NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT.

SEC. 202. NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT. (a) Authorization.— The Secretary is authorized to make a grant to the National Writing Project (hereafter in this section referred to as the “grantee”), a nonprofit educational organization which has as its primary purpose the improvement of the quality of student writing and learning, and the teaching of writing as a learning process in the Nation's classrooms— (1) to support and promote the establishment of teacher training programs, including the dissemination of effective practices and research findings regarding the teaching of writing and administrative activities; (2) to support classroom research on effective teaching practice and to document student performance; and (3) to pay the Federal share of the cost of such programs. (b) Requirements of Grant.— The grant shall provide that— (1) the grantee will enter into contracts with institutions of higher education or other nonprofit educational providers (hereafter in this section referred to as “contractors”) under which the contractors will agree to establish, operate, and provide the non-Federal share of the cost of teacher training programs in effective approaches and processes for the teaching of writing; (2) funds made available by the Secretary to the grantee pursuant to any contract entered into under this section will be used to pay the Federal share of the cost of establishing and operating teacher training programs as provided in paragraph (1); and (3) the grantee will meet such other conditions and standards as the Secretary determines to be necessary to assure compliance with the provisions of this section and will provide such technical assistance as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. (c) Teacher Training Programs.— The teacher training programs authorized in subsection (a) shall— (1) be conducted during the school year and during the summer months; (2) train teachers who teach grades kindergarten through college; (3) select teachers to become members of a National Writing Project teacher network whose members will conduct writing workshops for other teachers in the area served by each National Writing Project site; and (4) encourage teachers from all disciplines to participate in such teacher training programs. 105 STAT. 311 (d) Federal Share.— (1) In general.— Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3) and for purposes of subsection (a), the term “Federal share” means, with respect to the costs of teacher training programs authorized in subsection (a), 50 percent of such costs to the contractor. (2) Waiver.— The Secretary may waive the provisions of paragraph (1) on a case-by-case basis if the National Advisory Board described in subsection (f) determines, on the basis of financial need, that such waiver is necessary. (3) Maximum.— (A) The Federal share of the costs of teacher training programs conducted pursuant to subsection (a) may not exceed $40,000 for any one contractor, or $200,000 for a statewide program administered by any one contractor in at least 5 sites throughout the State. (B) The grantee under section 202, or any school or institution of higher education that receives funds under this section shall not spend more than 10 percent of the Federal funds it receives under this section for administrative costs. (4) Special rule.— For the purposes of this subsection, the costs of teacher programs do not include the administrative costs, publication cost, or the cost of providing technical assistance to the grantee. (e) Classroom Teacher Grants.— (1) In general.— The National Writing Project may reserve an amount not to exceed 5 percent of the amount appropriated pursuant to the authority of this section to make grants, on a competitive basis, to elementary and secondary school teachers to enable such teachers to— (A) conduct classroom research; (B) publish models of student writing; (C) conduct research regarding effective practices to improve the teaching of writing; and (D) conduct other activities to improve the teaching and uses of writing. (2) Supplement and not supplant.— Grants awarded pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be used to supplement and not supplant State and local funds available for the purposes set forth in paragraph (1). (3) Maximum Grant Amount.— Each grant awarded pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed $2,000. (f) National Advisory Board.— (1) Establishment.— The National Writing Project shall establish and operate a National Advisory Board. (2) Composition.— The National Advisory Board established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall consist of— (A) national educational leaders; (B) leaders in the field of writing; and (C) such other individuals as the National Writing Project deems necessary. (3) Duties.— The National Advisory Board established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— (A) advise the National Writing Project on national issues related to student writing and the teaching of writing; (B) review the activities and programs of the National Writing Project; and (C) support the continued development of the National Writing Project. 105 STAT. 312 (g) Evaluation.— The Secretary shall reserve not more than $150,000 from the total combined amount appropriated pursuant to the authority of this section for fiscal years 1991, 1992, and 1993 to conduct an independent evaluation by grant or contract of the teacher training programs administered pursuant to this Act. Such evaluation shall specify the amount of funds expended by the National Writing Project and each contractor receiving assistance under this section for administrative costs. The results of such evaluation shall be made available to the appropriate committees of the Congress. (h) Research and Development Activities.— (1) Grants authorized.— From amounts available to carry out the provisions of this subsection, the Secretary, through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, shall make grants to individuals and institutions of higher education to conduct research activities involving the teaching of writing. (2) Priority.— (A) In awarding grants pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to junior researchers. (B) The Secretary shall award not less than 25 percent of the funds received pursuant to subsection (i)(2) to junior researchers. (C) The Secretary shall make available to the National Writing Project and other national information dissemination networks the findings of the research conducted pursuant to the authority of paragraph (1). (i) Authorization of Appropriations.— (1) In general.— There are authorized to he appropriated for the grant to the National Writing Project, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1991 and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 1992 and 1993 to carry out the provisions of this section. (2) Research and development.— There are authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for fiscal year 1991 to carry out the provisions of subsection (h). (j) Definitions.— As used in this Act— (1) the term “institution of higher education” has the same meaning given such term in section 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965; (2) the term “junior researcher” means a researcher at the assistant professor rank or the equivalent who has not previously received a Federal research grant; and (3) the term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Education.