A bill to amend title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to support teacher corps programs, and for other purposes.

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish Teacher Corps Programs (TC programs) as a new part E under title II (Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program).Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive five-year grants to applicant Collaboratives to establish TC programs.Requires such a Collaborative to contain at least one agency or institution, located in the State in which the Collaborative is established, in each of these categories: (1) the State educational agency (SEA) or the State agency for teacher licensure or certification; (2) a local educational agency (LEA) or an LEA consortium serving high-need elementary and secondary schools (high-need schools, based on specified criteria); and (3) a higher education institution with documented success in teacher preparation. Allows a Collaborative to include other members, such as a tribal college, community college, nonprofit organization, or professional education organization.Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish grant application peer review panels, composed of professional educators, representatives of parent, teacher, and community groups, and other individuals the Secretary deems necessary; (2) give priority to applications from Collaboratives that have documented experience with high-quality preservice or in-service teacher training programs and that are located in States that have developed, or are developing, systems of incentives to encourage effective teachers and strong teaching candidates to teach in high poverty urban or rural areas; and (3) ensure an equitable geographic distribution of grants among U.S. regions and among Collaboratives representing LEAs serving high-need schools.Requires such a grant to be for a five-year period.Sets forth TC program requirements relating to recruitment, curriculum, placement, and evaluation of corps members. Allows certain discretionary activities. Requires Collaboratives to develop program plans that include: (1) strategies and criteria for identifying and selecting mentor teachers for corps members; (2) specifics on compensation for mentor teachers and corps members; (3) assurances of corps member placements in highest-need schools, with subject area and grade level teaching qualifications, in teams, and with no more than 12 members assigned to any one mentor teacher; (4) project evaluation and accountability systems; and (5) a demonstration of how the Collaborative will continue the TC program beyond the duration of the grant.Requires Collaboratives to establish standards for accepting individual corps members.Sets forth a variety of academic, work experience, and other achievement and commitment qualifications, and exemptions, by which candidates may be accepted in a TC program. Categorizes such qualifications according to whether the candidate: (1) intends to teach at the elementary or at the secondary school level; and (2) has applied to a TC program within three years of graduation from a higher education institution or after a longer period.Requires each corps member to commit to three years of full-time teaching in a school or district served by an LEA participating in a Collaborative eligible for funds under this Act. Requires corps members who leave their assigned school districts before the end of such period to reimburse the Department of Education for the amount of the Federal share of the cost of the corps member's participation in the TC program. Requires a Collaborative to include in its grant application information on a method of accountability to assure return of the Federal share. Allows a Collaborative to submit a claim for such a corps member to reimburse it for its share of such cost.Allows such reimbursement amounts to be: (1) proportionally reduced after two years of service; and (2) waived in cases of severe hardship.Requires State agencies for teacher certification or licensures in States with TC Collaborative programs to: (1) ensure that corps members will have and the TC program will provide academic requirements necessary for permanent certification or licensure; and (2) work with the Collaborative to ensure it uses high-quality methods and establishes high-quality requirements concerning alternative routes to such certification.Requires LEAs in a Collaborative to: (1) give hiring priority to teachers who have successfully completed a TC program; and (2) try to place corps members in schools with the greatest need for qualified teachers.Requires each Collaborative to: (1) submit specified information in annual evaluation reports to the Secretary; and (2) provide a proportionally larger share of TC program cost with each succeeding year of the five-year grant period.Authorizes appropriations.