I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 536 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize 
the Secretary of Education to make grants for recruiting, training, and 
retaining individuals, with a preference for individuals from underrep-
resented groups, as teachers at public elementary and secondary schools, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 6, 2013 
Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. 
CASTOR of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to make 
grants for recruiting, training, and retaining individuals, 
with a preference for individuals from underrepresented 
groups, as teachers at public elementary and secondary 
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 ‘‘Diverse Teachers Re-
cruitment Act of 2013’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Issues of teacher diversity and cultural 
awareness are critical factors influencing the 
achievement gap among elementary school and sec-
ondary school students and must be addressed by 
national education policy, as recommended in the re-
port entitled ‘‘Assessment of Diversity in America’s 
Teaching Force’’, presented by the National Collabo-
rative on Diversity in the Teaching Force in 2004. 
(2) Some experts believe the lack of diversity 
among public schoolteachers inhibits positive learn-
ing outcomes generally, and can leave students in 
underrepresented groups without role models to 
whom the students can relate, which may lead to 
poorer performance in the classroom. Statistics show 
that for students in some underrepresented groups, 
a lack of diversity among public school teachers con-
tributes to lower standardized test scores and lower 
graduation rates. 
(3) Department of Education statistics confirm 
a lack of diversity among public schoolteachers. Dur-
ing the school year of 2007 through 2008, an esti-
mated 83.1 percent of public schoolteachers were 
Caucasian, while 7.1 percent were Latino, 7 percent 
were African-American, and 1.2 percent were Asian. 
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Of all public schoolteachers, 24.1 percent were male 
and 75.9 percent were female. 
(4) Teacher demographics should be sufficiently 
diverse to provide the educational benefits described 
in paragraphs (1) and (2), including ensuring that 
students have role models— 
(A) from diverse backgrounds and racial 
and ethnic groups; and 
(B) of different genders. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to further a compelling interest in obtaining 
the educational benefits that result, particularly for 
schools with a concentration of individuals in 1 or 
more 
categories 
described 
in 
section 
1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)), from a diverse group of ele-
mentary school and secondary school teachers, in-
cluding— 
(A) promoting learning outcomes generally, 
and reducing achievement gaps for diverse stu-
dent bodies; and 
(B) increasing student cultural awareness 
by better preparing students for an increasingly 
diverse workforce and society; 
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(2) to provide narrowly tailored activities by 
funding the activities for the period needed to attain 
meaningful numbers or a critical mass of teachers 
who are individuals from underrepresented groups, 
sufficient to address the low employment of teachers 
from such groups, and offering the activities for 
other teachers as well; and 
(3) to remedy the historically low employment 
among teachers in public elementary schools and 
secondary schools who are individuals from under-
represented groups. 
SEC. 3. RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, AND RETENTION OF 
TEACHERS, 
INCLUDING 
TEACHERS 
FROM 
UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
part: 
‘‘PART E—RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, AND RETEN-
TION OF TEACHERS, INCLUDING TEACHERS 
FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS 
‘‘SEC. 2501. GRANT PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—From amounts appropriated 
under section 2505, the Secretary shall make grants on 
a competitive basis to eligible entities for— 
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‘‘(1) recruitment and outreach targeted toward 
recruiting individuals from underrepresented groups 
as teachers at public elementary schools and sec-
ondary schools; and 
‘‘(2) providing training (on promoting learning 
outcomes, reducing achievement gaps for diverse 
student bodies, and increasing student cultural 
awareness) and retention incentives (other than re-
tention rights) to teachers at public elementary 
schools and secondary schools. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may only make a 
grant under subsection (a) to an eligible entity that— 
‘‘(1) serves schools that have difficulty in— 
‘‘(A) recruitment and outreach targeted to-
ward recruiting individuals from underrep-
resented groups as teachers; and 
‘‘(B) training and retaining such individ-
uals as teachers; and 
‘‘(2) submits an application at such time, in 
such form, and containing such information and as-
surances as the Secretary may require, including— 
‘‘(A) a description of how the eligible enti-
ty through the activities the entity carries out 
with the grant funds— 
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‘‘(i) will seek to conduct recruitment 
and outreach targeted toward recruiting 
individuals from underrepresented groups 
as teachers; and 
‘‘(ii) will provide training and reten-
tion activities to all teachers at eligible ele-
mentary and secondary schools; 
‘‘(B) a description of the difficulty con-
ducting recruitment and outreach targeted to-
ward, and training and retaining, individuals 
from underrepresented groups experienced by 
the schools served by the eligible entity; and 
‘‘(C) information— 
‘‘(i) demonstrating the educational 
benefits that the activities are designed to 
provide, resulting from a diverse group of 
elementary school and secondary school 
teachers, including— 
‘‘(I) promoting positive learning 
outcomes 
generally, 
and 
reducing 
achievement gaps for diverse student 
bodies; and 
‘‘(II) increasing student cultural 
awareness by better preparing stu-
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dents for an increasingly diverse 
workforce and society; and 
‘‘(ii) demonstrating that the schools 
involved do not have a sufficiently diverse 
group of teachers to provide the benefits. 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In making grants under subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall give priority to— 
‘‘(1) eligible entities (or consortia of eligible en-
tities) that serve the most high-need schools; and 
‘‘(2) eligible entities (or consortia of eligible en-
tities) that serve schools with concentrations of stu-
dents in 1 or more categories described in section 
1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the Elementary and Sec-
ondary 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)) in their student populations. 
‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity shall use 
funds received under this section to conduct the recruit-
ment and outreach described in subsection (a)(1), which 
may include— 
‘‘(1) promotional and informational activities at 
institutions of higher education that serve large 
numbers of individuals from underrepresented 
groups; 
‘‘(2) promotional and informational activities 
targeted toward candidates who are— 
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‘‘(A) in career fields other than teaching; 
and 
‘‘(B) individuals from underrepresented 
groups; 
‘‘(3) promotional and informational activities 
targeted toward undergraduate students who grad-
uated from a high school located within the eligible 
entity; and 
‘‘(4) provision of funds to cover travel or lodg-
ing expenses of individuals from underrepresented 
groups who are being recruited as teachers under 
this section. 
‘‘(e) MATCHING FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 
make a grant to an eligible entity under subsection 
(a) unless the eligible entity agrees that, with re-
spect to the costs to be incurred by the eligible enti-
ty in carrying out the activities for which the grant 
is awarded, the eligible entity will make available 
non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to not 
less than 10 percent of the Federal funds provided 
under the grant. 
‘‘(2) SATISFYING MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
The non-Federal contributions required under para-
graph (1) may be— 
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‘‘(A) in cash or in-kind, including services, 
fairly evaluated; and 
‘‘(B) from— 
‘‘(i) any private source; or 
‘‘(ii) a State educational agency or 
local educational agency. 
‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive or re-
duce the non-Federal contribution required by para-
graph (1) if the eligible entity involved demonstrates 
that the eligible entity cannot meet the contribution 
requirement due to financial hardship. 
‘‘(f) DURATION.— 
‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—In determining wheth-
er to make a grant to an eligible entity for a local 
educational agency, the Secretary shall determine 
whether the elementary schools and secondary 
schools in the agency have attracted a sufficiently 
diverse group of teachers to provide the educational 
benefits described under subsection (b)(2)(C). 
‘‘(2) GRANT.—The Secretary shall make the 
grant only if the Secretary determines that the 
schools described in paragraph (1) have not at-
tracted that group and need additional activities 
under this section to provide the educational bene-
fits. 
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‘‘SEC. 2502. REPORTS TO SECRETARY. 
‘‘An eligible entity receiving a grant under section 
2501(a) shall submit to the Secretary not later than 90 
days after the end of each school year in which the eligible 
entity receives grant funds a report that contains— 
‘‘(1) a description of the activities for which the 
eligible entity used grant funds during such school 
year; 
‘‘(2) data concerning, with respect to the 
schools served by the eligible entity— 
‘‘(A) the number of individuals from 
underrepresented groups that began teaching 
during such school year; 
‘‘(B) the retention rate of teachers who are 
individuals from underrepresented groups; 
‘‘(C) in the case of the report covering the 
last school year in which the eligible entity re-
ceives grant funds, indicators of student aca-
demic achievement during such school year as 
compared 
with 
previous 
school 
years, 
disaggregated, if possible, by the achievement 
of— 
‘‘(i) economically disadvantaged stu-
dents; 
‘‘(ii) students from major racial and 
ethnic groups; 
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‘‘(iii) students with disabilities; and 
‘‘(iv) students with limited English 
proficiency; 
‘‘(D) student graduation rates for the 
school year covered by the report as compared 
with previous school years, if applicable in the 
case of the schools served by the eligible entity; 
and 
‘‘(E) student attendance rates for the 
school year covered by the report as compared 
with previous school years; and 
‘‘(3) a description of and data regarding such 
characteristics of the schools served by the eligible 
entity, and the students of such schools, as the Sec-
retary considers appropriate, including the number 
and percentage of students in each of the groups 
listed in clauses (i) through (iv) of paragraph (2)(C). 
‘‘SEC. 2503. BEST PRACTICES INFORMATION CLEARING-
HOUSE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall evaluate the 
success of the activities carried out by eligible entities 
using grant funds received under section 2501(a) and 
compile a database of best practices for recruiting, con-
ducting outreach to, training, and retaining individuals 
from underrepresented groups as public elementary school 
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and secondary school teachers. The Secretary shall make 
such database available to eligible entities (regardless of 
whether the eligible entities have received grants under 
such section) through an Internet Web site. 
‘‘(b) FUNDS AVAILABLE.—Of the amounts appro-
priated to carry out this part for a fiscal year, the Sec-
retary may use not more than 10 percent to carry out 
this section during such fiscal year. 
‘‘SEC. 2504. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this part, the following definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a local educational agency (or consor-
tium of local educational agencies); or 
‘‘(B) an entity that— 
‘‘(i) has entered into a partnership 
with a local educational agency (or consor-
tium of local educational agencies) in 
which the local educational agency (or con-
sortium of local educational agencies) is 
the primary partner; and 
‘‘(ii) is a private nonprofit organiza-
tion, an educational service agency, an in-
stitution of higher education, or a State 
educational agency. 
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‘‘(2) HIGH-NEED
HIGH
SCHOOL.—The term 
‘high-need high school’ means a secondary school— 
‘‘(A) in which the entering grade of the 
school is not lower than grade 9 and that in-
cludes grade 12; and 
‘‘(B) that has a graduation rate of not 
more than 65 percent in each of the 2 academic 
years prior to the submission of the grant appli-
cation. 
‘‘(3) HIGH-NEED MIDDLE SCHOOL.—The term 
‘high-need middle school’ means a secondary 
school— 
‘‘(A) in which the entering grade is not 
lower than grade 6 and the highest grade is not 
higher than grade 9; and 
‘‘(B) from which not less than 35 percent 
of the students who complete such school enroll 
in a high-need high school. 
‘‘(4) HIGH-NEED
SCHOOL.—The term ‘high- 
need school’ means a public school, including a char-
ter school (as such term is defined in section 
5210(1))— 
‘‘(A) in which not less than 40 percent of 
the enrolled students are eligible to receive free 
or reduced price lunches under section 9(b) of 
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the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)); or 
‘‘(B) that is a high-need high school or a 
high-need middle school. 
‘‘(5) 
INDIVIDUAL
FROM
AN
UNDERREP-
RESENTED GROUP.—The term ‘individual from an 
underrepresented group’ means an individual who is 
a member of a racial or gender group that has his-
torically been underrepresented among teachers in 
public elementary schools and secondary schools in 
the school district involved. 
‘‘SEC. 2505. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this part such sums as are necessary for fiscal years 2014 
through 2019.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 is amended by adding after the item related 
to section 2441 the following: 
‘‘PART E—RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, AND RETENTION OF TEACHERS, 
INCLUDING TEACHERS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS 
‘‘Sec. 2501. Grant program. 
‘‘Sec. 2502. Reports to Secretary. 
‘‘Sec. 2503. Best practices information clearinghouse. 
‘‘Sec. 2504. Definitions. 
‘‘Sec. 2505. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 
Æ 
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