The nation’s teacher and principal shortages, especially in America’s rural communities and among educators of color, would be addressed under a bipartisan bill introduced on July 19 by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
“Teacher and principal shortages at schools across the country, particularly in rural areas in the State of Maine, impede our students’ ability to reach their full potential,” Sen. Collins said. “This bipartisan bill would increase access to high-quality teacher and leader training programs and extend federal support for recruiting well-prepared educators for areas affected by teacher shortages.”
Sen. Collins signed on as the lead original cosponsor of the Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals (PREP) Act, S. 2369, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for teacher and school leader quality enhancement and to enhance institutional aid, according to the text of the bill.
“Our nation’s educators are critical to ensuring students’ success, which is why I’m committed to finding solutions to address teacher and principal shortages in Virginia and across the country,” said Sen. Kaine. “I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan bill to expand teacher training programs and help boost diversity among the teacher workforce.”
If enacted, S. 2369 would expand the definition of “high need” districts under federal law in order to give schools access to additional support, specifically schools experiencing teacher shortages in rural communities, as well as in areas such as special education, English language, science, technology, engineering, math, and career and technical education (CTE), according to a one-page bill summary offered by Sen. Collins’ staff.
The legislation also would encourage school districts to create partnerships, including Grow Your Own programs, with local community colleges and universities to ensure their programs are educating future teachers in areas where there is a shortage of educators, the summary says.
Additionally, S. 2369 would create a set aside to support states in their work to increase teacher and school leader diversity, improve teacher preparation programs, and address state teacher and school leader shortages; and require states that are not already doing so to identify areas of teacher or leader shortages by area of certification or licensure, subject, and specialty in public schools across geographical regions and to use that data to target their efforts, according to the summary.
Research shows that teachers of color enhance the academic performance of their students of color, playing an important role in reducing educational opportunity gaps, according to a 2018 Learning Policy Institute Report cited by the lawmakers.
The bill is under consideration by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.