text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Empowering Teaching and Learning 
  Through Education Portals Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
  
      In this Act:
              (1) 21st century skills.--The term ``21st century 
          skills''--
                      (A) means skills that students need to succeed in 
                  school, work, and life; and
                      (B) includes--
                              (i) skills related either to core academic 
                          subjects or to 21st century themes;
                              (ii) learning and innovation skills, such 
                          as--
                                      (I) creativity and innovation;
                                      (II) critical thinking and problem 
                                  solving; or
                                      (III) communication and 
                                  collaboration; and
                              (iii) life and career skills to prepare 
                          students for the global economy, such as--
                                      (I) flexibility and adaptability;
                                      (II) productivity and 
                                  accountability; or
                                      (III) leadership and 
                                  responsibility.
              (2) Core academic subjects; educational agencies; schools; 
          state.--The terms ``core academic subjects'', ``elementary 
          school'', ``local educational agency'', ``secondary school'', 
          ``State'', and ``State educational agency'' have the meanings 
          given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
          Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
              (3) Covered educator.--The term ``covered educator'' means 
          a teacher, administrator, or other professional staff member, 
          at a covered school.
              (4) Covered parent.--The term ``covered parent'' means the 
          parent of a covered student.
              (5) Covered school.--The term ``covered school'' means a 
          Head Start agency operating a Head Start program, or a public 
          school that is a preschool, elementary school, secondary 
          school, or institution of higher education (including such an 
          institution offering a program leading to a baccalaureate 
          degree or a program leading to an advanced degree).
              (6) Covered student.--The term ``covered student'' means a 
          student at a covered school.
              (7) Covered teacher.--The term ``covered teacher'' means a 
          teacher at a covered school.
              (8) Education technology.--The term ``education 
          technology'' means any technology resource that improves the 
          learning, training, and engagement of students or helps 
          teachers learn, improve their knowledge, and practice.
              (9) Institution of higher education.--The term 
          ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
          term in sections 101 and 102 of the Higher Education Act of 
          1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001, 1002).
              (10) Professional development.--The term ``professional 
          development'' means a resource or training that increases a 
          teacher's skills, content knowledge, or other information that 
          has a positive impact on student learning.
              (11) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
          of Education.
  
  SEC. 3. GRANTS.
  
      (a) In General.--The Secretary may award grants to eligible States, 
  to pay for the Federal share of the cost of implementing and 
  maintaining education portal initiatives.
      (b) Amounts.--The Secretary may award the grants for periods of not 
  less than 1 year and not more than 3 years.
      (c) Federal Share.--
              (1) In general.--The Federal share of the cost described in 
          subsection (a) shall be 50 percent.
              (2) Non-federal share.--The State may provide the non-
          Federal share of the cost in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, 
          including plant, equipment, or services. The State may provide 
          the non-Federal share from State, local, or private sources.
  
  SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS AND AWARDS.
  
      (a) In General.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
  section for an initiative, a State shall submit an application to the 
  Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information 
  as the Secretary may require.
      (b) Contents.--The application shall contain, at a minimum--
              (1) a comprehensive plan for the initiative for which the 
          State seeks the grant, including evidence that the initiative 
          meets the requirements of subsections (a) and (c) of section 5;
              (2) information describing how the State will provide the 
          non-Federal share of the cost described in section 3(a), and 
          will continue to provide that share during the implementation 
          of the initiative and the remainder of the grant period;
              (3) information describing how the State will meet the 
          maintenance of effort requirements in section 6;
              (4) information explaining the protocol the State will use 
          to ensure safe and legal access to the education portal;
              (5) an assurance that the State has established or will 
          establish an advisory panel, to provide advice on the 
          implementation and maintenance of the initiative, including 
          representatives of leaders in school districts, leaders at 
          institutions of higher education, State educational agencies, 
          parents, and teachers; and
              (6) a plan to ensure sufficient statewide bandwidth 
          capacity and systems access to implement and maintain the State 
          education portal.
      (c) Awards.--In determining the amounts of grants under this Act, 
  the Secretary--
              (1) shall take into consideration the extent to which a 
          State has developed and implemented an education portal 
          initiative prior to the date of the submission of the 
          application involved; but
              (2) shall not penalize States that have made greater 
          progress in developing and implementing such initiatives.
  
  SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS.
  
      (a) Required Uses.--A State that receives a grant under this Act 
  for a fiscal year shall use the funds made available through the grant 
  to implement or maintain an education portal initiative that includes--
              (1) collecting and making available--
                      (A) high quality resources (including data, tools, 
                  and digital media content) for covered educators, 
                  covered students, and covered parents, that support 
                  teaching, leading, and learning, and are, as 
                  appropriate, aligned with State education standards; 
                  and
                      (B) information for covered teachers to use in 
                  assisting covered students to attain skills such as 
                  21st century skills; and
              (2) collecting resources for ongoing and sustainable 
          professional development for covered educators, related to the 
          use of education technology, and making the resources available 
          through the implementation of research-based methods and 
          strategies for teacher coaching, collaborating, or mentoring.
      (b) Allowable Uses.--The State may use the funds made available 
  through the grant for such an initiative, for a portal that--
              (1) gives covered educators access to formative assessment 
          and other resources to address various student learning styles, 
          needs, and achievement levels;
              (2) provides an entry point to other information or 
          services, including information on model examples of effective 
          classroom practices, subscriptions or data systems, content 
          standards, lesson plans, courses of study, engaging interactive 
          media, Web resources, e-mail list management software, online 
          portfolios, after-school program resources, and other 
          educational resources;
              (3) provides access to technology-based curriculum 
          resources and tools that promote the teaching and learning of 
          21st century skills;
              (4) enables covered educators to quickly search for lesson 
          plans, professional development resources, model examples of 
          effective classroom practices, or other resources, by content 
          standard, grade level, or topic;
              (5) provides an online support network or community for 
          covered educators to collaborate on and discuss teaching, 
          learning, curricula, and experiences, and serves as a 
          communication tool between covered educators and covered 
          parents;
              (6) includes digital media content developed by a 
          television public broadcasting entity in coordination with the 
          grant recipient; or
              (7) makes available access to 1 or more resource sections 
          of the education portal, subject to the protocol described in 
          section 4(b)(4), by covered education, covered students, and 
          covered parents, from other States (with no requirement for 
          State-specific log-ins), so that those covered educators, 
          covered students, and covered parents can benefit from 
          resources developed in the State, thereby expanding access to 
          the national learning community.
      (c) Provision of and Access to Resources.--The covered educators, 
  covered students, and covered parents in the State may provide 
  resources and information for the education portal, subject to the 
  protocol described in section 4(b)(4). The resources and information in 
  the education portal shall be accessible statewide by the educators, 
  students, and parents, subject to the protocol.
      (d) Other Federal Funds.--A State that receives a grant under part 
  A of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
  U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) may use funds made available through that grant to 
  maintain (but not implement) the State's education portal initiative 
  under this Act, after the end of the period in which the State receives 
  funding under this Act.
      (e) Conforming Amendment.--Section 2113(a) of the Elementary and 
  Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6613(a)) is amended by 
  striking ``A'' and inserting ``Subject to section 5 of the Empowering 
  Teaching and Learning Through Education Portals Act, a''.
  
  SEC. 6. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
  
      (a) In General.--A State that receives a grant under this Act for a 
  fiscal year shall maintain the expenditures of the State for education 
  portal initiatives at a level not less than the level of such 
  expenditures of the State for the fiscal year preceding the first 
  fiscal year for which the State received such a grant.
      (b) Reduction.--If the Secretary determines that a State, during a 
  fiscal year, expends less than the sum required to comply with 
  subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
              (1) determine the difference between the required sum and 
          the expenditure; and
              (2) reduce the State's grant under this Act for the 
          following year by the amount of the difference.
  
  SEC. 7. EVALUATIONS AND CONFERENCE.
  
      (a) Federal Evaluation.--The Secretary shall conduct an evaluation 
  of each initiative funded under this Act. The Secretary shall submit a 
  report containing the results of the evaluation to Congress.
      (b) Federal Conference.--Not less often than once every 2 years, 
  the Secretary shall hold a conference for advisory panels described in 
  section 4(b)(5), to share information on best practices relating to 
  education portal initiatives.
      (c) State Evaluations.--Each State that receives a grant under this 
  Act shall conduct an evaluation of the initiative funded under the 
  grant, using funds provided as part of the non-Federal share of the 
  costs described in section 3(a). The State shall prepare and submit to 
  the Secretary a report containing the results of the evaluation.
  
  SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  
      There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
  $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012, and such sums 
  as may be necessary for each of the following 2 fiscal years.
  
  SEC. 9. SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO CORPORATE CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO 
                EDUCATION PORTAL PROJECTS OF ELIGIBLE STATES.
  
      (a) In General.--Paragraph (2) of Section 170(b) of the Internal 
  Revenue Code of 1986 (related to percentage limitations) is amended by 
  redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively, and by inserting 
  after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:
                      ``(B) Special rule for corporate contributions to 
                  education portal projects of eligible states.--
                              ``(i) In general.--In the case of qualified 
                          education portal project contributions--
                                      ``(I) subparagraph (A) shall be 
                                  applied separately with respect to such 
                                  contributions and with respect to other 
                                  charitable contributions of the 
                                  taxpayer, and
                                      ``(II) in applying subparagraph (A) 
                                  to such qualified education portal 
                                  project contributions, subparagraph (A) 
                                  shall be applied by substituting `50 
                                  percent' for `10 percent'.
                              ``(ii) Qualified education portal project 
                          contribution.--For purposes of this paragraph, 
                          the term `qualified education portal project 
                          contribution' means a charitable contribution 
                          in cash--
                                      ``(I) to a State (as defined in 
                                  section 2 of the Empowering Teaching 
                                  and Learning Through Education Portals 
                                  Act) which has a grant application 
                                  approved under section 4 of such Act, 
                                  and
                                      ``(II) for the purpose of paying 
                                  the non-Federal share of the cost of 
                                  implementing and maintaining education 
                                  portal initiatives (within the meaning 
                                  of section 3 of such Act).''.
      (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
  apply to contributions made after the date of the enactment of this 
  Act.
target: Empowering Teaching and Learning Through Education Portals Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to states to implement or maintain education portal initiatives that include collecting and making available: (1) high quality resources (including data, tools, and digital media content) for teachers, students, and parents, that support public education from Head Start through graduate school; and (2) resources for ongoing and sustainable teacher training in the use of education technology at such educational levels. Allows teachers, students, and parents to contribute resources to their state portal, which is to be accessible statewide.
  
  Permits states to use funds available to them under part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund) of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to maintain such initiatives after their receipt of this Act's funding ends.
  
  Requires the Secretary to hold a conference, at least biennially, for state advisory panels on education portal initiatives to share information on best practices.
  
  Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) count corporate contributions to such initiatives separately from other corporate contributions in applying charitable contribution deductibility limits; and (2) allow corporate deductions for contributions to such initiatives to reach 50% of a corporation's taxable income.
feat_title: A bill to make grants to States to implement statewide portal initiatives, and for other purposes.