subpart 8—ready to teach

§7257. Grants

(a) In general

The Secretary is authorized to award grants to a nonprofit telecommunications entity, or partnership of such entities, for the purpose of carrying out a national telecommunications-based program to improve teaching in core curriculum areas. The program shall be designed to assist elementary school and secondary school teachers in preparing all students to achieve challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards in core curriculum areas.

(b) Digital educational programming

The Secretary is authorized to award grants, as provided for in section 7257c of this title, to eligible entities described in subsection (b) of such section, to enable such entities to develop, produce, and distribute innovative educational and instructional video programming that is designed for use by elementary schools and secondary schools and based on challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards. In awarding such grants, the Secretary shall ensure that eligible entities enter into multiyear content development collaborative arrangements with State educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, businesses, or other agencies or organizations.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title V, §5481, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title V, §501, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1837.)

§7257a. Application required

(a) General application

(1) In general

To be eligible to receive a grant under section 7257(a) of this title, a nonprofit telecommunications entity, or partnership of such entities shall submit an application to the Secretary. Each such application shall—

(A) demonstrate that the applicant will use the public broadcasting infrastructure, the Internet, and school digital networks, where available, to deliver video and data in an integrated service to train teachers in the use of materials and learning technologies for achieving challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards;

(B) ensure that the project for which assistance is sought will be conducted in cooperation with appropriate State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and State or local nonprofit public telecommunications entities;

(C) ensure that a significant portion of the benefits available for elementary schools and secondary schools from the project for which assistance is sought will be available to schools of local educational agencies that have a high percentage of children counted for the purpose of part A of subchapter I of this chapter; and

(D) contain such additional assurances as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(2) Sites

In approving applications under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that the program authorized by section 7257(a) of this title is conducted at elementary school and secondary school sites throughout the United States.

(b) Programming application

To be eligible to receive a grant under section 7257(b) of this title, an entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title V, §5482, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title V, §501, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1838.)

§7257b. Reports and evaluation

An entity receiving a grant under section 7257(a) of this title shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an annual report that contains such information as the Secretary may require. At a minimum, such report shall describe the program activities undertaken with funds received under the grant, including—

(1) the core curriculum areas for which program activities have been undertaken and the number of teachers using the program in each core curriculum area; and

(2) the States in which teachers using the program are located.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title V, §5483, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title V, §501, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1838.)

§7257c. Digital educational programming grants

(a) Grants

The Secretary is authorized to award grants under section 7257(b) of this title to eligible entities to facilitate the development of educational programming that shall—

(1) include student assessment tools to provide feedback on student academic achievement;

(2) include built-in teacher utilization and support components to ensure that teachers understand and can easily use the content of the programming with group instruction or for individual student use;

(3) be created for, or adaptable to, challenging State academic content standards and student academic achievement standards; and

(4) be capable of distribution through digital broadcasting and school digital networks.

(b) Eligible entities

To be eligible to receive a grant under section 7257(b) of this title, an entity shall be a local public telecommunications entity, as defined in section 397(12) of title 47, that is able to demonstrate a capacity for the development and distribution of educational and instructional television programming of high quality.

(c) Competitive basis

Grants under section 7257(b) of this title shall be awarded on a competitive basis as determined by the Secretary.

(d) Matching requirement

To be eligible to receive a grant under section 7257(b) of this title, an entity shall contribute to the activities assisted under such grant non-Federal matching funds in an amount equal to not less than 100 percent of the amount of the grant. Such matching funds may include funds provided for the transition to digital broadcasting, as well as in-kind contributions.

(e) Duration

A grant under section 7257(b) of this title shall be awarded for a period of 3 years in order to provide a sufficient period of time for the creation of a substantial body of significant content.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title V, §5484, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title V, §501, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1838.)

§7257d. Administrative costs

An entity that receives a grant under this subpart may not use more than 5 percent of the amount received under the grant for administrative costs.

(Pub. L. 89–10, title V, §5485, as added Pub. L. 107–110, title V, §501, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1839.)