I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2991 To eliminate the prohibition on training teachers with effective defensive tools, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 28, 2023 Mr. OGLES (for himself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. NEHLS, Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Mr. CLOUD, Mrs. BOEBERT, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. MOONEY, Mr. MOORE of Ala- bama, Mr. AMODEI, Ms. GREENE of Georgia, and Mr. CLYDE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To eliminate the prohibition on training teachers with effective defensive tools, 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 Empowered 4 Against Classroom Harm Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘TEACH 5 Act of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2991 IH SEC. 2. ELIMINATING BARRIERS BETWEEN WILLING 1 SCHOOL STAFF AND THEIR RIGHT TO DE- 2 FEND THEIR STUDENTS. 3 (a) ELIMINATING PROHIBITION ON TRAINING 4 TEACHERS WITH EFFECTIVE DEFENSIVE TOOLS.—Sec- 5 tion 8526 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 6 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7906) is amended— 7 (1) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘or’’ after 8 the semicolon; 9 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘; or’’ at the 10 end and inserting a period; and 11 (3) by striking paragraph (7). 12 (b) PRIORITIZING FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS THAT 13 PROTECT STUDENTS.— 14 (1) PROHIBITION.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu- 16 cation may not disburse to or obligate any 17 funds for any State, local government, or eligi- 18 ble entity (as defined in section 3) that restricts 19 the possession of firearms in excess of section 20 922(q) of title 18, United States Code, within 21 school zones as defined in section 921(a)(26) of 22 such title. 23 (B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 24 (i) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 25 ‘‘local government’’ means any county, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2991 IH parish, city, town, township, village or 1 other general purpose political subdivision 2 of a State with the power to levy taxes and 3 expend Federal, State, and local funds and 4 exercise governmental powers. 5 (ii) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means 6 each of the 50 States and the District of 7 Columbia. 8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9 922(q) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 10 by striking paragraph (4). 11 (c) RESPECTING THE RIGHT TO CONSTITUTIONALLY 12 CARRY A FIREARM AS PROTECTED BY A MAJORITY OF 13 THESE UNITED STATES.—Section 922(q)(2)(B) of title 14 18, United States Code, is amended— 15 (1) by redesignating clauses (iii) through (vii) 16 as clauses (iv) through (vii), respectively; and 17 (2) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 18 ‘‘(iii) if the individual possessing the firearm is 19 otherwise eligible or entitled to carry a firearm 20 under the laws of the State in which the school zone 21 is located;’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2991 IH SEC. 3. HELPING WILLING STAFF AND SCHOOLS DEFEND 1 STUDENTS FROM ARMED INTRUDERS. 2 (a) GRANTS FOR SCHOOL SAFETY.—Notwith- 3 standing section 4103(a)(3) of the Elementary and Sec- 4 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7113(a)(3)) or 5 any other provision of law, using the total amount of the 6 funds reserved under such section 4103(a)(3) for a fiscal 7 year, the Secretary of Education shall award grants, on 8 a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable such eligi- 9 ble entities to participate in defensive training programs 10 designed to protect elementary schools and secondary 11 schools from armed intruders, including covering the cost 12 of— 13 (1) instructor and program fees; 14 (2) training supplies; and 15 (3) educational materials. 16 (b) APPLICATIONS.— 17 (1) ANNOUNCEMENT.—Not later than October 18 1, 2023, or 120 days after the date of enactment of 19 this Act, whichever occurs later, the Secretary of 20 Education shall announce an application process for 21 grant funding under this section. 22 (2) PRIORITY.—In approving grant applications 23 under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 24 to eligible entities with a commitment to protecting 25 the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense as 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2991 IH protected by the Second Amendment to the Con- 1 stitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court’s rul- 2 ings in District of Columbia v. Heller and NYSRPA 3 v. Bruen. 4 (3) REQUIREMENT.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year for 6 which the Secretary reserves funds under sec- 7 tion 4103(a)(3) of the Elementary and Sec- 8 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 9 7113(a)(3)), the Secretary shall fully obligate 10 such funds by awarding grants to eligible enti- 11 ties under this section in such fiscal year, ex- 12 cept that the funds reserved under such section 13 4103(a)(3) for the first fiscal year that begins 14 after the date of enactment of this Act may be 15 so fully obligated by not later than the end of 16 fiscal year that follows such first fiscal year. 17 (B) HIRING FREEZE.— 18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 19 (ii), if the Secretary fails to comply with 20 the requirements of subparagraph (A) for 21 a fiscal year, beginning on October 1 of 22 the succeeding fiscal year— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2991 IH (I) no individual may be ap- 1 pointed to any position within the De- 2 partment of Education; 3 (II) no new position may be es- 4 tablished at the Department; 5 (III) no officer or employee of 6 the Department may be assigned any 7 duties not assigned to that employee 8 in the preceding fiscal year; and 9 (IV) no officer or employee of the 10 Department may be transferred to a 11 duty station other than the duty sta- 12 tion applicable to such officer or em- 13 ployee in the preceding fiscal year. 14 (ii) EXCEPTION FOR FIRST YEAR.—In 15 a case in which the Secretary fails to com- 16 ply with the requirements of subparagraph 17 (A) in the first fiscal year that begins after 18 the date of enactment of this Act, the hir- 19 ing freeze described in subclauses (I) 20 through (IV) of clause (i) shall take effect 21 beginning on October 1 of the second suc- 22 ceeding fiscal year. 23 (c) TERMINATION OF HIRING FREEZE.—Any hiring 24 freeze described in subclauses (I) through (IV) of sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2991 IH section (b)(3)(B)(i) for a fiscal year shall be terminated 1 on the date on which the Secretary of Education notifies 2 the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the 3 House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, 4 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate that any 5 unobligated funds that have been reserved under section 6 4103(a)(3) of the Elementary and Secondary Education 7 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7113(a)(3)) for the preceding fis- 8 cal year have been awarded under this section to eligible 9 entities. 10 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 11 (1) REPORT.—On the day when the Secretary 12 establishes an announcement of a grant application 13 process under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary of 14 Education shall submit to the Committee on Edu- 15 cation and the Workforce of the House of Rep- 16 resentatives and the Committee on Health, Edu- 17 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate an accom- 18 panying report on the efforts of the Department of 19 Education to— 20 (A) create a streamlined grant application 21 process under this section; and 22 (B) request the minimum amount of infor- 23 mation from grant applicants. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2991 IH (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall 1 submit to the Committee on Education and the 2 Workforce of the House of Representatives and the 3 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 4 sions of the Senate a report, on an annual basis, on 5 the following: 6 (A) The average amount of time between 7 when a grant applicant submits an application 8 under this section and the disbursement of 9 funds to a grant applicant, and efforts to re- 10 duce that average time. 11 (B) Any Department practices, procedures, 12 and rulemakings that could delay or limit acces- 13 sibility to grant disbursements. 14 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 15 (1) DEFENSIVE TRAINING PROGRAM.—The 16 term ‘‘defensive training program’’ shall include any 17 training or program that— 18 (A) instructs an individual on the best 19 practices for carrying a firearm on school prop- 20 erty for defensive purposes as approved by— 21 (i) a State or local government; or 22 (ii) school administrators, a school 23 board, or other governing body of a school; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2991 IH (B) instructs an individual on the best 1 practices for using or carrying, or storing (if 2 applicable) a firearm on school property for de- 3 fensive purposes, including— 4 (i) the protection of students from a 5 violent criminal; 6 (ii) the interaction of armed citizens 7 with first responders; 8 (iii) denying an intruder entry into a 9 classroom or school facility; or 10 (iv) increasing an individual’s accu- 11 racy with a firearm while under duress; 12 and 13 (C) instructs individuals on the use of 14 emergency medical response equipment and 15 traumatic injury kits. 16 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 17 ty’’ means any of the following: 18 (A) A local educational agency, or a con- 19 sortium of local educational agencies. 20 (B) The Bureau of Indian Education. 21 (C) A private elementary school or sec- 22 ondary school. 23 (D) An entity described in subparagraph 24 (A), (B), or (C), in partnership with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 2991 IH (i) a nonprofit organization that has 1 demonstrated experience in defensive train- 2 ing programs; 3 (ii) a business; or 4 (iii) an educational service agency. 5 (E) A nonprofit organization that has 6 demonstrated experience in defensive training 7 programs. 8 (3) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘educational 9 service agency’’, ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local edu- 10 cational agency’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, and ‘‘Sec- 11 retary’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 12 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 13 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:22 May 09, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2991.IH H2991 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB