text: SECTION 1. TEACHERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTES.
  
      (a) In General.--Part A of title II of the Elementary and Secondary 
  Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
  the end the following:
  
         ``Subpart 6--Teachers Professional Development Institutes
  
  ``SEC. 2161. SHORT TITLE.
  
      ``This subpart may be cited as the `Teachers Professional 
  Development Institutes Act'.
  
  ``SEC. 2162. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
  
      ``(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
              ``(1) Teaching is central to the educational process and 
          the ongoing professional development of teachers in the 
          subjects they teach is essential for improved student learning.
              ``(2) Attaining the goal of the No Child Left Behind Act of 
          2001 (Public Law 107-110)--having a classroom teacher who is 
          highly effective in every academic subject the teacher 
          teaches--will require innovative approaches to improve the 
          effectiveness of teachers in the classroom.
              ``(3) The Teachers Institute Model focuses on the 
          continuing academic preparation of schoolteachers and the 
          application of what the teachers study to their classrooms and 
          potentially to the classrooms of other teachers.
              ``(4) The Teachers Institute Model was developed initially 
          by the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute and has successfully 
          operated in New Haven, Connecticut, for more than 30 years.
              ``(5) The Teachers Institute Model has also been 
          successfully implemented in cities larger than New Haven.
              ``(6) In the spring of 2009, a report entitled `An 
          Evaluation of Teachers Institute Experiences' concluded that--
                      ``(A) Teachers Institutes enhance precisely those 
                  teacher qualities known to improve student achievement;
                      ``(B) Teachers Institutes exemplify the crucial 
                  characteristics of high-quality teacher professional 
                  development; and
                      ``(C) Teachers Institute participation is strongly 
                  related to teacher retention in high-poverty schools.
      ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this subpart is to provide Federal 
  assistance to support the establishment and operation of Teachers 
  Institutes for local educational agencies that serve significant low-
  income student populations in States throughout the Nation, in order 
  to--
              ``(1) improve student learning; and
              ``(2) enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching and 
          strengthen the subject matter mastery and the pedagogical 
          skills of current teachers through continuing teacher 
          preparation.
  
  ``SEC. 2163. DEFINITIONS.
  
      ``In this subpart:
              ``(1) Significant low-income student population.--The term 
          `significant low-income student population' means a student 
          population of which not less than 40 percent of the students 
          included are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches under 
          the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.
              ``(2) Teachers institute.--The term `Teachers Institute' 
          means a partnership or joint venture--
                      ``(A) between or among--
                              ``(i) 1 or more institutions of higher 
                          education; and
                              ``(ii) 1 or more local educational agencies 
                          that serve 1 or more schools with significant 
                          low-income student populations; and
                      ``(B) that improves the effectiveness of teachers 
                  in the classroom, and the quality of teaching and 
                  learning, through collaborative seminars designed to 
                  enhance both the subject matter and the pedagogical 
                  resources of the seminar participants.
  
  ``SEC. 2164. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
  
      ``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to award grants 
  under this subpart in order to encourage the establishment and 
  operation of Teachers Institutes.
      ``(b) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary may reserve not more 
  than 50 percent of the funds appropriated to carry out this subpart to 
  provide technical assistance to facilitate the establishment and 
  operation of Teachers Institutes. The Secretary may contract with the 
  Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute to provide all or part of the 
  technical assistance under this subsection.
      ``(c) Selection Criteria.--In selecting Teachers Institutes to 
  support through grants under this subpart, the Secretary shall 
  consider--
              ``(1) the extent to which a proposed Teachers Institute 
          will serve schools that have significant low-income student 
          populations;
              ``(2) the extent to which a proposed Teachers Institute 
          will follow the understandings and necessary procedures 
          described in section 2166;
              ``(3) the extent to which each local educational agency 
          participating in the Teachers Institute has a high percentage 
          of teachers who are unprepared or underprepared to teach the 
          core academic subjects the teachers are assigned to teach; and
              ``(4) the extent to which a proposed Teachers Institute 
          will receive a level of support from the community and other 
          sources that will ensure the requisite long-term commitment for 
          the success of a Teachers Institute.
      ``(d) Consultation.--
              ``(1) In general.--In evaluating applications using the 
          criteria under subsection (c), the Secretary may request the 
          advice and assistance of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute 
          or other Teachers Institutes.
              ``(2) State agencies.--If the Secretary receives 2 or more 
          applications for grants under this subpart from local 
          educational agencies within the same State, the Secretary shall 
          consult with the State educational agency regarding the 
          applications.
      ``(e) Fiscal Agent.--The fiscal agent for the receipt of grant 
  funds under this subpart shall be an institution of higher education 
  participating in the partnership or joint venture, as described in 
  section 2163(2)(A), that is establishing or operating the Teachers 
  Institute.
      ``(f) Limitations.--A grant under this subpart--
              ``(1) shall provide grant funds for a period of not more 
          than 5 years; and
              ``(2) shall be in an amount that is not more than 50 
          percent of the total costs of the eligible activities supported 
          under the grant, as determined by the Secretary.
  
  ``SEC. 2165. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.
  
      ``Grant funds under this subpart may be used--
              ``(1) for the planning, development, establishment, and 
          operation of a Teachers Institute;
              ``(2) for additional assistance to an established Teachers 
          Institute for its further development and for its support of 
          the planning, development, establishment, and operation of a 
          Teachers Institute under paragraph (1);
              ``(3) for the salary and necessary expenses of a full-time 
          director for a Teachers Institute to plan and manage the 
          Teachers Institute and to act as a liaison between all local 
          educational agencies and institutions of higher education 
          participating in the Teachers Institute;
              ``(4) to provide suitable office space, staff, equipment, 
          and supplies, and to pay other operating expenses, for the 
          Teachers Institute;
              ``(5) to provide a stipend for teachers participating in 
          the collaborative seminars conducted by the Institute in the 
          sciences and humanities and to provide remuneration for members 
          of the faculty of the participating institution of higher 
          education leading the seminars; and
              ``(6) to provide for the dissemination, through print and 
          electronic means, of curriculum units prepared in the seminars 
          conducted by the Teachers Institute.
  
  ``SEC. 2166. UNDERSTANDINGS AND PROCEDURES.
  
      ``A grantee receiving a grant under this subpart shall abide by the 
  following understandings and procedures:
              ``(1) Partnership.--The essential relationship of a 
          Teachers Institute is a partnership between a local educational 
          agency and an institution of higher education. A grantee shall 
          demonstrate a long-term commitment on behalf of the 
          participating local educational agency and institution of 
          higher education to the support, including the financial 
          support, of the work of the Teachers Institute.
              ``(2) Seminars.--A Teachers Institute sponsors seminars led 
          by faculty of the institution of higher education partner and 
          attended by teachers from the local educational agency partner. 
          A grantee shall provide participating teachers the ability to 
          play an essential role in planning, organizing, conducting, and 
          evaluating the seminars and in encouraging the future 
          participation of other teachers.
              ``(3) Curriculum unit.--A seminar described in paragraph 
          (2) uses a collaborative process, in a collegial environment, 
          to develop a curriculum unit for use by participating teachers 
          that sets forth the subject matter to be presented and the 
          pedagogical strategies to be employed. A grantee shall enable 
          participating teachers to develop a curriculum unit, based on 
          the subject matter presented, for use in the teachers' 
          classrooms.
              ``(4) Eligibility and remuneration.--Seminars are open to 
          all partnership teachers with teaching assignments relevant to 
          the seminar topics. Seminar leaders receive remuneration for 
          their work and participating teachers receive an honorarium or 
          stipend upon the successful completion of the seminar. A 
          grantee shall provide seminar leaders and participating 
          teachers with remuneration to allow them to participate in the 
          Teachers Institute.
              ``(5) Direction.--The operations of a Teachers Institute 
          are managed by a full-time director who reports to both 
          partners but is accountable to the institution of higher 
          education partner. A grantee shall appoint a director to manage 
          and coordinate the work of the Teachers Institute.
              ``(6) Evaluation.--A grantee shall annually review the 
          activities of the Teachers Institute and disseminate the 
          results to members of the Teachers Institute's partnership 
          community.
  
  ``SEC. 2167. APPLICATION, APPROVAL, AND AGREEMENT.
  
      ``(a) In General.--To receive a grant under this subpart, a 
  Teachers Institute, or a partnership or joint venture described in 
  section 2163(2)(A) that is proposing to establish a Teachers Institute, 
  shall submit an application to the Secretary that--
              ``(1) meets the requirement of this subpart and any 
          regulations under this subpart;
              ``(2) includes a description of how the applicant intends 
          to use funds provided under the grant;
              ``(3) includes such information as the Secretary may 
          require to apply the criteria described in section 2164(c);
              ``(4) includes measurable objectives for the use of the 
          funds provided under the grant; and
              ``(5) contains such other information and assurances as the 
          Secretary may require.
      ``(b) Approval.--The Secretary shall--
              ``(1) promptly evaluate an application received for a grant 
          under this subpart; and
              ``(2) notify the applicant, within 90 days of the receipt 
          of a completed application, of the Secretary's determination.
      ``(c) Agreement.--Upon approval of an application, the Secretary 
  and the applicant shall enter into a comprehensive agreement covering 
  the entire period of the grant.
  
  ``SEC. 2168. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS.
  
      ``(a) Report.--Each grantee under this subpart shall report 
  annually to the Secretary on the progress of the Teachers Institute in 
  achieving the purpose of this subpart.
      ``(b) Evaluation and Dissemination.--The Secretary shall evaluate 
  the activities funded under this subpart and submit an annual report 
  regarding the activities assisted under this subpart to the Committee 
  on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 
  Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives. The 
  Secretary shall broadly disseminate successful practices developed by 
  Teachers Institutes.
      ``(c) Revocation.--If the Secretary determines that a grantee is 
  not making substantial progress in meeting the purposes of the grant by 
  the end of the second year of the grant under this subpart, the 
  Secretary may take appropriate action, including revocation of further 
  payments under the grant, to ensure that the funds available under this 
  subpart are used in the most effective manner.
  
  ``SEC. 2169. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  
      ``There are authorized to be appropriated for grants (including 
  planning grants) and technical assistance under this subpart--
              ``(1) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
              ``(2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2012;
              ``(3) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2013;
              ``(4) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and
              ``(5) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.''.
      (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of the Elementary and 
  Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item 
  relating to section 2151 the following:
  
         ``subpart 6--teachers professional development institutes
  
  ``Sec. 2161. Short title.
  ``Sec. 2162. Findings and purpose.
  ``Sec. 2163. Definitions.
  ``Sec. 2164. Program authorized.
  ``Sec. 2165. Eligible activities.
  ``Sec. 2166. Understandings and procedures.
  ``Sec. 2167. Application, approval, and agreement.
  ``Sec. 2168. Reports and evaluations.''.
target: Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to: (1) award grants to encourage the establishment and operation of Teachers Institutes; and (2) provide technical assistance, all or some of which may be provided through the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, to assist local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) in establishing and operating Teachers Institutes.
  
   Sets forth selection criteria, including consideration of the extent to which the proposed Institute will serve schools that have a significant low-income population.
  
  Defines a Teachers Institute as a partnership or joint venture between one or more IHEs and one or more LEAs serving one or more schools with significant low-income populations that is established to improve the quality of teaching and learning through collaborative seminars.
feat_title: A bill to support the establishment and operation of Teachers Professional Development Institutes.