I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2878 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide 
grants for innovative teacher retention programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2013 
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina (for himself, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. 
BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCINTYRE, Ms. 
BORDALLO, and Mr. WALZ) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to provide grants for innovative teacher retention 
programs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keep Teachers Teach-
ing Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The United States faces an increasing need 
for high-quality educators. 
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(2) Approximately one-third of teachers leave 
the profession within 3 years of being hired because 
of poor working conditions, low pay, low morale, or 
lack of a pathway for professional advancement. In 
some schools, the five-year attrition rate reaches 50 
percent. 
(3) Effective teacher retention programs to ad-
dress this problem are already at work in local edu-
cational agencies around the country, and many 
more innovative programs could be advanced if addi-
tional resources were available. 
(4) Efforts to address the teacher shortage de-
mands a national strategy to support the develop-
ment and implementation of innovative teacher re-
tention programs. 
(5) The Department of Education can play an 
important role in facilitating the identification of the 
most promising teacher retention approaches and 
disseminating information about them to State edu-
cational agencies and local educational agencies. 
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE TEACHER RETENTION 
PROGRAMS. 
Section 2151 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6651) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
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‘‘(g) TEACHER RETENTION ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish and carry out a teacher retention program to— 
‘‘(A) assist State educational agencies and 
local educational agencies in developing and im-
plementing innovative teacher retention pro-
grams, and support the development of model 
programs and best practices in retaining quality 
teachers in the classroom; and 
‘‘(B) facilitate the dissemination of innova-
tive teacher retention programs to State edu-
cational agencies and local educational agencies. 
‘‘(2) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall carry out 
paragraph (1)(A) by making grants to eligible enti-
ties to develop and implement innovative teacher re-
tention programs, including activities such as— 
‘‘(A) professional development programs; 
‘‘(B) teacher mentoring programs; 
‘‘(C) advanced certification or advanced 
credentialing; 
‘‘(D) research, travel, or fellowship oppor-
tunities; and 
‘‘(E) pairing of teachers with professionals 
in research or industry. 
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‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this subsection, 
the term ‘eligible entity’ includes— 
‘‘(A) local educational agencies; 
‘‘(B) State educational agencies; and 
‘‘(C) partnerships of local educational 
agencies, nonprofit organizations, and institu-
tions of higher education. 
‘‘(4) GRANT TERMS.—Grants under this sub-
section shall be awarded for periods of not more 
than 5 years and on a competitive basis. Grants 
awarded under this subsection may be renewed. 
‘‘(5) SECRETARY’S
DUTY
TO
IDENTIFY
MOST 
PROMISING TEACHER RETENTION APPROACHES.—In 
carrying out paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) identify the most promising teacher 
retention approaches, including the approaches 
already working and the approaches developed 
through grants funded under this subsection, 
and make information about such approaches 
publicly available and easily accessible to State 
educational agencies and local educational agen-
cies; and 
‘‘(B) not later than 9 months after the 
date of the enactment of this subsection, and 
annually thereafter, transmit to the Committee 
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on Education and the Workforce of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate, a report that describes— 
‘‘(i) the methodology by which the 
most promising teacher retention programs 
are identified under subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(ii) the Secretary’s efforts to dis-
seminate information regarding such pro-
grams to State educational agencies and 
local educational agencies.’’. 
Æ 
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