SEC. 2103
LOCAL USES OF FUNDS
Section Summary
ESSA Update
``SEC. 2103. <<NOTE: 20 USC 6613.>> LOCAL USES OF FUNDS.
``(a) In General.--A local educational agency that receives a
subgrant under section 2102 shall use the funds made available through
the subgrant to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive programs
and activities described in subsection (b), which may be carried out--
``(1) through a grant or contract with a for-profit or
nonprofit entity; or
``(2) in partnership with an institution of higher education
or an Indian tribe or tribal organization (as such terms are
defined under section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)).
[[Page 129 STAT. 1927]]
``(b) Types of Activities.--The programs and activities described in
this subsection--
``(1) shall be in accordance with the purpose of this title;
``(2) shall address the learning needs of all students,
including children with disabilities, English learners, and
gifted and talented students; and
``(3) may include, among other programs and activities--
``(A) developing or improving a rigorous,
transparent, and fair evaluation and support system for
teachers, principals, or other school leaders that--
``(i) is based in part on evidence of student
achievement, which may include student growth; and
``(ii) shall include multiple measures of
educator performance and provide clear, timely,
and useful feedback to teachers, principals, or
other school leaders;
``(B) developing and implementing initiatives to
assist in recruiting, hiring, and retaining effective
teachers, particularly in low-income schools with high
percentages of ineffective teachers and high percentages
of students who do not meet the challenging State
academic standards, to improve within-district equity in
the distribution of teachers, consistent with section
1111(g)(1)(B), such as initiatives that provide--
``(i) expert help in screening candidates and
enabling early hiring;
``(ii) differential and incentive pay for
teachers, principals, or other school leaders in
high-need academic subject areas and specialty
areas, which may include performance-based pay
systems;
``(iii) teacher, paraprofessional, principal,
or other school leader advancement and
professional growth, and an emphasis on leadership
opportunities, multiple career paths, and pay
differentiation;
``(iv) new teacher, principal, or other school
leader induction and mentoring programs that are
designed to--
``(I) improve classroom instruction
and student learning and achievement;
and
``(II) increase the retention of
effective teachers, principals, or other
school leaders;
``(v) the development and provision of
training for school leaders, coaches, mentors, and
evaluators on how accurately to differentiate
performance, provide useful feedback, and use
evaluation results to inform decisionmaking about
professional development, improvement strategies,
and personnel decisions; and
``(vi) a system for auditing the quality of
evaluation and support systems;
``(C) recruiting qualified individuals from other
fields to become teachers, principals, or other school
leaders, including mid-career professionals from other
occupations, former military personnel, and recent
graduates of institutions of higher education with
records of academic distinction who demonstrate
potential to become effective teachers, principals, or
other school leaders;
``(D) reducing class size to a level that is
evidence-based, to the extent the State (in consultation
with local
[[Page 129 STAT. 1928]]
educational agencies in the State) determines that such
evidence is reasonably available, to improve student
achievement through the recruiting and hiring of
additional effective teachers;
``(E) providing high-quality, personalized
professional development that is evidence-based, to the
extent the State (in consultation with local educational
agencies in the State) determines that such evidence is
reasonably available, for teachers, instructional
leadership teams, principals, or other school leaders,
that is focused on improving teaching and student
learning and achievement, including supporting efforts
to train teachers, principals, or other school leaders
to--
``(i) effectively integrate technology into
curricula and instruction (including education
about the harms of copyright piracy);
``(ii) use data to improve student achievement
and understand how to ensure individual student
privacy is protected, as required under section
444 of the General Education Provisions Act
(commonly known as the `Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act of 1974') (20 U.S.C. 1232g) and
State and local policies and laws in the use of
such data;
``(iii) effectively engage parents, families,
and community partners, and coordinate services
between school and community;
``(iv) help all students develop the skills
essential for learning readiness and academic
success;
``(v) develop policy with school, local
educational agency, community, or State leaders;
and
``(vi) participate in opportunities for
experiential learning through observation;
``(F) developing programs and activities that
increase the ability of teachers to effectively teach
children with disabilities, including children with
significant cognitive disabilities, and English
learners, which may include the use of multi-tier
systems of support and positive behavioral intervention
and supports, so that such children with disabilities
and English learners can meet the challenging State
academic standards;
``(G) providing programs and activities to
increase--
``(i) the knowledge base of teachers,
principals, or other school leaders on instruction
in the early grades and on strategies to measure
whether young children are progressing; and
``(ii) the ability of principals or other
school leaders to support teachers, teacher
leaders, early childhood educators, and other
professionals to meet the needs of students
through age 8, which may include providing joint
professional learning and planning activities for
school staff and educators in preschool programs
that address the transition to elementary school;
``(H) providing training, technical assistance, and
capacity-building in local educational agencies to
assist teachers, principals, or other school leaders
with selecting
[[Page 129 STAT. 1929]]
and implementing formative assessments, designing
classroom-based assessments, and using data from such
assessments to improve instruction and student academic
achievement, which may include providing additional time
for teachers to review student data and respond, as
appropriate;
``(I) carrying out in-service training for school
personnel in--
``(i) the techniques and supports needed to
help educators understand when and how to refer
students affected by trauma, and children with, or
at risk of, mental illness;
``(ii) the use of referral mechanisms that
effectively link such children to appropriate
treatment and intervention services in the school
and in the community, where appropriate;
``(iii) forming partnerships between school-
based mental health programs and public or private
mental health organizations; and
``(iv) addressing issues related to school
conditions for student learning, such as safety,
peer interaction, drug and alcohol abuse, and
chronic absenteeism;
``(J) providing training to support the
identification of students who are gifted and talented,
including high-ability students who have not been
formally identified for gifted education services, and
implementing instructional practices that support the
education of such students, such as--
``(i) early entrance to kindergarten;
``(ii) enrichment, acceleration, and
curriculum compacting activities; and
``(iii) dual or concurrent enrollment programs
in secondary school and postsecondary education;
``(K) supporting the instructional services provided
by effective school library programs;
``(L) providing training for all school personnel,
including teachers, principals, other school leaders,
specialized instructional support personnel, and
paraprofessionals, regarding how to prevent and
recognize child sexual abuse;
``(M) developing and providing professional
development and other comprehensive systems of support
for teachers, principals, or other school leaders to
promote high-quality instruction and instructional
leadership in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics subjects, including computer science;
``(N) developing feedback mechanisms to improve
school working conditions, including through
periodically and publicly reporting results of educator
support and working conditions feedback;
``(O) providing high-quality professional
development for teachers, principals, or other school
leaders on effective strategies to integrate rigorous
academic content, career and technical education, and
work-based learning (if appropriate), which may include
providing common planning time, to help prepare students
for postsecondary education and the workforce; and
[[Page 129 STAT. 1930]]
``(P) carrying out other activities that are
evidence-based, to the extent the State (in consultation
with local educational agencies in the State) determines
that such evidence is reasonably available, and
identified by the local educational agency that meet the
purpose of this title.
NCLB Text
``SEC. 2123. LOCAL USE OF FUNDS. <<NOTE: 20 USC 6623.>>
``(a) In General.--A local educational agency that receives a
subgrant under section 2121 shall use the funds made available through
the subgrant to carry out one or more of the following activities,
including carrying out the activities through a grant or contract with a
for-profit or nonprofit entity:
``(1) Developing and implementing mechanisms to assist
schools in effectively recruiting and retaining highly qualified
teachers, including specialists in core academic subjects,
principals, and pupil services personnel, except that funds made
available under this paragraph may be used for pupil services
personnel only--
``(A) if the local educational agency is making
progress toward meeting the annual measurable objectives
described in section 1119(a)(2); and
``(B) in a manner consistent with mechanisms to
assist schools in effectively recruiting and retaining
highly qualified teachers and principals.
``(2) Developing and implementing initiatives to assist in
recruiting highly qualified teachers (particularly initiatives
that have proven effective in retaining highly qualified
teachers), and hiring highly qualified teachers, who will be
assigned teaching positions within their fields, including--
``(A) providing scholarships, signing bonuses, or
other financial incentives, such as differential pay,
for teachers to teach--
``(i) in academic subjects in which there
exists a shortage of highly qualified teachers
within a school or within the local educational
agency; and
[[Page 115 STAT. 1631]]
``(ii) in schools in which there exists a
shortage of highly qualified teachers;
``(B) recruiting and hiring highly qualified
teachers to reduce class size, particularly in the early
grades; and
``(C) establishing programs that--
``(i) train and hire regular and special
education teachers (which may include hiring
special education teachers to team-teach in
classrooms that contain both children with
disabilities and nondisabled children);
``(ii) train and hire highly qualified
teachers of special needs children, as well as
teaching specialists in core academic subjects who
will provide increased individualized instruction
to students;
``(iii) recruit qualified professionals from
other fields, including highly qualified
paraprofessionals, and provide such professionals
with alternative routes to teacher certification,
including developing and implementing hiring
policies that ensure comprehensive recruitment
efforts as a way to expand the applicant pool,
such as through identifying teachers certified
through alternative routes, and using a system of
intensive screening designed to hire the most
qualified applicants; and
``(iv) provide increased opportunities for
minorities, individuals with disabilities, and
other individuals underrepresented in the teaching
profession.
``(3) Providing professional development activities--
``(A) that improve the knowledge of teachers and
principals and, in appropriate cases, paraprofessionals,
concerning--
``(i) one or more of the core academic
subjects that the teachers teach; and
``(ii) effective instructional strategies,
methods, and skills, and use of challenging State
academic content standards and student academic
achievement standards, and State assessments, to
improve teaching practices and student academic
achievement; and
``(B) that improve the knowledge of teachers and
principals and, in appropriate cases, paraprofessionals,
concerning effective instructional practices and that--
``(i) involve collaborative groups of teachers
and administrators;
``(ii) provide training in how to teach and
address the needs of students with different
learning styles, particularly students with
disabilities, students with special learning needs
(including students who are gifted and talented),
and students with limited English proficiency;
``(iii) provide training in methods of--
``(I) improving student behavior in
the classroom; and
``(II) identifying early and
appropriate interventions to help
students described in clause (ii) learn;
``(iv) provide training to enable teachers and
principals to involve parents in their child's
education,
[[Page 115 STAT. 1632]]
especially parents of limited English proficient
and immigrant children; and
``(v) provide training on how to understand
and use data and assessments to improve classroom
practice and student learning.
``(4) Developing and implementing initiatives to promote
retention of highly qualified teachers and principals,
particularly within elementary schools and secondary schools
with a high percentage of low-achieving students, including
programs that provide--
``(A) teacher mentoring from exemplary teachers,
principals, or superintendents;
``(B) induction and support for teachers and
principals during their first 3 years of employment as
teachers or principals, respectively;
``(C) incentives, including financial incentives, to
retain teachers who have a record of success in helping
low-achieving students improve their academic
achievement; or
``(D) incentives, including financial incentives, to
principals who have a record of improving the academic
achievement of all students, but particularly students
from economically disadvantaged families, students from
racial and ethnic minority groups, and students with
disabilities.
``(5) Carrying out programs and activities that are designed
to improve the quality of the teacher force, such as--
``(A) innovative professional development programs
(which may be provided through partnerships including
institutions of higher education), including programs
that train teachers and principals to integrate
technology into curricula and instruction to improve
teaching, learning, and technology literacy, are
consistent with the requirements of section 9101, and
are coordinated with activities carried out under part
D;
``(B) development and use of proven, cost-effective
strategies for the implementation of professional
development activities, such as through the use of
technology and distance learning;
``(C) tenure reform;
``(D) merit pay programs; and
``(E) testing of elementary school and secondary
school teachers in the academic subjects that the
teachers teach.
``(6) Carrying out professional development activities
designed to improve the quality of principals and
superintendents, including the development and support of
academies to help talented aspiring or current principals and
superintendents become outstanding managers and educational
leaders.
``(7) Hiring highly qualified teachers, including teachers
who become highly qualified through State and local alternative
routes to certification, and special education teachers, in
order to reduce class size, particularly in the early grades.
``(8) Carrying out teacher advancement initiatives that
promote professional growth and emphasize multiple career paths
(such as paths to becoming a career teacher, mentor teacher, or
exemplary teacher) and pay differentiation.
``(10) Carrying out programs and activities related to
exemplary teachers.
[[Page 115 STAT. 1633]]
``(b) Supplement, Not Supplant.--Funds received under this subpart
shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds that
would otherwise be used for activities authorized under this subpart.
