PART I — GENERAL HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Higher Education Act of 1965
(P.L. 89–329)

TITLE II—TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT

Selected Excerpts Specifically Pertaining to Alternative Certification

PART A—TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS FOR STATES AND PARTNERSHIPS

SEC. 202. ø20 U.S.C. 1022 STATE GRANTS.
(a) IN GENERAL. — From amounts made available under section 210(1) 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).

(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:

(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 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.

(a) STATE GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT. — An eligible State that receives a grant under section 202 shall submit an annual accountability report to the Secretary, the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives. Such report shall include a description of the degree to which the eligible State, in using funds provided under such section, has made substantial progress in meeting the following goals:

(3) INITIAL CERTIFICATION OR LICENSURE. — Increasing success in the pass rate for initial State teacher certification or licensure, or increasing the numbers of highly qualified individuals being certified or licensed as teachers through alternative programs.

SEC. 207. ø20 U.S.C. 1027 ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PROGRAMS THAT PREPARE TEACHERS.

(b) STATE REPORT CARD ON THE QUALITY OF TEACHER PREPARATION.— Each State that receives funds under this Act shall provide to the Secretary, within 2 years of the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, and annually thereafter, in a uniform and comprehensible manner that conforms with the definitions and methods established in subsection (a), a State report card on the quality of teacher preparation in the State, which shall include at least the following:
(1) A description of the teacher certification and licensure assessments, and any other certification and licensure requirements, used by the State.
(2) The standards and criteria that prospective teachers must meet in order to attain initial teacher certification or licensure and to be certified or licensed to teach particular subjects or in particular grades within the State.
(3) A description of the extent to which the assessments and requirements described in paragraph (1) are aligned with the State’s standards and assessments for students.
(4) The percentage of teaching candidates who passed each of the assessments used by the State for teacher certification and licensure, and the passing score on each assessment that determines whether a candidate has passed that assessment.
(5) The percentage of teaching candidates who passed each of the assessments used by the State for teacher certification and licensure, disaggregated and ranked, by the teacher preparation program in that State from which the teacher candidate received the candidate’s most recent degree, which shall be made available widely and publicly.
(6) Information on the extent to which teachers in the State are given waivers of State certification or licensure requirements, including the proportion of such teachers distributed across high- and low-poverty school districts and across subject areas.
(7) A description of each State’s alternative routes to teacher certification, if any, and the percentage of teachers certified through alternative certification routes who pass State teacher certification or licensure assessments.
(8) For each State, a description of proposed criteria for assessing the performance of teacher preparation programs within institutions of higher education in the State, including indicators of teacher candidate knowledge and skills.
(9) Information on the extent to which teachers or prospective teachers in each State are required to take examinations or other assessments of their subject matter knowledge in the area or areas in which the teachers provide instruction, the standards established for passing any such assessments, and the extent to which teachers or prospective teachers are required to receive a passing score on such assessments in order to teach in specific subject areas or grade levels.