§ 4703 — Displaced Contractor Employees: Assistance To Obtain Certification And Employment As Teachers Or Employment As Teachers’ Aides

(a) The Secretary of Defense may enter into a cooperative agreement with a defense contractor in order— (1) to assist an eligible scientist or engineer employed by the contractor whose employment is terminated to obtain— (A) certification or licensure as an elementary or secondary school teacher; or (B) the credentials necessary to serve as a teacher’s aide; and (2) to facilitate the employment of the scientist or engineer by a local educational agency that— (A) is receiving a grant under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) as a result of having within its jurisdiction concentrations of children from low-income families; and (B) is also experiencing a shortage of teachers or teachers’ aides. (1) The Secretary of Defense shall establish an application and selection process for the participation of defense contractors in a cooperative agreement authorized under subsection (a). (2) The Secretary shall determine which defense contractors are eligible to participate in the placement program on the basis of applications submitted under subsection (c). The Secretary shall limit participation to those defense contractors or subcontractors that— (A) produce goods or services for the Department of Defense pursuant to a defense contract or operate nuclear weapons manufacturing facilities for the Department of Energy; and (B) have recently reduced operations, or are likely to reduce operations, due to the completion or termination of a defense contract or program or by reductions in defense spending. (3) The Secretary shall give special consideration to defense contractors who are located in areas that have been hit particularly hard by reductions in defense spending. (1) A defense contractor desiring to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of Defense under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the Secretary containing the following: (A) Evidence that the contractor has been, or is expected to be, adversely affected by the completion or termination of a defense contract or program or by reductions in defense spending. (B) An explanation that scientists and engineers employed by the contractor have been terminated, laid off, or retired, or are likely to be terminated, laid off, or retired, as a result of the completion or termination of a defense contract or program or reductions in defense spending. (C) A description of programs implemented or proposed by the contractor to assist these scientists and engineers. (D) A commitment to help fund the costs associated with the placement program by paying 50 percent of the stipend provided under subsection (g) to an employee or former employee of the contractor selected to receive assistance under this section. (2) Once a cooperative agreement is entered into under subsection (a) between the Secretary and the defense contractor, the contractor shall publicize the program and distribute applications to prospective participants, and assist the prospective participants with the State screening process. (d) An individual shall be eligible for selection by the Secretary of Defense to receive assistance under this section if the individual— (1) is employed or has been employed for not less than five years as a scientist or engineer with a private defense contractor that has entered into an agreement under subsection (a); (2) has received— (A) in the case of an individual applying for assistance for placement as an elementary or secondary school teacher, a baccalaureate or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education; or (B) in the case of an individual applying for assistance for placement as a teacher’s aide in an elementary or secondary school, an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education or a junior or community college; and (3) has been terminated or laid off (or received notice of termination or lay off) as a result of the completion or termination of a defense contract or program or reductions in defense spending; and (4) satisfies such other criteria for selection as the Secretary may prescribe. (1) In selecting participants to receive assistance for placement as elementary or secondary school teachers, the Secretary shall give priority to individuals who— (A) have educational, military, or employment experience in science, mathematics, or engineering and agree to seek employment as science, mathematics, or engineering teachers in elementary or secondary schools; or (B) have educational, military, or employment experience in another subject area identified by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, as important for national educational objectives and agree to seek employment in that subject area in elementary or secondary schools. (2) The Secretary may not select an individual under this section unless the Secretary has sufficient appropriations to carry out this section available at the time of the selection to satisfy the obligations to be incurred by the United States under this section with respect to that individual. (f) An individual selected under this section shall be required to enter into an agreement with the Secretary in which the participant agrees— (1) to obtain, within such time as the Secretary may require, certification or licensure as an elementary or secondary school teacher or the necessary credentials to serve as a teacher’s aide in an elementary or secondary school; and (2) to accept— (A) in the case of an individual selected for assistance for placement as a teacher, an offer of full-time employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher for not less than two school years with a local educational agency identified under section 1151(b)(2) of this title, as in effect on October 4, 1999, to begin the school year after obtaining that certification or licensure; or (B) in the case of an individual selected for assistance for placement as a teacher’s aide, an offer of full-time employment as a teacher’s aide in an elementary or secondary school for not less than two school years with a local educational agency identified under section 1151(b)(3) of this title, as in effect on October 4, 1999, to begin the school year after obtaining the necessary credentials. (1) The Secretary of Defense shall pay to each participant in the placement program a stipend in an amount equal to the lesser of— (A) $5,000; or (B) of section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll) incurred by the participant while obtaining teacher certification or licensure or the necessary credentials to serve as a teacher’s aide and employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher or teacher aide. (2) A stipend provided under this section shall be taken into account in determining the eligibility of the participant for Federal student financial assistance provided under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.). (h) Subsections (h) through (k) of section 1151 of this title, as in effect on October 4, 1999, shall apply with respect to the placement as teachers and teachers’ aides of individuals selected under this section.