Title: Teachers Are Leaders Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Teachers Are Leaders Act
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize grants for the establishment of professional development programs for teachers who remain in the classroom while also carrying out formalized leadership responsibilities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1413 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1413

 To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to establish 
                  teacher leader development programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 22, 2017

    Mr. Coons (for himself, Mrs. Ernst, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Reed) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to establish 
                  teacher leader development programs.

    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 ``Teachers Are Leaders Act''.

SEC. 2. TEACHER LEADER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

    Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 200--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (21), (22), and 
                (23), as paragraphs (22), (23), and (24), respectively; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (20) the 
                following:
            ``(21) Teacher leader.--The term `teacher leader' means a 
        teacher who carries out formalized leadership responsibilities 
        based on demonstrated school needs, while maintaining a role as 
        a classroom instructor.''; and
            (2) in section 202--
                    (A) in subsection (b)(6)(C), by striking 
                ``subsection (f) or (g)'' and inserting ``subsection 
                (g) or (h)'';
                    (B) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``a 
                        teacher leader development program under 
                        subsection (f),'' after ``subsection (e),''; 
                        and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 
                        ``subsection (f)'' and inserting ``subsection 
                        (g)'';
                    (C) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), (h), 
                (i), (j), and (k), as subsections (g), (h), (i), (j), 
                (k), and (l), respectively; and
                    (D) by inserting after subsection (e) the 
                following:
    ``(f) Teacher Leader Development Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--A teacher leader development program 
        carried out with a grant awarded under this section shall 
        involve the professional development of teachers, as described 
        in paragraph (2), who maintain their roles as classroom 
        teachers but who also carry out formalized leadership 
        responsibilities to increase the academic achievement of 
        students and promote data-driven instructional practices that 
        address the demonstrated needs at their schools, such as--
                    ``(A) development of curriculum and curricular 
                resources;
                    ``(B) facilitating the work of committees and 
                teams;
                    ``(C) family and community engagement;
                    ``(D) school discipline and culture;
                    ``(E) peer observations and coaching; or
                    ``(F) dual enrollment instruction.
            ``(2) Professional development.--The professional 
        development of teachers in a teacher leader development program 
        carried out with a grant awarded under this section shall 
        include--
                    ``(A) one year of professional development, 
                training, and support that may--
                            ``(i) include--
                                    ``(I) the engagement of teachers in 
                                rigorous coursework and fieldwork 
                                relevant to their role as a teacher 
                                leader, including available teacher 
                                leader standards; and
                                    ``(II) regular observations and 
                                professional support from--
                                            ``(aa) a principal, vice 
                                        principal, or a designated 
                                        instructional leader of the 
                                        school;
                                            ``(bb) a representative 
                                        from the institution of higher 
                                        education that is a partner in 
                                        the eligible entity;
                                            ``(cc) a representative 
                                        from another entity that is a 
                                        partner in the eligible entity; 
                                        and
                                            ``(dd) another member of 
                                        the teacher leader cohort, if 
                                        applicable, or a peer teacher; 
                                        and
                            ``(ii) result in the awarding of a 
                        credential in teacher leadership; and
                    ``(B) one or 2 additional years of support from a 
                principal, vice principal, or a designated 
                instructional leader of the school, a representative 
                from the institution of higher education that is a 
                partner in the eligible entity, and a representative 
                from another entity that is a partner in the eligible 
                entity.
            ``(3) Teacher leader development program plan.--In carrying 
        out a teacher leader development program under this section, an 
        eligible entity shall develop a plan that shall describe--
                    ``(A) how the work hours of teacher leaders will be 
                allocated between their classroom responsibilities and 
                responsibilities as a teacher leader, which may include 
                a description of whether the teacher leader will be 
                relieved from teaching duties during their 
                participation in the teacher leader development 
                program;
                    ``(B) how the partnership will support teacher 
                leaders after the first year of professional 
                development in the program; and
                    ``(C) how teacher leader activities could be 
                sustained by the eligible partnership after the program 
                concludes, which may include a description of 
                opportunities for the teacher leaders to assist in the 
                educator preparation program at the institution of 
                higher education in the partnership.
            ``(4) Selection of teacher leaders; use of funds.--In 
        carrying out a teacher leader development program under this 
        section, an eligible entity--
                    ``(A) shall select a teacher for participation in 
                the program--
                            ``(i) who--
                                    ``(I) is fully certified to teach 
                                in the State in which the high-need 
                                local educational agency that is a 
                                partner in the eligible entity is 
                                located;
                                    ``(II) is employed by a high-need 
                                local educational agency that is a 
                                partner in the eligible entity;
                                    ``(III) has not less than 3 years 
                                of teaching experience; and
                                    ``(IV) submits an application for 
                                participation to the eligible entity; 
                                and
                            ``(ii) based on selection criteria that 
                        includes--
                                    ``(I) demonstration of strong 
                                content knowledge or a record of 
                                accomplishment in the field or subject 
                                area the teacher will support as a 
                                teacher leader; and
                                    ``(II) demonstration of attributes 
                                linked to effective teaching that is 
                                determined through interviews, 
                                observations, artifacts, student 
                                achievement, or performance 
                                assessments, such as those leading to 
                                an advanced credential;
                    ``(B) may develop admissions goals and priorities 
                for the teacher leader development program that--
                            ``(i) are aligned with the demonstrated 
                        needs of the school or high-need local 
                        educational agency in which the teacher is 
                        employed;
                            ``(ii) considers cultural competencies that 
                        would make the applicant effective in the 
                        applicant's teacher leader role; and
                            ``(iii) considers whether the teacher has 
                        substantial teaching experience in the school 
                        in which the teacher is employed or in a school 
                        that is similar to the school in which the 
                        teacher is employed;
                    ``(C) shall use the grant funds to pay for costs of 
                training and supporting teacher leaders for not less 
                than 2 years and not more than 3 years;
                    ``(D) may use the grant funds to pay for a portion 
                of a stipend for teacher leaders if such grant funds 
                are matched by additional non-Federal public or private 
                funds as follows:
                            ``(i) During each of the first and second 
                        years of the grant period, grant funds may pay 
                        not more than 50 percent of such stipend.
                            ``(ii) During the third year of the grant 
                        period, grant funds may pay not more than 33 
                        percent of such stipend; and
                    ``(E) may require teacher leaders to pay back the 
                cost of attaining a credential if they do not complete 
                their term of service in the teacher leader development 
                program.''.
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