I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 882 

To provide grants to State educational agencies to support State efforts 

to increase teacher salaries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 8, 2023 

Ms. WILSON of Florida (for herself, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. JOHNSON of 

Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. CARSON, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. SYKES, Ms. WILLIAMS

of Georgia, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mrs. MCBATH, Mr. DESAULNIER, 

Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. KIM of 

New Jersey, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, 

Ms. STEVENS, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. 

CUELLAR, Ms. BROWN, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mrs. 

FOUSHEE, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 

GOTTHEIMER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. POCAN, Ms. WILD, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, and Mr. LIEU) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To provide grants to State educational agencies to support 

State efforts to increase teacher salaries, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Teacher 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Teachers are the backbone of our nation, 

7 from the first bell to the last bell, they act as care8 givers, counselors, role models, advocates, and cheer9 leaders, helping children achieve their greatest po10 tential. 

11 (2) What is more, teacher shortages are among 

12 the most pressing threats to education access today, 

13 with districts across the country forced to radically 

14 adjust school offerings to respond to turnover and 

15 prolonged vacancies. Every day, stories surface of 

16 schools shortening their weeks, canceling courses, in17 creasing student-teacher ratios, and placing under18 prepared or temporary substitute staff in core in19 structional roles. Such adjustments disrupt learning, 

20 take a sustained toll on teacher morale, and harm 

21 student achievement. 

22 (3) The teacher wage penalty, characterizing 

23 lower weekly wages and overall compensation for 

24 teachers compared to college-educated peers in other 

25 professions, hit an all-time high of 23.5 percent in 

26 2021 and continues to demonstrate significant, adVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Mar 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H882.IH H882

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1 verse impacts on teacher recruitment and retention. 

2 According to a recent report by the Teacher Salary 

3 Project, over 90 percent of teachers believe low sal4 ary contributes to shortages in their communities 

5 and over 45 percent believe their salary is insuffi6 cient for medium and long-term career sustain7 ability. 

8 (4) Significant numbers of teachers report 

9 maintaining multiple jobs to make ends meet or 

10 being able to work in their profession only through 

11 the support of a partner’s higher-paying job. This 

12 instability is worse for teachers of color who are 

13 more likely to work in under-resourced schools. As 

14 a result, high-poverty communities face a com15 pounded burden. 

16 (5) In August of 2022, the White House issued 

17 a fact sheet renewing attention to the weak teacher 

18 pipeline and calling upon legislators to use federal, 

19 state, and local resources to strengthen teaching ca20 reer pathways and ensure competitive, livable wages. 

21 This statement accompanies efforts by twenty-five 

22 states to propose and enact legislation addressing 

23 teacher compensation since January 2021. 

24 (6) To restore stability in our schools and se25 cure equitable access to high-quality education, we 


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1 must raise awareness surrounding the value of 

2 teaching as a profession and provide compensation 

3 that reflects this value. 

4 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT STATE EFFORTS TO IN5 CREASE TEACHER SALARIES. 

6 (a) TEACHER SALARY INCENTIVE GRANTS.— 

7 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is 

8 to ensure that each teacher who is employed full9 time at a qualifying school in a State earns an an10 nual salary for any year of employment of not less 

11 than $60,000 (adjusted for inflation). 

12 (2) GRANTS FOR MINIMUM SALARY THRESH13 OLD.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made 

15 available to carry out this section, the Secretary 

16 of Education shall award 4-year grants to State 

17 educational agencies. 

18 (B) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to re19 ceive such a grant, the State educational agency 

20 shall submit an application to the Secretary at 

21 such time, in such manner, and containing such 

22 information as the Secretary may require, in23 cluding— 

24 (i) the plan required under subpara25 graph (C); and 


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1 (ii) the assurances required under 

2 subparagraph (D). 

3 (C) SUSTAINABILITY PLAN.—The Sec4 retary shall require a State educational agency 

5 submitting an application under subparagraph 

6 (B) to provide a plan that demonstrates how, 

7 following the conclusion of the 4-year grant pe8 riod, such agency will continue to maintain and 

9 adjust the annual base minimum salary in ac10 cordance with subsection (b). 

11 (D) REQUIRED ASSURANCES.—The Sec12 retary shall require a State educational agency 

13 submitting an application under subparagraph 

14 (B) to provide an assurance in such application 

15 that— 

16 (i) if necessary to achieve the purpose 

17 of this section, the State will enact and en18 force legislation to establish a statewide 

19 teacher salary schedule or otherwise to es20 tablish minimum teacher salary require21 ments; 

22 (ii) each teacher described in para23 graph (1) will be compensated on a salary 

24 basis at an annual rate per school year 


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1 that is not less than the salary threshold 

2 described in subsection (b); 

3 (iii) each teacher who is employed 

4 part-time at a qualifying school in a State 

5 will be compensated on a salary basis at an 

6 annual rate per school year that is not less 

7 than the salary threshold described in sub8 section (b), proportionately reduced in ac9 cordance with the number of hours worked 

10 by such teacher; 

11 (iv) priority will be given to local edu12 cational agencies in accordance with sub13 paragraph (E)(ii); and 

14 (v) the State educational agency will, 

15 upon request by the Secretary, carry out 

16 the compliance demonstration in accord17 ance with subsection (c)(3). 

18 (E) SUBGRANTS.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

20 agency awarded a grant under this section 

21 shall use not less than 85 percent of the 

22 grant funds to award subgrants to local 

23 educational agencies to carry out the pur24 pose of this section. 


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1 (ii) PRIORITY.—The State educational 

2 agency, in allocating funds to local edu3 cational agencies under this section, shall 

4 give priority to local educational agen5 cies— 

6 (I) serving greater numbers or 

7 percentages of elementary or sec8 ondary schools receiving funds under 

9 title I of the Elementary and Sec10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

11 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); or 

12 (II) with respect to which all of 

13 the schools served by the local edu14 cational agency are designated with a 

15 locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as deter16 mined by the Secretary. 

17 (b) SALARY THRESHOLD.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—For school year 2024–2025, 

19 the base minimum salary dollar amount shall be 

20 $60,000. 

21 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—For school year 

22 2025–2026 and each succeeding school year, the dol23 lar amount referred to in paragraph (1) shall be 

24 deemed to refer to the dollar amount calculated 

25 under this subsection for the preceding school year, 


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1 increased by a percentage equal to the annual per2 centage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All 

3 Urban Consumers published by the Department of 

4 Labor for the most recent calendar year. 

5 (3) NO SALARY LIMIT.—The base minimum sal6 ary dollar amount may be greater than the dollar 

7 amount described in paragraphs (1) or (2). 

8 (c) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds received under 

10 this section shall be used to supplement and not 

11 supplant other Federal, State, and local public funds 

12 that would, in the absence of such Federal funds, be 

13 made available for teacher base salaries. 

14 (2) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—A State edu15 cational agency or local educational agency shall not 

16 reduce or adjust any teacher pay or State teacher 

17 loan forgiveness program due to the eligibility of 

18 teachers within the jurisdiction of such agency for 

19 pay supplementation under this section. 

20 (3) COMPLIANCE DEMONSTRATION TO SEC21 RETARY.—Each State educational agency and local 

22 educational agency, upon request by the Secretary, 

23 shall demonstrate that the methodology used to allo24 cate teacher pay and State teacher loan forgiveness 

25 (if applicable) to teachers and qualifying schools enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Mar 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H882.IH H882

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1 sures that each such teacher and school receives the 

2 same State and local funds for teacher compensation 

3 it would receive if this Act had not been enacted. 

4 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF TEACHER SALARIES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 

6 carry out this section, the Secretary of Education shall 

7 award grants to eligible State educational agencies to pro8 vide, in accordance with subsection (c), cost-of-living ad9 justments to the annual base salary of such State and the 

10 annual salary of each teacher who is employed full-time 

11 at a qualifying school in such State. 

12 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive such a 

13 grant, the State educational agency shall submit an appli14 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

15 containing such information as the Secretary may require, 

16 including the demonstration required under subsection 

17 (d)(2). 

18 (c) ADJUSTMENT.—The annual base salary of the 

19 State and the annual salary of each teacher described in 

20 subsection (a) shall be increased by a percentage equal to 

21 the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price 

22 Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Depart23 ment of Labor for the most recent calendar year. 

24 (d) ELIGIBLE STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the 

25 term ‘‘eligible State’’ means a State— 


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1 (1) with an annual base salary of not less than 

2 $60,000 for teachers who are employed full-time at 

3 a qualifying school; and 

4 (2) that demonstrates in the application sub5 mitted under subsection (b) that, due to inflation, 

6 such State is unable to adjust such base salary or 

7 the annual salaries of such teachers for cost-of-liv8 ing. 

9 SEC. 5. ENHANCED AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF TEACH10 ING PROFESSION. 

11 The Secretary may reserve not more than 4 percent 

12 of the funds appropriated under section 8 to carry out a 

13 national campaign— 

14 (1) to increase awareness about the importance 

15 of teachers and the value of the teaching profession; 

16 (2) to encourage secondary school and college 

17 students to consider teaching as a professional ca18 reer; and 

19 (3) to diversify the pool of individuals who enter 

20 the teaching profession. 

21 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

22 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or oth23 erwise affect the rights, remedies, and procedures afforded 

24 to school or local educational agency employees under Fed25 eral, State, or local laws (including applicable regulations, 


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1 court orders, or requirements that local educational agen2 cies negotiate or meet and confer in good faith) or under 

3 the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda 

4 of understanding, or other agreements between such em5 ployers and their employees. 

6 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen9 tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 

10 school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State edu11 cational agency’’ have the meanings given such 

12 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec13 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

14 (2) QUALIFYING SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘quali15 fying school’’ means, with respect to any school year, 

16 a public elementary school or a public secondary 

17 school. 

18 (3) TEACHER.—The term ‘‘teacher’’ means an 

19 individual who— 

20 (A) is a teacher of record who provides di21 rect classroom teaching (or classroom-type 

22 teaching in a nonclassroom setting) in a quali23 fying school for not less than the normal or 

24 statutory number of hours of work for a full25 time or part-time teacher over a complete 


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1 school year (as determined by the State in 

2 which the school is located); 

3 (B) meets the applicable requirements for 

4 State certification or licensure, as applicable, in 

5 the State in which such school is located and in 

6 the subject area in which the individual is the 

7 teacher of record; and 

8 (C) possesses skills and knowledge needed 

9 for effective classroom practice, including with 

10 respect to demonstrating the ability to improve 

11 student learning. 

12 (4) TEACHER OF RECORD.—The term ‘‘teacher 

13 of record’’ means a teacher who has— 

14 (A) been assigned the responsibility for 

15 specified pupils’ learning in a grade, subject, or 

16 course as reflected on the school’s official 

17 record of attendance; 

18 (B) learned and developed extensive teach19 ing and basic classroom management skills; and 

20 (C) demonstrated the ability to plan and 

21 deliver instruction to students from different 

22 cultural backgrounds and with different learn23 ing styles and to assess and support student 

24 learning. 


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1 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this Act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 

4 2024 through 2028. 

Æ 


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