[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 51 (Thursday, March 26, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S2050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. Reed):
  S. 882. A bill to amend part A of title II of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, we rely on our public schools to prepare the 
next generation for success as citizens, workers, and innovators. We 
have asked educators to raise the bar and educate all students to 
internationally competitive college and career-ready standards. To 
achieve these goals, we need to establish a comprehensive system of 
educator preparation and support that ensures that new educators are 
profession-ready and that provides for their growth and development 
over the course of their careers.
  Today, I am pleased to join Senator Casey in introducing the Better 
Education Support and Training, BEST Act to reform induction, 
professional development, and systems for professional growth and 
improvement for teachers, librarians, and principals currently on the 
job, updating the Effective Teaching and Leading Act that I introduced 
last Congress. The BEST Act will strengthen Title II, Part A, of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act to ensure that formula grant 
funds support the goal of all students having equitable access to 
profession-ready and effective educators. The BEST Act will ensure that 
all educators on the instructional team--teachers, principals, 
counselors, librarians, and other specialized instructional support 
personnel--collaborate and are prepared and supported in helping 
students achieve and grow. It will offer induction and mentoring 
programs for new educators; personalized, job-embedded professional 
development, and career pathways and leadership roles for teachers and 
other educators.
  In the coming weeks, I will be reintroducing legislation to address 
the front end of the educator pipeline--the Educator Preparation Reform 
Act. This legislation builds on the success of the Teacher Quality 
Partnership Program, which I helped author in the 1998 reauthorization 
of the Higher Education Act.
  Together, these two bills will modernize Federal policy for education 
preparation and development to create a continuum of support for 
professional educators throughout their careers. They provide a 
blueprint for reauthorizing Title II of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act and Title II of the Higher Education Act. Over the years, 
I have been fortunate to work with many stakeholders on these bills, 
including the Coalition for Teaching Quality, representing over 100 
national, State, and local organizations.
  I look forward to working to incorporate these bills into the 
upcoming reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
and the Higher Education Act, and I urge our colleagues to join in this 
effort.

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