PUBLIC LAW 105-244r-OCT. 7, 1998 112 STAT. 1629 "(3) PAYMENTS.The Secretary shall make annual pay- ments of grant funds awarded under this part. "(b) PEER REVIEW. — "(1) PANEL. —The Secretary shall provide the applications submitted under this title to a peer review panel for evaluation. With respect to each application, the peer review panel shall initisdly recommend the application for funding or for disapproval. " (2) PRIORITY.— In recommending applications to the Secretary for funding under this title, the panel shall— "(A) with respect to grants under section 202, give priority to eligible States serving States that—
- (i) have initiatives to refonn State teacher certification requirements that are designed to ensure that
current and future teachers possess the necesseiry teaching skills and academic content knowledge in the subject areas in which the teachers are certified or licensed to teach; (ii) include innovative reforms to hold institutions of higher education with teacher preparation programs accountable for preparing teachers who are highly competent in the academic content area in which the teachers plan to teach and have strong teaching skills; or "(iii) involve the development of innovative efforts aimed at reducing the shortage of highly qualified teachers in high poverty urban and rural areas; "(B) with respect to grants under section 203— "(i) give priority to applications from eligible partnerships that involve businesses; and "(ii) take into consideration— "(I) providing an equitable geographic distribution of the grants throughout the United States; and "(II) the potential of the proposed activities for creating improvement and positive change. "(3) SECRETARIAL SELECTION. —The Secretary shall determine, based on the peer review process, which application shall receive funding and the amounts of the grants. In determining grant amounts, the Secreta^ shall take into account the total amount of funds available tor all grants under this title and the types of activities proposed to be carried out. "(c) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS. — "(1) STATE GRANTS. —Each eligible State receiving a grant under section 202 or 204 shall provide, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to 50 percent of the amount of the grant (in cash or in kind) to carry out the activities supported by the grant. " (2) PARTNERSHIP GRANTS.— Each eligible partnership receiving a grant under section 203 or 204 sriEdl provide, from non-Federal sources (in cash or in kind), an amount equal to 25 percent of the grant for the first year of the grant, 35 percent of the grant for the second year of the grant, and 50 percent of the grant for each succeeding year of the grant. " (d) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— An eligible State or eligible partnership that receives a grant under this title may not use more than 2 percent of the grant funds for purposes of administering the grant.
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