Teachers are Leaders Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3108 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for a teacher leader development program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 5, 2019 Mr. SCHNEIDER (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. TRONE, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Ms. UNDERWOOD, and Mr. GROTHMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for a teacher leader development program, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teachers are Leaders 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. TEACHER LEADER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (f) of section 202 of 7 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1022a) is 8 amended to read as follows: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3108.IH H3108 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3108 IH ‘‘(f) TEACHER LEADER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A teacher leader develop- 2 ment program carried out with a grant awarded 3 under this section shall involve the professional de- 4 velopment of teachers, as described in paragraph 5 (2), who maintain their roles as classroom teachers 6 and who also carry out formalized leadership respon- 7 sibilities to increase the academic achievement of 8 students and promote data-driven instructional prac- 9 tices that address the demonstrated needs at the ele- 10 mentary schools and secondary schools in which the 11 teachers are employed, such as— 12 ‘‘(A) development of curriculum and cur- 13 ricular resources; 14 ‘‘(B) facilitating the work of committees 15 and teams; 16 ‘‘(C) family and community engagement; 17 ‘‘(D) school discipline and culture; 18 ‘‘(E) peer observations and coaching; or 19 ‘‘(F) dual enrollment instruction. 20 ‘‘(2) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The pro- 21 fessional development of teachers in a teacher leader 22 development program carried out with a grant 23 awarded under this section shall include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3108.IH H3108 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3108 IH ‘‘(A) one year of professional development, 1 training, and support that may— 2 ‘‘(i) include— 3 ‘‘(I) the engagement of teachers 4 in rigorous coursework and fieldwork 5 relevant to their role as a teacher 6 leader, including available teacher 7 leader standards; and 8 ‘‘(II) regular observations and 9 professional support from— 10 ‘‘(aa) a principal, vice prin- 11 cipal, or a designated instruc- 12 tional leader of the school; 13 ‘‘(bb) a representative from 14 the institution of higher edu- 15 cation that is a partner in the eli- 16 gible partnership; 17 ‘‘(cc) a representative from 18 another entity that is a partner 19 in the eligible partnership; and 20 ‘‘(dd) another member of 21 the teacher leader cohort, if ap- 22 plicable, or a peer teacher; and 23 ‘‘(ii) result in the awarding of a cre- 24 dential in teacher leadership; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3108.IH H3108 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3108 IH ‘‘(B) one or 2 additional years of support 1 from a principal, vice principal, or a designated 2 instructional leader of the school, a representa- 3 tive from the institution of higher education 4 that is a partner in the eligible partnership, and 5 a representative from another entity that is a 6 partner in the eligible partnership. 7 ‘‘(3) TEACHER LEADER DEVELOPMENT PRO- 8 GRAM PLAN.—In carrying out a teacher leader devel- 9 opment program under this section, an eligible part- 10 nership shall develop a plan that shall describe— 11 ‘‘(A) how the work hours of teacher leaders 12 will be allocated between their classroom re- 13 sponsibilities and responsibilities as a teacher 14 leader, which may include a description of 15 whether the teacher leader will be relieved from 16 teaching duties during their participation in the 17 teacher leader development program; 18 ‘‘(B) how the partnership will support 19 teacher leaders after the first year of profes- 20 sional development in the program; and 21 ‘‘(C) how teacher leader activities could be 22 sustained by the eligible partnership after the 23 program concludes, which may include a de- 24 scription of opportunities for the teacher lead- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3108.IH H3108 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3108 IH ers to assist in the educator preparation pro- 1 gram at the institution of higher education in 2 the partnership. 3 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF TEACHER LEADERS; USE 4 OF FUNDS.—In carrying out a teacher leader devel- 5 opment program under this section, an eligible part- 6 nership— 7 ‘‘(A) shall select a teacher for participation 8 in the program— 9 ‘‘(i) who— 10 ‘‘(I) is fully certified to teach in 11 the State of the high-need local edu- 12 cational agency that is a partner in 13 the eligible partnership; 14 ‘‘(II) is employed by such high- 15 need local educational agency; 16 ‘‘(III) has not less than 3 years 17 of teaching experience; and 18 ‘‘(IV) submits an application for 19 participation to the eligible partner- 20 ship; and 21 ‘‘(ii) based on selection criteria that 22 includes— 23 ‘‘(I) demonstration of strong con- 24 tent knowledge or a record of accom- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3108.IH H3108 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3108 IH plishment in the field or subject area 1 the teacher will support as a teacher 2 leader; and 3 ‘‘(II) demonstration of attributes 4 linked to effective teaching that is de- 5 termined through interviews, observa- 6 tions, artifacts, student achievement, 7 or performance assessments, such as 8 those leading to an advanced creden- 9 tial; 10 ‘‘(B) may develop admissions goals and 11 priorities for the teacher leader development 12 program that— 13 ‘‘(i) are aligned with the demonstrated 14 needs of the school or high-need local edu- 15 cational agency in which the teacher is em- 16 ployed; 17 ‘‘(ii) considers cultural competencies 18 that would make the applicant effective in 19 the applicant’s teacher leader role; and 20 ‘‘(iii) considers whether the teacher 21 has substantial teaching experience in the 22 school in which the teacher is employed or 23 in a school that is similar to the school in 24 which the teacher is employed; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3108.IH H3108 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3108 IH ‘‘(C) shall use the grant funds to pay for 1 costs of training and supporting teacher leaders 2 for not less than 2 years and not more than 3 3 years; 4 ‘‘(D) may use the grant funds to pay for 5 a portion of a stipend for teacher leaders if 6 such grant funds are matched by additional 7 non-Federal public or private funds as follows: 8 ‘‘(i) during each of the first and sec- 9 ond years of the grant period, grant funds 10 may pay not more than 50 percent of such 11 stipend; and 12 ‘‘(ii) during the third year of the 13 grant period, grant funds may pay not 14 more than 33 percent of such stipend; and 15 ‘‘(E) may require teacher leaders to pay 16 back the cost of attaining the credential de- 17 scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(ii) if they do not 18 complete their term of service in the teacher 19 leader development program. 20 ‘‘(5) TEACHER LEADER DEFINED.—In this sub- 21 section, the term ‘teacher leader’ means a highly ef- 22 fective educator who carries out formalized leader- 23 ship responsibilities based on the demonstrated 24 needs of the elementary school or secondary school 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3108.IH H3108 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3108 IH in which the teacher is employed, while maintaining 1 a role as a classroom instructor who— 2 ‘‘(A) is trained in and practices teacher 3 leadership; and 4 ‘‘(B) fosters a collaborative culture to— 5 ‘‘(i) support educator development, ef- 6 fectiveness, and student learning; 7 ‘‘(ii) support access and use research 8 to improve practice and student learning; 9 ‘‘(iii) promote professional learning 10 for continuous improvement; 11 ‘‘(iv) facilitate improvements in in- 12 struction and student learning; promote 13 the appropriate use of assessments and 14 data for school and district improvement; 15 ‘‘(v) improve outreach and collabora- 16 tion with families and community; 17 ‘‘(vi) advance the profession by shap- 18 ing and implementing policy; and 19 ‘‘(vii) advocate for increased access to 20 great teaching and learning for all stu- 21 dents.’’. 22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 202(c)(2) 23 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1022a) 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3108.IH H3108 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3108 IH is amended by striking ‘‘leadership development program’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘teacher leader development program’’. 2 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 3 209 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 4 1022h) is amended by striking ‘‘for fiscal year 2009 and 5 such sums as may be necessary for each of the two suc- 6 ceeding fiscal years’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal year 2019 7 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 suc- 8 ceeding fiscal years’’. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3108.IH H3108 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS