American Teacher Act
This bill establishes grants to increase the minimum salary of public elementary and secondary school teachers. It also authorizes a national campaign regarding the value of the teaching profession.
First, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award four-year grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies to establish a minimum annual salary of $60,000 (to be adjusted annually for inflation) for these teachers.
Second, the bill directs ED to award grants to eligible SEAs to provide cost-of-living adjustments to the annual base salary of teachers.
Finally, the bill authorizes ED to carry out a national campaign to (1) increase awareness about the importance of teachers and the value of the teaching profession, (2) encourage secondary school and college students to consider teaching as a professional career, and (3) diversify the pool of individuals who enter the teaching profession.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2021 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2021
To provide grants to State educational agencies to support State
efforts to increase teacher salaries, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 10, 2025
Ms. Wilson of Florida (for herself, Ms. Adams, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Brown,
Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carson, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Casten, Mrs.
Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Chu, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Cleaver, Mr.
Clyburn, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Davis of
Illinois, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Deluzio, Mrs.
Dingell, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Foushee, Mr.
Frost, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Mrs. Hayes,
Ms. Norton, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Jayapal,
Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Keating, Mr.
Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Landsman, Mr. Lieu, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Magaziner, Mrs.
McBath, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Meng, Ms. Moore of
Wisconsin, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Mrvan, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Neguse, Mr.
Norcross, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Omar, Ms. Perez, Ms. Pingree, Mr.
Pocan, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Ross, Ms. Salinas,
Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Scholten, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Sherrill,
Mr. Sorensen, Ms. Stevens, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thanedar, Mr.
Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Velazquez, Ms.
Williams of Georgia, and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide grants to State educational agencies to support State
efforts to increase teacher salaries, 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 ``American Teacher Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Teachers are the backbone of our nation, from the first
bell to the last bell, they act as caregivers, counselors, role
models, advocates, and cheerleaders, helping children achieve
their greatest potential.
(2) What is more, teacher shortages are among the most
pressing threats to education access today, with districts
across the country forced to radically adjust school offerings
to respond to turnover and prolonged vacancies. Every day,
stories surface of schools shortening their weeks, canceling
courses, increasing student-teacher ratios, and placing
underprepared or temporary substitute staff in core
instructional roles. Such adjustments disrupt learning, take a
sustained toll on teacher morale, and harm student achievement.
(3) The teacher wage penalty, characterizing lower weekly
wages and overall compensation for teachers compared to
college-educated peers in other professions, hit an all-time
high of 23.5 percent in 2021 and continues to demonstrate
significant, adverse impacts on teacher recruitment and
retention. According to a recent report by the Teacher Salary
Project, over 90 percent of teachers believe low salary
contributes to shortages in their communities and over 45
percent believe their salary is insufficient for medium and
long-term career sustainability.
(4) Significant numbers of teachers report maintaining
multiple jobs to make ends meet or being able to work in their
profession only through the support of a partner's higher-
paying job. This instability is worse for teachers of color who
are more likely to work in under-resourced schools. As a
result, high-poverty communities face a compounded burden.
(5) In August of 2022, the White House issued a fact sheet
renewing attention to the weak teacher pipeline and calling
upon legislators to use federal, state, and local resources to
strengthen teaching career pathways and ensure competitive,
livable wages. This statement accompanies efforts by twenty-
five states to propose and enact legislation addressing teacher
compensation since January 2021.
(6) To restore stability in our schools and secure
equitable access to high-quality education, we must raise
awareness surrounding the value of teaching as a profession and
provide compensation that reflects this value.
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT STATE EFFORTS TO INCREASE TEACHER SALARIES.
(a) Teacher Salary Incentive Grants.--
(1) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to ensure that
each teacher who is employed full-time at a qualifying school
in a State earns an annual salary for any year of employment of
not less than $60,000 (adjusted for inflation).
(2) Grants for minimum salary threshold.--
(A) In general.--From amounts made available to
carry out this section, the Secretary of Education
shall award 4-year grants to State educational
agencies.
(B) Application.--To be eligible to receive such a
grant, the 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, including--
(i) the plan required under subparagraph
(C); and
(ii) the assurances required under
subparagraph (D).
(C) Sustainability plan.--The Secretary shall
require a State educational agency submitting an
application under subparagraph (B) to provide a plan
that demonstrates how, following the conclusion of the
4-year grant period, such agency will continue to
maintain and adjust the annual base minimum salary in
accordance with subsection (b).
(D) Required assurances.--The Secretary shall
require a State educational agency submitting an
application under subparagraph (B) to provide an
assurance in such application that--
(i) if necessary to achieve the purpose of
this section, the State will enact and enforce
legislation to establish a statewide teacher
salary schedule or otherwise to establish
minimum teacher salary requirements;
(ii) each teacher described in paragraph
(1) will be compensated on a salary basis at an
annual rate per school year that is not less
than the salary threshold described in
subsection (b);
(iii) each teacher who is employed part-
time at a qualifying school in a State will be
compensated on a salary basis at an annual rate
per school year that is not less than the
salary threshold described in subsection (b),
proportionately reduced in accordance with the
number of hours worked by such teacher;
(iv) priority will be given to local
educational agencies in accordance with
subparagraph (E)(ii); and
(v) the State educational agency will, upon
request by the Secretary, carry out the
compliance demonstration in accordance with
subsection (c)(3).
(E) Subgrants.--
(i) In general.--A State educational agency
awarded a grant under this section shall use
not less than 85 percent of the grant funds to
award subgrants to local educational agencies
to carry out the purpose of this section.
(ii) Priority.--The State educational
agency, in allocating funds to local
educational agencies under this section, shall
give priority to local educational agencies--
(I) serving greater numbers or
percentages of elementary or secondary
schools receiving funds under title I
of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301
et seq.); or
(II) with respect to which all of
the schools served by the local
educational agency are designated with
a locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as
determined by the Secretary.
(b) Salary Threshold.--
(1) In general.--For school year 2026-2027, the base
minimum salary dollar amount shall be $60,000.
(2) Inflation adjustment.--For school year 2026-2027 and
each succeeding school year, the dollar amount referred to in
paragraph (1) shall be deemed to refer to the dollar amount
calculated under this subsection for the preceding school year,
increased by a percentage equal to the annual percentage
increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
published by the Department of Labor for the most recent
calendar year.
(3) No salary limit.--The base minimum salary dollar amount
may be greater than the dollar amount described in paragraphs
(1) or (2).
(c) Supplement, Not Supplant.--
(1) In general.--Grant funds received under this section
shall be used to supplement and not supplant other Federal,
State, and local public funds that would, in the absence of
such Federal funds, be made available for teacher base
salaries.
(2) Maintenance of effort.--A State educational agency or
local educational agency shall not reduce or adjust any teacher
pay or State teacher loan forgiveness program due to the
eligibility of teachers within the jurisdiction of such agency
for pay supplementation under this section.
(3) Compliance demonstration to secretary.--Each State
educational agency and local educational agency, upon request
by the Secretary, shall demonstrate that the methodology used
to allocate teacher pay and State teacher loan forgiveness (if
applicable) to teachers and qualifying schools ensures that
each such teacher and school receives the same State and local
funds for teacher compensation it would receive if this Act had
not been enacted.
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF TEACHER SALARIES.
(a) In General.--From amounts made available to carry out this
section, the Secretary of Education shall award grants to eligible
State educational agencies to provide, in accordance with subsection
(c), cost-of-living adjustments to the annual base salary of such State
and the annual salary of each teacher who is employed full-time at a
qualifying school in such State.
(b) Application.--To be eligible to receive such a grant, the 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, including the demonstration required under subsection
(d)(2).
(c) Adjustment.--The annual base salary of the State and the annual
salary of each teacher described in subsection (a) shall be increased
by a percentage equal to the annual percentage increase in the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Department of
Labor for the most recent calendar year.
(d) Eligible State Defined.--In this section, the term ``eligible
State'' means a State--
(1) with an annual base salary of not less than $60,000 for
teachers who are employed full-time at a qualifying school; and
(2) that demonstrates in the application submitted under
subsection (b) that, due to inflation, such State is unable to
adjust such base salary or the annual salaries of such teachers
for cost-of-living.
SEC. 5. ENHANCED AWARENESS OF THE VALUE OF TEACHING PROFESSION.
The Secretary may reserve not more than 4 percent of the funds
appropriated under section 8 to carry out a national campaign--
(1) to increase awareness about the importance of teachers
and the value of the teaching profession;
(2) to encourage secondary school and college students to
consider teaching as a professional career; and
(3) to diversify the pool of individuals who enter the
teaching profession.
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect
the rights, remedies, and procedures afforded to school or local
educational agency employees under Federal, State, or local laws
(including applicable regulations, court orders, or requirements that
local educational agencies negotiate or meet and confer in good faith)
or under the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of
understanding, or other agreements between such employers and their
employees.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ESEA definitions.--The terms ``elementary school'',
``local educational agency'', ``secondary school'',
``Secretary'', ``State'', and ``State educational agency'' have
the meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) Qualifying school.--The term ``qualifying school''
means, with respect to any school year, a public elementary
school or a public secondary school.
(3) Teacher.--The term ``teacher'' means an individual
who--
(A) is a teacher of record who provides direct
classroom teaching (or classroom-type teaching in a
nonclassroom setting) in a qualifying school for not
less than the normal or statutory number of hours of
work for a full-time or part-time teacher over a
complete school year (as determined by the State in
which the school is located);
(B) meets the applicable requirements for State
certification or licensure, as applicable, in the State
in which such school is located and in the subject area
in which the individual is the teacher of record; and
(C) possesses skills and knowledge needed for
effective classroom practice, including with respect to
demonstrating the ability to improve student learning.
(4) Teacher of record.--The term ``teacher of record''
means a teacher who has--
(A) been assigned the responsibility for specified
pupils' learning in a grade, subject, or course as
reflected on the school's official record of
attendance;
(B) learned and developed extensive teaching and
basic classroom management skills; and
(C) demonstrated the ability to plan and deliver
instruction to students from different cultural
backgrounds and with different learning styles and to
assess and support student learning.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such
sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
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