[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4424 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4424

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 so that every student has a 
   path to a quality, debt-free degree or credential that leads to a 
               rewarding career, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 19, 2019

  Mr. Sablan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 so that every student has a 
   path to a quality, debt-free degree or credential that leads to a 
               rewarding career, 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 ``Elevation of the Education 
Profession Act''.

SEC. 2. ELEVATION OF THE EDUCATION PROFESSION STUDY.

    Part A of title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1022 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 209 as section 210;
            (2) in section 202(a), by striking ``section 209'' and 
        inserting ``section 210''; and
            (3) by inserting after section 208 the following:

``SEC. 209. ELEVATION OF THE EDUCATION PROFESSION STUDY.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of the elevation of the profession 
feasibility study is to examine State policies related to teacher and 
school leader education and certification, produce a comprehensive set 
of expectations that sets a high bar for entry into the profession and 
ensures that all entering teachers and school leaders are profession-
ready, and develop recommendations to Congress on best practices with 
respect to elevating the education profession that are evidence-based, 
reliable, and verified by the field.
    ``(b) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Education shall 
        establish an Advisory Committee to carry out the elevation of 
        the education profession study described in subsection (c) and 
        make recommendations to Congress on the findings.
            ``(2) Membership of the advisory committee.--The Advisory 
        Committee shall include representatives or advocates from the 
        following categories:
                    ``(A) Teacher unions.
                    ``(B) School leader organizations.
                    ``(C) State and local officials.
                    ``(D) State educational agencies and local 
                educational agencies.
                    ``(E) Teacher and school leader advocacy 
                organizations.
                    ``(F) School administrator organizations.
                    ``(G) Institutions of higher education, including 
                colleges of teacher education.
                    ``(H) Civil rights organizations.
                    ``(I) Organizations representing students with 
                disabilities.
                    ``(J) Organizations representing English learners.
                    ``(K) Nonprofit organizations representing subject-
                fields, such as STEM Educator organizations, 
                comprehensive literacy Educator organizations, and arts 
                and humanities educator organizations.
                    ``(L) Professional development organizations.
                    ``(M) Educational technology organizations.
                    ``(N) Nonprofit research organizations.
                    ``(O) Organizations representing nontraditional 
                pathways into teacher and school leader education.
                    ``(P) Organizations representing parents.
    ``(c) Duties of the Advisory Committee.--
            ``(1) Feasibility study.--The Advisory Committee shall 
        conduct a feasibility study to--
                    ``(A) assess the state of policies and practices 
                related to teacher and school leader education and 
                entry into the profession including barriers to 
                achieving certification and licensure, best practices 
                in producing profession-ready teachers and school 
                leaders, and recruitment and retention of teachers and 
                school leaders in schools;
                    ``(B) compile best practices for educating and 
                training profession-ready teachers and school leaders 
                including evidence-based practices for training 
                teachers and school leaders to support diverse 
                learners, developing teacher and school leaders, and 
                successful pre-service and in-service educational 
                activities;
                    ``(C) review certification and credentialing 
                practices throughout the Nation including minimum 
                standards in each State, differences in types of 
                credentials, and impact of different certification 
                processes in each State for teachers and school leaders 
                who relocate; and
                    ``(D) recommend a comprehensive set of rigorous 
                expectations for States standards to elevate the 
                profession of teaching and to produce profession-ready 
                teachers and school leaders prepared to educate diverse 
                learners in inclusive educational settings.
            ``(2) Reports.--
                    ``(A) Not later than 1 year after the Advisory 
                Committee's first meeting, the Committee shall submit 
                an interim report to the Secretary and to the 
                authorizing committees detailing the methods of the 
                study and progress in developing the set of 
                comprehensive and rigorous expectations.
                    ``(B) Not later than 3 years after the Advisory 
                Committee's first meeting, the Committee shall submit a 
                final report to the Secretary and to the authorizing 
                committees detailing the findings, recommendations, and 
                suggested set of comprehensive and rigorous 
                expectations.
            ``(3) Dissemination of information.--In carrying out the 
        study under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall disseminate 
        information found in the study in an accessible format to all 
        stakeholders.
            ``(4) Database.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall produce 
        an electronically accessible clearinghouse of State 
        certification procedures and best State practices for producing 
        and retaining profession-ready teachers and school leaders.''.
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