I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3139 
To better support our early childhood educators and elementary school and 
secondary school teachers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 5, 2019 
Mr. NORCROSS (for himself and Mr. PASCRELL) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in 
addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To better support our early childhood educators and elemen-
tary school and secondary school teachers, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Supporting the Teaching profession through Revitalizing 
Investments in Valuable Educators Act’’ or the ‘‘STRIVE 
Act’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) States identified significant teacher short-
ages in their reports to the Department of Edu-
cation during the 2017–2018 school year, with 46 
States and the District of Columbia identifying 
shortages in special education, 47 States and the 
District of Columbia identifying teacher shortages in 
mathematics, 43 States identifying teacher shortages 
in science, 32 States identifying shortages in teach-
ers of English learners, and 32 States identifying 
teacher shortages in career and technical education. 
One reason for the shortages in these areas is be-
cause mathematics and science teachers can earn 
significantly higher starting salaries in the private 
sector. Further, rural communities face limitations 
in recruiting and retaining teachers for reasons such 
as funding issues, limited teacher supply, and geo-
graphic isolation. 
(2) Students in high-poverty and high-minority 
schools, both urban and rural, typically feel the larg-
est impact of teacher shortages. These schools often 
experience difficulty hiring and high turnover on a 
regular basis, and they are the most severely af-
fected when teacher shortages become widespread. 
This happens, in part, because inequitable funding 
of schools leaves many low-wealth urban and rural 
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communities with inadequate resources, so they 
must pay lower salaries and typically have poorer 
working conditions. 
(3) According to a study by Mathematica, when 
high-performing teachers were offered large financial 
incentives to transfer to low-performing schools, 
their students’ scores climbed 10 points in reading 
and 9 points in math compared to students state-
wide over 2 years. 
(4) According to a survey conducted by Scho-
lastic, 97 percent of teachers list supportive school 
leadership as essential or very important for retain-
ing strong teachers and improving student achieve-
ment, more than any other factor. 
(5) Research suggests that incurring postsec-
ondary education debt can decrease the likelihood 
that high-achieving students, lower-income students, 
and students of color choose to work in lower-wage 
professions in general, especially in the education 
system. Therefore, loan forgiveness and service 
scholarships for educators may be especially effective 
for recruiting teachers and school leaders from di-
verse, lower-income backgrounds. 
(6) According to the Learning Policy Institute, 
teacher loan forgiveness and service scholarship pro-
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grams can be successful in both recruiting and re-
taining teachers. To be effective, these programs 
should provide a financial benefit that meaningfully 
offsets the cost of a teacher’s professional prepara-
tion. This includes covering licensing and certifi-
cation costs. 
(7) A 2015 Government Accountability Office 
study and a 2018 follow up study by the Depart-
ment of Education of Federal grant and loan for-
giveness programs for teachers found that the struc-
ture of these programs matters. Further research 
shows effective loan forgiveness and service scholar-
ship programs follow 5 design principles. These pro-
grams— 
(A) cover all or a large percentage of tui-
tion; 
(B) target high-need fields or schools, or 
both; 
(C) recruit candidates who are academi-
cally strong, committed to teaching, and well- 
prepared; 
(D) commit recipients to teach with rea-
sonable incentives to fulfill their commitment; 
and 
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(E) are bureaucratically manageable for 
participating teachers, local educational agen-
cies, and institutions of higher education. 
(8) The TEACH grant program under subpart 
9 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.) provides up to 
$16,000 in grants to prospective teachers who agree 
to teach in low-income schools and high-need subject 
areas for 4 years. This is far below the Department 
of Education’s most recent estimate of the average 
annual cost of approximately $25,409 in tuition, 
fees, and room and board at the average full-time 
undergraduate 4-year institution. 
(9) The National Center for Education Statis-
tics found that more than 2⁄3 of the individuals en-
tering the education field borrow money to pay for 
their higher education. Teachers with a bachelor’s 
degree have an average debt of $20,000 and teach-
ers with a master’s degree have an average debt of 
$50,000. Teachers also start out earning 20 percent 
less than their peers with comparable degrees who 
pursue jobs outside of education. According to a re-
port by the Center for American Progress, in more 
than 30 States, a mid-career teacher heading a fam-
ily of 4 is eligible for several forms of government 
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assistance, including the free and reduced-price 
lunch 
program 
for 
their 
children. 
These 
compounding factors can disincentivize prospective 
teachers from entering the profession. 
(10) In evaluating the TEACH grant program, 
the Government Accountability Office found that al-
most 2⁄3 of the requests for assistance under the pro-
gram from October 2011 through March 2014 cited 
problems submitting certification paperwork. The 
Government Accountability Office recommended im-
provements in the program’s design, including re-
ducing burdensome annual paperwork, increasing 
awareness about the program, and streamlining the 
dispute process. 
(11) Spending by teachers on school supplies 
adds up to $1,600,000,000 per year nationally. Ac-
cording to the Education Market Association, most 
teachers spend around $500, with 10 percent spend-
ing $1,000 or more. 
(12) Teacher quality partnerships are designed 
to strengthen higher education-based teacher and 
school leader preparation. Studies show that teach-
ers who are better prepared to enter the classroom 
stay longer and perform better than their underpre-
pared peers. Teacher quality partnerships also fund 
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