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 ‘‘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 care-
givers, counselors, role models, advocates, and cheer-
leaders, helping children achieve their greatest po-
tential. 
(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, in-
creasing student-teacher ratios, and placing under-
prepared or temporary substitute staff in core in-
structional 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 
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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, ad-
verse impacts on teacher recruitment and retention. 
According to a recent report by the Teacher Salary 
Project, over 90 percent of teachers believe low sal-
ary contributes to shortages in their communities 
and over 45 percent believe their salary is insuffi-
cient for medium and long-term career sustain-
ability. 
(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 com-
pounded 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 ca-
reer pathways and ensure competitive, livable wages. 
This statement accompanies efforts by twenty-five 
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states to propose and enact legislation addressing 
teacher compensation since January 2021. 
(6) To restore stability in our schools and se-
cure 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 IN-
CREASE 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 an-
nual salary for any year of employment of not less 
than $60,000 (adjusted for inflation). 
(2) GRANTS
FOR
MINIMUM
SALARY
THRESH-
OLD.— 
(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 re-
ceive such a grant, the State educational agency 
shall submit an application to the Secretary at 
such time, in such manner, and containing such 
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information as the Secretary may require, in-
cluding— 
(i) the plan required under subpara-
graph (C); and 
(ii) the assurances required under 
subparagraph (D). 
(C) SUSTAINABILITY
PLAN.—The Sec-
retary 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 pe-
riod, such agency will continue to maintain and 
adjust the annual base minimum salary in ac-
cordance with subsection (b). 
(D) REQUIRED
ASSURANCES.—The Sec-
retary 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 en-
force legislation to establish a statewide 
teacher salary schedule or otherwise to es-
tablish minimum teacher salary require-
ments; 
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(ii) each teacher described in para-
graph (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 sub-
section (b), proportionately reduced in ac-
cordance with the number of hours worked 
by such teacher; 
(iv) priority will be given to local edu-
cational agencies in accordance with sub-
paragraph (E)(ii); and 
(v) the State educational agency will, 
upon request by the Secretary, carry out 
the compliance demonstration in accord-
ance 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 
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educational agencies to carry out the pur-
pose of this section. 
(ii) PRIORITY.—The State educational 
agency, in allocating funds to local edu-
cational agencies under this section, shall 
give priority to local educational agen-
cies— 
(I) serving greater numbers or 
percentages of elementary or sec-
ondary schools receiving funds under 
title I of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary 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 edu-
cational agency are designated with a 
locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
(b) SALARY THRESHOLD.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For school year 2026–2027, 
the base minimum salary dollar amount shall be 
$60,000. 
(2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—For school year 
2026–2027 and each succeeding school year, the dol-
lar amount referred to in paragraph (1) shall be 
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deemed to refer to the dollar amount calculated 
under this subsection for the preceding school year, 
increased by a percentage equal to the annual per-
centage 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 sal-
ary 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 edu-
cational 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
SEC-
RETARY.—Each State educational agency and local 
educational agency, upon request by the Secretary, 
shall demonstrate that the methodology used to allo-
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cate teacher pay and State teacher loan forgiveness 
(if applicable) to teachers and qualifying schools en-
sures 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 pro-
vide, in accordance with subsection (c), cost-of-living ad-
justments 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 appli-
cation 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 Depart-
ment of Labor for the most recent calendar year. 
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(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 sub-
mitted 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-liv-
ing. 
SEC. 5. ENHANCED AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF TEACH-
ING 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 ca-
reer; 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 oth-
erwise affect the rights, remedies, and procedures afforded 
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to school or local educational agency employees under Fed-
eral, State, or local laws (including applicable regulations, 
court orders, or requirements that local educational agen-
cies negotiate or meet and confer in good faith) or under 
the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda 
of understanding, or other agreements between such em-
ployers and their employees. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘elemen-
tary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary 
school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State edu-
cational agency’’ have the meanings given such 
terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) QUALIFYING
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘quali-
fying 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 di-
rect classroom teaching (or classroom-type 
teaching in a nonclassroom setting) in a quali-
fying school for not less than the normal or 
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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 teach-
ing and basic classroom management skills; and 
(C) demonstrated the ability to plan and 
deliver instruction to students from different 
cultural backgrounds and with different learn-
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