Classrooms Reflecting Communities Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2887 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to address and take action to combat rural teacher shortages across the United States. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 18, 2019 Mr. JONES introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to address and take action to combat rural teacher shortages across the United States. 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 ‘‘Classrooms Reflecting 4 Communities Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) There are persistent shortages across the 8 Nation of teachers in high-demand fields and sub- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2887 IS jects. These include science, mathematics, special 1 education, and teachers of English learners. 2 (2) More than 40 percent of all small, rural 3 school districts in the United States struggle with 4 adequately staffing their schools. Rural districts in 5 particular face high teacher vacancies in special edu- 6 cation and STEM fields and have greater difficulty 7 filling the position of teachers of English learners 8 than urban and suburban districts. 9 (3) Research shows that teacher shortages have 10 serious consequences for student achievement, the 11 economic well-being of a school district, and the 12 overall effectiveness of the teaching workforce. Fur- 13 ther, a growing body of research reveals a substan- 14 tial amount of differences schools can make are at- 15 tributable to teachers. 16 (4) Additionally, previous research estimated 17 that 40 percent of schools do not have any teachers 18 of color on staff, and more recent data suggest that 19 teachers of color remain more likely to teach in 20 urban schools and schools where a greater percent- 21 age of students are eligible for a free or reduced 22 price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National 23 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2887 IS (5) Research shows that teachers of color help 1 close achievement gaps and are viewed positively by 2 all students. Research also demonstrates benefits, in- 3 cluding improved academic achievement, greater 4 educational attainment, and higher academic aspira- 5 tions, for students of color who are taught by teach- 6 ers of color. Likewise, it is important for all stu- 7 dents, not just students of color, to have diverse 8 teachers and leaders in their schools. 9 (6) Strategies to address teacher shortages are 10 multi-faceted and should follow broader efforts to 11 modernize and elevate the teaching profession. For 12 example, efforts to improve recruitment and prepa- 13 ration of teachers will be more effective if imple- 14 mented in conjunction with policies to improve the 15 working conditions of teachers, elevate the profession 16 through improved selectivity, comprehensive and rig- 17 orous preparation, and higher pay, and professional 18 development and other supports. 19 (7) Research shows that Grow Your Own Pro- 20 grams can be an effective strategy to recruit diverse, 21 well-qualified candidates to the profession and pre- 22 pare them with the needs of the community and 23 school district in mind. According to the Learning 24 Policy Institute, Grow Your Own programs have 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2887 IS shown positive results in recruiting and retaining di- 1 verse teachers in the hardest to staff schools, in part 2 by leveraging participants’ existing connections to 3 the community and prior experience working closely 4 with the student population. 5 SEC. 3. GROWING THE RURAL EDUCATOR WORKFORCE. 6 Part B of title V of the Elementary and Secondary 7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7341 et seq.) is amend- 8 ed— 9 (1) by redesignating subpart 3 as subpart 4; 10 and 11 (2) by inserting after subpart 2 the following: 12 ‘‘Subpart 3—Growing the Rural Educator Workforce 13 ‘‘SEC. 5228. GROWING THE RURAL EDUCATOR WORKFORCE. 14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 15 ‘‘(1) 2+2 PROGRAM.—The term ‘2+2 program’ 16 means a partnership between a junior or community 17 college, as defined in section 312 of the Higher Edu- 18 cation Act of 1965, and a 4-year degree-granting in- 19 stitution of higher education, in which teacher can- 20 didates begin teacher preparation in the junior or 21 community college and fully transfer their credits to 22 the 4-year degree-granting institution of higher edu- 23 cation where the students complete their teacher 24 preparation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2887 IS ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘eligi- 1 ble partnership’ means a partnership as follows: 2 ‘‘(A) That includes one of the following: 3 ‘‘(i) A school, department, or program 4 of education within a public or other non- 5 profit institution of higher education, in- 6 cluding a graduate level program, that is 7 State-accredited and is eligible to receive 8 Federal funds under title IV of the Higher 9 Education Act of 1965, which may include 10 a teacher preparation program in existence 11 on the date of enactment of the Class- 12 rooms Reflecting Communities Act of 13 2019, which may include a community col- 14 lege in partnership with such an institu- 15 tion. 16 ‘‘(ii) A local educational agency. 17 ‘‘(iii) A State-accredited nonprofit 18 educational organization that provides al- 19 ternative routes to State certification of 20 teachers. 21 ‘‘(B) That includes one of the following: 22 ‘‘(i) A rural high-need local edu- 23 cational agency. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2887 IS ‘‘(ii) A rural high-need school served 1 by a rural high-need local educational 2 agency, or a consortium of such schools. 3 ‘‘(C) That may include an optional part- 4 ner. 5 ‘‘(3) GROW YOUR OWN PROGRAM.—The term 6 ‘Grow Your Own Program’ means a program that— 7 ‘‘(A) is designed to counteract a local 8 teacher shortage problem or increase teacher di- 9 versity; 10 ‘‘(B) collaborates with the local commu- 11 nity, schools, and other organizations to identify 12 what the education needs of the community are; 13 ‘‘(C) supports teacher candidates in devel- 14 oping the skills needed to personalize instruc- 15 tion, provide culturally responsive pedagogy, 16 and effectively support students with disabilities 17 and English learners; 18 ‘‘(D) supports the preparation of teachers 19 through extensive clinical experience that is 20 connected to their coursework in schools in the 21 community, including schools in the eligible 22 partnership, as they complete and earn their 23 teaching or school leadership credential and 24 may include a 2+2 program; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2887 IS ‘‘(E) integrates career-focused courses on 1 education topics with school-based learning ex- 2 perience; 3 ‘‘(F) provides a high-quality mentoring 4 program for teacher candidates to support the 5 candidates through their first 2 years of teach- 6 ing; 7 ‘‘(G) provides support, including financial 8 assistance, to teacher and school leader can- 9 didates from the community who are planning 10 to teach in schools in the community, which 11 may include housing subsidies, stipends, and 12 tuition assistance; 13 ‘‘(H) sustains efforts to recruit and 14 incentivize more people to consider entering the 15 teaching profession, especially in high-need 16 fields and underserved schools; and 17 ‘‘(I) works in partnership with members of 18 the eligible partnership to provide academic, 19 counseling, and programmatic supports. 20 ‘‘(4) OPTIONAL PARTNER.—The term ‘optional 21 partner’ means any of the following entities: 22 ‘‘(A) The Governor of the State. 23 ‘‘(B) A State educational agency. 24 ‘‘(C) The State board of education. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2887 IS ‘‘(D) The State agency for higher edu- 1 cation. 2 ‘‘(E) A business or a large employer in the 3 community. 4 ‘‘(F) A teacher organization. 5 ‘‘(G) A charter school (as defined in sec- 6 tion 4310). 7 ‘‘(H) A community or grassroots organiza- 8 tion. 9 ‘‘(I) A nonprofit entity. 10 ‘‘(5) RURAL HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL 11 AGENCY.—The term ‘rural high-need local edu- 12 cational agency’ means a local educational agency— 13 ‘‘(A) located in a rural county, designated 14 with a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as 15 determined by the Secretary; 16 ‘‘(B) that has persistent teacher vacancies 17 or a significant portion of teachers employed by 18 the agency who are not fully certified or li- 19 censed to teach or who are not certified or li- 20 censed to teach in the subject area they are as- 21 signed; and 22 ‘‘(C) for which not less than 23.5 percent 23 of the children served by the agency are from 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2887 IS low-income families, as described in section 1 1124(c)(1)(A). 2 ‘‘(6) RURAL HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term 3 ‘rural high-need school’ means an elementary school 4 or secondary school— 5 ‘‘(A) located in a rural county; 6 ‘‘(B) that has persistent teacher vacancies 7 or not less than 10 percent of the teachers 8 teaching at such school are not fully certified or 9 licensed to teach or certified or licensed to 10 teach in the subject area they are assigned; and 11 ‘‘(C) that is in the highest quartile of 12 schools in a ranking of all schools served by the 13 local educational agency serving such school, 14 ranked in descending order by percentage of 15 students from low-income families enrolled in 16 such schools, as described in section 17 1124(c)(1)(A). 18 ‘‘(7) TEACHING SKILLS.—The term ‘teaching 19 skills’ means skills that enable a teacher to— 20 ‘‘(A) increase student learning, achieve- 21 ment, and the ability to apply knowledge; 22 ‘‘(B) effectively convey, explain, and pro- 23 vide opportunities for students to develop the 24 skills aligned with the full depth and breadth of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2887 IS the State challenging academic standards, in- 1 cluding the application of academic subject 2 matter; 3 ‘‘(C) effectively teach higher-order analyt- 4 ical, critical thinking, evaluation, problem-solv- 5 ing, and communication skills; 6 ‘‘(D) employ strategies grounded in the 7 disciplines of teaching and learning that— 8 ‘‘(i) are based on empirically based 9 practice and evidence-based research, 10 where applicable, related to teaching and 11 learning; 12 ‘‘(ii) are specific to academic subject 13 matter; and 14 ‘‘(iii) focus on the identification of 15 students’ specific learning needs, particu- 16 larly students with disabilities, students 17 who are English learners, students who are 18 gifted and talented, and students with low 19 literacy levels, and the tailoring of aca- 20 demic instruction to such needs; 21 ‘‘(E) design and conduct an ongoing as- 22 sessment of student learning, which may in- 23 clude the use of formative assessments, per- 24 formance-based assessments, project-based as- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2887 IS sessments, or portfolio assessments, that meas- 1 ure higher-order thinking skills (including appli- 2 cation, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) and 3 use this information to inform and personalize 4 instruction; 5 ‘‘(F) support the social, emotional, and 6 academic achievement of all students, including 7 effectively creating an inclusive classroom envi- 8 ronment, including the ability to implement 9 positive behavioral interventions, trauma-in- 10 formed care, and other support strategies; 11 ‘‘(G) are culturally responsive and linguis- 12 tically inclusive; 13 ‘‘(H) communicate and work with parents 14 and involve parents in their children’s edu- 15 cation; and 16 ‘‘(I) use age-appropriate and develop- 17 mentally appropriate strategies and practices 18 for students in early childhood education pro- 19 grams and elementary schools and secondary 20 schools. 21 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 22 ‘‘(1) to combat persistent rural teacher short- 23 ages, especially in State-identified high-need fields, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2887 IS by providing Federal support to States to develop 1 and run Grow Your Own Programs; 2 ‘‘(2) to recruit diverse and well-prepared indi- 3 viduals with the teaching skills and qualifications 4 identified as high need by the community into the 5 teaching profession; and 6 ‘‘(3) to increase student engagement in the 7 classroom and student academic outcomes. 8 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 9 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 10 shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 11 partnerships to enable the eligible partnerships to— 12 ‘‘(A) develop and run a Grow Your Own 13 Program to recruit diverse teacher candidates 14 from the community into the teaching profes- 15 sion and support them through high-quality 16 preparation to full teacher certification or licen- 17 sure; 18 ‘‘(B) provide support for identifying what 19 the unique needs of the community and school 20 district are in terms of high-need areas and 21 high-need fields; 22 ‘‘(C) support efforts to raise awareness 23 about the teaching profession and enact recruit- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:08 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2887.IS S2887 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 2887 IS ment drives in high-need communities and [Text truncated for display. 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