Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 112 Part 2.djvu/739

 PUBLIC LAW 105-244—OCT. 7, 1998 112 STAT. 1623 TITLE II—TEACHER QUALITY SEC. 201. TEACHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT GRANTS. The Act is amended by inserting after title I (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) the following: "TITLE II—TEACHER QUALITY EN- HANCEMENT GRANTS FOR STATES AND PARTNERSHIPS " SBC. 201. PURPOSES; DEFINITIONS. 20 USC 1021. "(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are to— "(1) improve student achievement; "(2) improve the quaUty of the current and future teaching force by improving the preparation of prospective teachers and enhancing professional development activities; "(3) hold institutions of higher education accountable for preparing teachers who have the necessary teaching skills and are highly competent in the academic content areas in which the teachers plan to teach, such as mathematics, science, English, foreign languages, history, economics, art, civics. Government, and geography, including training in the effective uses of technology in the classroom; and " (4) recruit highly qualified individuals, including individuals from other occupations, into the teaching force. "(b) DEFINITIONS.— In this title: "(1) ARTS AND SCIENCES.— The term 'arts and sciences' means— "(A) when referring to an organizational unit of an institution of higher education, any academic unit that offers 1 or more academic majors in disciplines or content areas corresponding to the academic subject matter areas in which teachers provide instruction; and "(B) when referring to a specific academic subject matter area, the disciplines or content areas in which academic majors are offered by the arts and science organizational unit. "(2) HIGH NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL, AOENCY.The term 'high need local educational agency* means a local educational agency that serves an elementary school or secondary school located in an area in which there is— "(A) a high percentage of individuals from families with incomes below the poverty line; "(B) a high percentage of secondary school teachers not teaching in the content area in which the teachers were trained to teach; or "(C) a high teacher turnover rate, "(3) POVERTY LINE.— The term 'poverty line' means the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))) applicable to a family of the size involved.

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