The Higher Education Act

Background

The Higher Education Act (HEA) provides almost $50 billion in loans, grants, work-study and institutional aid in support of postsecondary education.  Ninety five percent of the funding is disbursed through Title IV—aid to students.  Last reauthorized in 1998, the Higher Education Act is on course to be reauthorized this year.  Congress and the Administration view the reauthorization as an opportunity to strengthen program benefits for teachers.  Several bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives that would expand loan forgiveness provisions for teachers willing to accept positions in low-income schools in need of improvement.  Current law offers up to $5,000 in forgiveness after five years.  The President’s proposal—which is supported by many legislators—would increase that amount to $17,500.

Like Title II of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, Title II of the HEA addresses teacher quality, and amendments are sure to be introduced during this HEA reauthorization that would strengthen the ties between HEA and NCLB.  Because of this, organizations that traditionally focus on elementary and secondary education policy are also paying close attention to the HEA debate.

Programs and Funding
 
Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants for States and Partnerships
 
After years of dormancy, federal support to improve teacher training programs at institutions of higher education emerged as a major policy initiative in Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1998.  Funded programs are designed to improve teacher quality through support for recruitment, preparation, licensing and certification reforms, and support for new teachers.  Title II authorizes three grant programs: state grants, partnership grants and recruitment grants.  The authorized spending level is $300 million; the actual appropriated amount for this program in Fiscal Year 2004 was $90 million.

For Fiscal Year 2005, the Administration requested level funding, providing continuation awards where necessary as well as several new partnership grant awards.  One significant change is the Administration’s recommendation that the bulk of the funding—$62 million—be dedicated to the partnership grants, with $18 million reserved for state grants.

State Partnership Grants
These are non-renewable three-year competitive awards to states to be used to upgrade the quality of teacher preparation programs; reform teacher certification and licensing requirements; support alternative routes to traditional preparation for teaching; support alternative routes to state certification for prospective teachers; develop effective mechanisms, primarily using financial incentives, to hire, reward and fire teachers, based on performance; develop programs to address the practice of social promotion and its elimination; and support other recruitment initiatives.  A state is defined as the Governor or the entity in the state responsible for teacher licensing and certification.  Priority is given to applicant states working to improve the academic content and teaching skills of prospective teachers or those working to increase the number of highly qualified teachers working in high-poverty, urban and rural areas.
 
Partnership Grants
These are non-renewable five-year competitive awards to eligible partnerships.  Partnerships are defined as including a postsecondary institution, a school or arts and sciences and a high need LEA.  It may also include a governor's office, SEA, state board of education, charter school, private elementary or secondary school, non-profit organization or a business.  Applicant partnerships that include a business receive priority consideration.  A member of the partnership can receive no more than 50% of the funds provided.  Matching requirements are as follows: year 1, 25%; year 2, 35%; years 3-5, 50%.
 
Partnership Grant applications must be based on needs assessment data.  Funded activities must include: implementing reforms to teacher preparation programs that will increase academic competence of graduates; providing high quality clinical pre-service experience for teachers through mentoring and other activities that pair teachers in training with qualified faculty; and creating ongoing professional development that improves academic knowledge in subject areas for teachers both certified and working toward certification.  Permissive activities include: preparing teachers to work more effectively with parents; disseminating information about effective practices through relevant boards and agencies of the state; developing programs to improve the managerial and leadership skills of principals and superintendents; and teacher recruitment activities.
 
Recruitment Grants
Only states or partnerships that qualify for State or Partnership Grants may apply for a Recruitment Grant.  Recruitment Grant awards can be used to establish scholarship programs to help students pays tuition, room and board and other expenses related to completion of teacher preparation programs; to provide support services to scholarship recipients as required; to provide support services to scholarship recipients during their first three years of teaching; or to develop initiatives to assist high need LEAs and schools in identifying and hiring highly qualified teachers.
 
Beyond supporting the three grant programs, Title II authorizes the collection of data on state, college and university policies and procedures related to teacher quality.
 
Current Status: Undergoing Reauthorization

Although HEA is said to be on the schedule for this spring, many feel that debate might not begin until the fall or perhaps during the 109th Congress. As stated above, the Administration has made it clear that a major goal of this reauthorization is to establish stronger links between Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants, Title II of HEA and Teacher Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, Title II of NCLB.  

Many higher education associations, under the umbrella of the American Council on Education (ACE), have listed “improving teacher education” as a goal for this reauthorization.  In a document submitted to the House Education and the Workforce Committee, ACE expressed strong support for improving teacher preparation programs—whether through traditional or alternative routes—and asked that more funding be provided to colleges and universities to improve these programs - the message being that ACE believes the HEA should drive Title II funding to institutions of higher education—not to the state educational agencies (SEAs).

For the first time, K-12 education associations and teacher professional groups are active participants in the HEA reauthorization, in hopes of strengthening the support the HEA offers to meet the goal of a highly-qualified teacher in every classroom within five years—a major stipulation of the No Child Left Behind law.  Meeting that goal will require major changes in the areas of pre-service and in-service education.  The most obvious place for reform and enhancement is the Recruitment and Retention Grant Programs.  In Fiscal Year 2004, $9 million was appropriatied for these programs. A strong case can be made to strengthen not only SEA and (local educational agency) LEA efforts to find highly qualified teachers, but to develop programs that would help to retain them in the classroom. 

The second grant category that is likely to be modified is the Partnership Grants.  Not only are non-profits eligible for funding, but these grants can and should be used to reform teacher preparation programs—joining forces between institutions of higher education and LEAs.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce acted swiftly on rewriting and reauthorizing Title II.  The Ready to Teach Act, H.R. 2211, was adopted by the House in July 2003.   They agreed to modest changes in the law, clarifying that SEAs should share Title II Partnership funds with local schools, and refining the testing requirements that must be reported to the Secretary of Education.  A new $10 million Centers of Excellence program for teacher preparation was adopted, primarily targeting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).  A bill expanding loan forgiveness from a $5,000 to a $17,500 program for teachers of math, science, special education and reading, H.R. 438, was also passed by the House in July 2003.

Last Spring, NCTE leaders met with key House leadership staff to offer perspectives on provisions of Title II dealing with teacher education program funding and accountability.  While NCTE’s offer to provide expert testimony in a public hearing on the bill was not accepted, we did help brief experts called before the panel.

In the Senate, work on rewriting the Higher Education Act is just getting underway.  Senator Kennedy (D-MA) has introduced a bill reauthorizing Title II and two more bills are expected to be introduced in April by Senators Reed (D-RI) and Bingaman (D-NM).  Summaries of these soon-to-be introduced pieces of legislation follows.

The PRREP Act
The Preparing, Recruiting, and Retaining Education Professionals (PRREP) Act of 2004 will be introduced by Senator Reed after extensive work and outreach with the education community.  The bill seeks to enhance the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants program of the HEA by utilizing proven strategies to improve the recruitment, training, and retention of educators.  Highlights of the bill include:

• Boosting funding to $500 million (FY04 funding is $89 million) and increases the percentage of funding directed to Partnership and Recruitment Grant programs;
  
  
• Creating ongoing opportunities for educator training and retraining by improving teacher preparation programs, creating a year-long pre-service clinical learning experience, establishing a three-year residency program for new teachers with a strong mentoring component, and enhancing professional development activities;
  
  
• Holding traditional teacher preparation programs and programs offering alternative routes to teacher preparation equally accountable;
  
  
• Providing mentoring, field-based experiences, and professional development to improve the capacity of principals to provide instructional leadership, management of learning, and other support for teachers;
  
  
• Encouraging evidence-based methods to improve teaching and learning by teachers, principals, early childhood education providers, and teacher preparation program faculty;
  
  
• Ensuring that teachers have the necessary teaching, communication, and technology skills to effectively work with and involve parents in their children’s education;
  
  
• Enhancing the skills of educators to better understand and use assessments to improve instruction and to use these skills to respond effectively to students with special learning needs; and
  
  
• Establishing grants to create Academies for Faculty Excellence to enhance the caliber of teaching undertaken in preparation programs.

NCTE provided language for early drafts of the Reed bill and has written a letter in support.

The Enhanced Teaching Effectiveness Act of 2004 focuses on teacher accountability and is expected to be introduced by Senator Bingaman in the next several weeks.  Senator Bingaman’s office also has worked closely with the education community, and his bill increases funding for the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants program, strengthens the provisions of the current law, and proposes three new programs.  Highlights of the bill include:

• Aligning teacher preparation and certification programs with highly qualified NCLB requirements;
  
  
• Improving accountability by requiring states to develop systems to (1) track who is and who is not a highly qualified teacher and (2) collect data on graduates of teacher preparation programs;
  
  
• Requiring states to conduct a needs assessment and develop a plan based on the results;
  
  
• Emphasizing the need to recruit and retain teachers, especially those from underrepresented groups, with mentoring and professional advancement programs; and
  
  
• Funding for financial incentives to recruit teachers.

Three new programs are also proposed to promote excellence in teacher preparation, to foster professional development and to address the recruitment and retention needs of rural districts.
 
Academic Teaching Centers (ATC)
Modeled on academic health centers, these centers are designed to serve as models that successfully integrate current education research into classrooms with teacher preparation and professional development programs.  The ATCs promote collaboration between teachers, faculty at teacher colleges and higher education faculty in content areas.  At ATCs, faculty act as models and demonstrate how to effectively implement research into  classrooms as well as provide supervised teacher training. 

Professional Development Program (PDP)
This program provides states with professional development funds to be used for teacher retention programs.  Funds can be used for:

• Accreditation – aligning standards with national board certification;
  
  
• Career Advancement – creating different positions (mentor teacher, exemplary teacher, etc.) and developing licensing policies to accompany those positions;
  
  
• Financial Incentives – creating a salary system that mirrors career advancement paths and/or includes incentive bonuses; and
  
  
• Certification – certification/credentialing in specialized areas and subsidies for teachers to pursue those credentials

Rural Education Recruitment and Retention Program (RERRP)
This program is designed to address the needs of rural districts.  Such districts face unique challenges in fulfilling the requirement that all teachers be highly qualified.  Funds for this program include a variety of strategies to more effectively recruit teachers including:

• Financial Incentives – loan forgiveness, bonuses, etc.;
  
  
• Innovative Recruiting Efforts – better PR, alternative certification programs, online job posting, etc.;
  
  
• Increased Teacher Retention – mentoring, professional development, etc.; and
  
  
• Higher Education Partnerships – to aid new teachers in meeting the specific needs of rural schools including meeting highly qualified standards.

Source: Washington Partners LLC, 1101 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005