,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bjba ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #aj1 #bjbe,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,adams1 ,ms4 ,bonamici1 ,ms4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,carbajal1 ,mr4 ,carson1 ,ms4 ,castor of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,casten1 ,mrs4 ,cherfilus-,mc,cormick1 ,ms4 ,chu1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,mr4 ,clyburn1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1 ,mr4 ,courtney1 ,mr4 ,cuellar1 ,mr4 ,davis of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,dean of ,pennsylvania1 ,ms4 ,de,lauro1 ,mr4 ,deluzio1 ,mrs4 ,dingell1 ,mr4 ,espaillat1 ,mr4 ,evans of ,pennsylvania1 ,mrs4 ,foushee1 ,mr4 ,frost1 ,mr4 ,gottheimer1 ,mr4 ,green of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,mrs4 ,hayes1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,hoyle of ,oregon1 ,mr4 ,jackson of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,kamlager-,dove1 ,mr4 ,keating1 ,mr4 ,krishnamoorthi1 ,mr4 ,landsman1 ,mr4 ,lieu1 ,mr4 ,lynch1 ,mr4 ,magaziner1 ,mrs4 ,mc,bath1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mrs4 ,mc,iver1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,ms4 ,meng1 ,ms4 ,moore of ,wisconsin1 ,mr4 ,moskowitz1 ,mr4 ,mrvan1 ,mr4 ,mullin1 ,mr4 ,neguse1 ,mr4 ,norcross1 ,ms4 ,ocasio-,cortez1 ,ms4 ,omar1 ,ms4 ,perez1 ,ms4 ,pingree1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,ms4 ,pressley1 ,mr4 ,quigley1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 ,ms4 ,ross1 ,ms4 ,salinas1 ,ms4 ,snchez1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,ms4 ,scholten1 ,ms4 ,sewell1 ,ms4 ,sherrill1 ,mr4 ,sorensen1 ,ms4 ,stevens1 ,mrs4 ,sykes1 ,mr4 ,takano1 ,mr4 ,thanedar1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,ms4 ,tokuda1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,ms4 ,williams of ,georgia1 and ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,workforce ,a ,,bill ,to provide grants to ,state educational agencies to support ,state efforts to increase teacher salaries1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,american ,teacher ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,teachers are the backbone of our nation1 from the first bell to the last bell1 they act as caregivers1 counselors1 role models1 advocates1 and cheerleaders1 helping children achieve their greatest potential4 7#b7 ,what is more1 teacher shortages are among the most pressing threats to education access today1 with districts across the country forced to radically adjust school offerings to respond to turnover and prolonged vacancies4 ,every day1 stories surface of schools shortening their weeks1 canceling courses1 increasing student-teacher ratios1 and placing underprepared or temporary substitute staff in core instructional roles4 ,such adjustments disrupt learning1 take a sustained toll on teacher morale1 and harm student achievement4 7#c7 ,the teacher wage penalty1 characterizing lower weekly wages and overall compensation for teachers compared to college-educated peers in other professions1 hit an all-time high of #bc4e percent in #bjba and continues to demonstrate significant1 adverse impacts on teacher recruitment and retention4 ,according to a recent report by the ,teacher ,salary ,project1 over #ij percent of teachers believe low salary contributes to shortages in their communities and over #de percent believe their salary is insufficient for medium and long-term career sustainability4 7#d7 ,significant numbers of teachers report maintaining multiple jobs to make ends meet or being able to work in their profession only through the support of a partner's higher-paying job4 ,this instability is worse for teachers of color who are more likely to work in under-resourced schools4 ,as a result1 high-poverty communities face a compounded burden4 7#e7 ,in ,august of #bjbb1 the ,white ,house issued a fact sheet renewing attention to the weak teacher pipeline and calling upon legislators to use federal1 state1 and local resources to strengthen teaching career pathways and ensure competitive1 livable wages4 ,this statement accompanies efforts by twenty-five states to propose and enact legislation addressing teacher compensation since ,january #bjba4 7#f7 ,to restore stability in our schools and secure equitable access to high-quality education1 we must raise awareness surrounding the value of teaching as a profession and provide compensation that reflects this value4 #c4 ,grants to support ,state efforts to increase teacher salaries 7a7 ,teacher salary incentive grants 7#a7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this section is to ensure that each teacher who is employed full-time at a qualifying school in a ,state earns an annual salary for any year of employment of not less than #fj1jjj 7adjusted for inflation74 7#b7 ,grants for minimum salary threshold 7,a7 ,in general ,from amounts made available to carry out this section1 the ,secretary of ,education shall award #d-year grants to ,state educational agencies4 7,b7 ,application ,to be eligible to receive such a grant1 the ,state educational agency shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require1 including-- 7i7 the plan required under subparagraph 7,c72 and 7ii7 the assurances required under subparagraph 7,d74 7,c7 ,sustainability plan ,the ,secretary shall require a ,state educational agency submitting an application under subparagraph 7,b7 to provide a plan that demonstrates how1 following the conclusion of the #d-year grant period1 such agency will continue to maintain and adjust the annual base minimum salary in accordance with subsection 7b74 7,d7 ,required assurances ,the ,secretary shall require a ,state educational agency submitting an application under subparagraph 7,b7 to provide an assurance in such application that-- 7i7 if necessary to achieve the purpose of this section1 the ,state will enact and enforce legislation to establish a statewide teacher salary schedule or otherwise to establish minimum teacher salary requirements2 7ii7 each teacher described in paragraph 7#a7 will be compensated on a salary basis at an annual rate per school year that is not less than the salary threshold described in subsection 7b72 7iii7 each teacher who is employed part-time at a qualifying school in a ,state will be compensated on a salary basis at an annual rate per school year that is not less than the salary threshold described in subsection 7b71 proportionately reduced in accordance with the number of hours worked by such teacher2 7iv7 priority will be given to local educational agencies in accordance with subparagraph 7,e77ii72 and 7v7 the ,state educational agency will1 upon request by the ,secretary1 carry out the compliance demonstration in accordance with subsection 7c77#c74 7,e7 ,subgrants 7i7 ,in general ,a ,state educational agency awarded a grant under this section shall use not less than #he percent of the grant funds to award subgrants to local educational agencies to carry out the purpose of this section4 7ii7 ,priority ,the ,state educational agency1 in allocating funds to local educational agencies under this section1 shall give priority to local educational agencies-- 7,i7 serving greater numbers or percentages of elementary or secondary schools receiving funds under title ,i of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #fcja et seq472 or 7,,ii7 with respect to which all of the schools served by the local educational agency are designated with a locale code of #da1 #db1 or #dc1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7b7 ,salary threshold 7#a7 ,in general ,for school year #bjbf-bjbg1 the base minimum salary dollar amount shall be #fj1jjj4 7#b7 ,inflation adjustment ,for school year #bjbf-bjbg and each succeeding school year1 the dollar amount referred to in paragraph 7#a7 shall be deemed to refer to the dollar amount calculated under this subsection for the preceding school year1 increased by a percentage equal to the annual percentage increase in the ,consumer ,price ,index for ,all ,urban ,consumers published by the ,department of ,labor for the most recent calendar year4 7#c7 ,no salary limit ,the base minimum salary dollar amount may be greater than the dollar amount described in paragraphs 7#a7 or 7#b74 7c7 ,supplement1 not supplant 7#a7 ,in general ,grant funds received under this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other ,federal1 ,state1 and local public funds that would1 in the absence of such ,federal funds1 be made available for teacher base salaries4 7#b7 ,maintenance of effort ,a ,state educational agency or local educational agency shall not reduce or adjust any teacher pay or ,state teacher loan forgiveness program due to the eligibility of teachers within the jurisdiction of such agency for pay supplementation under this section4 7#c7 ,compliance demonstration to ,secretary ,each ,state educational agency and local educational agency1 upon request by the ,secretary1 shall demonstrate that the methodology used to allocate teacher pay and ,state teacher loan forgiveness 7if applicable7 to teachers and qualifying schools ensures that each such teacher and school receives the same ,state and local funds for teacher compensation it would receive if this ,act had not been enacted4 #d4 ,grants for adjustment of teacher salaries 7a7 ,in general ,from amounts made available to carry out this section1 the ,secretary of ,education shall award grants to eligible ,state educational agencies to provide1 in accordance with subsection 7c71 cost-of-living adjustments to the annual base salary of such ,state and the annual salary of each teacher who is employed full-time at a qualifying school in such ,state4 7b7 ,application ,to be eligible to receive such a grant1 the ,state educational agency shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require1 including the demonstration required under subsection 7d77#b74 7c7 ,adjustment ,the annual base salary of the ,state and the annual salary of each teacher described in subsection 7a7 shall be increased by a percentage equal to the annual percentage increase in the ,consumer ,price ,index for ,all ,urban ,consumers published by the ,department of ,labor for the most recent calendar year4 7d7 ,eligible ,state defined ,in this section1 the term eligible ,state means a ,state-- 7#a7 with an annual base salary of not less than #fj1jjj for teachers who are employed full-time at a qualifying school2 and 7#b7 that demonstrates in the application submitted under subsection 7b7 that1 due to inflation1 such ,state is unable to adjust such base salary or the annual salaries of such teachers for cost-of-living4 #e4 ,enhanced awareness of the value of teaching profession ,the ,secretary may reserve not more than #d percent of the funds appropriated under section #h to carry out a national campaign-- 7#a7 to increase awareness about the importance of teachers and the value of the teaching profession2 7#b7 to encourage secondary school and college students to consider teaching as a professional career2 and 7#c7 to diversify the pool of individuals who enter the teaching profession4 #f4 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect the rights1 remedies1 and procedures afforded to school or local educational agency employees under ,federal1 ,state1 or local laws 7including applicable regulations1 court orders1 or requirements that local educational agencies negotiate or meet and confer in good faith7 or under the terms of collective bargaining agreements1 memoranda of understanding1 or other agreements between such employers and their employees4 #g4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,,esea definitions ,the terms elementary school1 local educational agency1 secondary school1 ,secretary1 ,state1 and ,state educational agency have the meanings given such terms in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74 7#b7 ,qualifying school ,the term qualifying school means1 with respect to any school year1 a public elementary school or a public secondary school4 7#c7 ,teacher ,the term teacher means an individual who-- 7,a7 is a teacher of record who provides direct classroom teaching 7or classroom-type teaching in a nonclassroom setting7 in a qualifying school for not less than the normal or statutory number of hours of work for a full-time or part-time teacher over a complete school year 7as determined by the ,state in which the school is located72 7,b7 meets the applicable requirements for ,state certification or licensure1 as applicable1 in the ,state in which such school is located and in the subject area in which the individual is the teacher of record2 and 7,c7 possesses skills and knowledge needed for effective classroom practice1 including with respect to demonstrating the ability to improve student learning4 7#d7 ,teacher of record ,the term teacher of record means a teacher who has-- 7,a7 been assigned the responsibility for specified pupils' learning in a grade1 subject1 or course as reflected on the school's official record of attendance2 7,b7 learned and developed extensive teaching and basic classroom management skills2 and 7,c7 demonstrated the ability to plan and deliver instruction to students from different cultural backgrounds and with different learning styles and to assess and support student learning4 #h4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this ,act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years #bjbf through #bjcj4