(1) IN GENERAL.-Each State that receives funds under this Act, not later than 6 months of the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 and in a uniform and comprehensible manner, shall submit to the Secretary the information described in paragraphs (1), (5), and (6) of subsection (b). Such information shall be compiled by the Secretary and submitted to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998.

(2) CONSTRUCTION.-Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require a State to gather information that is not in the possession of the State or the teacher preparation programs in the State, or readily available to the State or teacher preparation programs.

(d) REPORT OF THE SECRETARY ON THE QUALITY OF TEACHER PREPARATION.—

(1) REPORT CARD.-The Secretary shall provide to Congress, and publish and make widely available, a report card on teacher qualifications and preparation in the United States, including all the information reported in paragraphs (1) through (9) of subsection (b). Such report shall identify States for which eligible States and eligible partnerships received a grant under this title. Such report shall be so provided, published and made available not later than 2 years 6 months after the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 and annually thereafter.

(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.-The Secretary shall report to Congress

(A) a comparison of States' efforts to improve teaching quality; and

(B) regarding the national mean and median scores on any standardized test that is used in more than 1 State for teacher certification or licensure.

(3) SPECIAL RULE.-In the case of teacher preparation programs with fewer than 10 graduates taking any single initial teacher certification or licensure assessment during an academic year, the Secretary shall collect and publish information with respect to an average pass rate on State certification or licensure assessments taken over a 3-year period.

(e) COORDINATION.-The Secretary, to the extent practicable, shall coordinate the information collected and published under this title among States for individuals who took State teacher certification or licensure assessments in a State other than the State in which the individual received the individual's most recent degree. (f) INSTITUTIONAL REPORT CARDS ON THE QUALITY OF TEACHER PREPARATION.

(1) REPORT CARD.-Each institution of higher education that conducts a teacher preparation program that enrolls students receiving Federal assistance under this Act, not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 and annually thereafter, shall report to the State and the general public, in a uniform and com

prehensible manner that conforms with the definitions and methods established under subsection (a), the following information:

(A) PASS RATE.-(i) For the most recent year for which the information is available, the pass rate of the institution's graduates on the teacher certification or licensure assessments of the State in which the institution is located, but only for those students who took those assessments within 3 years of completing the program.

(ii) A comparison of the program's pass rate with the average pass rate for programs in the State.

(iii) In the case of teacher preparation programs with fewer than 10 graduates taking any single initial teacher certification or licensure assessment during an academic year, the institution shall collect and publish information with respect to an average pass rate on State certification or licensure assessments taken over a 3-year period.

(B) PROGRAM INFORMATION.-The number of students in the program, the average number of hours of supervised practice teaching required for those in the program, and the faculty-student ratio in supervised practice teaching.

(C) STATEMENT.-In States that approve or accredit teacher education programs, a statement of whether the institution's program is so approved or accredited.

(D) DESIGNATION AS LOW-PERFORMING.-Whether the program has been designated as low-performing by the State under section 208(a).

(2) REQUIREMENT.-The information described in paragraph (1) shall be reported through publications such as school catalogs and promotional materials sent to potential applicants, secondary school guidance counselors, and prospective employers of the institution's program graduates.

(3) FINES.-In addition to the actions authorized in section 487(c), the Secretary may impose a fine not to exceed $25,000 on an institution of higher education for failure to provide the information described in this subsection in a timely or accurate

manner.

SEC. 208. [20 U.S.C. 1028] STATE FUNCTIONS.

(a) STATE ASSESSMENT.-In order to receive funds under this Act, a State, not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, shall have in place a procedure to identify, and assist, through the provision of technical assistance, low-performing programs of teacher preparation within institutions of higher education. Such State shall provide the Secretary an annual list of such low-performing institutions that includes an identification of those institutions at-risk of being placed on such list. Such levels of performance shall be determined solely by the State and may include criteria based upon information collected pursuant to this title. Such assessment shall be described in the report under section 207(b).

(b) TERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.-Any institution of higher education that offers a program of teacher preparation in which the State has withdrawn the State's approval or terminated the State's

financial support due to the low performance of the institution's teacher preparation program based upon the State assessment described in subsection (a)

(1) shall be ineligible for any funding for professional development activities awarded by the Department of Education; and

(2) shall not be permitted to accept or enroll any student that receives aid under title IV of this Act in the institution's teacher preparation program.

(c) NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING.-If the Secretary develops any regulations implementing subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall submit such proposed regulations to a negotiated rulemaking process, which shall include representatives of States, institutions of higher education, and educational and student organizations.

SEC. 209. [20 U.S.C. 1029] GENERAL PROVISIONS.

(a) METHODS.-In complying with sections 207 and 208, the Secretary shall ensure that States and institutions of higher education use fair and equitable methods in reporting and that the reporting methods protect the privacy of individuals.

(b) SPECIAL RULE.-For each State in which there are no State certification or licensure assessments, or for States that do not set minimum performance levels on those assessments—

(1) the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, collect data comparable to the data required under this title from States, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, or other entities that administer such assessments to teachers or prospective teachers; and

(2) notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the Secretary shall use such data to carry out requirements of this title related to assessments or pass rates.

(c) LIMITATIONS.

(1) FEDERAL CONTROL PROHIBITED.-Nothing in this title shall be construed to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize any Federal control over any aspect of any private, religious, or home school, whether or not a home school is treated as a private school or home school under State law. This section shall not be construed to prohibit private, religious, or home schools from participation in programs or services under this title.

(2) NO CHANGE IN STATE CONTROL ENCOURAGED OR REQUIRED.-Nothing in this title shall be construed to encourage or require any change in a State's treatment of any private, religious, or home school, whether or not a home school is treated as a private school or home school under State law.

(3) NATIONAL SYSTEM OF TEACHER CERTIFICATION PROHIBITED. Nothing in this title shall be construed to permit, allow, encourage, or authorize the Secretary to establish or support any national system of teacher certification.

SEC. 210. [20 U.S.C. 1030] AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title $300,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years, of which

(1) 45 percent shall be available for each fiscal year to award grants under section 202;

(2) 45 percent shall be available for each fiscal year to award grants under section 203; and

(3) 10 percent shall be available for each fiscal year to award grants under section 204.

TITLE III-INSTITUTIONAL AID

SEC. 301. [20 U.S.C. 1051] FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds that

(1) there are a significant number of institutions of higher education serving high percentages of minority students and students from low-income backgrounds, that face problems that threaten their ability to survive;

(2) the problems relate to the management and fiscal operations of certain institutions of higher education, as well as to an inability to engage in long-range planning and development activities, including endowment building;

(3) in order to be competitive and provide a high-quality education for all, institutions of higher education should improve their technological capacity and make effective use of technology;

(4) the title III program prior to 1985 did not always meet the specific development needs of historically Black colleges and universities and other institutions with large concentrations of minority, low-income students;

(5) the solution of the problems of these institutions would enable them to become viable, fiscally stable and independent, thriving institutions of higher education;

(6) providing assistance to eligible institutions will enhance the role of such institutions in providing access and quality education to low-income and minority students;

(7) these institutions play an important role in the American system of higher education, and there is a strong national interest in assisting them in solving their problems and in stabilizing their management and fiscal operations, and in becoming financially independent; and

(8) there is a particular national interest in aiding those institutions of higher education that have historically served students who have been denied access to postsecondary education because of race or national origin and whose participation in the American system of higher education is in the Nation's interest so that equality of access and quality of postsecondary education opportunities may be enhanced for all students.

(b) PURPOSE.-It is the purpose of this title to assist such institutions in equalizing educational opportunity through a program of Federal assistance.

PART A STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS

SEC. 311. [20 U.S.C. 1057] PROGRAM PURPOSE.

(a) GENERAL AUTHORIZATION.-The Secretary shall carry out a program, in accordance with this part, to improve the academic

quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions, in order to increase their self-sufficiency and strengthen their capacity to make a substantial contribution to the higher education resources of the Nation.

(b) GRANTS AWARDED; SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.-(1) From the sums available for this part under section 399(a)(1), the Secretary may award grants to any eligible institution with an application approved under section 351 in order to assist such an institution to plan, develop, or implement activities that promise to strengthen the institution.

(2) Special consideration shall be given to any eligible institution

(A) which has endowment funds (other than any endowment fund built under section 332 of this Act as in effect on September 30, 1986, and under part B) the market value of which, per full-time equivalent student, is less than the average current market value of the endowment funds, per fulltime equivalent student (other than any endowment fund built under section 332 of this Act as in effect on September 30, 1986, and under part B) at similar institutions; or

(B) which has expenditures per full-time equivalent student for library materials which is less than the average of the expenditures for library materials per full-time equivalent student by other similarly situated institutions.

(3) Special consideration shall be given to applications which propose, pursuant to the institution's plan, to engage in— (A) faculty development;

(B) funds and administrative management;

(C) development and improvement of academic programs; (D) acquisition of equipment for use in strengthening funds management and academic programs;

(E) joint use of facilities such as libraries and laboratories; and

(F) student services.

(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.-Grants awarded under this section shall be used for 1 or more of the following activities:

(1) Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes, including instructional and research purposes.

(2) Construction, maintenance, renovation, and improvement in classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and other instructional facilities, including the integration of computer technology into institutional facilities to create smart buildings.

(3) Support of faculty exchanges, faculty development, and faculty fellowships to assist in attaining advanced degrees in the field of instruction of the faculty.

(4) Development and improvement of academic programs. (5) Purchase of library books, periodicals, and other educational materials, including telecommunications program material.

(6) Tutoring, counseling, and student service programs designed to improve academic success.