Sec. 2003. American history and civics education
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Title II ( 20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq. ), as amended by section 2002, is further amended by adding at the end the following: From amounts appropriated to carry out this part, the Secretary is authorized to carry out an American history and civics education program to improve— the quality of American history, civics, and government education by educating students about the history and principles of the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights; and the quality of the teaching of American history, civics, and government in elementary schools and secondary schools, including the teaching of traditional American history.
From amounts made available under section 2305 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall— use not less than 85 percent for activities under section 2302; use not less than 10 percent for activities under section 2303; and use not more than 5 percent for activities under section 2304. From the amounts reserved by the Secretary under section 2301(b)(1), the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to local educational agencies— to carry out activities to promote the teaching of traditional American history in elementary schools and secondary schools as a separate academic subject (not as a component of social studies); and for the development, implementation, and strengthening of programs to teach traditional American history as a separate academic subject (not as a component of social studies) within elementary school and secondary school curricula, including the implementation of activities— to improve the quality of instruction; and to provide professional development and teacher education activities with respect to American history.
A local educational agency that receives a grant under subsection
(a)shall carry out activities under the grant in partnership with 1 or more of the following: An institution of higher education. A nonprofit history or humanities organization. A library or museum. To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a local educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. Grants awarded under subsection
(a)shall be for a term of not more than 5 years. From the amounts reserved under section 2301(b)(2), the Secretary shall award not more than 12 grants, on a competitive basis, to— eligible entities to establish Presidential Academies for the Teaching of American History and Civics (in this section referred to as the Presidential Academies ) in accordance with subsection (e); and eligible entities to establish Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics (in this section referred to as the Congressional Academies ) in accordance with subsection (f). An eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under subsection
(a)shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. The term eligible entity under this section means— an institution of higher education or nonprofit educational organization, museum, library, or research center with demonstrated expertise in historical methodology or the teaching of American history and civics; or a consortium of entities described in paragraph (1). Grants awarded to eligible entities under subsection
(a)shall be for a term of not more than 5 years. Each eligible entity that receives a grant under subsection (a)(1) shall use the grant funds to establish a Presidential Academy that offers a seminar or institute for teachers of American history and civics, which— provides intensive professional development opportunities for teachers of American history and civics to strengthen such teachers’ knowledge of the subjects of American history and civics; is led by a team of primary scholars and core teachers who are accomplished in the field of American history and civics; is conducted during the summer or other appropriate time; and is of not less than 2 weeks and not more than 6 weeks in duration. Each year, each Presidential Academy shall select between 50 and 300 teachers of American history and civics from public or private elementary schools and secondary schools to attend the seminar or institute under paragraph (1). Each teacher selected to participate in a seminar or institute under this subsection shall be awarded a fixed stipend based on the length of the seminar or institute to ensure that such teacher does not incur personal costs associated with the teacher’s participation in the seminar or institute. In awarding grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that coordinate or align their activities with the National Park Service National Centennial Parks initiative to develop innovative and comprehensive programs using the resources of the National Parks. Each eligible entity that receives a grant under subsection (a)(2) shall use the grant funds to establish a Congressional Academy that offers a seminar or institute for outstanding students of American history and civics, which— broadens and deepens such students’ understanding of American history and civics; is led by a team of primary scholars and core teachers who are accomplished in the field of American history and civics; is conducted during the summer or other appropriate time; and is of not less than 2 weeks and not more than 6 weeks in duration. Each year, each Congressional Academy shall select between 100 and 300 eligible students to attend the seminar or institute under paragraph (1). A student shall be eligible to attend a seminar or institute offered by a Congressional Academy under this subsection if the student— is recommended by the student’s secondary school principal or other school leader to attend the seminar or institute; and will be a junior or senior in the academic year following attendance at the seminar or institute. Each student selected to participate in a seminar or institute under this subsection shall be awarded a fixed stipend based on the length of the seminar or institute to ensure that such student does not incur personal costs associated with the student’s participation in the seminar or institute. An eligible entity that receives funds under subsection
(a)shall provide, toward the cost of the activities assisted under the grant, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount of the grant. The Secretary may waive all or part of the matching requirement described in paragraph
(1)for any fiscal year for an eligible entity if the Secretary determines that applying the matching requirement would result in serious hardship or an inability to carry out the activities described in subsection
(e)or (f). The purpose of this section is to promote new and existing evidence-based strategies to encourage innovative American history, civics and government, and geography instruction, learning strategies, and professional development activities and programs for teachers, principals, and other school leaders, particularly such instruction, strategies, activities, and programs that benefit low-income students and underserved populations. From the funds reserved by the Secretary under section 2301(b)(3), the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities for the purposes of— expanding, developing, implementing, evaluating, and disseminating for voluntary use, innovative, evidenced-based approaches or professional development programs in American history, civics and government, and geography, which may include— hands-on civic engagement activities for teachers and low-income students; and programs that educate students about the history and principles of the Constitution of the United States, including the Bill of Rights and that demonstrate scalability, accountability, and a focus on underserved populations; and developing other innovative approaches that— improve the quality of student achievement in, and teaching of, American history, civics and government, and geography, in elementary schools and secondary schools; and demonstrate innovation, scalability, accountability, and a focus on underserved populations. A grant awarded by the Secretary to an eligible entity under this section shall be for a period of not more than 3 years. The Secretary may renew a grant awarded under this section for 1 additional 2-year period. In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, grants are distributed among eligible entities that will serve geographically diverse areas, including urban, suburban, and rural areas. In order to receive a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. In this section, the term eligible entity means an institution of higher education or other nonprofit or for-profit organization with demonstrated expertise in the development of evidence-based approaches for improving the quality of American history, geography, and civics learning and teaching. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2016 through 2021. .
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Sec. 2003
American history and civics education
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