[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 56 (Monday, April 1, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Casey, and Mr. Coons):
  S. 969. 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. Yet the pipeline into the profession is in 
disrepair. A report from the American Association of Colleges of 
Teacher Education showed that the number of education degrees awarded 
peaked at 200,000 per year in the 1970s and has dwindled to fewer than 
100,000 today. This is at a time when all fifty States have reported 
experiencing statewide teacher shortages in at least one teaching area 
for the 2016-17 or 2017-18 school year. If we want to improve our 
schools, it is essential that we invest in the professional preparation 
of teachers, principals, and other educators. As such, today, I am 
reintroducing the Educator Preparation Reform Act with my colleagues 
Senators Casey and Coons to ensure that the Federal government 
continues to be a partner in addressing this critical national need.
  The impact of educator shortages falls the hardest on our most 
vulnerable students in our highest need communities. Rhode Island is no 
exception, with Providence, the largest school district, facing an 
acute shortage of teachers certified to teach English language 
learners. My home State has also reported shortages in special 
education, science, math, world languages, and school nurses.
  We cannot solve this problem without improving both teacher and 
principal preparation. We need to make sure that our educator 
preparation programs are worthy of the professionals entering the field 
and the students they will serve. The Educator Preparation Reform Act 
is a key part of the solution.
  Our legislation builds on the successful Teacher Quality Partnership 
Program, which I helped author in the 1998 reauthorization of the 
Higher Education Act. It continues the partnership between high-need 
school districts, institutions of higher education, and educator 
preparation programs to reform pre-service programs based on the unique 
needs of the partners. Among the key changes are specific attention and 
emphasis on principals and 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 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.
  Our legislation also makes important improvements to the TEACH 
Grants. It focuses the grants on the later years of teacher 
preparation, reducing the potential of the grants being converted to 
loans if a student decides to change majors. Additionally, it allows 
prorating the amount of grants converted to loans, giving teachers 
credit for partially completing the service requirement. Finally, it 
requires the Department of Education to establish an appeals process 
for grants wrongly converted to loans and to report to Congress 
annually on the number of conversions and appeals.
  We have been fortunate to work with many stakeholders on this 
legislation. Organizations that have endorsed the Educator Preparation 
Reform Act include: the American Association of Colleges for Teacher 
Education, American Federation of Teachers, Higher Education Consortium 
for Special Education, Hispanic Association of Colleges and 
Universities, National Association of Elementary School Principals, 
National Association of Secondary School Principals, National 
Association of State Directors of Special Education, National Education 
Association, Public Advocacy for Kids, 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.

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