitute teachers in--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) classroom management;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) effective teaching strategies that address a variety of student learning needs and styles;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) teacher professionalism; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) educational laws and issues;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) to train principals and permanent teachers in effectively integrating substitute teachers in school operations, such as--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) best practices in recruiting and retaining substitutes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) best practices in preparing students for substitutes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) proper planning and follow-up for substitutes; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) use of permanent substitutes;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) to develop a resource kit for substitute teachers that contains--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) short whole-class critical thinking activities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) independent student activities; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) teacher-directed activities and lessons organized by subject matter; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) to collect data on substitute teachers and the practices for managing substitute teachers in participating districts, including information on the--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) demand for substitute teachers;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) qualifications of substitute teachers;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) number and percentage of substitute teachers that receive some form of training prior to entering the classroom; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) number of complaints registered against substitute teachers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND REPORTS.

(a) Study on Substitute Teaching- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall commission a national independent evaluation of the prevalence of substitute teaching and current State and local efforts to improve the effectiveness of substitute teaching and their impact on student achievement. The Secretary shall report the findings of the evaluation to the Congress not later than two years after the date on which the study is commissioned.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Impact of Funded Programs- Not later than 1 year after the date on which the last demonstration grant made under section 3 expires, the Secretary of Education shall submit a report to the Congress describing the impact on student achievement of programs funded under this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2009 through 2012.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink