Mr Mers of Kentucky submits for himself and Mrrs. Garwood, Palafox, Perry, Fobes, Devlin, Hollins, Redfield, Conway, Wisniewski, Wilder, Martin, Heortman, Milam, Cherry, Rhine, Pregler, Galt, Thayner and Ms. Lee


A BILL
To assist local educational agencies in providing financial incentives to attract teachers to teach in rural and high-poverty areas.

Short Title.Rural and Urban Teachers Incentives Act of 2004 (RUTIA)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR RECRUITMENT OF TEACHERS FOR RURAL OR HIGH-POVERTY AREAS.
Section 2151 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6651) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(g) FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR RECRUITMENT OF TEACHERS FOR RURAL AND HIGH-POVERTY AREAS-
`(1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED- The Secretary is authorized to make grants to local educational agencies to assist such agencies in recruiting and retaining teachers for high-need schools described in paragraph (2).
`(2) HIGH-NEED SCHOOLS- A high-need school is an elementary or secondary school that satisfies the following conditions:
`(A) The school provides a free public education.
`( At least 75 percent of the students attending the school receive a free or reduced-cost lunch in accordance with the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.
`� The school has been assigned a school locale code of 7 or 8, as determined by the Secretary.
`(3) USE OF GRANTS- Grants made under this subsection shall be used to increase the salary of teachers who are employed full-time in a high-need school.
`(4) GRANT AMOUNTS- Grants under this subsection shall be made in the amount of $5000 per eligible teacher in the high-need school for which the grant is made.
`(5) APPLICATION- To apply for a grant under this subsection, 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 require. Applications for grants shall be on a per-school basis.
`(6) RENEWABILITY- The Secretary may renew a grant made under this subsection on an annual basis.'.