Fellowships to Prepare the Next Generation of Teachers Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4422 To require the Secretary of Education to award grants for graduate fellowship awards. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 Mr. NORCROSS (for himself, Ms. ESCOBAR, and Mr. STANTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To require the Secretary of Education to award grants for graduate fellowship awards. 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 ‘‘Fellowships to Prepare 4 the Next Generation of Teachers Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS TO PREPARE FACULTY 6 IN HIGH-NEED AREAS AT COLLEGES OF EDU- 7 CATION. 8 (a) GRANTS BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall 9 award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible institu- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Sep 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4422.IH H4422 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4422 IH tions to enable such institutions to make graduate fellow- 1 ship awards to qualified individuals in accordance with the 2 provisions of this section. 3 (b) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible institution that de- 4 sires a grant under this section shall submit an application 5 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 6 taining such information as the Secretary may reasonably 7 require. 8 (c) TYPES OF FELLOWSHIPS SUPPORTED.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution that 10 receives a grant under this section shall use the 11 grant funds to provide graduate fellowships to indi- 12 viduals who are preparing for the professorate in 13 order to prepare individuals to become elementary 14 school and secondary school science, technology, en- 15 gineering, and math teachers, special education 16 teachers, and teachers who provide instruction for 17 English-learners, who meet the applicable State cer- 18 tification and licensure requirements, including any 19 requirements for certification obtained through alter- 20 native routes to certification, or, with regard to spe- 21 cial education teachers, the qualifications described 22 in section 612(a)(14)(C) of the Individuals with Dis- 23 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(14)(C)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Sep 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4422.IH H4422 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4422 IH (2) TYPES OF STUDY.—A graduate fellowship 1 provided under this section shall support an indi- 2 vidual in pursuing postbaccalaureate study, which 3 leads to a doctoral degree and may include a mas- 4 ter’s degree as part of such study, related to teacher 5 preparation and pedagogy in one of the following 6 areas: 7 (A) Science, technology, engineering, math- 8 ematics, and computer science, and their re- 9 lated subfields, if the individual has completed 10 a master’s degree in mathematics, engineering, 11 science, or computer science and is pursuing a 12 doctoral degree in mathematics, science, engi- 13 neering, or education. 14 (B) Special education. 15 (C) The instruction of English-learners, in- 16 cluding postbaccalaureate study in language in- 17 struction educational programs. 18 (d) FELLOWSHIP TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 19 (1) SELECTION OF FELLOWS.—The Secretary 20 shall ensure that an eligible institution that receives 21 a grant under this section— 22 (A) shall provide graduate fellowship 23 awards to individuals who plan to pursue a ca- 24 reer in instruction at an institution of higher 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Sep 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4422.IH H4422 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4422 IH education that has a teacher preparation pro- 1 gram; and 2 (B) may not provide a graduate fellowship 3 to an otherwise eligible individual— 4 (i) during periods in which such indi- 5 vidual is enrolled at an institution of high- 6 er education unless such individual is 7 maintaining satisfactory academic progress 8 in, and devoting full-time study or research 9 to, the pursuit of the degree for which the 10 fellowship support was provided; or 11 (ii) if the individual is engaged in 12 gainful employment, other than part-time 13 employment related to teaching, research, 14 or a similar activity determined by the in- 15 stitution to be consistent with and sup- 16 portive of the individual’s progress toward 17 the degree for which the fellowship support 18 was provided. 19 (2) AMOUNT OF FELLOWSHIP AWARDS.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible institution 21 that receives a grant under this section shall 22 award stipends to individuals who are provided 23 graduate fellowships under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Sep 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4422.IH H4422 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4422 IH (B) AWARDS BASED ON NEED.—A stipend 1 provided under this section shall be in an 2 amount equal to the level of support provided 3 by the National Science Foundation graduate 4 fellowships, except that such stipend shall be 5 adjusted as necessary so as not to exceed the 6 fellowship recipient’s demonstrated need, as de- 7 termined by the institution of higher education 8 where the fellowship recipient is enrolled. 9 (3) SERVICE REQUIREMENT.— 10 (A) TEACHING REQUIRED.—Each indi- 11 vidual who receives a graduate fellowship under 12 this section and earns a doctoral degree shall 13 teach for 1 year at an institution of higher edu- 14 cation that has a teacher preparation program 15 for each year of fellowship support received 16 under this section. 17 (B) INSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATION.—Each 18 eligible institution that receives a grant under 19 this section shall provide an assurance to the 20 Secretary that the institution has inquired of 21 and determined the decision of each individual 22 who has received a graduate fellowship to, with- 23 in 3 years of receiving a doctoral degree, begin 24 employment at an institution of higher edu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Sep 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4422.IH H4422 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4422 IH cation that has a teacher preparation program, 1 as required by this section. 2 (C) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—Prior to re- 3 ceiving an initial graduate fellowship award, 4 and upon the annual renewal of the graduate 5 fellowship award, an individual selected to re- 6 ceive a graduate fellowship under this section 7 shall sign an agreement with the Secretary 8 agreeing to pursue a career in instruction at an 9 institution of higher education that has a teach- 10 er preparation program in accordance with sub- 11 paragraph (A). 12 (D) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—If an indi- 13 vidual who receives a graduate fellowship award 14 under this section fails to comply with the 15 agreement signed pursuant to subparagraph 16 (C), the sum of the amounts of any graduate 17 fellowship award received by such recipient 18 shall, upon a determination of such a failure, be 19 treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf- 20 ford Loan under part D of title IV Higher Edu- 21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.), 22 and shall be subject to repayment, together 23 with interest thereon accruing from the date of 24 the fellowship award, in accordance with terms 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Sep 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4422.IH H4422 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4422 IH and conditions specified by the Secretary in reg- 1 ulations under this section. 2 (E) MODIFIED SERVICE REQUIREMENT.— 3 The Secretary may waive or modify the service 4 requirement of this paragraph in accordance 5 with regulations promulgated by the Secretary 6 with respect to the criteria to determine the cir- 7 cumstances under which compliance with such 8 service requirement is inequitable or represents 9 a substantial hardship. The Secretary may 10 waive the service requirement if compliance by 11 the fellowship recipient is determined to be in- 12 equitable or represent a substantial hardship— 13 (i) because the individual is perma- 14 nently and totally disabled at the time of 15 the waiver request; or 16 (ii) based on documentation presented 17 to the Secretary of substantial economic or 18 personal hardship. 19 (e) INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR FELLOWS.—An el- 20 igible institution that receives a grant under this section 21 may reserve not more than ten percent of the grant 22 amount for academic and career transition support for 23 graduate fellowship recipients and for meeting the institu- 24 tional obligation described in subsection (d)(3)(B). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Sep 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4422.IH H4422 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4422 IH (f) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible in- 1 stitution that receives a grant under this section may not 2 use grant funds for general operational overhead of the 3 institution. 4 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 (1) The term ‘‘eligible institution’’ means an in- 6 stitution of higher education, or a consortium of 7 such institutions, that offers a program of 8 postbaccalaureate study leading to a doctoral degree. 9 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 10 of Education. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:36 Sep 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4422.IH H4422 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS