PREP Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2244 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for teacher and school leader quality enhancement and to enhance institutional aid. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 24, 2021 Mr. KAINE (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for teacher and school leader quality enhancement and to enhance institutional aid. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preparing and Retain- 4 ing Education Professionals Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘PREP 5 Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2244 IS SEC. 2. TEACHER AND SCHOOL LEADER QUALITY EN- 1 HANCEMENT. 2 Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 3 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 4 ‘‘TITLE II—TEACHER AND 5 SCHOOL LEADER QUALITY 6 ENHANCEMENT 7 ‘‘SEC. 200. DEFINITIONS. 8 ‘‘In this title: 9 ‘‘(1) 2+2 PROGRAM.—The term ‘2+2 program’ 10 means a partnership between a junior or community 11 college, as defined in section 312, and a 4-year de- 12 gree-granting institution of higher education in 13 which teacher candidates can begin teacher prepara- 14 tion in the junior or community college and fully 15 transfer their credits to the 4-year institution of 16 higher education, where the students complete their 17 teacher preparation. 18 ‘‘(2) ARTS AND SCIENCES.—The term ‘arts and 19 sciences’ means— 20 ‘‘(A) when referring to an organizational 21 unit of an institution of higher education, any 22 academic unit that offers one or more academic 23 majors in disciplines or content areas cor- 24 responding to the academic subject matter 25 areas in which teachers provide instruction; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2244 IS ‘‘(B) when referring to a specific academic 1 subject area, the disciplines or content areas in 2 which academic majors are offered by the arts 3 and sciences organizational unit. 4 ‘‘(3) CHILDREN FROM LOW-INCOME FAMI- 5 LIES.—The term ‘children from low-income families’ 6 means children described in section 1124(c)(1)(A) of 7 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 8 1965. 9 ‘‘(4) COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY INSTRUC- 10 TION.—The term ‘comprehensive literacy instruc- 11 tion’ has the meaning given the term in section 12 2221(b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 13 cation Act of 1965. 14 ‘‘(5) CORE ACADEMIC SUBJECTS.—The term 15 ‘core academic subjects’ means English, reading or 16 language arts, mathematics, science, foreign lan- 17 guages, civics and government, economics, arts, his- 18 tory, career and technical education, and geography. 19 ‘‘(6) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR.—The 20 term ‘early childhood educator’ means an individual 21 with primary responsibility for teaching children in 22 an early childhood education program. 23 ‘‘(7) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY.—The 24 term ‘educational service agency’ has the meaning 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2244 IS given the term in section 8101 of the Elementary 1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965. 2 ‘‘(8) EFFECTIVE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCA- 3 TOR.—The term ‘effective childhood educator’ means 4 an educator— 5 ‘‘(A) with specialized education, creden- 6 tials, and preparation in development and edu- 7 cation of young children from birth until entry 8 into kindergarten; 9 ‘‘(B) with— 10 ‘‘(i) a baccalaureate degree with 11 coursework in early childhood education; or 12 ‘‘(ii) an associate’s degree in a related 13 educational area; and 14 ‘‘(C) who has demonstrated a high level of 15 knowledge and use of content and pedagogy in 16 the relevant areas, as determined by the State 17 and which may be based on coursework or cred- 18 it requirements, or passage of an assessment 19 associated with quality early childhood edu- 20 cation. 21 ‘‘(9) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘eligi- 22 ble partnership’ means an entity that— 23 ‘‘(A) shall include— 24 ‘‘(i) a State educational agency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2244 IS ‘‘(ii) a high-need local educational 1 agency, a high-need school or a consortium 2 of high need schools served by a high-need 3 local educational agency, or, as applicable, 4 a high-need early childhood education pro- 5 gram; and 6 ‘‘(iii) a partner institution, which may 7 include a school, department, or program 8 of education within such partner institu- 9 tion, including in a graduate level program, 10 that is State-accredited and is eligible to 11 receive Federal funds under title IV, which 12 may include an existing teacher or school 13 leader preparation program with proven 14 outcomes within a 4-year institution of 15 higher education that provides intensive 16 and sustained collaboration between faculty 17 and local educational agencies consistent 18 with the requirements of this title; and 19 ‘‘(B) may include any of the following: 20 ‘‘(i) A school or department of arts 21 and sciences within the partner institution. 22 ‘‘(ii) The Governor of the State. 23 ‘‘(iii) The State board of education. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2244 IS ‘‘(iv) The State agency for higher edu- 1 cation. 2 ‘‘(v) A business. 3 ‘‘(vi) A public or private nonprofit 4 educational organization. 5 ‘‘(vii) An educational service agency. 6 ‘‘(viii) A teacher or school leader orga- 7 nization. 8 ‘‘(ix) A high-performing local edu- 9 cational agency, or a consortium of such 10 local educational agencies, that can serve 11 as a resource to the partnership. 12 ‘‘(x) A charter school (as defined in 13 section 4310 of the Elementary and Sec- 14 ondary Education Act of 1965). 15 ‘‘(xi) A school or department within 16 the partner institution that focuses on psy- 17 chology and human development. 18 ‘‘(xii) A school or department within 19 the partner institution that focuses on 20 comprehensive literacy instruction includ- 21 ing child or adolescent literacy. 22 ‘‘(xiii) A school or department within 23 the partner institution with comparable ex- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2244 IS pertise in the disciplines of teaching, learn- 1 ing, and child and adolescent development. 2 ‘‘(xiv) A State accredited nonprofit 3 entity that is eligible to receive funding 4 under title IV operating a program that 5 provides alternative routes to State certifi- 6 cation of teachers or school leaders. 7 ‘‘(10) ENGLISH LEARNER.—The term ‘English 8 learner’ has the meaning given the term in section 9 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 10 Act of 1965. 11 ‘‘(11) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence- 12 based’ has the meaning given the term in section 13 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 14 Act of 1965. 15 ‘‘(12) HIGH-NEED EARLY CHILDHOOD EDU- 16 CATION PROGRAM.—The term ‘high-need early child- 17 hood education program’ means an early childhood 18 education program serving children from low-income 19 families that is located within the geographic area 20 served by a high-need local educational agency. 21 ‘‘(13) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN- 22 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 23 means a local educational agency— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2244 IS ‘‘(A)(i) for which not less than 40 percent 1 of the children served by the agency are chil- 2 dren from low-income families; 3 ‘‘(ii) that serves not fewer than 10,000 4 children from low-income families; 5 ‘‘(iii) that meets the eligibility require- 6 ments for funding under the Small, Rural 7 School Achievement Program under section 8 5211(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 9 cation Act of 1965; or 10 ‘‘(iv) that meets the eligibility require- 11 ments for funding under the Rural and Low-In- 12 come School Program under section 5221(b) of 13 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 14 of 1965; and 15 ‘‘(B)(i) for which there is a high percent- 16 age of teachers not teaching in the academic 17 subject areas or grade levels in which the teach- 18 ers were prepared or fully certified to teach; 19 ‘‘(ii) for which there is a high teacher 20 turnover rate or a high percentage of teachers 21 with emergency, provisional, or temporary cer- 22 tification or licensure; 23 ‘‘(iii) for which there is a high percentage 24 of positions in State-identified areas of teacher 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2244 IS or school leader shortage, including in special 1 education, English language instruction, 2 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, 3 and career and technical education; or 4 ‘‘(iv) for which a majority of schools are 5 identified for comprehensive support and im- 6 provement under section 1111(c)(4)(D) of the 7 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 8 1965, targeted support and improvement under 9 section 1111(d)(2) of the Elementary and Sec- 10 ondary Education Act of 1965, or additional 11 targeted support under section 1111(d)(2)(C) 12 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 13 Act of 1965. 14 ‘‘(14) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘high- 15 need school’ means a school that, based on the most 16 recent data available, is— 17 ‘‘(A) an elementary school in which not 18 less than 50 percent of the enrolled students 19 are from low-income families; 20 ‘‘(B) a secondary school in which not less 21 than 40 percent of the enrolled students are 22 from low-income families; or 23 ‘‘(C) identified for comprehensive support 24 and improvement under section 1111(c)(4)(D) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2244 IS of the Elementary and Secondary Education 1 Act of 1965, targeted support and improvement 2 under section 1111(d)(2) of the Elementary 3 and Secondary Education Act of 1965, or addi- 4 tional targeted support under section 5 1111(d)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Sec- 6 ondary Education Act of 1965. 7 ‘‘(15) INDUCTION PROGRAM.—The term ‘induc- 8 tion program’ means a formalized program for new 9 teachers or school leaders during not less than the 10 teachers’ or school leaders’ first 2 years of, respec- 11 tively, teaching or leading, that is designed to pro- 12 vide support for, and improve the professional per- 13 formance and advance the retention in the teaching 14 or leading field of, beginning teachers or school lead- 15 ers. Such program shall promote effective teaching 16 and leadership skills and shall include the following 17 components: 18 ‘‘(A) High-quality and structured teacher 19 or school leader mentoring led by a trained and 20 expert mentor who has demonstrated high skill 21 and effectiveness and who teaches or leads, or 22 has taught or led, in the same or similar field, 23 grade, or subject as the mentee. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2244 IS ‘‘(B) Periodic, structured time for collabo- 1 ration with teachers or leaders in the same de- 2 partment or field, including mentor teachers or 3 leaders, as well as time for information-sharing 4 among teachers, principals, administrators, 5 other appropriate instructional staff, and par- 6 ticipating faculty in the partner institution. 7 ‘‘(C) The application of evidence-based 8 practice and research on instructional practices. 9 ‘‘(D) Opportunities for new teachers or 10 school leaders to draw directly on the expertise 11 of teacher or leader mentors, faculty, and re- 12 searchers, including through mentor observation 13 and feedback, to support the integration of evi- 14 dence-based research and practice. 15 ‘‘(E) The development of evidence-based 16 skills in instructional and behavioral supports 17 and interventions, including alignment with 18 State standards on teaching and school leader- 19 ship. 20 ‘‘(F) Faculty or program staff who— 21 ‘‘(i) model the integration of research 22 and practice in the classroom; 23 ‘‘(ii) model personalized instruction; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2244 IS ‘‘(iii) assist new teachers with the ef- 1 fective use and integration of technology in 2 the classroom or school to support instruc- 3 tion. 4 ‘‘(G) Interdisciplinary collaboration among 5 exemplary teachers, school leaders, faculty, re- 6 searchers, and other staff who prepare new 7 teachers or school leaders with respect to the 8 learning process and the assessment of learn- 9 ing, including the development, analysis, and 10 use of formative, interim, and summative as- 11 sessments. 12 ‘‘(H) The development skills to implement 13 and support evidence-based practices that cre- 14 ate a positive school culture and climate. 15 ‘‘(I) Assistance with the understanding of 16 data, particularly student achievement and 17 classroom engagement data (such as attendance 18 and discipline rates and other measures of 19 school climate), and the applicability of such 20 data in classroom and school instruction and 21 design. 22 ‘‘(J) Regular and structured observation 23 and assessment of new teachers and school 24 leaders by multiple assessors, using valid and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:40 Jul 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2244.IS S2244 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2244 IS reliable measures of teaching and leadership 1 skills in order to inform efforts to support new 2 teachers and school leaders and improve their 3 practice. 4 ‘‘(16) PARENT.—The term ‘parent’ has the 5 meaning given the term in section 8101 of the Ele- 6 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]