2025-01275.pdf

5845 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 11 / Friday, January 17, 2025 / Notices activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, 202–245–6347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner;

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;

(4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Program for International Student Assessment 2025 (PISA 2025) Main Study.

OMB Control Number: 1850–0755.

Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved ICR.

Respondents/Affected Public:

Individuals and Households. Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 59,087.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 19,041.

Abstract: The Program for International Student Assessments (PISA) is an international assessment of 15-year-olds which focuses on assessing students’ reading, mathematics, and science literacy. PISA was first administered in 2000 and is conducted every three years. The ninth cycle of the study, PISA 2025, is being administered at a time when interest is increasing, both worldwide and in the United States, in how well schools are preparing students to meet the challenges of the future, and how the students perform compared with their peers in other education systems of the world. Approximately 85 education systems, including the U.S., are expected to participate in 2025. The U.S. has participated in all previous cycles and is participating in 2025 in order to track trends and to compare the performance of U.S. students with that in other education systems. PISA 2025 is sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In the U.S., PISA 2025 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education.

PISA is a collaboration among the participating countries, the OECD, and a group of international organizations each under contract to the OECD (hereafter referred to as the PISA International Consortium).

In each administration of PISA, one of the subject areas (reading, mathematics, or science literacy) is the major domain and has the broadest content coverage, while the other two subjects are the minor domains. Science literacy will be the major domain in PISA 2025. Other areas may also be assessed, such as, in the case of PISA 2025, Learning in a Digital World (LDW), which will be an innovative domain in 2025. PISA assesses students’ knowledge and skills gained both in and out of school environments. The focus on the ‘‘yield’’ of education in and out of school makes it different from other international assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which are closely tied to school curriculum frameworks and assess younger and grade-based populations.

Like previous rounds of PISA in 2015, 2018, and 2022, in PISA 2025 the entire assessment and the questionnaires will be administered on computer. In addition to the cognitive assessments, PISA 2025 will include questionnaires administered to school principals and assessed students. The school questionnaire will be delivered online.

The school and student questionnaires are core components of PISA and as such are required for all participating countries. The teacher questionnaire, which is optional and was administered in previous rounds (2015 and 2018), will not be administered in 2025 because the U.S. has deemed the resulting data inadequate for analyses due to the lack of weights for the teacher data.

To prepare for the main study in 2025, PISA countries conducted a field test in the spring of 2024, primarily to evaluate newly developed assessment and questionnaire items but also to test the assessment operations. The PISA 2025 field test data collection occurred in the U.S.A. March-April 2024 and the main study data collection will take place September-November 2025. This submission requests approval for all final materials associated with recruitment and data collection activities related to the PISA 2025 main study and is accompanied by a notice published in the Federal Register allowing a 30-day public comment period on the final details of the PISA 2025 main study data collection. In order to conduct the main study by March 2025, we are submitting this 30D revision with the final main study student video (Appendix A–2) and final school and student questionnaires (Appendix C–2), as well as refined details about changes to the design and procedures for the main study (Parts A & B).

Dated: January 14, 2025.

Stephanie Valentine, PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.

[FR Doc. 2025–01202 Filed 1–16–25; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Applications for New Awards;

Supporting Effective Educator Development Program

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) is issuing a notice inviting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2025 for the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) program.

DATES:

Applications Available: January 17, 2025.

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply:

Applicants are strongly encouraged, but not required, to submit a notice of intent to apply by February 18, 2025.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 18, 2025.

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 19, 2025.

Pre-Application Webinars: The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education intends to conduct informational webinars designed to provide technical assistance to interested applicants for grants under the Academies Program.

These informational webinars occur approximately 2 weeks after the publication of this notice in the Federal Register at https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/teacher-prep/supporting-effective-educator-development-grant-program#Applicant-Info.

ADDRESSES: For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2024 (89 FR 104528) and available at www.federalregister.gov/documents/ 2024/12/23/2024-30488/common-instructions-for-applicants-to-department-of-education-discretionary-grant-programs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

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1 Silva, T., McKie, A., and Gleason, P. (2015).

New Findings on the Retention of Novice Teachers from Teaching Residency Programs. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20154015/ pdf/20154015.pdf.

2 Cherng, H.-Y. S., & Davis, L.A. (2019).

Multicultural Matters: An Investigation of Key Assumptions of Multicultural Education Reform in Teacher Education. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(3), 219236. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0022487117742884.

4 www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm.

5 nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cge.asp.

6 nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/ pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020125.

7 Reyes, M.R., Brackett, M.A., Rivers, SE, White, M., & Salovey, P. (2012). Classroom Emotional Climate, Student Engagement, and Academic Achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(3), 700.

8 www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/raise-the-bar/ executive-summary.pdf.

9 See id.

10 See id.

11 Fenwick, L. (2016). Teacher preparation innovation and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Teaching Works working papers. University of Michigan. https:// www.teachingworks.org/images/files/ TeachingWorks_Fenwick.pdf.

12 See id.

Washington, DC 20222–5960. Email:

Orman.Feres@ed.gov or SEED@ed.gov.

Phone: (202) 219–1764.

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The SEED program, authorized under section 2242 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 6672), provides funding to increase the number of highly effective educators by supporting the implementation of evidence-based practices that prepare, develop, or enhance the skills of educators. These grants will allow eligible entities to develop, expand, and evaluate practices that can serve as models to be sustained and disseminated.

Assistance Listing Number: 84.423A.

OMB Control Number: 1894–0006.

Background: The SEED program is designed to foster the use of rigorous evidence-based practices in selecting and implementing strategies and interventions that support educators’ development across the continuum of their careers (e.g., in preparation, recruitment, professional learning, and leadership development). The Biden- Harris Administration has made a commitment to supporting targeted efforts that will provide comprehensive, high-quality pathways, such as residency, Grow Your Own, and registered apprenticeship programs, for educator preparation and development programs focused on building a more diverse educator pipeline, and increasing the retention of a diverse educator workforce. For example, research shows that teachers who have access to pathways such as residencies into the profession are more likely to stay in the profession and have effectiveness compared to teachers who received less comprehensive preparation.1

This competition includes several areas of particular interest to the Department. Studies suggest that all students benefit from having teachers of color. Students of color being exposed to teachers of their race or ethnicity has a positive effect on their academic and social achievement, and increases their attendance, high school graduation rates, and college attendance. In addition to student academic performance, a diverse educator workforce can lead to improved student behavior and classroom environments for all students.2 3 However, only around one in five teachers 4 are people of color, compared to more than half of K–12 public school students.5 The Department recognizes that a diverse educator workforce plays a critical role in ensuring equity in our schools, while also supporting intercultural experiences and competencies in our education system that will benefit and improve the opportunities for all students.

Access to educational resources and opportunities such as rigorous coursework and dual enrollment can have positive impacts on underserved students. For example, a December 2020 brief from the National Center for Education Statistics 6 revealed that there is a correlation between the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in a school and the likelihood that those students will have access to dual enrollment opportunities.

The study showed that schools with a higher percentage of students who were approved for free or reduced-price lunch were less likely to offer dual enrollment than schools with a lower rate of participation in free or reduced-price lunch programs. Such examples of inadequate or inequitable access to educational resources can lead to the students from higher poverty schools having fewer opportunities for educational enrichment.

Additionally, the Department recognizes the importance of ensuring that children and youth learn, grow, and achieve in safe and supportive environments, and in the care of responsive adults they trust.7 In addition to allowing applicants to propose a project designed to promote educational equity and adequacy in resources and opportunity, applicants are encouraged to prepare teachers to create inclusive, supportive, equitable, unbiased, and identity-safe learning environments for their students that meet their social emotional and academic needs.

Consistent with the Department’s Raise the Bar: Lead the World call to action,8 a diverse educator workforce plays an essential role in ensuring equity in our education system, and strengthening pathways into the profession and supporting teacher professional development are critical elements. In addition to implementing strong induction and mentoring programs and improving workplace culture by creating inclusive environments and reducing job-related stress, studies show that building and maintaining strong relationships with organizations that prepare teachers of color, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions, is another high-yield strategy to recruit and retain diverse educators.9 HBCUs, for example, have been a strong pipeline for educators and leaders of color. Although they make up only 3 percent of the Nation’s colleges and universities, HBCUs prepare nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s African American teachers.10 HBCUs are indispensable to producing and advancing educational opportunities for students of color, first-generation students, and other underrepresented students who are interested in the teaching profession.11 In many urban and rural communities, HBCUs produce high numbers of teachers who work in the local school divisions.12 Leveraging the HBCU network to recruit effective teachers of color is a high-impact strategy to diversify the educator pipeline and, in turn, advance student achievement.

Registered apprenticeships are another pathway into the profession that have the potential to be an effective, high-quality. The ‘‘earn and learn’’ apprenticeship model allows candidates to earn their teaching credential while earning pay by combining structured, paid, on-the-job learning experiences with a mentor teacher, with coursework and other components of an evidence-

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13 https://www.aprenticeship.gov/apprenticeship-industries/education.

14 https://www.apprenticeship.gov/sites/default/ files/22-0119-joint-dcl-signed-ed.pdf.

15 https://www.ed.gov/raisethebar/educators.

16 https://www.apprenticeship.gov/ apprenticeship-industries/education.

17 https://www.educatorapprenticeships.com/.

18 https://www.thepathwaysalliance.org/reports;

https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/education-labor-departments-announce-new-efforts-to-advance-teacher-preparation-programs-and-expand-registered-apprenticeships-educators.

19 THE EARLY ACHIEVEMENT AND

DEVELOPMENT GAP (hhs.gov), THE

PERSISTENCE OF PRESCHOOL EFFECTS FROM

EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH ADOLESCENCE—

PMC (nih.gov).

20 AECF-Early_Warning_Full_Report-2010.pdf, Closing Achievement Gaps Through Preschool-To- Third-Grade Programs—PMC (nih.gov).

21 THE CHALLENGE OF SUSTAINING

PRESCHOOL IMPACTS Introducing ExCEL P–3, a Study from the Expanding Children’s Early Learning Network.

22 P–3TeacherEffectiveness2.pdf (americanprogress.org).

23 P–3TeacherEffectiveness2.pdf (americanprogress.org).

24 Sheridan, S.M., Knoche, L.L., Kupzyk, K.A., Edwards, C.P., & Marvin, C.A. (2011). A randomized trial examining the effects of parent engagement on early language and literacy: The Getting Ready intervention. Journal of school psychology, 49(3), 361–383. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jsp.2011.03.001 13. Sheldon, S.B., & Epstein, J.L. (2005). Involvement counts: Family and community partnerships and mathematics achievement. The Journal of Educational Research, 98(4), 196–207. https://doi.org/10.3200/

JOER.98.4.196-207.

25 Engaging First: Supporting Young Learners Through Family Engagement. Engaging-First-V8.pdf (edtrust.org).

26 Results in Brief: Preschool Through Third Grade Alignment and Differentiated Instruction: A Literature Review—August 1, 2016 (PDF).

based program.13 Registered apprenticeship programs for K–12 teachers can be used to establish, scale, and build on existing high-quality pathways into teaching that emphasize classroom-based experience, such as Grow Your Own and teacher residency programs. By reducing the cost of earning a license and offering flexible scheduling, registered apprenticeship programs are designed to open the doors to the profession to those who may otherwise face barriers, including people of color, people from low-income backgrounds, and individuals such as paraprofessionals who may already have decades of experience in the classroom but previously could not afford to become a teacher. Once registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or their State apprenticeship agency (requirements vary by State), these programs can access Federal workforce funding, such as Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V) funding, in addition to other Federal, State, and local education and workforce funds, bringing additional resources to help address educator shortages.

In August of 2022, Secretary Cardona and then-Labor Secretary Marty Walsh issued a joint Dear Colleague Letter 14 calling on all States to establish registered apprenticeship programs for K–12 teachers to help eliminate educator shortages and outlining how States and other interested parties can learn more about this approach.

Applicants are encouraged to explore resources on registered apprenticeship programs for teachers on the Department’s Raise the Bar web page on eliminating educator shortages; 15 at the Department of Labor’s apprenticeship website focused on the education industry; 16 through the Department of Labor funded Educator Registered Apprenticeship Intermediary; 17 and through the resources of the Pathways Alliance, including National Guidelines for Apprenticeship Standards for K–12 Teacher Apprenticeships, approved by the Department of Labor and previously highlighted by the Department, to support high-quality programs.18

Finally, the Department seeks to strengthen professional development for early elementary educators and school leaders. Given the opportunity and achievement gaps for students from low-income backgrounds that are present as they enter kindergarten and widen during the kindergarten year, and the cumulative gap that persists into and through the early grades,19 the early elementary grades are foundational for improving 3rd grade outcomes, 4th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress scores, and laying the path for early and later school success.20 Moreover, gains from attending high-quality preschool are not currently being sustained for these same students,21 reinforcing the need for pre-service and ongoing professional learning and development opportunities for both early grade educators and school leaders.22 Young learners benefit from having educators who implement early grade instructional supports that are inclusive and developmentally informed, culturally and linguistically responsive, and consistent with an understanding of the science of learning and development and who work with parents and families as partners.23 Family engagement is associated with higher early literacy and math skills and leads to better student outcomes.24 Yet, teachers report needing more professional development on family engagement.25 Research has also shown that instructional alignment across K–3 mitigates the challenges many students face as they move through the early grades.26 Training and supports for teachers and principals should elevate both pre-service and ongoing professional learning opportunities for collaboration across K–3 and effective partnerships with parents and families to meet rigorous 3rd grade reading and math standards.

To advance these critical areas of focus, this competition includes two absolute priorities. Absolute Priority 1, Supporting Effective Teachers and Absolute Priority 2, Supporting Effective Principals or Other School Leaders are from section 2242 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6672) and 34 CFR

75.226. This competition also includes

three competitive preference priorities.

Competitive Preference Priority 1 focuses on increasing educator diversity in classrooms across the Nation.

Competitive Preference Priority 2 encourages applicants to develop programs that promote equity in student access to educational resources and opportunities and that prepare teachers to create inclusive, supportive, equitable, unbiased, and identity-safe learning environments for students.

Competitive Preference Priority 3 addresses the critical need to support a diverse educator workforce.

In addition, this competition includes two invitational priorities. Invitational Priority 1 promotes registered apprenticeship programs for K–12 teachers as a method to build on existing high-quality educator preparation pathways into teaching while reducing the cost of earning a teaching license. Invitational Priority 2 encourages applicants to explore professional learning supports for early elementary teachers and school leaders.

Priorities: This notice contains two absolute priorities and three competitive preference priorities. In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), Absolute Priority 1, which requires moderate evidence, and Absolute Priority 2, which requires promising evidence, are from section 2242 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6672) and 34 CFR 75.226.

Competitive Preference Priority 1 is from the Effective Educator Development (EED) notice of final priorities published in the Federal Register on July 9, 2021 (86 FR 36217) (EED NFP). Competitive Preference Priorities 2 and 3 are from the Secretary’s notice of final supplemental priorities and definitions published in the Federal Register on December 10, 2021 (86 FR 70612) (Supplemental Priorities).

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27 ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/.

Absolute Priorities: For FY 2025 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, these priorities are absolute priorities.

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet one of these absolute priorities.

Under this competition, each of the two absolute priorities constitutes its own funding category. Applicants may address only one absolute priority and must clearly indicate the specific absolute priority their project addresses.

These priorities are:

Absolute Priority 1—Supporting

Effective Teachers.

This priority is for projects that will implement activities that are supported by moderate evidence. Applicants under this priority may propose one or more of the following activities:

(1) Providing teachers from nontraditional preparation and certification routes or pathways to serve in traditionally underserved local educational agencies (LEAs);

(2) Providing evidence-based professional development activities that address literacy, numeracy, remedial, or other needs of LEAs and the students the agencies serve;

or

(3) Providing teachers with evidence-based professional enhancement activities, which may include activities that lead to an advanced credential.

Absolute Priority 2—Supporting Effective Principals or Other School Leaders.

This priority is for projects that will implement activities that are supported by promising evidence. Applicants under this priority may propose one or more of the following activities:

(1) Providing principals or other school leaders from nontraditional preparation and certification routes or pathways to serve in traditionally underserved LEAs;

(2) Providing principals or other school leaders with evidence-based professional development activities that address literacy, numeracy, remedial, or other needs of LEAs and the students the agencies serve; or

(3) Providing principals or other school leaders with evidence-based professional enhancement activities, which may include activities that lead to an advanced credential.

Note on Meeting Evidence Requirements: An applicant must identify at least one, but no more than two, citations for the purposes of meeting the evidence requirements under either Absolute Priority 1 or Absolute Priority 2. An applicant should clearly identify these citations in the Evidence form. The Department will not review a citation that an applicant fails to clearly identify for review.

Studies included for review may have been conducted by the applicant or by a third party.

In addition to including up to two citations, an applicant must provide a description of (1) the positive outcome(s) and practice(s) the applicant intends to replicate under its SEED grant and (2) the relevance of the outcome(s) and practice(s) to the SEED program. For those applicants seeking to address Absolute Priority 1, to meet the definition of moderate evidence the applicant must describe how the population it proposes to serve overlaps with the population or settings in the citations.

An applicant must ensure that all evidence is available to the Department from publicly available sources and provide links or other guidance indicating where it is available. If the Department determines that an applicant has provided insufficient information, the applicant will not have an opportunity to provide additional information at a later time. However, if the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) 27 determines that a study does not provide enough information on key aspects of the study design, such as sample attrition or equivalence of intervention and comparison groups, the WWC will submit a query to the study author(s) to gather information for use in determining a study rating.

Authors are asked to respond to queries within 10 business days. Should the author query remain incomplete within 14 days of the initial contact to the study author(s), the study will be deemed ineligible under the grant competition. After the grant competition closes, the WWC will continue to include responses to author queries and will make updates to study reviews as necessary, but no additional information will be taken into account after the competition closes and the initial timeline established for response to an author query passes.

Competitive Preference Priorities: For FY 2025 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, these priorities are competitive preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award up to an additional 13 points to an application, depending on how well the application addresses the competitive preference priorities.

If an applicant chooses to address one or more competitive preference priorities, the project narrative section of its application must identify its response to the competitive preference priorities it chooses to address.

These priorities are:

Competitive Preference Priority 1—

Increasing Educator Diversity (up to 5 points).

Under this priority, applicants must develop projects that are designed to improve the recruitment, outreach, preparation, support, development, and retention of a diverse educator workforce through adopting, implementing, or expanding high-quality, comprehensive teacher preparation programs that have a track record of attracting, supporting, graduating, and placing underrepresented teacher candidates, and that include one year of high-quality clinical experiences (prior to becoming the teacher of record) in high-need schools.

Competitive Preference Priority 2— Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources and Opportunities; Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs (up to 3 points).

Under this priority, an applicant must develop projects that address one or more of the following—

(a) Projects designed to promote educational equity and adequacy in resources and opportunity for underserved students—

(1) In one or more of the following educational settings:

(i) Early learning programs.

(ii) Elementary school.

(iii) Middle school.

(iv) High school.

(v) Career and technical education programs.

(vi) Out-of-school-time settings.

(vii) Alternative schools and programs.

(viii) Juvenile justice system or correctional facilities;

(2) That examines the sources of inequity and inadequacy and implements responses that include pedagogical practices in educator preparation programs and professional development programs that are inclusive with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, language, and disability status so that educators are better prepared to create inclusive, supportive, equitable, unbiased, and identity-safe learning environments for their students.

(b) Projects that are designed to improve students’ social, emotional, academic, and career development, with a focus on underserved students, through developing and supporting educator and school capacity to support social and emotional learning and development that—

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28 See, for example, for registered apprenticeship programs for teachers, the National Guidelines for Apprenticeship Standards for K–12 Teacher Apprenticeships, drafted by the Pathways Alliance and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor https://www.thepathwaysalliance.org/reports.

(1) Fosters skills and behaviors that enable academic progress;

(2) Identifies and addresses conditions in the learning environment, that may negatively impact social and emotional well-being for underserved students, including conditions that affect physical safety; and

(3) Is trauma-informed, such as addressing exposure to community-based violence and trauma specific to military- or veteran-connected students.

Competitive Priority 3—Supporting a Diverse Educator Workforce and Professional Growth to Strengthen Student Learning (up to 5 points).

Projects that are designed to increase the proportion of well-prepared, diverse, and effective educators serving students, with a focus on underserved students, through building or expanding high-poverty school districts’ capacity to hire, support, and retain an effective and diverse educator workforce, through adopting or expanding comprehensive, strategic career and compensation systems that provide competitive compensation and include opportunities for educators to serve as mentors and instructional coaches, or to take on additional leadership roles and responsibilities for which educators are compensated.

Invitational Priorities: For FY 2025 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, these priorities are invitational priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets these invitational priorities a competitive or absolute preference over other applications.

These priorities are:

Invitational Priority 1—Partnership

Grants for the Establishment of Registered Apprenticeship Programs for K–12 Teachers.

A project implementing a new or enhanced registered apprenticeship program for K–12 teachers that—

(a) Is developed with the partner LEA (Local educational agency) to address the needs of its students and teachers;

(b) Uses data-driven strategies and evidence-based approaches to increase recruitment, successful completion, and retention of teachers supported by the project;

(c) Provides standards for participants to enter into and complete the program;

(d) Is aligned to evidence-based practices for effective educator preparation, and includes practice-based learning opportunities linked to coursework that address State requirements for full certification, professional standards for teacher preparation, culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogies, and the established knowledge base for education, including the science of learning and development; 28

(e) Has little to no financial burden for program participants, or provides for loan forgiveness;

(f) Requires completion of a bachelor’s degree either before entering or as a result of the certification program;

(g) Results in the satisfaction of all requirements for full State teacher licensure or certification, excluding emergency, temporary, provisional, or other sub-standard licensure or certification; and

(h) Provides increasing levels of responsibility for the apprentice during at least one year of paid on-the-job learning/clinical experience, during which a mentor teacher is the teacher of record.

Invitational Priority 2—Supporting Early Elementary Educators and/or School Leaders.

Projects and initiatives that include early elementary teacher and/or school leader preparation programs, professional development and training, professional learning communities, coaching, peer learning collaboratives, and resources to support K–3 early elementary educators and/or school leaders in instructional practices that meet the wide range of developmental and linguistic strengths, needs, and experiences of students at kindergarten entry through the early grades with a focus on one or more of the following:

(a) Instruction informed by the science of learning and development in kindergarten through 3rd grade.

(b) Instruction that is inclusive and developmentally, culturally, and linguistically responsive.

(c) Intentional and effective transitions into kindergarten and through the early grades.

(d) Partnerships with parents, families, and caregivers and successful family engagement, into kindergarten and through 3rd grade.

(e) Intentional collaboration to support inclusive, linguistically responsive, and developmentally informed instructional alignment in K– 3, including continuity of services, supports, assessments, relationships, and data sharing across K–3.

Definitions: The definition of ‘‘evidence-based’’ is from section 2242 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 6672) and section 8101 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C.

7801). The definitions of ‘‘English learner,’’ ‘‘institution of higher education,’’ which incorporates by reference section 101(a) of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (20 U.S.C.

7801(a)), ‘‘local educational agency,’’ ‘‘professional development,’’ ‘‘school leader,’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ are from section 8101 of the ESEA (20 U.S.C. 7801). The definitions of ‘‘continuous improvement,’’ ‘‘evaluation,’’ ‘‘evidence-building,’’ ‘‘experimental study,’’ ‘‘logic model,’’ ‘‘moderate evidence,’’ ‘‘project component,’’ ‘‘promising evidence,’’ ‘‘quasi-experimental design study,’’ ‘‘relevant outcome,’’ and ‘‘What Works Clearinghouse Handbooks’’ are from 34 CFR 77.1. The definitions of ‘‘children or students with disabilities,’’ ‘‘disconnected youth,’’ ‘‘early learning,’’ ‘‘educator,’’ ‘‘military- or veteran-connected student,’’ and ‘‘underserved student’’ are from the Supplemental Priorities. The definition of ‘‘national nonprofit entity’’ is from the notice of final definition published in the Federal Register on April 4, 2022 (87 FR 19388) (Final Definition).

Children or students with disabilities means children with disabilities as defined in section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)) and 34 CFR 300.8, or students with disabilities, as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705(37), 705(202)(B)).

Continuous improvement means using plans for collecting and analyzing data about a project component’s implementation and outcomes (including the pace and extent to which project outcomes are being met) to inform necessary changes throughout the project. These plans may include strategies to gather ongoing feedback from participants and stakeholders on the implementation of the project component.

Disconnected youth means an individual, between the ages 14 and 24, who may be from a low-income background, experiences homelessness, is in foster care, is involved in the justice system, or is not working or not enrolled in (or at risk of dropping out of) an educational institution.

Early learning means any—

(1) State-licensed or State-regulated program or provider, regardless of setting or funding source, that provides early care and education for children from birth to kindergarten entry, including, but not limited to, any program operated by a child care center or in a family child care home;

(2) Program funded by the Federal Government or State or local

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(3) Early Head Start and Head Start program;

(4) Non-relative child care provider who is not otherwise regulated by the State and who regularly cares for two or more unrelated children for a fee in a provider setting; and

(5) Other program that may deliver early learning and development services in a child’s home, such as the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program; Early Head Start; and Part C of IDEA.

Educator means, for the purposes of Competitive Preference Priorities 2 and 3, an individual who is an early learning educator, teacher, principal or other school leader, specialized instructional support personnel (e.g., school psychologist, counselor, school social worker, early intervention service personnel), paraprofessional, or faculty.

English learner means, when used with respect to an individual, an individual—

(1) Who is aged 3 through 21;

(2) Who is enrolled or preparing to enroll in an elementary school or secondary school;

(3)(i) Who was not born in the United States or whose native language is a language other than English;

(ii)(A) Who is a Native American or Alaska Native, or a native resident of the outlying areas; and

(B) Who comes from an environment where a language other than English has had a significant impact on the individual’s level of English language proficiency; or

(iii) Who is migratory, whose native language is a language other than English, and who comes from an environment where a language other than English is dominant; and

(4) Whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the individual—

(i) The ability to meet the challenging State academic standards;

(ii) The ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the language of instruction is English; or

(iii) The opportunity to participate fully in society.

Evaluation means an assessment using systematic data collection and analysis of one or more programs, policies, practices, and organizations intended to assess their implementation, outcomes, effectiveness, or efficiency.

Evidence-based, when used with respect to a State, LEA, or school activity, means an activity, strategy, or intervention that demonstrates a statistically significant effect on improving student outcomes or other relevant outcomes based on—

(1) Strong evidence from at least one well-designed and well-implemented experimental study;

(2) Moderate evidence from at least one well designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental study;

or

(3) Promising evidence from at least one well-designed and well-implemented correlational study with statistical controls for selection bias.

Evidence-building means a systematic plan for identifying and answering questions relevant to programs and policies through performance measurement, exploratory studies, or program evaluation.

Experimental study means a study that is designed to compare outcomes between two groups of individuals (such as students) that are otherwise equivalent except for their assignment to either a treatment group receiving a project component or a control group that does not. Randomized controlled trials, regression discontinuity design studies, and single-case design studies are the specific types of experimental studies that, depending on their design and implementation (e.g., sample attrition in randomized controlled trials and regression discontinuity design studies), can meet What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards without reservations as described in the WWC Handbooks:

(1) A randomized controlled trial employs random assignment of, for example, students, teachers, classrooms, or schools to receive the project component being evaluated (the treatment group) or not to receive the project component (the control group).

(2) A regression discontinuity design study assigns the project component being evaluated using a measured variable (e.g., assigning students reading below a cutoff score to tutoring or developmental education classes) and controls for that variable in the analysis of outcomes.

(3) A single-case design study uses observations of a single case (e.g., a student eligible for a behavioral intervention) over time in the absence and presence of a controlled treatment manipulation to determine whether the outcome is systematically related to the treatment.

Institution of higher education (IHE) means an educational institution in any State that—

(1) Admits as regular students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate, or persons who meet the requirements of section 484(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA);

(2) Is legally authorized within such State to provide a program of education beyond secondary education;

(3) Provides an educational program for which the institution awards a bachelor’s degree or provides not less than a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree, or awards a degree that is acceptable for admission to a graduate or professional degree program, subject to review and approval by the Secretary;

(4) Is a public or other nonprofit institution; and

(5) Is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association, or if not so accredited, is an institution that has been granted pre-accreditation status by such an agency or association that has been recognized by the Secretary for the granting of pre-accreditation status, and the Secretary has determined that there is satisfactory assurance that the institution will meet the accreditation standards of such an agency or association within a reasonable time.

Local educational agency (LEA) means:

(1) In General. A public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or of or for a combination of school districts or counties that is recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.

(2) Administrative Control and Direction. The term includes any other public institution or agency having administrative control and direction of a public elementary school or secondary school.

(3) Bureau of Indian Education Schools. The term includes an elementary school or secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Education but only to the extent that including the school makes the school eligible for programs for which specific eligibility is not provided to the school in another provision of law and the school does not have a student population that is smaller than the student population of the LEA receiving assistance under the ESEA with the smallest student population, except that the school shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of any SEA other than the Bureau of Indian Education.

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(4) Educational Service Agencies. The term includes educational service agencies and consortia of those agencies.

(5) State Educational Agency. The term includes the SEA in a State in which the SEA is the sole educational agency for all public schools.

Logic model (also referred to as a theory of action) means a framework that identifies key project components of the proposed project (i.e., the active ‘‘ingredients’’ that are hypothesized to be critical to achieving the relevant outcomes) and describes the theoretical and operational relationships among the key project components and relevant outcomes.

Military- or veteran-connected student means one or more of the following:

(a) A child participating in an early learning program, a student enrolled in preschool through grade 12, or a student enrolled in career and technical education or postsecondary education who has a parent or guardian who is a member of the uniformed services (as defined by 37 U.S.C. 101), in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, National Guard, Reserves, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or Public Health Service or is a veteran of the uniformed services with an honorable discharge (as defined by 38 U.S.C.

3311).

(b) A student who is a member of the uniformed services, a veteran of the uniformed services, or the spouse of a service member or veteran.

(c) A child participating in an early learning program, a student enrolled in preschool through grade 12, or a student enrolled in career and technical education or postsecondary education who has a parent or guardian who is a veteran of the uniformed services (as defined by 37 U.S.C. 101).

Moderate evidence means evidence of effectiveness of a key project component in improving a relevant outcome for a sample that overlaps with the populations or settings proposed to receive that component, based on a relevant finding from one of the following:

(i) A practice guide prepared by the WWC using version 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, or

5.0 of the WWC Handbooks reporting ‘‘strong evidence’’ or ‘‘moderate evidence’’ for the corresponding practice guide recommendation;

(ii) An intervention report prepared by the WWC using version 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, or 5.0 of the WWC Handbooks reporting ‘‘Tier 1 strong evidence’’ of effectiveness or ‘‘Tier 2 moderate evidence’’ of effectiveness or a ‘‘positive effect’’ on a relevant outcome based on a sample including at least 20 students or other individuals from more than one site (such as a State, county, city, LEA, school, or postsecondary campus), or a ‘‘potentially positive effect’’ on a relevant outcome based on a sample including at least 350 students or other individuals from more than one site (such as a State, county, city, LEA, school, or postsecondary campus), with no reporting of a ‘‘negative effect’’ or ‘‘potentially negative effect’’ on a relevant outcome; or

(iii) A single experimental study or quasi-experimental design study reviewed and reported by the WWC most recently using version 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, or 5.0 of the WWC Handbooks, or otherwise assessed by the Department using version 5.0 of the WWC Handbook, as appropriate, and that—

(A) Meets WWC standards with or without reservations;

(B) Includes at least one statistically significant and positive (i.e., favorable) effect on a relevant outcome;

(C) Includes no overriding statistically significant and negative effects on relevant outcomes reported in the study or in a corresponding WWC intervention report prepared under version 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, or 5.0 of the WWC Handbooks; and

(D) Is based on a sample from more than one site (such as a State, county, city, LEA, school, or postsecondary campus) and includes at least 350 students or other individuals across sites. Multiple studies of the same project component that each meet the requirements in paragraphs (iii)(A) through (C) of this definition may together satisfy the requirement in this paragraph (iii)(D).

National nonprofit entity means an entity that—

(1) Meets the definition of ‘‘nonprofit’’ under 34 CFR 77.1(c); and

(2) Is of national scope, which requires that the entity—

(i) Provides services in three or more States; and

(ii) Demonstrates a proven record of serving or benefitting teachers, principals, or other school leaders across these States.

Professional development means activities that—

(1) Are an integral part of school and LEA strategies for providing educators (including teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, and, as applicable, early childhood educators) with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable students to succeed in a well-rounded education and to meet the challenging State academic standards; and

(2) Are sustained (not stand-alone, 1-day, or short term workshops), intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom-focused, and may include activities that—

(i) Improve and increase teachers’—

(A) Knowledge of the academic subjects the teachers teach;

(B) Understanding of how students learn; and

(C) Ability to analyze student work and achievement from multiple sources, including how to adjust instructional strategies, assessments, and materials based on such analysis;

(ii) Are an integral part of broad schoolwide and districtwide educational improvement…