[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 22 (Monday, February 8, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1371-S1374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. Robb, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. DeWine, 
        Mr. Levin, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Cleland, Mrs. 
        Feinstein, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Allard, and Mr. 
        Smith of New Hampshire):
  S. 389. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to improve and 
transfer the jurisdiction over the troops-to-teachers program, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.


               troops to teachers improvement act of 1999

 Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the 
Troops to Teachers Improvement Act of 1999. This legislation would help 
provide high-quality teachers to our nation's classrooms by assisting 
and counseling retired military personnel who are interested in 
beginning a new career as a teacher. I have worked hard with my 
colleagues, Senators Robb and Lieberman to develop a bill which 
strengthens, reforms and reauthorizes the current Troops to Teachers 
program in a manner which effectively addresses the educational needs 
of our nation's students.
  One of the most important issues facing our nation is the education 
of our children. Providing a solid, quality education for each and 
every child in our nation is a critical component in their quest for 
personal success and fulfillment. A solid education for our children 
also plays a pivotal role in the success of our nation, economically, 
intellectually, civically and morally.
  Unfortunately, our current education system is failing to provide 
many students with the academic skills they need. The Third 
International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) ranked U.S. high school 
seniors last among 16 countries in physics and next to last in math. 
These disappointing results underscore the challenge we face in 
improving our public schools and providing our children with a 
competitive, world-class education.
  A big part of that challenge will be funding, recruiting and 
retaining quality teachers to make America's children ready for 
tomorrow, particularly in the area of math and science. The Department 
of Education estimates that the nation's local school districts will 
need to hire more than two million teachers over the next decade to 
meet growing enrollment demands.
  It is essential that we work together to develop and support 
innovative programs which help address this growing need for school 
teachers. Fortunately, an effective and innovative program for 
addressing this shortfall already exists, the Troops to Teachers 
program.
  As many of my colleagues know, the Troops to Teachers program was 
initially created in 1993 to assist military personnel affected by 
defense downsizing but were interested in utilizing their knowledge, 
professional skills and expertise by becoming a teacher. Unfortunately, 
the authorization for this program is set to expire at the end of this 
fiscal year.
  Senators Robb, Lieberman and I were disconcerted to learn that this 
successful program would soon be terminated. We joined together to 
develop a bipartisan bill which not only reauthorizes this program but 
strengthens and reforms it so that it more effectively meets the 
academic needs of our students and schools.
  Our bill reforms this program so that it operates more efficiently 
and effectively targets the educational needs of our students. First, 
our bill transfers responsibility and funding for this program from the 
Department of Defense to the Department of Education. I and many other 
members of the Armed Services Committee believe that this is 
appropriate since it targets an educational need, rather than a 
military issue in our country and the Defense Department needs to use 
their limited resources to address a litany of problems impairing the 
readiness of our armed forces.
  Another important concern we address in our bill is eligibility. 
Under the current program, military personnel are eligible for 
participation after serving only six years in the military. This 
eligibility policy is outdated and no longer appropriate while our 
military is facing a personnel retention crisis. Therefore, we have 
limited eligibility to military personnel who retire after at least 
twenty years of service, physically disabled personnel or individuals 
who have served a minimum of six years and can provide documentation 
they were affected by military downsizing.
  Based on academic scores, particularly the TIMSS report it is evident

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that a stronger emphasis needs to be placed on the academic preparation 
of our children in the areas of math and science. This is why we have 
made math, science, and special education teachers a priority for the 
Troops to Teachers program.
  We also recognize the difficulties which face many of our schools, 
particularly those with a large proportion of at-risk students who pose 
a greater challenge to educators. Many schools are confronted with the 
difficult task of educating children who face a litany of personal 
obstacles, including poverty, broken homes, language barriers, learning 
disabilities and physical disabilities. We have attempted to help 
schools conquer these challenges by providing incentives for 
individuals who commit to teaching for a minimum of four years at a 
school with a large proportion of at-risk students and a significant 
shortage of teachers.
  Finally, we have limited the cost of this program to the federal 
government by eliminating excessive, duplicative or unnecessary 
expenses. We have also limited administrative costs to operate this 
program to five percent, to ensure that federal funds being spent on 
this program are actually benefitting our children and education 
system, rather than being absorbed by Washington bureaucrats.
  ``A teacher affects eternity; they can never tell where their 
influence stops.'' I share this sentiment of Henry Adams, and hope that 
each of my colleagues will work with us to continue providing high 
quality, experienced and effective teachers to our children through the 
Troops to Teachers program. It is important for our children, for our 
nation and for our future.
 Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, I'm pleased to be joined today by 
several colleagues in introducing legislation that will help with one 
of the nation's most pressing challenges for the twenty first century--
recruiting teachers for our public schools.
  The deterioration of our schools is evident. The Third International 
Math and Science Study (TIMSS) ranked U.S. high school seniors last 
among 16 countries in physics and next to last in math. We are failing 
to provide the quality of education that will not only ensure each 
individual student the skills needed for personal success and 
fulfillment, but also that the nation can maintain its economic--and 
intellectual--leadership into the next century.
  Clearly there are many measures that must be taken to address this 
national dilemma. Our school infrastructure is literally crumbling. I 
was joined recently by Senator Lautenberg in introducing the Public 
School Modernization Act of 1999, which will support building new 
schools and repair and modernization of old schools to accommodate a 
growing school population and reduce class size.
  Many schools have been left out of the information revolution. I have 
worked hard to help Virginia schools get ``wired'' to the Internet--
indeed I've helped physically wire several schools across the 
Commonwealth.
  But ultimately, nothing matters more for the education of our youth 
than quality teachers. The Department of Education estimates that the 
nation's local school districts must hire more than two million 
teachers over the next decade to meet growing enrollment demands.
  This legislation builds on an existing program--the Troops-to-
Teachers program established originally in 1993--to help bring 
experienced, well-disciplined role models with proven leadership skills 
into the public school system. Since its authorization, the Troops-to-
Teachers program has assisted thousands of military personnel who leave 
the military to become public school teachers. Troops-to-Teachers 
offers counseling and assistance to help participants identify 
employment opportunities and receive teacher certification. It has been 
a great success, filling school vacancies in 48 states.
  These professionals are providing what educators say they need the 
most: mature role models, most of them male and many minorities, often 
trained in math and science, highly motivated, and comfortable in tough 
working environments. In fact, over three quarters are men, compared 
with about 25 percent in the overall public school system. About half 
elect to teach in inner city or rural schools. A disproportionate share 
have science, engineering or technical backgrounds. Retention is much 
higher than the national average.
  The authority for Troops-to-Teachers expires at the end of this 
fiscal year. The legislation we are introducing here today reauthorizes 
the program and makes many refinements to encourage even more of our 
soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to enter the noble profession of 
teaching America's youth. The legislation focuses more resources toward 
direct financial assistance to cover teacher certification costs for 
applicants, and creates a bonus for those opting to teach in certain 
high need schools. Fewer resources are made available for 
administrative and other overhead costs. The bonus, I believe, will be 
particularly effective in attracting larger numbers of applicants. A 
recent offering of a sign-up bonus of $20,000 in Massachusetts public 
schools led to an explosion in applications from around the country.
  Mr. President, I urge other Senators to support this important 
legislation and I look forward to it being brought forward for final 
passage this year.
 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with 
Senators McCain and Robb today in introducing legislation to extend and 
expand the Defense Department's successful Troops to Teachers 
initiative, which helps to steer former military personnel into 
classroom teaching jobs.
  To date Troops to Teachers has placed more than 3,000 retired or 
downsized service members in public schools in 48 different states, 
providing participants with assistance in obtaining the proper 
certification or licensing and matching them up with prospective 
employers. In return, these new teachers bring to the classroom what 
educators say our schools need most: mature and disciplined role 
models, most of them male and many of them minorities, well-trained in 
math and science and high tech fields, highly motivated, and highly 
capable of working in challenging environments.
  Our bill, the Troops to Teachers Improvement Act, aims to build on 
this success by encouraging more military retirees to move into 
teaching. It would do so by offering those departing troops new 
incentives to enter the teaching profession, particularly for those who 
are willing to serve in areas with large concentrations of at-risk 
children and severe shortages of qualified teaching candidates.
  The reality is, Mr. President, that the nation as a whole is facing a 
serious teacher shortage. The Department of Education is projecting 
that local school districts will have to hire more than two million new 
teachers over the next decade due to surging enrollments and the aging 
of America's teaching force. We were reminded again of this problem 
just this past Sunday by a front-page in the Washington Post, which 
described in some detail the challenge facing school systems across the 
country.
  As the Post article pointed out, this is a critical challenge for the 
nation, because our hopes of raising academic standards and student 
achievement will hinge in large part on the capabilities and talents of 
the men and women who fill those two million places in the classroom. 
Studies show conclusively, and not surprisingly, that teacher quality 
is one of the greatest determinants of student achievement, and that 
low-performing students make dramatic gains when they study with the 
most knowledgeable teachers. The American public is very aware of this 
crucial link, as evidenced in a survey done last November, in which 
nine out of 10 people listed raising teacher quality as one of our top 
educational priorities.
  The President began to address this critical challenge with his 
proposal to hire 100,000 new teachers, a plan I was proud to cosponsor. 
The Congress gave preliminary approval to this plan last fall through 
the Omnibus Appropriations bill we passed, which included funding for 
the first year of the program. I hope we will fully authorized this 
program this year to give local school districts full confidence that 
the funding for their efforts will be forthcoming.
  But the question remains who is going to fill those new positions, 
and it is this question that most concerns me. Over the last few years, 
we have seen some troubling indications about the quality of teaching 
candidates being

[[Page S1373]]

produced by the nation's education schools. Most Americans would 
probably be surprised to learn that college students who choose to go 
into teaching today tend to fall near the bottom of their peer group 
academically--a survey of students in 21 different fields of study 
found that education majors ranked 17th in their performance on the 
SAT.
  And most Americans would probably also be surprised to know that many 
of those would-be teachers are struggling to pass basic skills tests 
after graduating from their training programs. In Massachusetts, for 
example, 59 percent of the 1,800 candidates who took the state's first-
ever certification exam flunked a literacy exam that the state board of 
education chairman rated as at ``about the eight-grade level,'' In Long 
Island, to cite another example, only one in four teaching candidates 
in a pool of 758 could pass an English test normally given to 11th-
graders.

  These indicators are troubling in their own right, but they are even 
more so when we consider the pressures local school districts are under 
to fill holes in their teaching staffs. Many school systems around the 
country are already feeling the effects of the teacher shortage, and as 
a result administrators are being forced to grant large numbers of 
emergency waivers to certification or licensure rules. This is a 
troubling trend, because while certification is not a guarantee of 
quality, the fact that so many schools are lowering their standards to 
fill vacancies only heightens the chance that children in those schools 
will be struck with an unqualified instructor.
  In light of all of these developments, I think it is imperative that 
we search for new ways to attract more of the nation's best and 
brightest to the classroom, and we look beyond our education schools to 
tap new pools of talent. That is why I am so enthusiastic about the 
creative approach taken by the Troops to Teachers program. I can't 
think of a better source of teaching candidates than the smart, 
disciplined and dedicated men and women who leave the military every 
year, or a better return on the investment we as taxpayers have made in 
their training.
  A recent evaluation done by the non-partisan National Center for 
Education Information reveals that the troops who have participated so 
far have excelled in their new careers.

       Our research shows that military people transition 
     extremely well into teaching,'' said NCEI President Emily 
     Feistritzers. ``They are a rich source of teachers in all the 
     areas where we need teachers--geographically and by subject 
     area. There are more males among them than in normal 
     recruiting, and they are very committed; they are going into 
     teaching for all the right reasons.

  The NCEI study found that 90 percent of program participants were 
male, in comparison to the current teaching force, which is three-
quarters female; that more than 75 percent of the troops were teaching 
in inner cities or in small towns and rural areas, often where 
shortages are most acute and where strong male role models are most 
needed; and that 85 percent of the troops who started teaching over he 
last four years are still on the job, a retention rate far higher than 
for other new educators.
  One of the most important needs these troops are filling is in math 
and science classes. Several surveys have shown that a startling number 
of the men and women who are teaching math and science in middle and 
high schools today are not trained in these fields. This problem is 
especially severe in inner city school districts, where approximately 
half of all math and science teachers lack a major or minor in their 
field. The soldiers who are participating in Troops to Teachers often 
have advanced training in engineering and technology, and are well-
equipped to prepare our children for the demands of the Information Age 
economy.
  It there is one place where Troops to Teachers is falling short, it 
is in the number of participants. According to the Defense Department, 
less than 2 percent of the military personnel who have been eligible 
for the program have participated in the past five years. This is due 
in part, we believe, to the fact that Congress has not appropriated any 
money for the program in the last four years, and thereby stopped 
providing any financial support to troops who often incur thousands of 
dollars in costs for certification and relocations.
  The central goal of our legislation--beyond renewing the program's 
authorization, which expires at the end of this fiscal--is to boost 
that participation rate, to persuade more troops to embrace a new way 
to serve their nation. Our bill would authorize $25 million for each of 
the next five years, the bulk of which would go toward funding stipends 
of $5,000 to participants who commit to teach four years, and a special 
``bonus'' stipend of $10,000 to troops who commit to teach in high-
needs areas, which we hope will spur more former service members to 
consider teaching.

  I particularly hope our legislation will increase participation in my 
state of Connecticut. According to the Defense Department, only six 
troops have been placed in teaching jobs in Connecticut to date, which 
is disappointing given the significant number of military personnel 
located in the state. The Connecticut Department of Education believes 
local school districts could substantially benefit from this untapped 
resource, and for that reason the department has strongly voiced its 
support for our legislation.
  Even with the new incentives we are creating, which we hope will 
recruit as many as 3,000 new teachers each year, we recognize that 
Troops to Teachers will still only make a modest dent in solving the 
national shortage. But we will, with an extremely modest investment, 
make a substantial contribution to our common goals of raising teaching 
standards and helping our children realize their potential. And we may 
well galvanize support for a recruitment method that, as Education 
Secretary Richard Riley has suggested, could serve as a model for 
bringing many more bright, talented people from different professions 
to serve in our public schools and raise teaching standards there.
  The President has already expressed his strong support for our 
efforts to renew and revitalize Troops to Teachers, including new 
funding for it in his FY 2000 budget request. I hope my colleagues will 
join the impressive bipartisan coalition of cosponsors we have already 
assembled in supporting our legislation. We have a great opportunity 
here to harness a unique national resource to meet a pressing national 
need, and I hope we will seize it this year.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article from the 
Washington Post be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the Washington Post, Feb. 7, 1999]

          Teacher Shortage Stymies Efforts To Cut Class Sizes

                          (By Amy Argetsinger)

       In 1996, California enacted perhaps the most ambitious 
     education initiative of the decade--a $1 billion program to 
     reduce the size of elementary school classes by hiring 20,000 
     extra teachers.
       Parents cheered the plan, and other states--including 
     Maryland and Virginia--have rushed to imitate it. President 
     Clinton joined in, too, promising a national plan to help 
     hire 100,000 teachers in the next several years.
       But California's effort instantly posed a question that is 
     likely to be echoed across the country as many schools embark 
     on a historic hiring binge:
       Where are all these new teachers supposed to come from?
       California found enough teachers--but only by draining its 
     substitute pools, raiding private schools, recruiting from 
     other states and Mexico and hiring thousands without state 
     teaching licenses. Today, about 10 percent of the state's 
     teachers are working with ``emergency'' credentials.
       It's a problem that could appear in many other school 
     districts that are bracing for their worst teacher shortages 
     in years, at the same time they are trying to fulfill the 
     popular education reform goals of raising teacher standards 
     and reducing class sizes.
       Already, in Prince George's County, an early collision of 
     these goals suggests that sometimes something has to give. 
     When Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) promised to hire 1,100 new 
     teachers, he also warned that school districts must have at 
     least 98 percent of their teachers with full state 
     certification by 2002 or risk losing the new funds. But in 
     counties such as Prince George's, which offers mid-range 
     salaries and where only 87 percent of teachers are fully 
     certified, officials complain they cannot possibly improve 
     their numbers that fast.
       This week, aides said the governor may consider giving some 
     districts more time to reach the goal.
       ``It's a very delicate balancing act,'' warned Lawrence E. 
     Leak, Maryland's assistant superintendent of schools. ``Each 
     one of those issues''--shortages, standards and class

[[Page S1374]]

     sizes--``are compelling with respect to wanting quality 
     teachers in the classroom.''
       Last fall, public school officials throughout the 
     Washington area and across the country found themselves 
     scrambling to fill last-minute teaching vacancies. Most were 
     in science and math classes, where instructors can command 
     much higher salaries in booming high-tech private industries. 
     Many districts also reported shortages of special education 
     teachers.
       Yet a more serious and widespread shortage is looming. In 
     the next decade, rising student enrollments and a wave of 
     baby-boomer retirements will require 2 million new teachers, 
     according to the U.S. Department of Education. Meanwhile, 
     teacher colleges in many parts of the country are turning out 
     fewer graduates--a phenomenon attributed to both the low 
     birth rates of the mid-1970s and that generation's reluctance 
     to enter such a demanding but low-paying field.
       School districts have responded by cranking up recruitment 
     efforts, setting off early across the country in search of 
     top teacher candidates, forging ties with education schools, 
     and piling on the incentives. Baltimore schools last year 
     started offering job prospects $5,000 toward closing costs on 
     a new home in the city. Some North Carolina districts promise 
     6.5 percent annual raises. Massachusetts caused a sensation 
     this month by offering top teaching-school graduates the 
     chance to apply for competitive $20,000 signing bonuses.
       At the University of Virginia last week, a record 210 
     recruiters showed up at a job fair to woo a graduating class 
     of only 150 teaching majors--20 of whom were already spoken 
     for.
       ``It's unheard of,'' said Gigi Davis-White, a career-
     planning director at the university's Curry School of 
     Education. ``I had recruiters complaining. . . . They'd never 
     really had to work that fast.''
       The demand is not limited to students with an education 
     degree, she said. ``If you have a math, science or foreign 
     language background, they'll provisionally certify you and 
     get you in the classroom.''
       Deeply concerned about the looming shortages, Maryland 
     legislators are weighing a passel of measures to lure more 
     people into teaching.
       Glendening is promoting full scholarships for students who 
     promise to teach in Maryland schools. And although a pitch by 
     state Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick to give 
     teachers tax breaks found no sponsor, proposals now before 
     the state General Assembly include $3,000 signing bonuses for 
     top graduates, tax credits to reward graduate studies, 
     stipends for high-performing teachers, and pension 
     protections to encourage retired teachers to return to the 
     classroom. Sen. Gloria G. Lawlah (D-Prince George's) is 
     proposing scholarships for students who promise to teach in 
     Prince George's and property tax breaks for county teachers.
       Yet some say such efforts fall short. Karl Pence, president 
     of the Maryland State Teachers Association, said state 
     officials need to focus less on quick fixes and cash bonuses 
     than on making teaching a more desirable and respected 
     profession.
       ``There are lots of teachers who would accept challenges of 
     working in at-risk schools if they could have reasonable 
     class size, the materials they need, clean and safe 
     buildings, and technology right there in the classroom,'' 
     he said.
       But the best attempts to fight the teacher shortage may be 
     complicated by efforts to reduce class size--which require 
     hiring even more teachers.
       It's one of the most politically popular issues of the day: 
     Many parents and politicians insist that with fewer students 
     in a room, a teacher can provide more individual attention to 
     each and thus enrich the learning experience. Clinton's 
     proposal won funding for a first-stage hire of 30,000 
     teachers who will join the nation's classrooms this fall.
       Meanwhile, both Glendening and Virginia Gov. James S. 
     Gilmore III (R) are touting their own class-size reduction 
     plans, now under consideration in their state legislatures. 
     And individual school districts--including Montgomery and 
     Howard counties and Alexandria--are pouring money into 
     similar programs. (D.C. officials have no plan to reduce 
     their relatively small class sizes, although they agree that 
     teachers are always at a premium.)
       Most of the class-size reduction plans are aimed at 
     kindergarten through third grade, where researchers believe 
     children are best served by the extra attention. Some plans 
     also would add more teachers in seventh- or ninth-grade math, 
     another critical juncture for students.
       Some analysts argue that smaller classes--though increasing 
     the demand for teachers--may help solve the shortages by 
     making teaching more appealing. In California, schools had 
     little trouble finding teachers for the new first- and 
     second-grade slots, which promised no more than 20 students a 
     class.
       The catch, however, was that many of them deserted posts in 
     crowded middle school classrooms to take the new jobs--
     leaving a void in the upper-grade teaching ranks.
       At the same time, politicians have increasingly made an 
     issue about the quality of public school teachers. Virginia 
     last year set the highest cutoff score in the nation on the 
     standardized test for aspiring teachers. Maryland, meanwhile, 
     has set several new hurdles for teachers, requiring them to 
     take several more reading courses for certification and 
     linking their license renewal to regular evaluations.
       Lately in Maryland, state officials also have raised 
     concerns about the large number of teachers lacking full 
     certification, especially in Prince George's County and 
     Baltimore. Fully certified teachers generally must pass a set 
     of approved education courses, have some student teaching 
     experience and pass a national teacher's exam.
       Officials in these districts maintain that just because a 
     teacher is uncertified doesn't mean he or she is a bad 
     teacher--many of the ``provisionally'' certified teachers are 
     close to completing the requirements for licensure.
       But they also complain that their smaller budgets and 
     larger enrollments make it hard to vie for the dwindling pool 
     of qualified applicants. ``The competition is intense,'' said 
     Louise F. Waynant, Prince George's deputy superintendent of 
     schools. ``And we do find that school districts with 
     higher teacher salaries have a bit of an advantage.''
       Gordon Ambach, the executive director of the Council of 
     Chief State School Officers, argues that the teacher shortage 
     will have little effect on affluent suburbs but will hit hard 
     in school systems such as Prince George's and the District, 
     which have greater pockets of poor and immigrant students.
       But some education analysts--especially advocates for 
     teaching--see opportunity in the teacher crunch. Linda 
     Darling-Hammond, executive director of the National 
     Commission on Teaching and America's Future, notes that some 
     parts of the country produce more than enough teachers, but 
     that those instructors cannot easily get licensed in other 
     states. She said states should offer more reciprocity in 
     teacher licensing.
       She also said the real shortage problem stems from high 
     rates of attrition--almost 30 percent of teachers drop out 
     within five years. ``We waste a lot of money and time and 
     effort with the revolving door,'' Darling-Hammond said, 
     ``trying to recruit people, then treating them badly and 
     watching them leave.''
       David Haselkorn, president of Recruiting New Teachers Inc., 
     said school systems need to offer mentoring programs for 
     struggling new teachers--such a plan has been proposed in the 
     Maryland General Assembly. And he said he hopes the crunch 
     will inspire local officials to consider raising salaries and 
     otherwise improve teachers' working conditions.
       ``The opportunity is to use this moment in time--when we 
     are going to be doing a substantial amount of hiring--to 
     rethink significantly how we prepare and support teachers for 
     the 21st century.''
                                 ______