PATHS to Tutor Act of 2021
Bill: S.457 | Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. (D-NJ)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Partnering Aspiring Teachers with High-need Schools to Tutor Act of 2021 or the PATHS to Tutor Act of 2021
This bill expands access to tutoring in hard-to-staff and high-need schools by establishing a grant program and providing certain incentives to teachers.
Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award competitive grants to local consortia to carry out tutoring programs. Local consortia refers to partnerships between teacher preparation programs, local educational agencies or individual schools, and community-based organizations.
Grant recipients may use these funds for certain activities, including matching and placing tutors, purchasing instructional materials and connectivity resources, and providing transportation and meals to students who attend the tutoring program.
Further, ED must enter into an interagency agreement with the Corporation for National and Community Service to include tutor positions as approved national service positions.
Finally, the bill allows tutoring to count toward service requirements for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education grant program.

To establish a grant program for innovative partnerships among teacher 
 preparation programs, local educational agencies, and community-based 
  organizations to expand access to high-quality tutoring in hard-to-
      staff schools and high-need schools, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Partnering Aspiring Teachers with 
High-need Schools to Tutor Act of 2021'' or the ``PATHS to Tutor Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR HIGH-QUALITY TUTORING.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Educational service agency.--The term ``educational 
        service agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 8101 
        of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 7801).
            (2) Educator preparation program.--The term ``educator 
        preparation program'' means a State-accredited program at a 
        public or nonprofit institution of higher education or other 
        nonprofit provider that prepares individuals to serve as 
        educators.
            (3) Hard-to-staff school.--The term ``hard-to-staff 
        school'' means a high-need school that has a high rate of 
        teacher turnover or a large concentration of teachers in their 
        first or second year of teaching.
            (4) High-need school.--The term ``high-need school'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 2211 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631).
            (5) High-quality tutoring.--The term ``high-quality 
        tutoring'' means tutoring--
                    (A) that is provided by a tutor;
                    (B) that is one-on-one or in a small group not to 
                exceed a ratio of 1 to 4, or a small group ratio based 
                on evidence deemed sufficient by the State educational 
                agency in the State in which the tutoring takes place;
                    (C) that includes plans and time for tutors to 
                collaborate;
                    (D) that--
                            (i) includes multiple sessions each week 
                        that are of sufficient length, such as the 
                        length of a regularly scheduled class or 
                        period; and
                            (ii) is embedded in the school schedule, 
                        preferably during the regular school day or 
                        tightly integrated to the regular school day 
                        and provided before or after school, or during 
                        school vacations;
                    (E) in which content and grade specific tutors are 
                matched with students;
                    (F) that is aligned to local standards and 
                curriculum;
                    (G) that includes high-quality pre-service training 
                and ongoing professional support;
                    (H) that is facilitated by the local consortium 
                where local educational agencies and schools support 
                tutors through direct supervision and feedback with 
                additional capacity provided by the education 
                preparation program faculty or staff; and
                    (I) where tutors are adequately compensated for 
                their work.
            (6) Local consortium.--The term ``local consortium'' means 
        a consortium consisting of community partners as follows:
                    (A) The consortium shall include the following 
                entities, one or both of which shall serve as the lead 
                entity of the consortium:
                            (i) A local educational agency, an 
                        individual school, or an educational service 
                        agency.
                            (ii) An educator preparation program.
                    (B) The consortium may include a community partner, 
                such as--
                            (i) a community-based organization;
                            (ii) a child and youth serving organization 
                        or agency;
                            (iii) an institution of higher education, 
                        as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher 
                        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a));
                            (iv) a foundation;
                            (v) an educator organization;
                            (vi) an organization representing education 
                        professionals;
                            (vii) a local government, including a 
                        government agency serving children and youth, 
                        such as a child welfare and juvenile justice 
                        agency;
                            (viii) an organization representing 
                        students; or
                            (ix) an organization representing parents.
            (7) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
        agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).
            (8) Mentor.--The term ``mentor'' means an experienced 
        educator, including a teacher-educator at an educator 
        preparation program, dedicated to advising a tutor or 
        administering the tutoring program.
            (9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.
            (10) Tutor.--The term ``tutor'' means--
                    (A) a postsecondary student who is enrolled in an 
                educator preparation program;
                    (B) a recent graduate of an educator preparation 
                program;
                    (C) an individual serving as an education 
                paraprofessional or teaching aide; or
                    (D) a fully certified and licensed educator (such 
                as a recently retired educator, an educator 
                experiencing a gap in employment due to COVID-induced 
                budget cuts, or an educator providing tutoring before 
                or after school, or during the summer).
    (b) Demonstration Competitive Grant Program.--The Secretary shall 
award grants, on a competitive basis, to local consortia to enable the 
local consortia to carry out high-quality tutoring, especially at hard-
to-staff schools or high-need schools.
    (c) Application.--A local consortium that desires to receive a 
grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as 
the Secretary may require, including the following:
            (1) A description of the local consortium, including which 
        public or nonprofit entity participating in the local 
        consortium shall serve as the fiscal agent for the local 
        consortium.
            (2) A description of the strategy for recruitment, careful 
        selection, and matching of tutors with hard-to-staff schools 
        and high-need schools.
            (3) A description of the pre-service training and ongoing 
        professional support for tutors.
            (4) A list of hard-to-staff schools and high-need schools, 
        and the grades that will be supported in each school, 
        identified by the local consortium to receive comprehensive, 
        coordinated continuum of services and support.
            (5) A description of how the high-quality tutoring program 
        plans to accelerate student learning.
            (6) A description of how the local consortium will ensure 
        that tutoring does not result in the tracking or negative 
        labeling of students, or remediation.
            (7) A description of the duration of tutoring, including 
        the duration of sessions, the number of days a week tutoring 
        will occur, and the length in weeks the tutoring will occur.
            (8) An assurance that the local consortium will align 
        tutoring to the local curriculum and standards of the local 
        educational agency and school and will be designed to support 
        student success in the classroom.
            (9) A description of materials and supports and how they 
        are aligned with the local curriculum and standards of the 
        local educational agency and school.
            (10) A description of how the high-quality tutoring program 
        will build school capacity in the schools in which the tutors 
        will serve.
            (11) An assurance that the local consortium will leverage 
        tutors to supplement, not supplant existing staff.
            (12) A description of how tutors will be adequately 
        compensated.
            (13) An assurance that the local consortium will use funds 
        to supplement and not supplant funds otherwise available to 
        carry out high-quality tutoring and will not use any funds to 
        replace teaching positions with tutoring positions.
            (14) A description of how the tutoring program will 
        incorporate research-based social-emotional learning practices, 
        trauma-informed learning practices, and culturally and 
        linguistically responsive practices.
    (d) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 
shall give priority to local consortia that plan to support high-need 
schools in building student learning capacity by using tutors who are 
postsecondary students who are enrolled in educator preparation 
programs.
    (e) Use of Funds.--A local consortium that receives a grant under 
this section may use the grant funds for the following:
            (1) Matching, training, and placing tutors with schools to 
        deliver high-quality tutoring.
            (2) Supporting tutors to work with small groups of students 
        attending high-need schools wherein tutors are providing 
        supervision and instruction, and time for collaboration with 
        mentors.
            (3) Matching tutors with mentors.
            (4) Providing stipends to tutors and mentors.
            (5) Purchasing instructional materials and connectivity 
        resources, including internet access and accessible devices.
            (6) Providing transportation for students attending the 
        tutoring program.
            (7) Providing meals and snacks for students attending the 
        tutoring program.
            (8) Providing facilities for conducting the tutoring 
        program.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
        carry out this section $500,000,000.
            (2) Allocation.--From the amounts appropriated to carry out 
        this section--
                    (A) not less than 85 percent shall be used for 
                directly supporting students, including providing 
                stipends to tutors and mentors, providing 
                transportation, meals, and snacks, and purchasing 
                instructional materials and connectivity resources for 
                students; and
                    (B) not more than 15 percent shall be used for 
                other uses in carrying out this section.

SEC. 3. COORDINATION WITH THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY 
              SERVICE.

    (a) Interagency Agreement.--The Secretary of Education shall enter 
into an interagency agreement with the Corporation for National and 
Community Service under section 121(b) of the National and Community 
Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12571(b)) under which the Corporation 
shall approve tutor positions under a program funded under section 2, 
as approved national service positions (as defined in section 101 of 
the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511)). Such 
interagency agreement shall specify how a degree or certificate of 
completion for a term of service as a provider of high-quality tutoring 
will be submitted to the Corporation.
    (b) Special Rule.--Notwithstanding section 148 of the National and 
Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12604), the Secretary and the 
Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community 
Service shall develop a program under which national service 
educational awards may be disbursed to tutors upon completion of 
service under a program funded under section 2.

SEC. 4. REDUCING THE ECONOMIC BURDEN ON ASPIRING TEACHERS.

    Section 420N(b)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070g-2(b)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) the applicant will--
                    ``(A) serve as a full-time teacher (or, during any 
                of academic years 2020-2021, 2021-2022, or 2022-2023, 
                serve as a full-time tutor in high-quality tutoring or 
                a full-time instructor in small group instruction) for 
                a total of not less than 4 academic years within 8 
                years after completing the course of study for which 
                the applicant received a TEACH Grant under this 
                subpart;
                    ``(B) teach in a school described in section 
                465(a)(2)(A), except if serving as a tutor or 
                instructor as described in subparagraph (A);
                    ``(C) teach, except if serving as a tutor or 
                instructor as described in subparagraph (A), in any of 
                the following fields--
                            ``(i) mathematics;
                            ``(ii) science;
                            ``(iii) a foreign language;
                            ``(iv) bilingual education;
                            ``(v) special education;
                            ``(vi) as a reading specialist; or
                            ``(vii) another field documented as high-
                        need by the Federal Government, State 
                        government, or local educational agency, and 
                        approved by the Secretary; and
                    ``(D) submit evidence of such employment in the 
                form of a certification by the chief administrative 
                officer of the school upon completion of each year of 
                such service.''.
                                 <all>