DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Higher Education For an additional amount under part B of title VII of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (“HEA”) for institutions of higher 121 STAT. 158 education (as defined in section 101 or section 102(c) of that Act) that are located in an area in which a major disaster was declared in accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act related to Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, $30,000,000: Provided, That such funds shall be available to the Secretary of Education only for payments to help defray the expenses (which may include lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, and construction) incurred by such institutions of higher education that were forced to close, relocate or significantly curtail their activities as a result of damage directly caused by such hurricanes and for payments to enable such institutions to provide grants to students who attend such institutions for academic years beginning on or after July 1, 2006: Provided further, That such payments shall be made in accordance with criteria established by the Secretary and made publicly available without regard to section 437 of the General Education Provisions Act, section 553 of title 5, United States Code, or part B of title VII of the HEA: Provided further, That the Secretary shall award funds available under this paragraph not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. Hurricane Education Recovery For carrying out activities authorized by subpart 1 of part D of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, $30,000,000, to remain available until expended, for use by the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama primarily for recruiting, retaining, and compensating new and current teachers, school principals, assistant principals, principal resident directors, assistant directors, and other educators, who commit to work for at least three years in school-based positions in public elementary and secondary schools located in an area with respect to which a major disaster was declared under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) by reason of Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, including through such mechanisms as paying salary premiums, performance bonuses, housing subsidies, signing bonuses, and relocation costs and providing loan forgiveness, with priority given to teachers and school-based school principals, assistant principals, principal resident directors, assistant directors, and other educators who previously worked or lived in one of the affected areas, are currently employed (or become employed) in such a school in any of the affected areas after those disasters, and commit to continue that employment for at least 3 years, Provided, That funds available under this heading to such States may also be used for 1 or more of the following activities: (1) to build the capacity, knowledge, and skill of teachers and school-based school principals, assistant principals, principal resident directors, assistant directors, and other educators in such public elementary and secondary schools to provide an effective education, including the design, adaptation, and implementation of high-quality formative assessments; (2) the establishment of partnerships with nonprofit entities with a demonstrated track record in recruiting and retaining outstanding teachers and other school-based school principals, assistant principals, principal resident directors, and assistant directors; and (3) paid release time for teachers and principals to identify and replicate successful practices from the fastest-improving and 121 STAT. 159 highest-performing schools: Provided further, That the Secretary of Education shall allocate amounts available under this heading among such States that submit applications; that such allocation shall be based on the number of public elementary and secondary schools in each State that were closed for 19 days or more during the period beginning on August 29, 2005, and ending on December 31, 2005, due to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita; and that such States shall in turn allocate funds to local educational agencies, with priority given first to such agencies with the highest percentages of public elementary and secondary schools that are closed as a result of such hurricanes as of the date of enactment of this Act and then to such agencies with the highest percentages of public elementary and secondary schools with a student-teacher ratio of at least 25 to 1, and with any remaining amounts to be distributed to such agencies with demonstrated need, as determined by the State Superintendent of Education: Provided further, That, in the case of any State that chooses to use amounts available under this heading for performance bonuses, not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and in collaboration with local educational agencies, teachers’ unions, local principals’ organizations, local parents’ organizations, local business organizations, and local charter schools organizations, the State educational agency shall develop a plan for a rating system for performance bonuses, and if no agreement has been reached that is satisfactory to all consulting entities by such deadline, the State educational agency shall immediately send a letter notifying Congress and shall, not later than 30 days after such notification, establish and implement a rating system that shall be based on classroom observation and feedback more than once annually, conducted by multiple sources (including, but not limited to, principals and master teachers), and evaluated against research-based rubrics that use planning, instructional, and learning environment standards to measure teacher performance, except that the requirements of this proviso shall not apply to a State that has enacted a State law in 2006 authorizing performance pay for teachers. Programs to Restart School Operations Funds made available under section 102 of the Hurricane Education Recovery Act (title IV of division B of Public Law 109–148) may be used by the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas, in addition to the uses of funds described in section 102(e), for the following costs: (1) recruiting, retaining, and compensating new and current teachers, school principals, assistant principals, principal resident directors, assistant directors, and other educators for school-based positions in public elementary and secondary schools impacted by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, including through such mechanisms as paying salary premiums, performance bonuses, housing subsidies, signing bonuses, and relocation costs and providing loan forgiveness; (2) activities to build the capacity, knowledge, and skills of teachers and school-based school principals, assistant principals, principal resident directors, assistant directors, and other educators in such public elementary and secondary schools to provide an effective education, including the design, adaptation, and implementation of high-quality formative assessments; (3) the establishment of partnerships with nonprofit entities with a demonstrated track record in 121 STAT. 160 recruiting and retaining outstanding teachers and school-based school principals, assistant principals, principal resident directors, and assistant directors; and (4) paid release time for teachers and principals to identify and replicate successful practices from the fastest-improving and highest-performing schools.