,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aghj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #bj1      
#bjba,mr4 ,booker 7for himself1 ,mr4    
,brown1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,markey1  
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 ,according to  
,department of ,education data for the  
#bjbj-bjba school year1 to date #dc     

,states are reporting shortages in      
mathematics teachers1 #db in science    
teachers1 and #dd in special education  
teachers4  7#c7 ,data shows that1       
between #bjji and #bjag1 teacher        
education enrollments dropped from      
#fia1jjj to #ddd1jjj1 a #ch-percent     
reduction4 ,this amounts to a decrease  
of about #cdj1jjj professionals on their
 way to becoming teachers in the year   
#bjag1 as compared to #bjji4  7#d7      
,current data show that the impacts of  
,,covid-#ai may be further exacerbating 
student access to well-prepared and     
diverse teachers through declining      
higher education enrollments and        
potential increased turnover due to     
pandemic teaching conditions1 among     
other factors4  7#e7 ,about #hj percent 
of educators begin teaching with a      
bachelor's degree1 yet the latest       
,federal data show a #d4e-percent       
decline in undergraduate enrollment in  
the ,spring of #bjba4 ,enrollment       
declines have inequitably impacted      

students of color4  7#f7 ,in an ,august 
#bjbj ,census ,bureau survey1           
respondents cited their inability to pay
 as a factor in their decision to forgo 
college4  7#g7 ,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#h7 ,the ,,teach ,grant's  
award amount has not increased since its
 creation in the bipartisan ,college    
,cost ,reduction and ,access ,act       
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#i7    
,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#aj7 ,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#aa7 ,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#ab7 ,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 ,,teach ,grants      
program under the ,higher ,education    
,act of #aife ,subpart #i of part ,a of 

title ,,iv of the ,higher ,education    
,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajgj;g et 
seq47 is amended-- 7#a7 in section      
#dbj,l7#a71 by inserting 7except that   
such term does not include an           
institution described in subsection     
7a77#a77;,a7 of section #ajb7 after     
#ajb2  7#b7 in section #dbj,m-- 7,a7 in 
subsection 7a77#a71 by striking #d1jjj  
and inserting #h1jjj2  7,b7 in          
subsection 7b77#c71 by striking the     
second and third sentences and inserting
 the following3 ,any disbursement       
allowed to be made by crediting the     
teacher candidate's account shall be    
used for the full cost of attendance 7as
 defined in section #dgb742 and  7,c7 in
 subsection 7d7-- 7i7 in paragraph      
7#a77;,b71 by striking #af1jjj and      
inserting #cb1jjj2 and  7ii7 in         
paragraph 7#b71 by striking #h1jjj and  
inserting #af1jjj2 and  7#c7 in section 
#dbj,n-- 7,a7 in subsection 7b7-- 7i7 by
 striking paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c72     
7ii7 by striking an agreement and all   

that follows through the applicant will 
and inserting an agreement by the       
applicant that the applicant will2      
7iii7 by redesignating subparagraphs    
7,a7 through 7,e7 as paragraphs 7#a7    
through 7#e71 respectively1 and moving  
the margins of such paragraphs 7as so   
redesignated7 #b ems to the left2  7iv7 
by redesignating clauses 7i7 through    
7vii7 as subparagraphs 7,a7 through     
7,g71 respectively1 and moving the      
margins of such subparagraphs 7as so    
redesignated7 #b ems to the left2  7v7  
in paragraph 7#b71 as redesignated by   
clause 7iii71 by striking teach in a    
school described in section             
#dfe7;a77#b77;,a7 and inserting teach in
 a school described in section          
#dfe7;a77#b77;,a7 or teach in a         
high-need early education program2 and  
7vi7 in paragraph 7#c71 as redesignated 
by clause 7iii7-- 7,i7 in subparagraph  
7,f71 as redesignated by clause 7iv71 by
 striking or after the semicolon2       
7,,ii7 in subparagraph 7,g71 as         

redesignated by clause 7iv71 by         
inserting or after the semicolon2 and   
7,,iii7 by adding at the end the        
following3  7,h7 early childhood        
education2  2 and  7,b7 by striking     
subsection 7c7 and inserting the        
following3  7c7 ,certificate ,upon the  
completion of the service requirement in
 subsection 7b71 the ,secretary shall   
send to the recipient of a grant under  
this subpart an electronic certificate  
documenting the completion of such      
service4  2  7,c7 by redesignating      
subsection 7d7 as subsection 7e72  7,d7 
by inserting after subsection 7c7 the   
following3  7d7 ,prohibition ,the       
,secretary may not institute or create a
 monetary penalty for failure or refusal
 to complete the service requirement    
under subsection 7b74  2 and  7,e7 in   
subsection 7e71 as redesignated by      
subparagraph 7,c7-- 7i7 by striking     
subsection 7b77#a77;,c77vii7 and        
inserting subsection 7b77#c77;,g72 and  
7ii7 by striking subsection 7b77#a7 and 

inserting subsection 7b74  #d4          
,amendment to the balanced budget and   
deficit control act  7a7 ,exemption of  
program from sequestration ,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  7b7 ,applicability ,the      
amendment made by this section shall    
apply to any sequestration order issued 
under the ,balanced ,budget and         
,emergency ,deficit ,control ,act of    
#aihe 7#b ,u4,s4,c4 #ijj et seq47 on or 
after the date of enactment of this     
,act4