II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1036 

To provide assistance for rural school districts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 16, 2005 

Mr. SALAZAR (for himself, Mr. CONRAD, and Mr. JOHNSON) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL

To provide assistance for rural school districts, 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 ‘‘Rural Teacher Reten5 tion Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) More than 8,000,000 children, representing 

9 21 percent of all public school children in the United 

10 States, attend public schools in rural areas. 
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1 (2) There are 24,123 public schools in rural 

2 areas of the United States, representing 31 percent 

3 of all public schools. 

4 (3) More than 400,000 educators, or 31 percent 

5 of all public school teachers, teach in rural schools. 

6 (4) Rural school teachers earn approximately 

7 14 percent less than their counterparts in other re8 gions. 

9 (5) Despite lower salaries, rural school teachers 

10 typically teach multiple subjects and perform their 

11 jobs with fewer resources than their counterparts in 

12 other regions. 

13 (6) One of the most critical challenges facing 

14 rural school districts is in attracting and retaining 

15 qualified teachers. 

16 (7) Rural school districts tend to have higher 

17 teacher turnover rates than school districts in other 

18 regions. 

19 (8) High teacher turnover has a negative im20 pact on student performance, school district per21 formance, and the ability of teachers to become 

22 highly qualified. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 
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1 (1) RURAL LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—

2 The term ‘‘rural local educational agency’’ means a 

3 local educational agency that— 

4 (A) is described in section 6211(b) or 

5 6221(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary 

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7345(b) and 

7 7351(b)(1)); and 

8 (B) has experienced a teacher turnover 

9 rate of not less than 5 percent of all the teach10 ers teaching in schools served by the agency in 

11 any of the 3 years preceding the date of enact12 ment of this Act. 

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

14 the Secretary of Education. 

15 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—From funds appropriated under 

17 section 5, the Secretary shall make an allotment to each 

18 rural local educational agency having an application ap19 proved under subsection (b) according to a formula based 

20 on the number of students in average daily attendance (as 

21 defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

22 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) in the schools 

23 served by the rural local educational agency. 

24 (b) APPLICATION.—A rural local educational agency 

25 that desires to receive an allotment under subsection (a) 
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1 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

2 in such manner, and accompanied by such information as 

3 the Secretary may require. 

4 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A rural local educational 

6 agency that receives an allotment under this section 

7 shall use the funds for the following: 

8 (A) Provide one-time signing bonuses of 

9 not more than $2,000 to teachers who com10 mence employment with the rural local edu11 cational agency on or after the date of enact12 ment of this Act. 

13 (B) Provide bonuses of not more than 

14 $3,000 to qualified teachers who work in the 

15 rural local educational agency for not less than 

16 3 consecutive years (except as provided in para17 graph (2)). 

18 (2) EXCEPTION FROM CONSECUTIVE SERV19 ICE.—The 3 year period of service working in the 

20 rural local educational agency provided under para21 graph (1)(B) may be nonconsecutive if the break in 

22 service is due to the qualified teacher taking leave 

23 from the rural local educational agency and such 

24 leave is— 
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1 (A) in compliance with the Family and 

2 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611); 

3 or 

4 (B) due to the qualified teacher being 

5 called or ordered to active duty as a member of 

6 the National Guard or other reserve component 

7 of the Armed Forces of the United States, or 

8 a member of such Armed Forces in a retired 

9 status. 

10 (3) CONSIDERATION.—In determining the pro11 vision of bonuses under paragraph (1), a rural local 

12 educational agency shall consider such factors as the 

13 need for teachers in certain subjects, the value that 

14 a teacher brings to the agency, teacher performance 

15 and qualifications, and the unique needs of the agen16 cy. 

17 (4) ONLY ONE BONUS IN ONE YEAR.—A teach18 er may receive only 1 bonus pursuant to this Act 

19 during a calendar year. 

20 (d) DURATION.—The Secretary shall carry out this 

21 section as a pilot program for a 5-year period. 

22 (e) RELATION TO OTHER FEDERAL EDUCATION

23 PROGRAMS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

24 nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the eligi25 bility for assistance or the amount of assistance otherwise 
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1 available under any other Federal education program for 

2 a rural local educational agency that receives an allotment 

3 under this section or a teacher who receives a bonus pur4 suant to this section. 

5 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 this Act $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and such sums 

8 as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007 and 2008.

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