Pay Teachers Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 766 To ensure that teachers are paid a livable and competitive salary throughout their career, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 9, 2023 Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MERKLEY, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To ensure that teachers are paid a livable and competitive salary throughout their career, and for other purposes. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Pay Teachers Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Purposes. Sec. 3. Findings. Sec. 4. Definitions. Sec. 5. Regulations; special rule. VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 766 IS TITLE I—INVESTING IN OUR NATION’S STUDENTS Sec. 101. Mandatory appropriations for part A of title I of the ESEA. Sec. 102. Mandatory appropriations for rural education. Sec. 103. Mandatory appropriations for impact aid. Sec. 104. Mandatory appropriations for Bureau of Indian Education. TITLE II—INCREASING TEACHER SALARIES Sec. 201. State teacher salary plan addendum. Sec. 202. Paying teachers a livable and competitive salary. Sec. 203. Technical assistance to support the equitable distribution of in-field, experienced, and effective teachers. Sec. 204. Improving resource equity at schools identified for improvement. Sec. 205. Strengthening per-pupil expenditure reporting. Sec. 206. Maintenance of equity. Sec. 207. State administration. Sec. 208. National Academies study to improve ESEA’s resource equity re- quirements. TITLE III—INVESTING IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION Sec. 301. Mandatory appropriations for the Teacher Quality Partnerships and Grow Your Own programs. Sec. 302. Mandatory appropriations for the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence program. Sec. 303. Mandatory appropriations for personnel development to improve serv- ices and results for children with disabilities under part D of IDEA. Sec. 304. Mandatory appropriations for the Supporting Effective Educator De- velopment program. Sec. 305. Mandatory appropriations for the Teacher and School Leader Incen- tive program to support continued teacher growth and con- tributions to student learning. SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 1 The purposes of this Act are to— 2 (1) ensure public elementary and secondary 3 school teachers earn a livable salary and are com- 4 pensated with a career-based competitive salary 5 that— 6 (A) includes a starting annual base salary 7 of not less than $60,000; and 8 (B) increases regularly throughout a teach- 9 er’s career; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 766 IS (2) increase Federal investments in public 1 schools, and call upon States and local governments 2 to increase investments in public education in order 3 to promote educational equity, including by ensuring 4 that every public school student is taught by a quali- 5 fied teacher; and 6 (3) invest in a diverse teacher workforce, by 7 strengthening the educator pipeline and supporting 8 career development and advancement through ex- 9 panded teacher leadership and professional advance- 10 ment opportunities. 11 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 12 Congress finds the following: 13 (1) In the majority of States, public elementary 14 and secondary school teachers do not earn a livable 15 and competitive salary. According to the 2022 report 16 by the Economic Policy Institute— 17 (A) over the past nearly 3 decades, the av- 18 erage inflation-adjusted weekly wages of public 19 school teachers grew just $29 from $1,319 to 20 $1,348 while, conversely, ‘‘inflation-adjusted 21 weekly wages of other college graduates rose 22 from $1,564 to $2,009 over the same period— 23 a $445 increase.’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 766 IS (B) non-teaching college graduates realized 1 an inflation-adjusted weekly increase that was 2 15 times higher than public school teachers; 3 and 4 (C) ‘‘in 28 states, teachers are paid less 5 than 80 cents on the dollar earned by similar 6 college-educated workers in those states.’’. 7 (2) Many teachers across the country are work- 8 ing multiple jobs and have to rely on public assist- 9 ance programs just to make ends meet. According to 10 the Southern Regional Education Board, in 36 11 States, the average teacher salary is low enough that 12 mid-career teachers who are the head of household 13 for a family of 4 qualify for government benefits. 14 According to a University of California, Berkeley 15 study, between 2014 and 2016, 21 percent of ele- 16 mentary and middle school teachers were part of 17 families enrolled in at least one of the following pub- 18 lic assistance programs: 19 (A) The Earned Income Tax Credit under 20 section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 21 1986. 22 (B) The Medicaid program. 23 (C) The Children’s Health Insurance pro- 24 gram. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 766 IS (D) The supplemental nutrition assistance 1 program established under the Food and Nutri- 2 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 3 (E) The program of block grants to States 4 for temporary assistance for needy families es- 5 tablished under part A of title IV of the Social 6 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 7 (3) One estimate shows that in school year 8 2020–2021, 17 percent of public school teachers 9 worked multiple jobs during the school year, such as 10 working in restaurants or driving for ride-share plat- 11 forms. 12 (4) A similar pattern of inflation-adjusted week- 13 ly wages can be seen for school paraprofessionals 14 and other instructional staff. The lack of sufficient 15 and competitive wages is even more pronounced in 16 other school staff roles, with many school staff un- 17 able to earn a livable wage. The median pay in the 18 2019–2020 school year was $13 an hour for school 19 food service workers, $16.36 an hour for bus drivers, 20 $15.34 an hour for school building and cleaning 21 workers, and $19.50 an hour for school administra- 22 tive and support workers. 23 (5) According to the National Education Asso- 24 ciation, the average starting teacher salary in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 766 IS United States was $42,845 in the 2021–2022 school 1 year. This is an increase of 2.5 percent over the pre- 2 vious school year. Only 1.8 percent of local edu- 3 cational agencies in the United States, who employ 4 5.9 percent of all teachers, pay a starting salary of 5 $60,000 or more. Nationwide, 39.7 percent of local 6 educational agencies pay their starting teachers less 7 than $40,000, and those local educational agencies 8 employ 17.9 percent of teachers nationwide. 9 (6) According to a 2022 study from the 10 Annenberg Institute at Brown University, the most 11 recent national data shows that nearly 200,000 12 teaching positions were either vacant or held by 13 underqualified teachers. This study, and others, con- 14 sistently demonstrate that teacher shortages dis- 15 proportionately impact schools serving the most stu- 16 dents of color and from low-income backgrounds. 17 (7) Nearly 70 years after Brown v. Board of 18 Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), required 19 the provision of public education to all people ‘‘on 20 equal terms,’’ children of color, children with disabil- 21 ities, and children in low-income communities are 22 routinely denied a high-quality education. The Civil 23 Rights Data Collection of the Office for Civil Rights 24 of the Department of Education shows that schools 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 766 IS with high enrollment of students of color are 4 times 1 as likely to employ uncertified teachers compared to 2 schools with low enrollment of students of color. Ad- 3 ditional studies show that teachers with less than 3 4 years of experience are concentrated in schools serv- 5 ing a high percentage of students from low-income 6 backgrounds and students of color. 7 (8) Research, including a study by the Eco- 8 nomic Policy Institute, has found that raising teach- 9 er salaries helps attract the best and brightest young 10 people into teaching, encourages teachers to teach in 11 underserved schools, improves teacher retention and 12 morale, and bolsters student academic outcomes. Ac- 13 cording to the Learning Policy Institute, controlling 14 for other factors, teachers employed by local edu- 15 cational agencies with the highest salary schedules 16 are 31 percent less likely to leave than teachers em- 17 ployed by local educational agencies with lower pay 18 scales. 19 (9) According to the Consortium for Policy Re- 20 search in Education at the University of Pennsyl- 21 vania, teachers who enter the profession through 22 comprehensive and high-quality pathways are 2 to 3 23 times more likely to remain in the profession than 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 766 IS underprepared teachers who enter through less than 1 comprehensive pathways. 2 (10) Several studies have shown the many bene- 3 fits of providing opportunities for teacher leadership, 4 which include improving instructional practice, in- 5 creasing academic and other positive outcomes for 6 students, and increasing teacher retention. 7 (11) Teachers in the United States are system- 8 ically underpaid compared to their similarly edu- 9 cated peers. As the Organisation for Economic Co- 10 operation and Development wrote in 2019, ‘‘Depend- 11 ing on the level of education taught, teachers’ sala- 12 ries are between 62 percent and 68 percent of the 13 average salaries of tertiary-educated workers. These 14 relative earnings are among the lowest across all 15 OECD countries and economies.’’. 16 (12) Raising teacher salaries to at least 17 $60,000 a year and ensuring competitive pay 18 throughout the lifetime of the teaching career is one 19 of the most important steps the United States can 20 take to address the teacher shortage crisis and en- 21 sure all students have access to qualified teachers 22 and educational opportunity. Paying teachers as the 23 professionals they are is critical in order to honor 24 the work of educators, restore respect to the teach- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 766 IS ing profession, and create a high-quality public edu- 1 cation system that serves the needs of students, fam- 2 ilies, and teachers. 3 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) ANNUAL ADJUSTMENT PERCENTAGE.—The 6 term ‘‘annual adjustment percentage’’, with respect 7 to appropriations made under this Act for a fiscal 8 year, means a percentage equal to the estimated per- 9 centage change in the Consumer Price Index, as de- 10 termined by the Secretary of Education, for the 11 most recent calendar year ending prior to the begin- 12 ning of such fiscal year. 13 (2) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX.—The term ‘‘Con- 14 sumer Price Index’’ has the meaning given the term 15 in section 478(f) of the Higher Education Act of 16 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087rr(f)). 17 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 18 the Secretary of Education. 19 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS; SPECIAL RULE. 20 (a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 22 final regulations related to the implementation of this Act 23 and the amendments made by this Act, including the pro- 24 visions of subsection (i) of section 6311 of the Elementary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 766 IS and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311), 1 as added by this Act. 2 (b) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 3 vision of law, the Secretary may take such steps as the 4 Secretary determines are reasonably necessary to imple- 5 ment the provisions of this Act and the amendments made 6 by this Act. 7 TITLE I—INVESTING IN OUR 8 NATION’S STUDENTS 9 SEC. 101. MANDATORY APPROPRIATIONS FOR PART A OF 10 TITLE I OF THE ESEA. 11 In addition to amounts otherwise available, there are 12 appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not other- 13 wise appropriated, to the Secretary to carry out part A 14 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 15 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.)— 16 (1) for fiscal year 2024, $36,773,604,000; and 17 (2) for each succeeding fiscal year, the amount 18 appropriated under this section for the preceding fis- 19 cal year, increased by the annual adjustment per- 20 centage. 21 SEC. 102. MANDATORY APPROPRIATIONS FOR RURAL EDU- 22 CATION. 23 In addition to amounts otherwise available, there are 24 appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not other- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S766.IS S766 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 766 IS wise appropriated, to the Secretary to carry out part B 1 of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 2 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7341 et seq.)— 3 (1) for fiscal year 2024, $430,000,000; and 4 (2) for each succeeding fiscal year, the amount 5 appropriated under this section for the preceding fis- 6 cal year, increased by the annual adjustment per- 7 centage. 8 SEC. 103. MANDATORY APPROPRIATIONS FOR IMPACT AID. 9 In addition to amounts otherwise available, there are 10 appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not other- 11 wise appropriated, to the Secretary to provide payments 12 for eligible federally connected children under section 13 7003(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 14 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(b))— 15 (1) for fiscal year 2024, $1,460,000,000; and 16 (2) for each succeeding fisc [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]