Title: Consider Teachers Act of 2021
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Consider Teachers Act of 2021
This bill revises the service obligation verification process for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant program.
For example, the bill provides a process for the Department of Education to reconsider and reverse the conversion of a TEACH grant to a loan. The bill also establishes certain program flexibilities with respect to the service obligations of teachers affected by the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 848 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 848

   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve the 
service obligation verification process for TEACH Grant recipients, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 18, 2021

 Mr. Braun (for himself and Ms. Sinema) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve the 
service obligation verification process for TEACH Grant recipients, 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 ``Consider Teachers Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. TEACH GRANTS.

    Section 420N of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g-
2) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``(referred 
                to in this section as the `service obligation 
                window')'' after ``under this subpart'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (C)(vii), by inserting ``or 
                geographic area'' after ``field''; and
                    (C) by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E) and 
                inserting the following:
                    ``(D) submit a certification of employment by the 
                chief administrative officer of the school in 
                accordance with subsection (d)(5); and
                    ``(E) meet all State certification requirements for 
                teaching (which may include meeting such requirements 
                through a certification obtained through alternative 
                routes to teaching);'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking ``In the event'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) In general.--In the event''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Reconsideration of conversion decisions.--
                    ``(A) Request to reconsider.--In any case where the 
                Secretary has determined that a recipient of a grant 
                under this subpart has failed or refused to comply with 
                the service obligation in the agreement under 
                subsection (b) and has converted the grant into a 
                Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D 
                in accordance with paragraph (1), (including a TEACH 
                Grant converted to a loan prior to the date of 
                enactment of the Consider Teachers Act of 2021 and 
                including cases where such loans have been fully or 
                partially paid), the recipient may request that the 
                Secretary reconsider such initial determination and may 
                submit additional information to demonstrate 
                satisfaction of the service obligation. Upon receipt of 
                such a request, the Secretary shall reconsider the 
                determination in accordance with this paragraph not 
                later than 90 days after the date that such request was 
                received.
                    ``(B) Reconsideration.--If, in reconsidering an 
                initial determination under subparagraph (A) (including 
                reconsideration related to a TEACH Grant that was 
                converted to a loan prior to the date of enactment of 
                the Consider Teachers Act of 2021 and including cases 
                where such loans were fully or partially paid), the 
                Secretary determines that the reason for such 
                determination was the recipient's failure to timely 
                submit a certification required under subsection 
                (b)(1)(D) (as in effect on the day before the date of 
                enactment of the Consider Teachers Act of 2021), an 
                error or processing delay by the Secretary, a change to 
                the fields considered eligible for fulfillment of the 
                service obligation (as described in subsection 
                (b)(1)(C)), a recipient having previously requested to 
                have the TEACH Grant converted to a loan, or another 
                valid reason determined by the Secretary, and that the 
                recipient has, as of the date of the reconsideration, 
                demonstrated that the recipient did meet, or is meeting 
                the service obligation in the agreement under 
                subsection (b), the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) discharge the Federal Direct 
                        Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D, and 
                        reinstate the recipient's grant under this 
                        subpart;
                            ``(ii) discharge any interest or fees that 
                        may have accumulated during the period that the 
                        grant was converted to a Federal Direct 
                        Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D;
                            ``(iii) if the recipient has other loans 
                        under part D, apply any payments made for the 
                        Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under 
                        part D during such period to those other loans 
                        under part D;
                            ``(iv) if the recipient does not have other 
                        loans under part D, reimburse the recipient for 
                        any amounts paid on the Federal Direct 
                        Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D during 
                        such period;
                            ``(v) request that consumer reporting 
                        agencies remove any negative credit reporting 
                        due to the conversion of the TEACH Grant to a 
                        loan; and
                            ``(vi) use the additional information 
                        provided under subparagraph (A) to determine 
                        the progress the recipient has made in meeting 
                        the service obligation.
                    ``(C) Extension of time to complete service 
                obligation.--In the case of a recipient whose TEACH 
                Grant was reinstated in accordance with subparagraph 
                (B), the Secretary shall, upon such reinstatement--
                            ``(i) extend the time remaining for the 
                        recipient to fulfill the service obligation 
                        described in subsection (b)(1) to a period of 
                        time equal to--
                                    ``(I) 8 years; minus
                                    ``(II) the number of full academic 
                                years of teaching that the recipient 
                                completed prior to the reconversion of 
                                the loan to a TEACH Grant under 
                                subparagraph (B), including any years 
                                of qualifying teaching completed during 
                                the period when the TEACH Grant was in 
                                loan status; and
                            ``(ii) treat any full academic years of 
                        teaching described in clause (i)(II) as years 
                        that count toward the individual's service 
                        obligation (regardless of whether the TEACH 
                        Grant funds were in grant or loan status) if 
                        that time otherwise meets the requirements of 
                        this section.''; and
            (3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Communication with recipients.--The Secretary shall 
        notify TEACH grant recipients not less than once per calendar 
        year regarding how to submit the employment certification under 
        subsection (b)(1)(D) and the recommendations and requirements 
        for submitting that certification under subsection (d)(5).
            ``(4) Qualifying schools and high-need fields.--The 
        Secretary shall maintain and annually update a list of 
        qualifying schools as described in subsection (b)(1)(B), and a 
        list of high-need fields as described in subsection (b)(1)(C) 
        and shall make such lists publicly available on the 
        Department's website in a sortable and searchable format.''.

SEC. 3. SUBMISSION OF EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATION.

    Section 420N(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070g-2(d)), as amended by section 2, is further amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(5) Submission of employment certification.--
                    ``(A) Recommended submissions.--The Secretary shall 
                notify TEACH Grant recipients that the Department 
                recommends that TEACH Grant recipients submit the 
                employment certification described in subsection 
                (b)(1)(D) as soon as practicable after the completion 
                of each year of service.
                    ``(B) Required submission.--A TEACH Grant recipient 
                shall be required to submit to the Department 
                employment certification within the timeframe that 
                would allow that individual to complete their service 
                obligation before the end of the service obligation 
                window.
                    ``(C) Notification.--The Secretary shall notify 
                TEACH Grant recipients of the required submission 
                deadlines described in this paragraph.
                    ``(D) Adjustment of deadline.--The Secretary shall 
                adjust the submission deadline described in 
                subparagraph (B) to account for a service obligation 
                window extension.
                    ``(E) Alternative to certification.--The Secretary 
                shall provide an alternative to the certification of 
                employment described in subsection (b)(1)(D) for 
                recipients who cannot obtain such required 
                certification of employment from the chief 
                administrative officer of the school because the 
                recipient can demonstrate the school is no longer in 
                existence or the school refuses to cooperate.''.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF TIME TO FULFILL SERVICE OBLIGATION DUE TO COVID-
              19.

    (a) Section 3519(a) of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136; 20 U.S.C. 
1001 note) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``For the purpose of section 420N of the Higher Education Act 
        of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g-2), during a qualifying emergency,'' 
        and inserting ``Notwithstanding any provision of subpart 9 of 
        part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1070g et seq.),'';
            (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ``such section 420N.'' 
        and inserting ``section 420N of such Act; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) shall extend the service obligation window (as 
        described in section 420N(b)(1)(A) of such Act) for a period of 
        not more than 3 years, in addition to any extensions provided 
        in accordance with subpart 9 of part A of title IV of the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.), in the 
        case of a grant recipient whose service obligation window 
        begins during, or includes--
                    ``(A) the qualifying emergency period; or
                    ``(B) a period of recession or economic downturn 
                related to the qualifying emergency period, as 
                determined by the Secretary in consultation with the 
                Secretary of Labor.''.
    (b) Section 3519 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136; 20 U.S.C. 
1001 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Federal Perkins Loans.--Notwithstanding section 465 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ee), the Secretary shall 
waive the requirements of such section in regard to full-time service 
and shall consider an incomplete year of service of a borrower as 
fulfilling the requirement for a complete year of service under such 
section, if the service was interrupted due to a qualifying 
emergency.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as if included in the enactment of the CARES Act (Public Law 
116-136).

SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION.

    In carrying out this Act and any amendments made by this Act, or 
any regulations promulgated under this Act or under such amendments, 
the Secretary of Education may waive the application of--
            (1) subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States 
        Code (commonly known as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'');
            (2) the master calendar requirements under section 482 of 
        the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089);
            (3) negotiated rulemaking under section 492 of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098a); and
            (4) the requirement to publish the notices related to the 
        system of records of the agency before implementation required 
        under paragraphs (4) and (11) of section 552a(e) of title 5, 
        United States Code (commonly known as the ``Privacy Act of 
        1974''), except that the notices shall be published not later 
        than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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