I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4578 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make improvements to 

the TEACH Grant program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 

Ms. WILSON of Florida (for herself, Mrs. HAYES, and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make improvements to the TEACH Grant program, 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 ‘‘Build Effective Teach5 ers Through Essential Reforms to Teacher Education As6 sistance for College and Higher Education Grants Act of 

7 2019’’ or the ‘‘BETTER TEACH Grants Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REVISED DEFINITIONS OF TEACH GRANTS. 

2 Section 420L of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1070g) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(4) TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM.—The 

6 term ‘teacher preparation program’— 

7 ‘‘(A) means a State-approved course of 

8 study provided by an institution of higher edu9 cation, the completion of which signifies that an 

10 enrollee has met all the State’s educational or 

11 training requirements for initial certification or 

12 licensure to teach in the State’s elementary 

13 schools or secondary schools; and 

14 ‘‘(B) may be a regular program or an al15 ternative route to certification, as defined by 

16 the State that approved such course of study.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. REVISIONS TO ESTABLISHING TEACH GRANT PRO18 GRAM. 

19 Section 420M of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

20 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–1) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by striking ‘‘in the 

22 amount of’’ and all that follows through the period 

23 at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘in the 

24 amount of— 

25 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subsection 

26 (d)(4), $8,000 dollars, to be available to a 


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1 teacher candidate who is enrolled as an under2 graduate junior at the eligible institution; 

3 ‘‘(B) except as provided in subsection 

4 (d)(4), $8,000 dollars, to be available to a 

5 teacher candidate who is enrolled as an under6 graduate senior at the eligible institution; and 

7 ‘‘(C) $4,000 for any year not described in 

8 subparagraph (A) or (B) during which that 

9 teacher candidate is in attendance at the insti10 tution.’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘under13 graduate’’ and inserting ‘‘associate, under14 graduate,’’; and 

15 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(4) ASSOCIATE DEGREE STUDENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR ASSOCIATE

18 DEGREE STUDY.—The period during which an 

19 associate degree student may receive grants 

20 under this subpart shall be the period required 

21 for the completion of an associate’s degree 

22 course of study pursued by the teacher can23 didate at the eligible institution at which the 

24 teacher candidate is in attendance, except that 

25 the total amount that a teacher candidate may 


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1 receive under this subpart for an associate’s de2 gree course of study shall not exceed $8,000. 

3 ‘‘(B) EFFECT ON FURTHER UNDER4 GRADUATE OR POST-BACCALAUREATE STUDY.— 

5 In the case of a teacher candidate who receives 

6 a grant under this subpart for an associate’s 

7 degree course of study and who seeks to receive 

8 a grant described in subparagraph (A) or (B) 

9 of subsection (a)(1), the amount of such grant 

10 shall be equal to— 

11 ‘‘(i) one half of the amount that is 

12 equal to $16,000, minus the amount the 

13 teacher candidate received under this sub14 part for the associate’s degree course of 

15 study of such candidate, to be available to 

16 a teacher candidate who is enrolled as an 

17 undergraduate junior at the eligible insti18 tution; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) one half of the amount that is 

20 equal to $16,000, minus the amount the 

21 teacher candidate received under this sub22 part for the associate’s degree course of 

23 study of such candidate, to be available to 

24 a teacher candidate who is enrolled as an 


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1 undergraduate senior at the eligible insti2 tution.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. REVISIONS TO TEACH GRANT APPLICATIONS AND 

4 ELIGIBILITY. 

5 Section 420N of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

6 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–2) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in the heading of paragraph (2), by 

9 striking ‘‘DEMONSTRATION OF TEACH’’ and in10 sert ‘‘TEACH’’; 

11 (B) in paragraphs (2)(B)(i), by striking 

12 ‘‘or another high-need’’ and inserting ‘‘early 

13 childhood education, or another high-need’’; and 

14 (C) in paragraph (2)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘, 

15 such as Teach for America,’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

19 before the semicolon at the end the fol20 lowing: ‘‘or in a high-need early childhood 

21 education program (as defined in section 

22 200(15));’’; 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 

24 (I) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of 

25 clause (vi); 


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1 (II) by redesignating clause (vii) 

2 as clause (viii); 

3 (III) by inserting after clause 

4 (vi), as so amended, the following: 

5 ‘‘(vii) early childhood education; or’’; 

6 and 

7 (IV) in clause (viii), as so redes8 ignated, by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

11 (iv) by striking subparagraph (E); 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para13 graph (2); 

14 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

15 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) the Secretary will— 

18 ‘‘(A) notify, or ensure that the applicable 

19 loan servicer will notify, the applicant of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the date on which submission of 

21 the certification under paragraph (1)(D) is 

22 required; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) any failure to submit such cer24 tification; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) allow employers and borrowers to use 

2 electronic signatures to certify such employ3 ment.’’; 

4 (3) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘In the event’’ and insert6 ing the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

8 in the event’’; and 

9 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) may 

12 only apply with respect to a recipient of a grant 

13 under this subpart if— 

14 ‘‘(i) after completing the course of 

15 study for which the recipient received the 

16 grant, such recipient does not serve as a 

17 full-time teacher as required under sub18 section (b)(1) for at least— 

19 ‘‘(I) 1 year, as certified under 

20 subsection (b)(1)(D) on a date that is 

21 not later than 5 years after the date 

22 such course of study was completed; 

23 ‘‘(II) 2 years, as certified under 

24 subsection (b)(1)(D) on a date that is 


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1 not later than 6 years after the date 

2 such course of study was completed; 

3 ‘‘(III) 3 years, as certified under 

4 subsection (b)(1)(D) on a date that is 

5 not later than 7 years after the date 

6 such course of study was completed; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(IV) 4 years, as certified under 

9 subsection (b)(1)(D) on a date that is 

10 not later than 8 years after the date 

11 such course of study was completed; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the recipient elects to have such 

14 grant treated as a loan in accordance with 

15 such paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(B) APPEAL.—A recipient of a grant may 

17 appeal a decision to convert a loan under para18 graph (1).’’; and 

19 (4) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

21 paragraph (5); 

22 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub23 section (b)(1)(C)(vii)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub24 section (b)(1)(C)(viii)’’; and 


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1 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1), the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(2) CHANGE OF SCHOOL DESCRIPTION OR

4 PROGRAM DEFINITION.—If a recipient of an initial 

5 grant under this subpart teaches in a school or an 

6 early childhood education program for an academic 

7 year during which the school is identified as a school 

8 described in section 465(a)(2)(A) or a program that 

9 meets the definition of section 200(15), but the 

10 school or program no longer meets such description 

11 or definition during a subsequent academic year, the 

12 grant recipient may fulfill the service obligation de13 scribed in subsection (b)(1) by continuing to teach 

14 at that school or program. 

15 ‘‘(3) CHANGE OF TEACHER DUTIES OR ASSIGN16 MENT.—If a recipient of an initial grant under this 

17 subpart teaches as a full-time teacher described in 

18 subsection (b)(1)(A), but the recipient no longer 

19 meets such description during a subsequent aca20 demic year due to switching academic roles to that 

21 of a full-time co-teacher, teacher leader, instruc22 tional or academic coach, department chairperson, 

23 special education case manager, guidance counselor, 

24 or school administrator within a school or program, 

25 the grant recipient may fulfill the service obligation 


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1 described in subsection (b)(1) by continuing to work 

2 in any such academic role on a full-time basis at 

3 that school or program. 

4 ‘‘(4) CHANGE IN HIGH-NEED FIELD STATUS.— 

5 If a recipient of an initial grant under this subpart 

6 teaches in a field at a school or an early childhood 

7 education program for an academic year during 

8 which the field is designated under subsection 

9 (b)(1)(C)(viii), but the field no longer is so des10 ignated during a subsequent academic year, the 

11 grant recipient may fulfill the service obligation de12 scribed in subsection (b)(1) by continuing to teach 

13 in such field at such school or early childhood edu14 cation program.’’. 

15 SEC. 5. REVISIONS TO TEACH GRANT DATA COLLECTION 

16 AND REPORTING. 

17 Section 420P of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–4) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 420P. DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING. 

20 ‘‘(a) DATA COLLECTION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) AGGREGATE STUDENT DATA.—On an an22 nual basis, the Secretary shall determine, 

23 disaggregate in accordance with paragraph (2), and 

24 make available to the public in accordance with 

25 paragraph (3), with respect to each institution (and 


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1 each category of institution listed in section 132(d)) 

2 that received a payment under this subpart in the 

3 previous academic year, the following information: 

4 ‘‘(A) The number and mean dollar amount 

5 of TEACH Grants awarded to students at the 

6 institution. 

7 ‘‘(B) The number and proportion of 

8 TEACH Grant recipients who exit their pro9 gram of study before completing the program. 

10 ‘‘(C) The number and proportion of 

11 TEACH Grant recipients who complete their 

12 program of study and begin employment as a 

13 teacher in the first academic year following the 

14 year of such completion. 

15 ‘‘(D) The number and proportion of indi16 viduals employed as teachers who received a 

17 TEACH Grant and whose TEACH Grants are 

18 converted into loans during the 8-year period 

19 following the year in which the recipient com20 pleted the recipient’s program of study, set 

21 forth separately for each year in such period. 

22 ‘‘(E) The number and proportion of 

23 TEACH Grant recipients who fulfill the terms 

24 of their agreement to serve under section 

25 420N(b) during the 8-year period following the 


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1 year in which the recipient completed the recipi2 ent’s program of study, set forth separately for 

3 each year in such period. 

4 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATION.—The information de5 termined under paragraph (1)— 

6 ‘‘(A) except in cases in which such 

7 disaggregation would reveal personally identifi8 able information about an individual student, 

9 shall be disaggregated by— 

10 ‘‘(i) race; 

11 ‘‘(ii) gender; 

12 ‘‘(iii) socioeconomic status; 

13 ‘‘(iv) Federal Pell Grant eligibility 

14 status; 

15 ‘‘(v) status as a first-generation col16 lege student (as defined in section 

17 402A(h)); 

18 ‘‘(vi) veteran or active duty status; 

19 ‘‘(vii) disability status; 

20 ‘‘(viii) level of study (associate, under21 graduate, postbaccalaureate, or graduate, 

22 as applicable); 

23 ‘‘(ix) year of study (junior or senior 

24 year, as applicable); and 


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1 ‘‘(x) each teacher preparation pro2 gram offered by an institution; and 

3 ‘‘(B) may be disaggregated by any com4 bination of subgroups or descriptions described 

5 in subparagraph (A). 

6 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—The information 

7 determined under paragraph (1) shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) remain available to the public for a 

9 period of not less than 10 years after its initial 

10 release by the Secretary; and 

11 ‘‘(B) be updated as necessary to reflect the 

12 most accurate and up-to-date information for 

13 each institution for each year of data collection. 

14 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION FROM INSTITUTIONS.—Each in15 stitution that receives a payment under this subpart shall 

16 provide to the Secretary, on an annual basis, such infor17 mation as may be necessary for the Secretary to carry out 

18 subsection (a). 

19 ‘‘(c) REPORTS AND DISSEMINATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) INITIAL AND INTERIM REPORTS.—Not 

21 later than one year after the date on which the first 

22 TEACH Grant is awarded under this subpart after 

23 the date of enactment of the BETTER TEACH 

24 Grants Act of 2019, and annually thereafter, the 

25 Secretary shall submit to the authorizing committees 


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1 a report that includes the information required 

2 under paragraph (3). 

3 ‘‘(2) FINAL REPORT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one 

5 year after the date described in subparagraph 

6 (B), the Secretary shall submit to the author7 izing committees a final report that includes the 

8 information required under paragraph (3). 

9 ‘‘(B) DATE DESCRIBED.—The date de10 scribed in this subparagraph is the later of— 

11 ‘‘(i) the date on which the last service 

12 agreement associated with a TEACH 

13 Grant is completed; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the last 

15 TEACH Grant awarded under this subpart 

16 is converted into a loan. 

17 ‘‘(3) ELEMENTS.—Each report under this sub18 section shall include, based on information deter19 mined under subsection (a), the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) A review of the utilization of TEACH 

21 Grants at teacher preparation programs at in22 stitutions that received a payment under this 

23 subpart. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A review of TEACH Grant practices 

2 that correlate with higher rates of completion of 

3 agreements under section 420N(b). 

4 ‘‘(C) Guidance and recommendations on 

5 how effective utilization of TEACH Grants can 

6 be replicated. 

7 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY.—Each report under this 

8 subsection shall be made available to the public in 

9 an accessible format— 

10 ‘‘(A) on a website of the Department of 

11 Education; and 

12 ‘‘(B) in any other format determined to be 

13 appropriate by the Secretary.’’. 

14 SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT ON SINGLE CERTIFICATION 

15 FORM. 

16 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 

18 shall conduct a study on the feasibility of developing a sin19 gle certification form that borrowers may use to electroni20 cally submit information with respect to— 

21 (1) TEACH Grants under subpart 9 of part A 

22 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.); 


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1 (2) loan forgiveness under section 428J of the 

2 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078– 

3 10); 

4 (3) loan cancellation under section 460 of the 

5 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087j); 

6 and 

7 (4) public service loan forgiveness under section 

8 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1087e(m)). 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 

12 shall submit a report to Congress that includes— 

13 (1) the results of the study required under sub14 section (a); and 

15 (2) recommendations with respect to using a 

16 single certification form that borrowers may use to 

17 electronically submit information with respect to the 

18 programs specified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of 

19 such subsection. 

Æ 


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