PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jun 30, 1999
Smart Classrooms Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise and rename title II as Smart Classrooms (replacing the current title II Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program).(Sec. 2) Sets forth a new title II part A Qualified Teachers in Every Classroom program of grants to improve the quality of teaching and learning.Authorizes appropriations for State and Local Activities and National Activities for the Improvement of Teaching and School Leadership.Directs the Secretary of Education to make State and Local Activities grants to States according to certain hold-harmless provisions and allotment formulas.Requires States to distribute such grant funds as follows: (1) 92 percent for subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) according to specified formulas, with 20 percent of that LEA subgrant total amount reserved for competitive subgrants; (2) at least two percent for competitive subgrants to eligible partnerships; and (3) up to six percent for authorized State activities.Sets forth requirements for LEA applications for formula subgrants and for competitive subgrants.Requires LEAs to use all funds from such subgrants, up to a specified amount, for professional development activities in mathematics and science, in an amount at least equal to that under the current Eisenhower Program (unless given a State waiver). Allows LEA use of such funds for interdisciplinary activities that focus on more than one core academic subject if those activities focus predominantly on improving instruction in mathematics or science. Requires that any use of such funds for professional development, when it is in areas other than mathematics or science, be in core academic subjects.Requires LEAs receiving subgrants to: (1) report annually to SEAs on activities funded by subgrants; and (2) provide parents information regarding the professional qualifications of students' classroom teachers.Sets forth requirements for SEA technical assistance to LEAs, corrective actions, and limitations on use of funds.Sets forth certain national activities for the improvement of teaching and school leadership. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out such activities through grants to, and contracts and agreements with, various entities. Includes among such activities support for: (1) the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; (2) recruitment and retention of fully qualified teachers and principals in high-poverty LEAs and low-performing LEAs; and (3) improvement of teaching and school leadership in the Nation's schools.Authorizes the Secretary to reserve a specified amount to make competitive grants for professional development for principals as leaders of school reform to eligible partnerships of institutions of higher education (IHEs), LEAS, and other entities.Authorizes the Secretary to reserve a specified amount to make competitive grants for school technology centers to eligible partnerships of IHEs, technology-deficient LEAS, technology-proficient LEAs, and other entities.Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant or contract to continue the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education.Directs the Secretary to gather and disseminate information related to comprehensive, research-based professional development.Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to establish or expand elementary and secondary school counseling programs.Provides for a program for transition of career-changing professionals to teaching and for the Troops-to-Teachers Program. Authorizes the Secretary to use specified funds for a program to recruit qualified math and science teachers for high-need school systems, following the model of the Troops-to-Teachers teacher placement program. Authorizes program grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to higher education institutions and public and private nonprofit entities. Authorizes continuation of the Troops-to-Teachers Program under specified conditions. Authorizes appropriations.Establishes a class-size reduction program to help States and LEAs recruit, train, and hire 100,000 additional teachers over a seven-year period in order to: (1) reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and (2) improve teaching in the early grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade. Authorizes appropriations.Redesignates as part D the Professional Development Demonstration Project (currently part C).Extends the authorization of appropriations for the National Writing Project (NWP).Provides for sabbatical leave for professional development. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to SEAs and LEAs to pay one-half of amount of the salary that otherwise would be earned by an eligible teacher who completes a course of study during a sabbatical term. Authorizes appropriations.Prescribes program performance indicators.(Sec. 3) Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Reading Excellence Act (REA) program under ESEA.
People & committees
Rep. Martinez, Matthew G. [D-CA-31] · D–CA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 20, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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