119-hr2021

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2021 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2021

 To provide grants to State educational agencies to support State 
 efforts to increase teacher salaries, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 10, 2025

Ms. Wilson of Florida (for herself, Ms. Adams, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Brown, 
 Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carson, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Casten, Mrs. 
Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Chu, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. 
 Clyburn, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Davis of 
 Illinois, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Deluzio, Mrs. 
 Dingell, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. 
 Frost, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mrs. Hayes, 
Ms. Norton, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Jayapal, 
 Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Keating, Mr. 
Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Landsman, Mr. Lieu, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Magaziner, Mrs. 
McBath, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Meng, Ms. Moore of 
 Wisconsin, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Mrvan, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Neguse, Mr. 
 Norcross, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Omar, Ms. Perez, Ms. Pingree, Mr. 
 Pocan, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Ross, Ms. Salinas, 
 Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Scholten, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Sherrill, 
 Mr. Sorensen, Ms. Stevens, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. 
 Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. 
 Williams of Georgia, and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
 bill; 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 salaries, 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 ``American Teacher Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Teachers are the backbone of our nation, from the first 
 bell to the last bell, they act as caregivers, counselors, role 
 models, advocates, and cheerleaders, helping children achieve 
 their greatest potential.

    (2) What is more, teacher shortages are among the most 
 pressing threats to education access today, with districts 
 across the country forced to radically adjust school offerings 
 to respond to turnover and prolonged vacancies. Every day, 
 stories surface of schools shortening their weeks, canceling 
 courses, increasing student-teacher ratios, and placing 
 underprepared or temporary substitute staff in core 
 instructional roles. Such adjustments disrupt learning, take a 
 sustained toll on teacher morale, and harm student achievement.

    (3) The teacher wage penalty, characterizing lower weekly 
 wages and overall compensation for teachers compared to 
 college-educated peers in other professions, hit an all-time 
 high of 23.5 percent in 2021 and continues to demonstrate 
 significant, adverse impacts on teacher recruitment and 
 retention. According to a recent report by the Teacher Salary 
 Project, over 90 percent of teachers believe low salary 
 contributes to shortages in their communities and over 45 
 percent believe their salary is insufficient for medium and 
 long-term career sustainability.

    (4) 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 job. This instability is worse for teachers of color who 
 are more likely to work in under-resourced schools. As a 
 result, high-poverty communities face a compounded burden.

    (5) In August of 2022, the White House issued a fact sheet 
 renewing attention to the weak teacher pipeline and calling 
 upon legislators to use federal, state, and local resources to 
 strengthen teaching career pathways and ensure competitive, 
 livable wages. This statement accompanies efforts by twenty-
 five states to propose and enact legislation addressing teacher 
 compensation since January 2021.

    (6) To restore stability in our schools and secure 
 equitable access to high-quality education, we must raise 
 awareness surrounding the value of teaching as a profession and 
 provide compensation that reflects this value.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT STATE EFFORTS TO INCREASE TEACHER SALARIES.

    (a) Teacher Salary Incentive Grants.--

    (1) === 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 $60,000 (adjusted for inflation).

    (2) Grants for minimum salary threshold.--
        (A) In general.--From amounts made available to 
 carry out this section, the Secretary of Education 
 shall award 4-year grants to State educational 
 agencies.
        (B) Application.--To be eligible to receive such a 
 grant, the State educational agency shall submit an 
 application to the Secretary at such time, in such 
 manner, and containing such information as the 
 Secretary may require, including--
            (i) the plan required under subparagraph
            (C) ; and
            (ii) the assurances required under 
 subparagraph
            (D) .
            (C) Sustainability plan.--The Secretary shall 
 require a State educational agency submitting an 
 application under subparagraph
        (B) to provide a plan 
 that demonstrates how, following the conclusion of the 
 4-year grant period, such agency will continue to 
 maintain and adjust the annual base minimum salary in 
 accordance with subsection

    (b) .
            (D) Required assurances.--The Secretary shall 
 require a State educational agency submitting an 
 application under subparagraph
        (B) to provide an 
 assurance in such application that--
            (i) if necessary to achieve the purpose of 
 this section, the State will enact and enforce 
 legislation to establish a statewide teacher 
 salary schedule or otherwise to establish 
 minimum teacher salary requirements;
            (ii) each teacher described in paragraph

    (1) 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

    (b) ;
            (iii) 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

    (b) , 
 proportionately reduced in accordance with the 
 number of hours worked by such teacher;
            (iv) priority will be given to local 
 educational agencies in accordance with 
 subparagraph
        (E)
            (ii) ; and
            (v) the State educational agency will, upon 
 request by the Secretary, carry out the 
 compliance demonstration in accordance with 
 subsection
            (c) (3) .
        (E) Subgrants.--
            (i) In general.--A State educational agency 
 awarded a grant under this section shall use 
 not less than 85 percent of the grant funds to 
 award subgrants to local educational agencies 
 to carry out the purpose of this section.
            (ii) Priority.--The State educational 
 agency, in allocating funds to local 
 educational agencies under this section, shall 
 give priority to local educational agencies--
            (I) serving greater numbers or 
 percentages of elementary or secondary 
 schools receiving funds under title I 
 of the Elementary and Secondary 
 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 
 et seq.); or
            (II) with respect to which all of 
 the schools served by the local 
 educational agency are designated with 
 a locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as 
 determined by the Secretary.

    (b) Salary Threshold.--

    (1) In general.--For school year 2026-2027, the base 
 minimum salary dollar amount shall be $60,000.

    (2) Inflation adjustment.--For school year 2026-2027 and 
 each succeeding school year, the dollar amount referred to in 
 paragraph

    (1) shall be deemed to refer to the dollar amount 
 calculated under this subsection for the preceding school year, 
 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 year.

    (3) No salary limit.--The base minimum salary dollar amount 
 may be greater than the dollar amount described in paragraphs

    (1) or

    (2) .
            (c) Supplement, Not Supplant.--

    (1) In general.--Grant funds received under this section 
 shall be used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, 
 State, and local public funds that would, in the absence of 
 such Federal funds, be made available for teacher base 
 salaries.

    (2) 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 section.

    (3) Compliance demonstration to secretary.--Each State 
 educational agency and local educational agency, upon request 
 by the Secretary, shall demonstrate that the methodology used 
 to allocate teacher pay and State teacher loan forgiveness (if 
 applicable) 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 enacted.

SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF TEACHER SALARIES.

    (a) In General.--From amounts made available to carry out this 
section, the Secretary of Education shall award grants to eligible 
State educational agencies to provide, in accordance with subsection
            (c) , 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 State.

    (b) Application.--To be eligible to receive such a grant, the State 
educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require, including the demonstration required under subsection
            (d) (2) .
            (c) Adjustment.--The annual base salary of the State and the annual 
salary of each teacher described in subsection

    (a) 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 year.
            (d) Eligible State Defined.--In this section, the term ``eligible 
State'' means a State--

    (1) with an annual base salary of not less than $60,000 for 
 teachers who are employed full-time at a qualifying school; and

    (2) that demonstrates in the application submitted under 
 subsection

    (b) that, due to inflation, such State is unable to 
 adjust such base salary or the annual salaries of such teachers 
 for cost-of-living.

SEC. 5. ENHANCED AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF TEACHING PROFESSION.

 The Secretary may reserve not more than 4 percent of the funds 
appropriated under 

section 8 to carry out a national campaign--

    (1) to increase awareness about the importance of teachers 
 and the value of the teaching profession;

    (2) to encourage secondary school and college students to 
 consider teaching as a professional career; and

    (3) to diversify the pool of individuals who enter the 
 teaching profession.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect 
the rights, remedies, and procedures afforded to school or local 
educational agency employees under Federal, State, or local laws 
(including applicable regulations, court orders, or requirements that 
local educational agencies negotiate or meet and confer in good faith) 
or under the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of 
understanding, or other agreements between such employers and their 
employees.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) ESEA 

=== definitions. ===
-The terms ``elementary school'', 
 ``local educational agency'', ``secondary school'', 
 ``Secretary'', ``State'', and ``State educational agency'' have 
 the meanings given such terms in 

section 8101 of the Elementary 
 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

    (2) Qualifying school.--The term ``qualifying school'' 
 means, with respect to any school year, a public elementary 
 school or a public secondary school.

    (3) Teacher.--The term ``teacher'' means an individual 
 who--
        (A) is a teacher of record who provides direct 
 classroom teaching (or classroom-type teaching in a 
 nonclassroom setting) 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 (as determined by the State in 
 which the school is located);
        (B) meets the applicable requirements for State 
 certification or licensure, as applicable, in the State 
 in which such school is located and in the subject area 
 in which the individual is the teacher of record; and
            (C) possesses skills and knowledge needed for 
 effective classroom practice, including with respect to 
 demonstrating the ability to improve student learning.

    (4) Teacher of record.--The term ``teacher of record'' 
 means a teacher who has--
        (A) been assigned the responsibility for specified 
 pupils' learning in a grade, subject, or course as 
 reflected on the school's official record of 
 attendance;
        (B) learned and developed extensive teaching and 
 basic classroom management skills; and
            (C) 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 learning.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
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