Educator Jobs Fund Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4917 To amend the CARES Act to support States and local educational agencies in responding to the COVID–19 pandemic so that all students, especially historically underserved students, are provided with a safe, healthy, equi- table, and excellent education. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 18, 2020 Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the CARES Act to support States and local edu- cational agencies in responding to the COVID–19 pan- demic so that all students, especially historically under- served students, are provided with a safe, healthy, equi- table, and excellent education. 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 ‘‘Educator Jobs Fund 4 Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4917 IS SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 1 The purpose of this Act is to support States and local 2 educational agencies in responding to the COVID–19 pan- 3 demic so that all students, especially historically under- 4 served students, are provided with a safe, healthy, equi- 5 table, and excellent education by— 6 (1) providing funding to ensure students do not 7 lose access to high-quality educators due to State 8 and local budget cuts; 9 (2) investing in educator pipelines to ensure 10 students’ access to a well-prepared and diverse edu- 11 cator workforce is not affected by the COVID–19 12 pandemic; 13 (3) putting in place fiscal equity measures so 14 students of color, students from families experi- 15 encing low incomes, and other historically under- 16 served students do not bare the budgetary brunt of 17 the COVID–19 pandemic; and 18 (4) ensuring that schools are equipped with the 19 personal protective equipment necessary to keep stu- 20 dents, teachers, principals, other support staff, and 21 families safe. 22 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 23 Congress finds the following: 24 (1) Prior to the COVID–19 pandemic, the 25 United States was already experiencing a shortage 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4917 IS of more than 100,000 qualified teachers. Likewise, 1 prior to the pandemic, public employment in elemen- 2 tary schools and secondary schools had yet to re- 3 cover the level it had reached prior to the losses of 4 the Great Recession. 5 (2) According to the Economic Policy Institute, 6 more K–12 public education jobs were lost in April 7 than in all of the Great Recession—a loss of 8 468,800 jobs in public school employment alone. 9 Half of these losses were among special education 10 teachers, tutors, and teaching assistants. Losses 11 were also significant among counselors, nurses, 12 custodians, and other building maintenance staff. 13 (3) An analysis from the Learning Policy Insti- 14 tute found that if there is a 20-percent reduction in 15 State contributions to education funding, this could 16 result in the loss of nearly 460,000 teaching posi- 17 tions nationwide, or over 12 percent of the public 18 school teaching workforce. This is a more significant 19 downsizing than witnessed during the Great Reces- 20 sion, when significant Federal investment of about 21 $110,000,000,000, including an Educator Job Fund, 22 helped save 288,000 and 134,000 education jobs at 23 different points in time. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4917 IS (4) Teachers of color face unique barriers to en- 1 tering and staying in the profession. For example, 2 teachers of color are more likely to enter teaching 3 through less comprehensive pathways due to the 4 high cost of traditional teacher preparation pro- 5 grams and the debt burden faced by college students 6 of color. Lower quality pathways can result in less 7 effective teaching and high turnover rates. Research 8 shows that candidates who receive comprehensive 9 preparation are 2 to 3 times more likely to stay in 10 teaching than those who receive little training. In 11 many cases, however, teachers of color are more like- 12 ly to begin teaching without having completed com- 13 prehensive preparation and enter instead through 14 routes that include minimal or no student teaching 15 or integration of key coursework, leaving teachers to 16 learn on the job. 17 (5) Before the COVID–19 pandemic, enroll- 18 ments in teacher preparation programs had been on 19 a steady decline for years, dropping 39 percent for 20 undergraduate and post-baccalaureate programs be- 21 tween 2010 and 2017—resulting in over 277,000 22 fewer professionals working their way toward the 23 classroom. The economic impact of COVID–19 24 threatens to put the ability to afford high-quality 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4917 IS teacher preparation further out of reach for prospec- 1 tive teacher of color who already faced higher afford- 2 ability barriers prior to the pandemic than their 3 white counterparts. Similarly, institutions of higher 4 education—including under resourced Historically 5 Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Mi- 6 nority Serving Institutions (MSIs) of higher edu- 7 cation—are under fiscal strain. Both phenomena 8 threaten to further hinder students—especially his- 9 torically underserved students—access to a well-pre- 10 pared and diverse educator workforce. 11 (6) Historically Black Colleges and Universities 12 (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) 13 of higher education have an outsized role in pre- 14 paring teachers of color. For example, despite the 15 fact that only 14.2 percent of all public school teach- 16 ers earned their bachelor’s degrees from MSIs, near- 17 ly 40 percent of all Black teachers in the Nation 18 earned their bachelor’s degree at an MSI. Nearly 19 half of all Latino teachers with bachelor’s degrees 20 earned them at MSIs. Further, roughly 25 percent 21 of Asian Americans and Native Americans with BAs 22 in teaching earned them at MSIs, while almost a 23 third of Pacific Islanders with BAs earned their de- 24 grees at an MSI. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Nov 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4917 IS (7) Teacher residency programs like those sup- 1 ported by the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant 2 Program, are a high-quality and diverse teacher 3 preparation pathway into teaching. Nationally, about 4 49 percent of residents are people of color. That is 5 the similar to the proportion of public school stu- 6 dents of color and far more than the 20 percent of 7 teachers who are people of color nationally. 8 (8) Furthermore, prior to the COVID–19 pan- 9 demic, principal turnover was also a significant 10 issue. Research from the Learning Policy Institute 11 and National Association of Secondary School Prin- 12 cipals found that 35 percent of principals leave their 13 schools within 2 years and that approximately 18 14 percent of principals were no longer in the same po- 15 sition one year later. In underserved schools and 16 areas, this turnover rate was even higher at 21 per- 17 cent. Additionally, a recent poll of principals found 18 that 45 percent are planning to move up their plans 19 to leave the profession due to the conditions 20 spawned by the COVID–19 pandemic. 21 (9) Reducing principal turnover also has a sig- 22 nificant impact on student performance and teacher 23 retention. Principals are the second most important 24 school-level factor associated with student achieve- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4917 IS ment. Studies have also show that teachers cite prin- 1 cipal support as one of the most important in their 2 decision to remain in a school or the profession. 3 (10) Without sufficient Federal support to 4 States, local educational agencies, and teacher and 5 principal preparation programs at institutions of 6 higher education, educator layoffs and shortages will 7 be exacerbated by the economic crisis caused by the 8 COVID–19 pandemic and historically underserved 9 students, including students of color and students 10 from families experiencing low incomes, will bear the 11 brunt of these layoffs and shortages. 12 (11) Data consistently show the dispropor- 13 tionate impact of COVID–19 on people of color and 14 communities of concentrated poverty. Further, dec- 15 ades of data show that students of color, students 16 from low-income families, and English language 17 learners, as well as those with special needs, who are 18 experiencing homelessness, who are in foster care, 19 who are involved with the juvenile justice system, 20 and whose families are engaged in seasonal work, 21 have long been underserved by the current education 22 system. 23 (12) Federal relief aid should be contingent on 24 States and local educational agencies protecting stu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4917 IS dents most heavily impacted by COVID–19 and stu- 1 dents historically underserved in education in the 2 United States from having to bear the brunt of 3 shortfalls in school funding and other impacts of the 4 virus on schools. 5 (13) Countries that have physically reopened 6 schools successfully—and only once infection rates 7 were under control—have provided schools with the 8 resources necessary, such as personal protective 9 equipment, to continue education and keep children 10 and staff safe. 11 SEC. 4. EDUCATOR JOB FUND. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.— 13 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall 14 award grants to States, to remain available until the 15 later of— 16 (A) August 15, 2027; or 17 (B) the date on which each State average 18 rate of total unemployment in the Nation (sea- 19 sonally adjusted) is such that for the period 20 consisting of the most recent 3 months for 21 which data for all States are published before 22 the close of such week equals or is less than 5.5 23 percent. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4917 IS (2) ALLOCATION TO OUTLYING AREAS AND BU- 1 REAU OF INDIAN EDUCATION.— 2 (A) RESERVATION.—From the amount 3 made available under subsection (j)(1) for a fis- 4 cal year, the Secretary shall reserve— 5 (i) an amount equal to 1⁄2 of 1 percent 6 for allocations to the outlying areas in ac- 7 cordance with subparagraph (B); and 8 (ii) an amount equal to 1⁄2 of 1 per- 9 cent for allocations to programs operated 10 or funded by the Bureau of Indian Edu- 11 cation in accordance with subparagraph 12 (C). 13 (B) OUTLYING AREAS.—From the amount 14 made available under subparagraph (A)(i) for a 15 fiscal year, the Secretary shall allocate to each 16 outlying area a grant that bears the same pro- 17 portion to such amount as the amount the out- 18 lying area received under part A of title I of the 19 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 20 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for the pre- 21 ceding fiscal year bears to the amount all out- 22 lying areas received under such part for such 23 preceding fiscal year. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4917 IS (C) PROGRAMS OPERATED OR FUNDED BY 1 THE BUREAU OF INDIAN EDUCATION.—From 2 the amount made available under subparagraph 3 (A)(ii) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall, in 4 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, 5 allocate to each program operated or funded by 6 the Bureau of Indian Education a grant that 7 bears the same proportion to such amount as 8 the amount the program operated or funded by 9 the Bureau of Indian Education received under 10 part A of title I of the Elementary and Sec- 11 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 12 et seq.) for the preceding fiscal year bears to 13 the amount all programs operated or funded by 14 the Bureau of Indian Education received under 15 such part for such preceding fiscal year. 16 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 17 (A) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘‘eligible 18 State’’ means a State where the average rate of 19 total unemployment in such State (seasonally 20 adjusted) for the period consisting of the most 21 recent 3 months for which data for all States 22 are published before the close of such week 23 equals or exceeds 5.5 percent. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4917 IS (B) ELIGIBLE APPLICATION.—The term 1 ‘‘eligible application’’ means an application sub- 2 mitted by an eligible State not more than once 3 per a State fiscal year. 4 (C) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘‘outlying 5 area’’ means American Samoa, the Common- 6 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, 7 and the United States Virgin Islands. 8 (D) QUALIFYING EMERGENCY.—The term 9 ‘‘qualifying emergency’’ means— 10 (i) a public health emergency related 11 to the coronavirus declared by the Sec- 12 retary of Health and Human Services pur- 13 suant to section 319 of the Public Health 14 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 15 (ii) an event related to the coronavirus 16 for which the President declared a major 17 disaster or an emergency under section 18 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. 19 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 20 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 and 21 5191); or 22 (iii) a national emergency related to 23 the coronavirus declared by the President 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:40 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4917.IS S4917 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4917 IS under section 201 of the National Emer- 1 gencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 2 (E) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 3 means the Secretary of Education. 4 (b) APPLICATION.—The Governor and chief State 5 school officer of an eligible State seeking to receive a grant 6 under this section shall submit an eligible application to 7 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and accom- 8 panied [Text truncated for display. 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