I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5067 

To transition military veterans into new careers in education, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2019 

Mr. MEADOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, the Judiciary, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To transition military veterans into new careers in education, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Troops Educating And 

5 Managing Schools Act’’ or the ‘‘TEAMS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. VETERANS-TO-CLASSROOMS PROGRAM. 

2 (a) MODIFICATION AND REDESIGNATION OF PRO3 GRAM.—Section 1154 of title 10, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in the section heading, by striking: ‘‘em6 ployment as teachers: Troops-to-Teachers 

7 Program’’ and inserting ‘‘employment in 

8 schools: Veterans-to-Classrooms Pro9 gram’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

12 through (8) as paragraphs (4) through (10), re13 spectively; 

14 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

15 following new paragraphs: 

16 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

17 the Secretary of Defense. 

18 ‘‘(3) COVERED POSITION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) The term ‘covered position’ means a 

20 full-time position in an eligible school as— 

21 ‘‘(i) a teacher, including an elemen22 tary school teacher, a secondary school 

23 teacher, and a career and technical edu24 cation teacher; 

25 ‘‘(ii) a school leader; 

26 ‘‘(iii) a school administrator; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a nurse; 

2 ‘‘(v) a principal; 

3 ‘‘(vi) a counselor; 

4 ‘‘(vii) a teaching aide; 

5 ‘‘(viii) specialized instructional sup6 port personnel; 

7 ‘‘(ix) a school resource officer; or 

8 ‘‘(x) a contractor who performs the 

9 functions of a position described in any of 

10 clauses (i) through (viii).’’; 

11 (C) by amending paragraph (4), as so re12 designated, to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘eligible 

14 school’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) a public elementary school, including 

16 a public elementary charter school; 

17 ‘‘(B) a public secondary school, including a 

18 public secondary charter school; or 

19 ‘‘(C) a Bureau-funded school as defined in 

20 section 1141(3) of the Education Amendments 

21 of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021(3)).’’; 

22 (D) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated, 

23 by striking ‘‘Troops-to-Teachers’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘Veterans-to-Classrooms’’; 


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1 (E) by striking paragraph (9), as so redes2 ignated, and inserting the following new para3 graph (9): 

4 ‘‘(9) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER.—The term 

5 ‘school resource officer’ has the meaning given that 

6 term in section 1709(4) of the Omnibus Crime Con7 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 

8 10389(4)).’’; and 

9 (F) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated, 

10 by striking ‘‘and ‘State’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘ ‘spe11 cialized instructional support personnel’, and 

12 ‘State’ ’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

15 by striking ‘‘Secretary of Defense may carry 

16 out a Troops-to-Teachers Program’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘The Secretary of Defense, in consultation 

18 with the Secretary of Education, may carry out 

19 a Veterans-to-Classrooms Program’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘become 

21 a teacher’’ and inserting ‘‘obtain a covered posi22 tion’’; and 

23 (C) by amending subparagraph (A) of 

24 paragraph (2) to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) by local educational agencies or char2 ter schools in States with a shortage of individ3 uals to fill covered positions, as determined by 

4 the Secretary of Education.’’; 

5 (4) in subsection (d)(4)(A)— 

6 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or career or 

7 technical subjects’’ and inserting ‘‘career and 

8 technical education, or subjects relating to a 

9 covered position’’; and 

10 (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘in a cov11 ered position or’’ after ‘‘seek employment’’; 

12 (5) in subsection (e)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

14 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘become 

15 a teacher’’ and inserting ‘‘obtain a covered 

16 position’’; and 

17 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘as an 

18 elementary school teacher’’ and all that fol19 lows through the period at the end and in20 serting ‘‘in a covered position for not less 

21 than three school years in an eligible 

22 school to begin the school year after the 

23 member obtains the professional creden24 tials required for the position involved’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking ‘‘as a 

2 teacher in an eligible elementary school or sec3 ondary school or as a career or technical teach4 er’’ and inserting ‘‘in a covered position’’; and 

5 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

6 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

7 (I) in the first sentence, by strik8 ing ‘‘educational level, certification, or 

9 licensing’’ and inserting ‘‘educational 

10 level, certification, licensing, or other 

11 professional credentials’’; and 

12 (II) in the second sentence, by 

13 striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$9,000 (except as adjusted by the 

15 Secretary in accordance with subpara16 graph (D))’’; 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

18 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘as 

19 an elementary school teacher, sec20 ondary school teacher, or career or 

21 technical teacher’’ and inserting ‘‘in a 

22 covered position’’; and 

23 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

24 ‘‘may not exceed $5,000, unless the 

25 eligible school is a high-need school, in 


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1 which case the amount of the bonus 

2 may not exceed $10,000’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘may not exceed $9,000 (except 

4 as adjusted by the Secretary in ac5 cordance with subparagraph (D)), un6 less the eligible school is a high-need 

7 school, in which case the amount of 

8 the bonus may not exceed $18,000 

9 (except as so adjusted)’’; 

10 (iii) in subparagraph (C)— 

11 (I) in clause (i), by striking 

12 ‘‘5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘20,000’’; 

13 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

14 ‘‘3,000’’ and inserting ‘‘5,000’’; and 

15 (III) in clause (iv), by striking 

16 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$18,000 

17 (except as adjusted by the Secretary 

18 in accordance with subparagraph 

19 (D))’’; and 

20 (iv) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(D)(i) The Secretary may adjust the dollar 

23 amounts set forth in subparagraphs (A), (B)(ii), and 

24 (C)(iv) to reflect changes in the Consumer Price 

25 Index over the applicable period. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) In this subparagraph, the term ‘applicable 

2 period’ means— 

3 ‘‘(I) with respect to an initial adjustment 

4 under clause (i), the period that has elapsed 

5 since the date of the enactment of the TEAMS 

6 Act; or 

7 ‘‘(II) with respect to any adjustment after 

8 the initial adjustment, the period that has 

9 elapsed since the date of the most recent ad10 justment under clause (i).’’; 

11 (6) in subsection (f)(1)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘become a teacher’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘obtain a covered position’’; 

15 and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘as an elementary 

17 school teacher, secondary school teacher, or 

18 career or technical teacher’’ and insert ‘‘in 

19 a covered position’’; and 

20 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, 

21 employment as an elementary school teacher, 

22 secondary school teacher, or career or technical 

23 teacher’’ and inserting ‘‘employment in a cov24 ered position’’; 


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1 (7) in subsection (h)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘as ele2 mentary school teachers, secondary school teachers, 

3 and career or technical teachers’’ and inserting ‘‘in 

4 covered positions’’; and 

5 (8) by adding at the end the following new sub6 sections: 

7 ‘‘(j) PARTNERSHIPS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

9 into one or more partnerships with States, local edu10 cational agencies, or covered entities— 

11 ‘‘(A) to help sustain and expand the reach 

12 of the Veterans-to-Classrooms Program to pro13 mote careers in education among current and 

14 future veterans under this section; 

15 ‘‘(B) to provide information on the Pro16 gram in accordance with subsection (k)(2) in 

17 widely available, user-friendly formats; 

18 ‘‘(C) to help recruit more veterans, includ19 ing veterans who are retired law enforcement 

20 officers, and service members who are within 6 

21 months of transitioning out of the military into 

22 new careers in education; 

23 ‘‘(D) to promote careers in education 

24 among current and future veterans by providing 


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1 veterans with information on other employment 

2 transition programs, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) the Veterans’ Employment & 

4 Training Service and the National Vet5 erans’ Training Institute of the Depart6 ment of Labor; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the transition assistance pro8 grams established under section 1144 of 

9 this title; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the SkillBridge and Career 

11 Skills Programs of the Department of De12 fense; 

13 ‘‘(iv) the AmeriCorps program carried 

14 out under subtitle C of title I of the Na15 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 

16 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.); and 

17 ‘‘(v) other transitional or educational 

18 programs; and 

19 ‘‘(E) to promote careers in education by 

20 helping veterans learn about educational bene21 fits available to them, including Post-9/11 Edu22 cational Assistance, certification programs, and 

23 applicable on-the-job training and apprentice24 ship programs, to help veterans get into an edu25 cational career field. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY DEFINED.—In this sub2 section, the term ‘covered entity’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) an entity qualifying as an exempt or4 ganization under section 501(c)(3) of the Inter5 nal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

6 ‘‘(B) a veterans service organization recog7 nized by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for 

8 the representation of veterans under section 

9 5902 of title 38. 

10 ‘‘(k) PROGRAM INFORMATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION FROM THE SECRETARY.— 

12 The Secretary shall make available, on a publicly ac13 cessible website of the Department of Defense, the 

14 information described in paragraph (3). 

15 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION FROM COVERED ENTI16 TIES.—Each State, local educational agency, and 

17 covered entity that enters into a partnership with 

18 the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall make avail19 able, on a publicly accessible website, the informa20 tion described in paragraph (3). 

21 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa22 tion described in this subparagraph is information 

23 on the Veterans-to-Classrooms program authorized 

24 under this section, including a description of the apVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067

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1 plication process for the program and the potential 

2 benefits of participating in the program. 

3 ‘‘(l) BIENNIAL REVIEW.—Not less frequently than 

4 once every two years, the Secretary shall submit to Con5 gress a report on the Veterans-to-Classrooms Program. At 

6 minimum, the report shall include a comparison of the 

7 number of participants in the Program during the period 

8 covered by the report relative to the number of stipends 

9 authorized under the Program during such period. 

10 ‘‘(m) PROCESS TO STREAMLINE APPLICATIONS.— 

11 Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 

12 of the TEAMS Act, the Secretary shall implement a proc13 ess to simplify the submission of applications under sub14 section (d)(2).’’. 

15 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

16 at the beginning of chapter 58 of such title is amended 

17 by striking the item relating to section 1154 and inserting 

18 the following new item: 

‘‘1154. Assistance to eligible members and former members to obtain employment in schools: Veterans-to-Classrooms Program.’’. 

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

20 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on July 1, 2020. 

21 (d) REFERENCES.—Beginning on July 1, 2020, any 

22 reference in Federal law (other than this Act), regulations, 

23 guidance, instructions, or other documents of the Federal 

24 Government to the Troops-to-Teachers Program shall be 


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1 deemed to be a reference to the Veterans-to-Classrooms 

2 Program. 

3 SEC. 3. VETERANS EMPLOYABLE AS SCHOOL RESOURCE 

4 OFFICERS. 

5 Section 1709(4) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

6 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389(4)) is amend7 ed by inserting after ‘‘a career law enforcement officer, 

8 with sworn authority,’’ the following: ‘‘or a veteran (as 

9 such term is defined in section 101(2) of title 38, United 

10 States Code) who is hired by a State or local public agency 

11 as a law enforcement officer for purposes of serving as 

12 a school resource officer, who is’’. 

13 SEC. 4. TASK FORCE ON EDUCATION CAREERS FOR VET14 ERANS. 

15 (a) TASK FORCE.—Not later than 120 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall con17 vene a task force to identify strategies that may be used 

18 to assist veterans in obtaining employment in the field of 

19 education. 

20 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The task force convened 

21 under subsection (a) shall— 

22 (1) consult regularly with veterans service orga23 nizations in performing the duties of the task force; 

24 and 


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1 (2) coordinate administrative and regulatory ac2 tivities and develop proposals to— 

3 (A) identify State licensing and certifi4 cation requirements that are excessive and un5 necessarily burdensome for veterans seeking to 

6 transition into careers in education; 

7 (B) identify potential compensation struc8 tures for educational employment that include 

9 salary credit for prior military and law enforce10 ment experience; 

11 (C) recommend incentives to encourage 

12 educational employers to hire veterans; 

13 (D) assess the feasibility of establishing 

14 dedicated military veteran liaison positions in 

15 school districts; 

16 (E) examine how funds made available for 

17 the Veterans-to-Classrooms Program under sec18 tion 1154 of title 10, United States Code, may 

19 be used to conduct outreach, provide certifi20 cation support, and help States establish out21 reach centers for veterans; and 

22 (F) explore how partnerships entered by 

23 the Secretary under subsection (j) of such sec24 tion may be used to promote careers in edu25 cation among veterans through collaboration 


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1 with relevant employment transition programs, 

2 including the Transition Assistance Program, 

3 the SkillBridge and Career Skills Programs of 

4 the Department of Defense, and the 

5 AmeriCorps program. 

6 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The task force shall consist of— 

7 (1) the Secretary of Defense, or the designee of 

8 the Secretary, who shall be the head of the task 

9 force; 

10 (2) the Secretary of Education, or the designee 

11 of the Secretary; 

12 (3) the Attorney General, or the designee of the 

13 Attorney General; 

14 (4) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or the 

15 designee of the Secretary; 

16 (5) the Secretary of Labor, or the designee of 

17 the Secretary; 

18 (6) the Director of the Office of Management 

19 and Budget, or the designee of the Director; 

20 (7) four representatives from a veterans service 

21 organization, selected by the President; 

22 (8) a representative of the Administrative Con23 ference of the United States; and 

24 (9) representatives of State and local govern25 ments selected by the President, which may include 


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1 representatives of State boards of education and rel2 evant State licensing agencies. 

3 (d) REPORT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

5 after the date on which the task force is convened 

6 under subsection (a), the task force shall submit to 

7 Congress a report that includes— 

8 (A) a description of actions that may be 

9 carried out by State and local governments to 

10 reduce barriers that interfere with the ability of 

11 veterans to transition into careers in education; 

12 and 

13 (B) recommendations for specific legisla14 tive and regulatory actions that may be carried 

15 out to reduce such barriers. 

16 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The report under 

17 paragraph (1) shall be made available on a publicly 

18 accessible website of the Department of Defense. 

19 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘vet20 erans service organization’’ means any organization recog21 nized by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for the rep22 resentation of veterans under section 5902 of title 38, 

23 United States Code. 

Æ 


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