I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7202 
To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
support signing and retention bonuses for teachers in rural schools, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 22, 2026 
Ms. BYNUM introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and Workforce 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant 
program to support signing and retention bonuses for 
teachers in rural schools, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Invest in Rural Teach-
ers Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. RURAL SCHOOL RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et 
seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating part C as part D; and 
(2) by inserting after part B, the following: 
‘‘PART C—RURAL TEACHER INCENTIVE BONUSES 
‘‘SEC. 2251. RURAL TEACHER INCENTIVE BONUSES. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY
TO
AWARD
GRANTS.—The 
Secretary shall carry out a program under which the 
Secretary makes grants to States to enable States to 
award subgrants to eligible entities, in accordance 
with subsection (b), to support signing and retention 
bonuses for teachers in rural schools. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this section, a State shall submit an ap-
plication to the Secretary at such time, in such man-
ner, and containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require. 
‘‘(b) SUBGRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.—A State 
that receives a grant under subsection (a) shall use 
the grant funds to award subgrants to eligible enti-
ties to pay signing and retention bonuses, in accord-
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ance with paragraph (3), to individuals hired to 
teach in rural schools. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
subgrant under this subsection, an eligible entity 
shall submit an application to the State at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such informa-
tion as the State may require. 
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 
receives a subgrant under paragraph (1) shall 
use the subgrant funds to award a signing and 
retention bonus to each teacher hired by the 
agency who agrees to teach in a rural school for 
a period of 3 school years. 
‘‘(B) BONUS
AMOUNT
AND
DISBURSE-
MENT.—The amount of the signing and reten-
tion bonus paid to a teacher under subpara-
graph (A) shall be $5,000 annually for each 
year of the 3 school-year period described in 
such subparagraph. 
‘‘(4) PRIORITIZATION OF HOMEGROWN TEACH-
ERS.—An eligible entity that receives a subgrant 
under this subsection shall seek to prioritize the re-
cruitment, hiring, and award of bonuses to teachers 
who previously resided in the community served by 
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