I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4221 

To require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to carry out 

a study to add to the scientific knowledge on reducing teacher stress 

and increasing teacher retention and well-being, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 30, 2019 

Mr. RYAN (for himself and Mr. BOST) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 require the Director of the National Institutes of Health 

to carry out a study to add to the scientific knowledge 

on reducing teacher stress and increasing teacher retention and well-being, 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 ‘‘Teacher Health and 

5 Wellness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) High levels of stress are adversely affecting 

2 teachers’ health. Teachers with high levels of stress 

3 are less effective in raising student achievement than 

4 their healthier peers. 

5 (2) Elementary school teachers who have great6 er stress and show more symptoms of depression 

7 create classroom environments that are less condu8 cive to learning. 

9 (3) Stress is contributing to the high turnover 

10 rate among teachers, which causes instability for 

11 students and communities. This leads to higher costs 

12 for school districts to train new teachers and hinders 

13 students’ academic success. 

14 (4) School organization, low job autonomy, and 

15 a lack of ability to access teacher leadership oppor16 tunities are main sources of teacher stress. If teach17 ers are unable to manage their stress levels, this 

18 leads to lower level teacher instruction, which then 

19 impacts student well-being. 

20 (5) High teacher turnover brings down stu21 dents’ math and language arts scores. 

22 (6) According to a 2014 Gallup survey, 46 per23 cent of teachers experience high daily stress during 

24 the school year. This percentage is tied for the high25 est rate of high daily stress among occupations and 


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1 is a significant increase from teacher stress levels in 

2 1985. 

3 SEC. 3. STUDY ON REDUCING TEACHER STRESS AND IN4 CREASING TEACHER RETENTION AND WELL5 BEING. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In7 stitutes of Health shall carry out a five-year study on re8 ducing teacher stress and increasing teacher retention and 

9 well-being by implementing and analyzing the results of 

10 any of the following programs: 

11 (1) Workplace wellness programs that are de12 signed to improve teacher health, attendance, and 

13 engagement. 

14 (2) Social emotional learning programs that 

15 help teachers improve student engagement in the 

16 classroom. 

17 (3) Teacher stress management programs that 

18 improve teacher performance. 

19 (4) Mentoring and induction programs during 

20 the school year and teacher pre-service programs 

21 that improve teacher well-being. 

22 (5) Organizational interventions, such as prin23 cipal training programs, that reduce stress through 

24 supervisor/peer support and increased opportunities 

25 for teachers to participate in professional learning 


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1 communities, teacher leadership positions, and deci2 sion making regarding school interventions and man3 agement. 

4 (6) Teacher residency programs that provide 

5 mental health and psychological support. 

6 (7) Complementary health approaches, such as 

7 mindfulness meditation, that improve teacher per8 formance. 

9 (8) School reorganization that creates the con10 ditions to facilitate the transmission and sharing of 

11 knowledge among teachers. 

12 (9) Other innovative evidence-based approaches 

13 that reduce stress and increase well-being in the 

14 teaching profession, which may include increased 

15 compensation. 

16 (b) REPORT.— 

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

18 after the end of the study carried out under sub19 section (a), the Director shall submit to the Com20 mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 

21 Representatives and the Committee on Health, Edu22 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report 

23 including— 

24 (A) the results of the study carried out 

25 under subsection (a); and 


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1 (B) recommendations for— 

2 (i) decreasing teacher stress and in3 creasing teacher retention and well-being; 

4 and 

5 (ii) lowering stress-related health care 

6 costs for teachers. 

7 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The Director shall make 

8 publicly available the report submitted under para9 graph (1). 

10 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACH.— 

12 The term ‘‘complementary health approach’’ includes 

13 integrative health care, adjunctive health care, and 

14 functional medicine. 

15 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

16 the Director of the National Institutes of Health. 

17 (d) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No ad18 ditional funds are authorized to carry out the require19 ments of this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out 

20 using amounts otherwise authorized. 

Æ 


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