Teachers at the Table Act

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Teachers at the Table Act 2. Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq. 20 U.S.C. 6304 1005. Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee (a) Establishment The Secretary shall establish an advisory committee, to be known as the Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee (referred to in this section as the Committee (b) Duties and focus The duty of the Committee shall be to monitor the effects of this Act, on the ground and in classrooms, and the focus of the Committee shall solely be on children and families. (c) Membership (1) In general The membership of the Committee shall consist of 20 public elementary school or secondary school classroom teachers who— (A) are past or present Teachers of the Year; (B) have received training, or demonstrated experience, in methods of data collection, analysis, and reporting; and (C) have submitted an application to the Secretary to serve on the Committee. (2) List; appointment The Secretary shall compile a list of teachers submitting applications under paragraph (1)(B). The members of the Committee shall be appointed as follows: (A) The Secretary shall appoint 4 teachers from the list. (B) The Majority Leader of the Senate shall appoint 4 teachers from the list. (C) The Minority Leader of the Senate shall appoint 4 teachers from the list. (D) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint 4 teachers from the list. (E) The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall appoint 4 teachers from the list. (3) Representation requirement The members of the Committee shall represent diverse and multiple geographic, grade level, and specialty areas. (4) Term Each member of the Committee shall serve on the Committee for a 2-year term. (d) Annual report (1) In general The Committee shall submit to Congress and the Secretary— (A) on an annual basis, a report on the monitoring carried out under subsection (b); and (B) on a quarterly basis, updates on such monitoring. (2) Contents of report The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, the following: (A) Both quantitative and qualitative data that evaluate the effect of this section on student achievement. (B) The effect of this section on closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students, including the students identified under section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II). (e) Authorization of funds Of the amounts appropriated to, and available at the discretion of, the Secretary for programmatic and administrative expenditures for fiscal years 2014 through 2018, a total of $500,000 shall be used to establish and carry out the functions of the Committee established under this section. .

Summary: Teachers at the Table Act - Amends title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish the Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee to monitor the effects of such title in classrooms, with its focus solely on children and families. Requires the Committee to be composed of a diverse group of public school classroom teachers who are past or present Teachers of the Year and have experience or training in data collection, analysis, and reporting.