American Teacher Act

Subjects: Education

Summary:  <p><b>American Teacher Act</b></p> <p>This bill establishes grants to increase the minimum salary of public elementary and secondary school teachers. It also authorizes a national campaign regarding the value of the teaching profession.</p> <p>First, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award four-year grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies to establish a minimum annual salary of $60,000 (to be adjusted annually for inflation) for these teachers.</p> <p>Second, the bill directs ED to award grants to eligible state educational agencies to provide cost-of-living adjustments to the annual base salary of teachers.</p> <p>Finally, the bill authorizes ED to carry out a national campaign to (1) increase awareness about the importance of teachers and the value of the teaching profession, (2) encourage secondary school and college students to consider teaching as a professional career, and (3) diversify the pool of individuals who enter the teaching profession.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 882 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






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. Velazquez, 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Teacher Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Teachers are the backbone of our nation, from the first 
        bell to the last bell, they act as caregivers, counselors, role 
        models, advocates, and cheerleaders, helping children achieve 
        their greatest potential.
            (2) What is more, teacher shortages are among the most 
        pressing threats to education access today, with districts 
        across the country forced to radically adjust school offerings 
        to respond to turnover and prolonged vacancies. Every day, 
        stories surface of schools shortening their weeks, canceling 
        courses, increasing student-teacher ratios, and placing 
        underprepared or temporary substitute staff in core 
        instructional roles. Such adjustments disrupt learning, take a 
        sustained toll on teacher morale, and harm student achievement.
            (3) The teacher wage penalty, characterizing lower weekly 
        wages and overall compensation for teachers compared to 
        college-educated peers in other professions, hit an all-time 
        high of 23.5 percent in 2021 and continues to demonstrate 
        significant, adverse impacts on teacher recruitment and 
        retention. According to a recent report by the Teacher Salary 
        Project, over 90 percent of teachers believe low salary 
        contributes to shortages in their communities and over 45 
        percent believe their salary is insufficient for medium and 
        long-term career sustainability.
            (4) Significant numbers of teachers report maintaining 
        multiple jobs to make ends meet or being able to work in their 
        profession only through the support of a partner's higher-
        paying job. This instability is worse for teachers of color who 
        are more likely to work in under-resourced schools. As a 
        result, high-poverty communities face a compounded burden.
            (5) In August of 2022, the White House issued a fact sheet 
        renewing attention to the weak teacher pipeline and calling 
        upon legislators to use federal, state, and local resources to 
        strengthen teaching career pathways and ensure competitive, 
        livable wages. This statement accompanies efforts by twenty-
        five states to propose and enact legislation addressing teacher 
        compensation since January 2021.
            (6) To restore stability in our schools and secure 
        equitable access to high-quality education, we must raise 
        awareness surrounding the value of teaching as a profession and 
        provide compensation that reflects this value.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT STATE EFFORTS TO INCREASE TEACHER SALARIES.

    (a) Teacher Salary Incentive Grants.--
            (1) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to ensure that 
        each teacher who is employed full-time at a qualifying school 
        in a State earns an annual salary for any year of employment of 
        not less than $60,000 (adjusted for inflation).
            (2) Grants for minimum salary threshold.--
                    (A) In general.--From amounts made available to 
                carry out this section, the Secretary of Education 
                shall award 4-year grants to State educational 
                agencies.
                    (B) Application.--To be eligible to receive such a 
                grant, the State educational agency shall submit an 
                application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
                manner, and containing such information as the 
                Secretary may require, including--
                            (i) the plan required under subparagraph 
                        (C); and
                            (ii) the assurances required under 
                        subparagraph (D).
                    (C) Sustainability plan.--The Secretary shall 
                require a State educational agency submitting an 
                application under subparagraph (B) to provide a plan 
                that demonstrates how, following the conclusion of the 
                4-year grant period, such agency will continue to 
                maintain and adjust the annual base minimum salary in 
                accordance with subsection (b).
                    (D) Required assurances.--The Secretary shall 
                require a State educational agency submitting an 
                application under subparagraph (B) to provide an 
                assurance in such application that--
                            (i) if necessary to achieve the purpose of 
                        this section, the State will enact and enforce 
                        legislation to establish a statewide teacher 
                        salary schedule or otherwise to establish 
                        minimum teacher salary requirements;
                            (ii) each teacher described in paragraph 
                        (1) will be compensated on a salary basis at an 
                        annual rate per school year that is not less 
                        than the salary threshold described in 
                        subsection (b);
                            (iii) each teacher who is employed part-
                        time at a qualifying school in a State will be 
                        compensated on a salary basis at an annual rate 
                        per school year that is not less than the 
                        salary threshold described in subsection (b), 
                        proportionately reduced in accordance with the 
                        number of hours worked by such teacher;
                            (iv) priority will be given to local 
                        educational agencies in accordance with 
                        subparagraph (E)(ii); and
                            (v) the State educational agency will, upon 
                        request by the Secretary, carry out the 
                        compliance demonstration in accordance with 
                        subsection (c)(3).
                    (E) Subgrants.--
                            (i) In general.--A State educational agency 
                        awarded a grant under this section shall use 
                        not less than 85 percent of the grant funds to 
                        award subgrants to local educational agencies 
                        to carry out the purpose of this section.
                            (ii) Priority.--The State educational 
                        agency, in allocating funds to local 
                        educational agencies under this section, shall 
                        give priority to local educational agencies--
                                    (I) serving greater numbers or 
                                percentages of elementary or secondary 
                                schools receiving funds under title I 
                                of the Elementary and Secondary 
                                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 
                                et seq.); or
                                    (II) with respect to which all of 
                                the schools served by the local 
                                educational agency are designated with 
                                a locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as 
                                determined by the Secretary.
    (b) Salary Threshold.--
            (1) In general.--For school year 2024-2025, the base 
        minimum salary dollar amount shall be $60,000.
            (2) Inflation adjustment.--For school year 2025-2026 and 
        each succeeding school year, the dollar amount referred to in 
        paragraph (1) shall be deemed to refer to the dollar amount 
        calculated under this subsection for the preceding school year, 
        increased by a percentage equal to the annual percentage 
        increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 
        published by the Department of Labor for the most recent 
        calendar year.
            (3) No salary limit.--The base minimum salary dollar amount 
        may be greater than the dollar amount described in paragraphs 
        (1) or (2).
    (c) Supplement, Not Supplant.--
            (1) In general.--Grant funds received under this section 
        shall be used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, 
        State, and local public funds that would, in the absence of 
        such Federal funds, be made available for teacher base 
        salaries.
            (2) Maintenance of effort.--A State educational agency or 
        local educational agency shall not reduce or adjust any teacher 
        pay or State teacher loan forgiveness program due to the 
        eligibility of teachers within the jurisdiction of such agency 
        for pay supplementation under this section.
            (3) Compliance demonstration to secretary.--Each State 
        educational agency and local educational agency, upon request 
        by the Secretary, shall demonstrate that the methodology used 
        to allocate teacher pay and State teacher loan forgiveness (if 
        applicable) to teachers and qualifying schools ensures that 
        each such teacher and school receives the same State and local 
        funds for teacher compensation it would receive if this Act had 
        not been enacted.

SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF TEACHER SALARIES.

    (a) In General.--From amounts made available to carry out this 
section, the Secretary of Education shall award grants to eligible 
State educational agencies to provide, in accordance with subsection 
(c), cost-of-living adjustments to the annual base salary of such State 
and the annual salary of each teacher who is employed full-time at a 
qualifying school in such State.
    (b) Application.--To be eligible to receive such a grant, the State 
educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, including the demonstration required under subsection 
(d)(2).
    (c) Adjustment.--The annual base salary of the State and the annual 
salary of each teacher described in subsection (a) shall be increased 
by a percentage equal to the annual percentage increase in the Consumer 
Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Department of 
Labor for the most recent calendar year.
    (d) Eligible State Defined.--In this section, the term ``eligible 
State'' means a State--
            (1) with an annual base salary of not less than $60,000 for 
        teachers who are employed full-time at a qualifying school; and
            (2) that demonstrates in the application submitted under 
        subsection (b) that, due to inflation, such State is unable to 
        adjust such base salary or the annual salaries of such teachers 
        for cost-of-living.

SEC. 5. ENHANCED AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF TEACHING PROFESSION.

    The Secretary may reserve not more than 4 percent of the funds 
appropriated under section 8 to carry out a national campaign--
            (1) to increase awareness about the importance of teachers 
        and the value of the teaching profession;
            (2) to encourage secondary school and college students to 
        consider teaching as a professional career; and
            (3) to diversify the pool of individuals who enter the 
        teaching profession.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect 
the rights, remedies, and procedures afforded to school or local 
educational agency employees under Federal, State, or local laws 
(including applicable regulations, court orders, or requirements that 
local educational agencies negotiate or meet and confer in good faith) 
or under the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of 
understanding, or other agreements between such employers and their 
employees.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) ESEA definitions.--The terms ``elementary school'', 
        ``local educational agency'', ``secondary school'', 
        ``Secretary'', ``State'', and ``State educational agency'' have 
        the meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (2) Qualifying school.--The term ``qualifying school'' 
        means, with respect to any school year, a public elementary 
        school or a public secondary school.
            (3) Teacher.--The term ``teacher'' means an individual 
        who--
                    (A) is a teacher of record who provides direct 
                classroom teaching (or classroom-type teaching in a 
                nonclassroom setting) in a qualifying school for not 
                less than the normal or statutory number of hours of 
                work for a full-time or part-time teacher over a 
                complete school year (as determined by the State in 
                which the school is located);
                    (B) meets the applicable requirements for State 
                certification or licensure, as applicable, in the State 
                in which such school is located and in the subject area 
                in which the individual is the teacher of record; and
                    (C) possesses skills and knowledge needed for 
                effective classroom practice, including with respect to 
                demonstrating the ability to improve student learning.
            (4) Teacher of record.--The term ``teacher of record'' 
        means a teacher who has--
                    (A) been assigned the responsibility for specified 
                pupils' learning in a grade, subject, or course as 
                reflected on the school's official record of 
                attendance;
                    (B) learned and developed extensive teaching and 
                basic classroom management skills; and
                    (C) demonstrated the ability to plan and deliver 
                instruction to students from different cultural 
                backgrounds and with different learning styles and to 
                assess and support student learning.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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