,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #caeh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,january #h1   
#bjbj,mr4 ,booker 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mrs4         
,gillibrand1 ,ms4 ,harris1 ,ms4         
,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,mr4 ,merkley1
 and ,ms4 ,warren7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,health1 
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to remove college cost as a    
barrier to every student having access  
to a well-prepared and diverse educator 
workforce1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,diversifying by ,investing in      
,educators and ,students to ,improve    
,outcomes ,for ,youth ,act or the       
,diversify ,act4  #b4 ,findings         
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,schools predominantly enrolling        
historically underserved students are   
often disproportionately impacted by    
teacher shortages4  7#b7 ,data shows    

that between #bjji and #bjad1 teacher   
education enrollments dropped from      
#fia1jjj to #dea1jjj1 a #ce-percent     
reduction4 ,this amounts to a decrease  
of almost #bdj1jjj professionals on     
their way to becoming teachers in the   
year #bjad1 as compared to #bjji4  7#c7 
,research suggests that service         
scholarship programs like the ,,teach   
,grant ,program are successful when they
 are both administratively manageable   
and when subsidies are large enough to  
substantially offset training costs4    
,efforts to increase the ,,teach ,grant 
award amount must be combined with      
efforts to ensure that the program is   
administratively manageable4 ,in order  
for the ,,teach ,grant ,program to meet 
its full potential1 the research is     
clear that both criteria need to be     
addressed4  7#d7 ,the ,,teach ,grant's  
award amount has not increased since its
 creation in the bipartisan ,college    
,cost ,reduction and ,access ,act of    
#bjjg 7,public ,law #aaj-hd74 ,in       

addition1 due to the ,budget ,control   
,act of #bjaa 7,public ,law #aab-be71   
the maximum amount of grant aid         
available under the ,,teach ,grant      
,program of #d1jjj a year has been cut  
for a majority of the program's         
existence4 ,this comes at a time when   
the yearly full cost of a public #d-year
 college for an in-,state student       
exceeds #bj1jjj4 ,further1 more than    
two-thirds of individuals entering the  
field of education borrow money to pay  
for their higher education1 resulting in
 an average debt of about #bj1jjj for   
those with a bachelor's degree and      
#ej1jjj for those with a master's       
degree4  7#e7 ,grant programs can       
eliminate or reduce the need to borrow  
student loans in order to afford a      
college education4 ,this is important   
because a college student's potential   
debt burden influences the student's    
decisions about what profession to      
enter1 with the result that the student 
is less likely to pursue a career in    

education or take other low-paying jobs 
after graduation if the student expects 
to incur more debt4 ,this is especially 
true for students of color1 who1        
according to a recent report1 are more  
likely to come from families that are   
unable to contribute financially to     
their higher education4  7#f7 ,students 
with disabilities1 including students of
 color with disabilities1 are also      
likely to accrue significant student    
loan debt4 ,this often results from     
limited ability to work while in school 
due to the increased time needed for    
coursework4  7#g7 ,teachers of color    
face unique barriers to entering and    
staying in the profession4 ,for example1
 teachers of color are more likely to   
enter teaching through alternative      
pathways due to the high cost of        
traditional teacher preparation programs
 and the debt burden faced by college   
students of color4 ,lower quality       
pathways can result in less effective   
teaching and high turnover rates4       

,research shows that candidates who     
receive comprehensive preparation are #b
 to #c times more likely to stay in     
teaching than those who receive little  
training4 ,in many cases1 however1      
teachers of color are more likely to    
begin teaching without having completed 
comprehensive preparation and entering  
instead through alternative routes that 
often skip student teaching and key     
coursework1 leaving teachers to learn on
 the job4  7#h7 ,research shows that    
recruiting and retaining a diverse      
teacher workforce is key to improving   
outcomes for all students and for       
closing achievement gaps4 ,while ,white 
students also benefit by learning from  
teachers of color1 the impact is        
especially significant for students of  
color1 who have higher test scores1 are 
more likely to graduate high school1 and
 more likely to succeed in college when 
they have had teachers of color who     
serve as role models and support their  
attachment to school and learning4  #c4 

,amendments to the ,higher ,education   
,act of #aife ,section #dbj,m of the    
,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajgj;g-#a7 is amended-- 7#a7 
in subsection 7a77#a71 by striking      
#d1jjj and inserting #h1jjj2 and  7#b7  
in subsection 7d7-- 7,a7 in paragraph   
7#a77;,b71 by striking #af1jjj and      
inserting #cb1jjj2 and  7,b7 in         
paragraph 7#b71 by striking #h1jjj and  
inserting #af1jjj4  #d4 ,amendment to   
the ,balanced ,budget and ,deficit      
,control ,act ,section #bee7;h7 of the  
,balanced ,budget and ,emergency        
,deficit ,control ,act of #aihe 7#b     
,u4,s4,c4 #ije7;h77 is amended by       
inserting after the item relating to    
,supplemental ,security ,income ,program
 7#bh-jdjf-j-a-fji74 the following new  
item3  ,,teach ,grants under subpart #i 
of part ,a of title ,,iv of the ,higher 
,education ,act of #aife4  4