[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 184 (Thursday, December 17, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8795-S8796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. Casey):
  S. 2419. A bill to improve quality and accountability for educator 
preparation programs; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, we know that the quality of teachers and 
principals are two of the most important in-school factors related to 
student achievement. If we want to improve our schools, it is essential 
that teachers, principals, and other educators have a comprehensive 
system that supports their professional growth and development, 
starting on day one and continuing throughout their careers. Senator 
Casey and I introduced the Better Education Support and Training Act to 
create such a system, and many key provisions of this legislation were 
included in the Every Student Succeeds Act that passed the Senate with 
an overwhelming bipartisan vote and was signed into law last week.
  However, our work is not done. We need to make sure that educator 
preparation programs help teachers, principals, librarians, and other 
school leaders develop the skills and knowledge to be profession-ready. 
There is a looming shortage of fully-prepared teachers. Earlier this 
month, the Washington Post reported that many high poverty schools 
struggle to fill their teaching positions and rely on a ``rotating cast 
of substitutes.'' We must do better by our students and our schools.
  Today, I am reintroducing the Educator Preparation Reform Act and am 
pleased to be joined by Senator Casey in offering this approach to 
improving how we prepare teachers, principals, and other educators so 
that they can be effective right from the start.
  The Educator Preparation Reform Act builds on the success of the 
Teacher Quality Partnership Program, which I helped author in the 1998 
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
  Among the key changes this new bill makes is specific attention and 
emphasis on principals, with the addition of a residency program for 
new principals. Improving instruction is a team effort, with principals 
at the helm. This bill better connects teacher preparation with 
principal preparation. The Educator Preparation Reform Act will also 
allow partnerships to develop preparation programs for other areas of 
instructional need, such as for school librarians, counselors, or other 
academic support professionals.
  The bill streamlines the accountability and reporting requirements 
for teacher preparation programs to provide greater transparency on key 
quality measures such as admissions standards, requirements for 
clinical practice, placement of graduates, retention in the field of 
teaching, and teacher performance, including student learning outcomes. 
All programs--whether traditional or alternative routes to 
certification--will be asked to report on the same measures.
  Under our legislation, states will be required to identify at-risk 
and low-performing programs and provide them with technical assistance 
and a timeline for improvement. States would be encouraged to close 
programs that do not improve.
  We have been fortunate to work with many stakeholders on this 
legislation. Organizations that have endorsed the Educator Preparation 
Reform Act include: the Alliance for Excellent Education, American 
Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American

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Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Council on 
Education, Association of American Universities, Association of Jesuit 
Colleges and Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant 
Universities, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, First 
Focus Campaign for Children, Higher Education Consortium for Special 
Education, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, National 
Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of 
Independent Colleges and Universities, National Association of 
Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Directors of 
Special Education, National Center for Learning Disabilities, National 
Education Association, National Disabilities Rights Network, Public 
Advocacy for Kids, Rural School and Community Trust, and the Teacher 
Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children.
  I look forward to working to incorporate this legislation into the 
upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. I urge my 
colleagues to join us in this effort and support this legislation.

                          ____________________