1.This Act may be cited as the
Grow Your Own Teacher
Act
.
2.Grow Your Own Teacher
programTitle II of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
EGrow
Your Own Teacher Program
2501.Grow Your Own
Teacher program
(a)From amounts made
available to carry out this part, the Secretary shall carry out a program to
make grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities, to be used by such
entities to train and employ eligible individuals in hard-to-staff schools or
hard-to-staff teaching positions in accordance with
subsection (c).
(b)In
this section:
(1)The term
eligible entity means a consortium consisting of—
(A)a local
educational agency that is eligible to receive funds under part A of title I;
and
(B)an institution of
higher education that offers a program, accredited by the State, for preparing
individuals to fulfill all the requirements for receiving a teaching
certificate in the State of the local educational agency described in
subparagraph (A).
(2)The term eligible individual means an
individual—
(A)who—
(i)received a high
school diploma from a local educational agency described in
paragraph (1)(A); and
(ii)is enrolled in a
program to receive a teaching certificate in the State of the local educational
agency at an institution of higher education described in
paragraph (1)(B); and
(B)is—
(i)a
high school graduate who graduated not more than 5 years ago;
(ii)a
parent of a current or former student of the local educational agency who has a
history of working to improve the local educational agency; or
(iii)an education
support professional in the local educational agency who works with students in
an instructional role.
(3)The term veteran teacher means a teacher who
has taught in a local educational agency described in
paragraph (1)(A) for a period of
least 15 years.
(4)The term student loans means any loans awarded
to an eligible individual under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).
(c)
(1)An eligible entity
receiving a grant under this section shall use such grant funds to—
(A)conduct a training program for eligible
individuals to be teachers, which shall include requiring such individuals to
observe and work with a veteran teacher in a classroom for at least one
year;
(B)employ such individuals in hard-to-staff
schools and hard-to-staff teaching positions in the local educational agency of
the eligible entity, with priority given to teaching positions in mathematics,
science, special education, world languages, and English as a second language;
and
(C)employ such
individuals in a manner that reduces the divergence between the racial
diversity of teachers and of students.
(2)Other authorized
activitiesAn eligible entity receiving a grant under this
section may use any grant funds that remain after carrying out
paragraph (1) for the following
activities:
(A)Helping an
eligible individual trained under this section to cover the costs of childcare
and other indirect expenses that are reasonably required by the individual to
participate in the training program.
(B)Recruiting and
counseling eligible individuals, and individuals who are likely to become
eligible individuals in the near future (such as students soon to receive a
high school diploma from a local educational agency described in subsection
(b)(1)(A)), to participate in the training program.
(C)Providing space in
the community of the eligible entity to carry out the activities described in
subparagraph (B).
(D)Offering the
training program under this section in community settings and to provide
tutoring services to supplement the training.
(E)Carrying out any
other activities consistent with the purposes of this section, as determined by
the Secretary.
(d)
(1)From the amounts made available to carry out this part,
the Secretary is authorized to forgive the student loans incurred by an
eligible individual who has completed a training program under this section and
has been employed as a teacher in a hard-to-staff school or hard-to-staff
teaching position, in an amount not to exceed the total amount of students
loans incurred by the individual for participating in the program.
(2)Amount of loan
forgivenessThe Secretary may forgive—
(A)in the case of an eligible individual who
has been employed in a hard-to-staff school or hard-to-staff teaching position
for at least 5 years, the total amount of the student loans incurred by the
student for participating in a training program under this section; or
(B)in the case of an eligible individual who
has been employed in a hard-to-staff school or hard-to-staff teaching position
for less than 5 years, an amount that is less than the total amount of the
student loans incurred by the student for participating in a training program
under this section.
(e)The
Secretary is authorized to promulgate any regulations as may be necessary to
carry out this section.
(f)Nothing in this
section shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect the rights, remedies,
and procedures afforded school or local educational agency employees under
Federal, State, or local laws (including applicable regulations or court
orders) or under the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of
understanding, or other agreements between such employees and their
employers.
(g)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section such sums as may be
necessary.
.