[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3681 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3681

 To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
 support the recruitment and retention of paraprofessionals in public 
elementary schools, secondary schools, and preschool programs, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 30, 2024

Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Warren, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. 
Brown) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
       to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
 support the recruitment and retention of paraprofessionals in public 
elementary schools, secondary schools, and preschool programs, 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 ``Preparing And Retaining All (PARA) 
Educators Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN 
              PARAPROFESSIONALS IN SCHOOLS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Education shall carry out a 
program under which the Secretary makes allotments to State educational 
agencies to assist States, local educational agencies, and educational 
service agencies in recruiting and retaining paraprofessionals in 
public elementary schools, secondary schools, and preschool programs.
    (b) State-by-State Allocation.--Of the amount appropriated to carry 
out this Act for each fiscal year, each State educational agency that 
has an application approved by the Secretary under subsection (e)(1) 
shall be allocated an amount in proportion to the amount received by 
all local educational agencies in the State under part A of title I of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et 
seq.) for the previous fiscal year relative to the total amount 
received under such part for such fiscal year by all local educational 
agencies in every State that has a plan approved by the Secretary under 
such subsection.
    (c) Use of Funds.--
            (1) State reservation.--A State educational agency that 
        receives an allotment under subsection (b) may reserve not more 
        than 5 percent of the allotment for administrative activities 
        relating to the grant program under paragraph (2) and to carry 
        out statewide activities to support the recruitment and 
        retention of paraprofessionals in public elementary schools, 
        secondary schools, and preschool programs in the State.
            (2) Subgrants to eligible entities.--From amounts received 
        under subsection (b) and not reserved under paragraph (1), a 
        State educational agency shall make subgrants to eligible 
        entities, on a competitive basis, to support the recruitment 
        and retention of paraprofessionals in public elementary 
        schools, secondary schools, and preschool programs, which may 
        include activities such as--
                    (A) establishing paraprofessional leader induction 
                and mentoring programs that are evidence-based (to the 
                extent a State determines that such evidence is 
                reasonably available) and designed to--
                            (i) improve classroom instruction and 
                        student learning and achievement, including 
                        through improving school leadership programs; 
                        and
                            (ii) increase the retention of 
                        paraprofessionals;
                    (B) developing and implementing high-quality 
                professional development programs to recruit and retain 
                paraprofessionals in the elementary schools, secondary 
                schools, and preschool programs served by eligible 
                entities;
                    (C) providing paraprofessionals with the skills, 
                credentials, or certifications needed to educate all 
                students, such as--
                            (i) a special education certificate;
                            (ii) an English learner certificate;
                            (iii) an advanced paraeducator 
                        certification to support specialized 
                        instruction; and
                            (iv) a certification in teaching; and
                    (D) increasing wages for paraprofessionals or 
                providing bonus pay incentives to retain and recruit 
                paraprofessionals.
    (d) Priority.--
            (1) In general.--In making subgrants to eligible entities 
        under subsection (c)(2), a State educational agency shall give 
        priority to entities--
                    (A) that serve greater numbers or percentages of 
                children from low-income families;
                    (B) in which all schools served by the entity are 
                designated with a locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as 
                determined by the Secretary of Education; or
                    (C) in which all schools served by the entity--
                            (i) are described in section 11(a)(1)(F) of 
                        the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
                        Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(F)); and
                            (ii) have an identified student percentage 
                        (as such term is defined in section 
                        245.9(f)(1)(iii) of title 7, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations (or any successor regulations)) of 
                        not less than the threshold established by the 
                        Secretary of Education for purposes of such 
                        section.
            (2) Low-income family.--For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), 
        the term ``low-income family'' means a family--
                    (A) in which the children are eligible for a free 
                or reduced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell 
                National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.);
                    (B) in which the children are--
                            (i) enrolled in a school described in 
                        section 11(a)(1)(F) of the of the Richard B. 
                        Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        1759a(a)(1)(F)); and
                            (ii) identified students (as defined in 
                        section 11(a)(1)(F)(i) of such Act);
                    (C) receiving assistance under the program of block 
                grants to States for temporary assistance for needy 
                families established under part A of title IV of the 
                Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or
                    (D) in which the children are eligible to receive 
                medical assistance under the Medicaid program under 
                title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 
                seq.).
    (e) Applications.--
            (1) State applications.--
                    (A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
                under subsection (a), a 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.
                    (B) Required assurances.--A State educational 
                agency submitting an application under subparagraph (A) 
                shall include in such application an assurance that--
                            (i) in making subgrants under subsection 
                        (c)(2), the State will give priority to 
                        eligible entities described in subsection (d); 
                        and
                            (ii) the State educational agency will 
                        comply with the reporting requirements under 
                        subsection (f).
            (2) Eligible entity applications.--To be eligible to 
        receive a subgrant from a State educational agency under 
        subsection (c)(2), an eligible entity shall submit an 
        application to the State educational agency at such time, in 
        such manner, and containing such information as the State 
        educational agency may require.
    (f) Implementation and Evaluation.--On an annual basis, in each 
fiscal year for which a State educational agency receives a grant under 
this section, such agency shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of 
Education a report that includes--
            (1) updated average paraprofessional pay baselines for that 
        fiscal year, disaggregated by the statewide average and the 
        average within the schools served by each eligible entity in 
        the State;
            (2) a description of how the State and eligible entities in 
        the State increased the average wages for paraprofessional 
        baselines in a manner consistent with the statewide annual 
        goals for the corresponding fiscal year;
            (3) updated data on the number of paraprofessionals 
        employed by eligible entities in the State--
                    (A) who earn less than the average wage for 
                paraprofessionals in the State; and
                    (B) who earn less than the average wage for 
                paraprofessionals employed by the eligible entity 
                concerned;
            (4) identification of any eligible entity that used a 
        subgrant under subsection (c)(2) to increase the number of 
        paraprofessionals employed in the schools and preschools served 
        by such entity;
            (5) a description of the actions the State educational 
        agency will take in the next fiscal year to support eligible 
        entities experiencing a shortage of paraprofessionals; and
            (6) a description of any professional development 
        activities used by eligible entities to recruit and retain 
        paraprofessionals.
    (g) Rules of Construction for Collective Bargaining.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), nothing in this 
        section shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect the 
        rights, remedies, and procedures afforded to school employees 
        or employees of an eligible entity 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 
        employers and their employees.
            (2) Compliance.--Paragraph (1) shall not be construed to 
        exempt a State, eligible entity, or school from complying with 
        this section or from negotiating in compliance with State labor 
        laws to comply with this section.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary for 
each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
    (i) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) an educational service agency that serves a 
                high-need school or a consortium of high-need schools; 
                or
                    (B) a local educational agency.
            (2) ESEA terms.--The terms ``educational service agency'', 
        ``elementary school'', ``English learner'', ``evidence-based'', 
        ``local educational agency'', ``secondary school'', and ``State 
        educational agency'' have the meanings given those terms in 
        section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (3) High-need school.--The term ``high-need school'' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 2243(f)(2) of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        6673(f)(2)).
            (4) Paraprofessional.--The term ``paraprofessional'' has 
        the meaning given that term in section 3201 of the Elementary 
        and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7011).
            (5) Preschool program.--The term ``preschool program'' 
        means a program that--
                    (A) provides for the care, development, and 
                education of infants, toddlers, or young children age 5 
                and under;
                    (B) meets any applicable State or local government 
                licensing, certification, approval, and registration 
                requirements; and
                    (C) is operated by a public or private school that 
                is supported, sponsored, supervised, or administered by 
                an eligible entity.
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