HR 5848 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize a program to prepare teachers for digital age learners.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

April 17, 2008

Mr. HOLT (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, and Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and LaborCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize a program to prepare teachers for digital age learners.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 `Preparing Teachers for Digital Age Learners Act of 2008'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. TEACHER PREPARATION.

Part B of title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1041 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`PART B--PREPARING TEACHERS FOR DIGITAL AGE LEARNERS

`SEC. 221. DEFINITIONS.

`For purposes of this part:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) ARTS AND SCIENCES- The term `arts and sciences' means--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) when referring to an organizational unit of an institution of higher education, any academic unit that offers 1 or more academic majors in disciplines or content areas corresponding to the academic subject matter areas in which teachers provide instruction; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) when referring to a specific academic subject area, the disciplines or content areas in which academic majors are offered by the arts and sciences organizational unit.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL- The term `high-need school' means a public elementary school or public secondary school that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) is among the highest 25 percent of schools served by the local educational agency that serves the school, in terms of the percentage of students from families with incomes below the poverty line; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) is designated with a school locale code of Rural: Fringe, Rural: Distant, or Rural: Remote, as determined by the Secretary.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) POVERTY LINE- The term `poverty line' means the poverty line (as defined in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to a family of the size involved.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT- The term `professional development' has the meaning given the term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 222. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

`(a) Program Authority- The Secretary is authorized to award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, eligible consortia to pay the Federal share of the costs of projects to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) graduate teacher candidates who are prepared to use modern information, communication, and learning tools to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) improve student learning, assessment, and learning management; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) help students develop skills to succeed in higher education and enter the workforce; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) strengthen and develop partnerships among the stakeholders in teacher preparation to transform teacher education and ensure technology rich learning environments throughout a teacher candidate's pre-service education, including clinical experiences.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Amount and Duration- A grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this part--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) shall be for not more than $2,000,000;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) shall be for a 3-year period; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) may be renewed for one additional year.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Non-Federal Share Requirement- The Federal share of the cost of any project funded under this part shall not exceed 75 percent. The non-Federal share of the cost of such project may be provided in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including services.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Definition of Eligible Consortium- In this part, the term `eligible consortium' means a consortium of members that includes the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) At least one institution of higher education that awards baccalaureate or masters degrees and prepares teachers for initial entry into teaching.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) At least one State educational agency or local educational agency.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) A department, school, or college of education at an institution of higher education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) A department, school, or college of arts and sciences at an institution of higher education.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(5) At least one entity with the capacity to contribute to the technology-related reform of teacher preparation programs, which may be a professional association, foundation, museum, library, for-profit business, public or private nonprofit organization, community-based organization, or other entity.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 223. USES OF FUNDS.

`(a) In General- An eligible consortium that receives a grant or enters into a contract or cooperative agreement under this part shall use funds made available under this part to carry out a project that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) develops long-term partnerships among members of the consortium that are focused on effective teaching with modern digital tools and content that substantially connect pre-service preparation of teacher candidates with high-needs schools; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) transforms the way departments, schools, and colleges of education teach classroom technology integration, including the principles of universal design, to teacher candidates.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Uses of Funds for Partnership Grants- In carrying out a project under subsection (a)(1), an eligible consortium shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) provide teacher candidates, early in their preparation, with field experiences in educational settings with technology;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) build the skills of teacher candidates to support technology-rich instruction, assessment and learning management in content areas, technology literacy, an understanding of the principles of universal design, and the development of other skills for success in higher education and for entering the workforce;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) provide professional development in the use of technology for teachers, administrators, and content specialists who participate in field placement;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) provide professional development of technology pedagogical skills for faculty of departments, schools, and colleges of education and arts and sciences;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(5) implement strategies for the mentoring of teacher candidates with respect to technology implementation by members of the consortium;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(6) evaluate teacher candidates during the first years of teaching to fully assess outcomes of the project;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(7) build collaborative learning communities for technology integration within the consortium to sustain meaningful applications of technology in the classroom during teacher preparation and early career practice; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(8) evaluate the effectiveness of the project.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Uses of Funds for Transformation Grants- In carrying out a project under subsection (a)(2), an eligible consortium shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) redesign curriculum to require collaboration between the department, school, or college of education faculty and the department, school, or college of arts and sciences faculty who teach content or methods courses for training teacher candidates;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) collaborate between the department, school, or college of education faculty and the department, school, or college of arts and science faculty and academic content specialists at the local educational agency to educate pre-service teachers who can integrate technology and pedagogical skills in content areas;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) collaborate between the department, school, or college of education faculty and the department, school, or college of arts and sciences faculty who teach courses to pre-service teachers to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) develop and implement a plan for pre-service teachers and continuing educators that demonstrates effective instructional strategies and application of such strategies in the use of digital tools to transform the teaching and learning process; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) better reach underrepresented pre-service teacher populations with programs that connect such pre-service teacher populations with applications of technology;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) collaborate among faculty and students to create and disseminate case studies of technology applications in classroom settings with a goal of improving student achievement in high-need schools;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(5) provide additional technology resources for pre-service teachers to plan and implement technology applications in classroom settings that provide evidence of student learning; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(6) bring together expertise from departments, schools, or colleges of education, arts and science faculty, and academic content specialists at the local educational agency to share and disseminate technology applications in the classroom through teacher preparation and into early career practice.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 224. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.

`To be eligible to receive a grant or enter into a contract or cooperative agreement under this part, an eligible consortium shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. Such application shall include the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) A description of the project to be carried out with the grant, including how the project will--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) develop a long-term partnership focused on effective teaching with modern digital tools and content that substantially connects pre-service preparation of teacher candidates with high-need schools; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) transform the way departments, schools, and colleges of education teach classroom technology integration, including the principles of universal design, to teacher candidates.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) A demonstration of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) the commitment, including the financial commitment, of each of the members of the consortium for the proposed project; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) the support of the leadership of each organization that is a member of the consortium for the proposed project.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) A description of how each member of the consortium will participate in the project.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) A description of how the State or local educational agency will incorporate the project into the agency's technology plan, if such a plan already exists.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(5) A description of how the project will be continued after Federal funds are no longer available under this part for the project.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(6) A description of how the project will incorporate--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) State teacher technology standards; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) State student technology standards.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(7) A plan for the evaluation of the project, which shall include benchmarks to monitor progress toward specific project objectives.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 225. EVALUATION.

`Not less than 10 percent of the funds awarded to an eligible consortium to carry out a project under this part shall be used to evaluate the effectiveness of such project.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 226. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

`There is authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 to carry out this part for fiscal year 2009 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 2 succeeding fiscal years.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink