TEAMS Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5067 To transition military veterans into new careers in education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 13, 2019 Mr. MEADOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Edu- cation and Labor, the Judiciary, and Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To transition military veterans into new careers in education, 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 ‘‘Troops Educating And 4 Managing Schools Act’’ or the ‘‘TEAMS Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:18 Nov 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5067 IH SEC. 2. VETERANS-TO-CLASSROOMS PROGRAM. 1 (a) MODIFICATION AND REDESIGNATION OF PRO- 2 GRAM.—Section 1154 of title 10, United States Code, is 3 amended— 4 (1) in the section heading, by striking: ‘‘em- 5 ployment as teachers: Troops-to-Teachers 6 Program’’ and inserting ‘‘employment in 7 schools: Veterans-to-Classrooms Pro- 8 gram’’; 9 (2) in subsection (a)— 10 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 11 through (8) as paragraphs (4) through (10), re- 12 spectively; 13 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 14 following new paragraphs: 15 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 16 the Secretary of Defense. 17 ‘‘(3) COVERED POSITION.— 18 ‘‘(A) The term ‘covered position’ means a 19 full-time position in an eligible school as— 20 ‘‘(i) a teacher, including an elemen- 21 tary school teacher, a secondary school 22 teacher, and a career and technical edu- 23 cation teacher; 24 ‘‘(ii) a school leader; 25 ‘‘(iii) a school administrator; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5067 IH ‘‘(iv) a nurse; 1 ‘‘(v) a principal; 2 ‘‘(vi) a counselor; 3 ‘‘(vii) a teaching aide; 4 ‘‘(viii) specialized instructional sup- 5 port personnel; 6 ‘‘(ix) a school resource officer; or 7 ‘‘(x) a contractor who performs the 8 functions of a position described in any of 9 clauses (i) through (viii).’’; 10 (C) by amending paragraph (4), as so re- 11 designated, to read as follows: 12 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘eligible 13 school’ means— 14 ‘‘(A) a public elementary school, including 15 a public elementary charter school; 16 ‘‘(B) a public secondary school, including a 17 public secondary charter school; or 18 ‘‘(C) a Bureau-funded school as defined in 19 section 1141(3) of the Education Amendments 20 of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021(3)).’’; 21 (D) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated, 22 by striking ‘‘Troops-to-Teachers’’ and inserting 23 ‘‘Veterans-to-Classrooms’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5067 IH (E) by striking paragraph (9), as so redes- 1 ignated, and inserting the following new para- 2 graph (9): 3 ‘‘(9) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER.—The term 4 ‘school resource officer’ has the meaning given that 5 term in section 1709(4) of the Omnibus Crime Con- 6 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 7 10389(4)).’’; and 8 (F) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated, 9 by striking ‘‘and ‘State’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘ ‘spe- 10 cialized instructional support personnel’, and 11 ‘State’ ’’; 12 (3) in subsection (b)— 13 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 14 by striking ‘‘Secretary of Defense may carry 15 out a Troops-to-Teachers Program’’ and insert- 16 ing ‘‘The Secretary of Defense, in consultation 17 with the Secretary of Education, may carry out 18 a Veterans-to-Classrooms Program’’; 19 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘become 20 a teacher’’ and inserting ‘‘obtain a covered posi- 21 tion’’; and 22 (C) by amending subparagraph (A) of 23 paragraph (2) to read as follows: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5067 IH ‘‘(A) by local educational agencies or char- 1 ter schools in States with a shortage of individ- 2 uals to fill covered positions, as determined by 3 the Secretary of Education.’’; 4 (4) in subsection (d)(4)(A)— 5 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or career or 6 technical subjects’’ and inserting ‘‘career and 7 technical education, or subjects relating to a 8 covered position’’; and 9 (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘in a cov- 10 ered position or’’ after ‘‘seek employment’’; 11 (5) in subsection (e)— 12 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 13 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘become 14 a teacher’’ and inserting ‘‘obtain a covered 15 position’’; and 16 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘as an 17 elementary school teacher’’ and all that fol- 18 lows through the period at the end and in- 19 serting ‘‘in a covered position for not less 20 than three school years in an eligible 21 school to begin the school year after the 22 member obtains the professional creden- 23 tials required for the position involved’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5067 IH (B) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking ‘‘as a 1 teacher in an eligible elementary school or sec- 2 ondary school or as a career or technical teach- 3 er’’ and inserting ‘‘in a covered position’’; and 4 (C) in paragraph (3)— 5 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 6 (I) in the first sentence, by strik- 7 ing ‘‘educational level, certification, or 8 licensing’’ and inserting ‘‘educational 9 level, certification, licensing, or other 10 professional credentials’’; and 11 (II) in the second sentence, by 12 striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting 13 ‘‘$9,000 (except as adjusted by the 14 Secretary in accordance with subpara- 15 graph (D))’’; 16 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 17 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘as 18 an elementary school teacher, sec- 19 ondary school teacher, or career or 20 technical teacher’’ and inserting ‘‘in a 21 covered position’’; and 22 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 23 ‘‘may not exceed $5,000, unless the 24 eligible school is a high-need school, in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5067 IH which case the amount of the bonus 1 may not exceed $10,000’’ and insert- 2 ing ‘‘may not exceed $9,000 (except 3 as adjusted by the Secretary in ac- 4 cordance with subparagraph (D)), un- 5 less the eligible school is a high-need 6 school, in which case the amount of 7 the bonus may not exceed $18,000 8 (except as so adjusted)’’; 9 (iii) in subparagraph (C)— 10 (I) in clause (i), by striking 11 ‘‘5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘20,000’’; 12 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 13 ‘‘3,000’’ and inserting ‘‘5,000’’; and 14 (III) in clause (iv), by striking 15 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$18,000 16 (except as adjusted by the Secretary 17 in accordance with subparagraph 18 (D))’’; and 19 (iv) by adding at the end the fol- 20 lowing: 21 ‘‘(D)(i) The Secretary may adjust the dollar 22 amounts set forth in subparagraphs (A), (B)(ii), and 23 (C)(iv) to reflect changes in the Consumer Price 24 Index over the applicable period. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5067 IH ‘‘(ii) In this subparagraph, the term ‘applicable 1 period’ means— 2 ‘‘(I) with respect to an initial adjustment 3 under clause (i), the period that has elapsed 4 since the date of the enactment of the TEAMS 5 Act; or 6 ‘‘(II) with respect to any adjustment after 7 the initial adjustment, the period that has 8 elapsed since the date of the most recent ad- 9 justment under clause (i).’’; 10 (6) in subsection (f)(1)— 11 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 12 (i) by striking ‘‘become a teacher’’ 13 and inserting ‘‘obtain a covered position’’; 14 and 15 (ii) by striking ‘‘as an elementary 16 school teacher, secondary school teacher, or 17 career or technical teacher’’ and insert ‘‘in 18 a covered position’’; and 19 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, 20 employment as an elementary school teacher, 21 secondary school teacher, or career or technical 22 teacher’’ and inserting ‘‘employment in a cov- 23 ered position’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5067 IH (7) in subsection (h)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘as ele- 1 mentary school teachers, secondary school teachers, 2 and career or technical teachers’’ and inserting ‘‘in 3 covered positions’’; and 4 (8) by adding at the end the following new sub- 5 sections: 6 ‘‘(j) PARTNERSHIPS.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 8 into one or more partnerships with States, local edu- 9 cational agencies, or covered entities— 10 ‘‘(A) to help sustain and expand the reach 11 of the Veterans-to-Classrooms Program to pro- 12 mote careers in education among current and 13 future veterans under this section; 14 ‘‘(B) to provide information on the Pro- 15 gram in accordance with subsection (k)(2) in 16 widely available, user-friendly formats; 17 ‘‘(C) to help recruit more veterans, includ- 18 ing veterans who are retired law enforcement 19 officers, and service members who are within 6 20 months of transitioning out of the military into 21 new careers in education; 22 ‘‘(D) to promote careers in education 23 among current and future veterans by providing 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5067 IH veterans with information on other employment 1 transition programs, including— 2 ‘‘(i) the Veterans’ Employment & 3 Training Service and the National Vet- 4 erans’ Training Institute of the Depart- 5 ment of Labor; 6 ‘‘(ii) the transition assistance pro- 7 grams established under section 1144 of 8 this title; 9 ‘‘(iii) the SkillBridge and Career 10 Skills Programs of the Department of De- 11 fense; 12 ‘‘(iv) the AmeriCorps program carried 13 out under subtitle C of title I of the Na- 14 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 15 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.); and 16 ‘‘(v) other transitional or educational 17 programs; and 18 ‘‘(E) to promote careers in education by 19 helping veterans learn about educational bene- 20 fits available to them, including Post-9/11 Edu- 21 cational Assistance, certification programs, and 22 applicable on-the-job training and apprentice- 23 ship programs, to help veterans get into an edu- 24 cational career field. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5067 IH ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY DEFINED.—In this sub- 1 section, the term ‘covered entity’ means— 2 ‘‘(A) an entity qualifying as an exempt or- 3 ganization under section 501(c)(3) of the Inter- 4 nal Revenue Code of 1986; or 5 ‘‘(B) a veterans service organization recog- 6 nized by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for 7 the representation of veterans under section 8 5902 of title 38. 9 ‘‘(k) PROGRAM INFORMATION.— 10 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION FROM THE SECRETARY.— 11 The Secretary shall make available, on a publicly ac- 12 cessible website of the Department of Defense, the 13 information described in paragraph (3). 14 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION FROM COVERED ENTI- 15 TIES.—Each State, local educational agency, and 16 covered entity that enters into a partnership with 17 the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall make avail- 18 able, on a publicly accessible website, the informa- 19 tion described in paragraph (3). 20 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa- 21 tion described in this subparagraph is information 22 on the Veterans-to-Classrooms program authorized 23 under this section, including a description of the ap- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5067 IH plication process for the program and the potential 1 benefits of participating in the program. 2 ‘‘(l) BIENNIAL REVIEW.—Not less frequently than 3 once every two years, the Secretary shall submit to Con- 4 gress a report on the Veterans-to-Classrooms Program. At 5 minimum, the report shall include a comparison of the 6 number of participants in the Program during the period 7 covered by the report relative to the number of stipends 8 authorized under the Program during such period. 9 ‘‘(m) PROCESS TO STREAMLINE APPLICATIONS.— 10 Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 11 of the TEAMS Act, the Secretary shall implement a proc- 12 ess to simplify the submission of applications under sub- 13 section (d)(2).’’. 14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 15 at the beginning of chapter 58 of such title is amended 16 by striking the item relating to section 1154 and inserting 17 the following new item: 18 ‘‘1154. Assistance to eligible members and former members to obtain employ- ment in schools: Veterans-to-Classrooms Program.’’. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 19 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on July 1, 2020. 20 (d) REFERENCES.—Beginning on July 1, 2020, any 21 reference in Federal law (other than this Act), regulations, 22 guidance, instructions, or other documents of the Federal 23 Government to the Troops-to-Teachers Program shall be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:39 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5067.IH H5067 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 5067 IH deemed to be a reference to the Veterans-to-Classrooms 1 Program. 2 SEC. 3. VETERANS EMPLOYABLE AS SCHOOL RESOURCE 3 OFFICERS. 4 Section 1709(4) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 5 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389(4)) is amend- 6 ed by inserting after ‘‘a career law enforcement officer, 7 with sworn authority,’’ the following: ‘‘or a veteran (as 8 such term is defined in section 101(2) of title 38, United 9 States Code) who is hired by a State or local public agency 10 as a law enforcement officer for purposes of serving as 11 a school resource officer, who is’’. 12 SEC. 4. TASK FORCE ON EDUCATION CAREERS FOR VET- 13 ERANS. 14 (a) TASK FORCE.—Not later than 120 days after the 15 date of the enactment of this Act, the [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]