Teacher Health and Wellness Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3727 To require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to carry out a study to add to the scientific knowledge on reducing teacher stress and increasing teacher retention and well-being, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2023 Ms. PORTER (for herself, Mr. COURTNEY, and Mr. SOTO) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 committee concerned A BILL To require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to carry out a study to add to the scientific knowledge on reducing teacher stress and increasing teacher reten- tion and well-being, 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 ‘‘Teacher Health and 4 Wellness Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3727.IH H3727 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3727 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) High levels of stress are adversely affecting 3 teachers’ health. 4 (2) Stress is contributing to the high turnover 5 rate among teachers, which causes instability for 6 students and communities. This leads to higher costs 7 for school districts to train new teachers and hinders 8 students’ academic success. 9 (3) School organization, low job autonomy, and 10 a lack of ability to access teacher leadership oppor- 11 tunities are main sources of teacher stress. If teach- 12 ers are not provided with opportunities and tools to 13 manage their stress levels, student well-being can 14 also suffer. 15 SEC. 3. STUDY ON REDUCING TEACHER STRESS AND IN- 16 CREASING TEACHER RETENTION AND WELL- 17 BEING. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In- 19 stitutes of Health shall carry out a five-year study on re- 20 ducing teacher stress and increasing teacher retention and 21 well-being by implementing and analyzing the results of 22 any of the following programs: 23 (1) Workplace wellness programs that are de- 24 signed to improve teacher health, attendance, and 25 engagement. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3727.IH H3727 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3727 IH (2) Social emotional learning programs that 1 help teachers improve student engagement in the 2 classroom. 3 (3) Teacher stress management programs that 4 improve teacher performance. 5 (4) Mentoring and induction programs during 6 the school year and teacher pre-service programs 7 that improve teacher well-being. 8 (5) Organizational interventions, such as prin- 9 cipal training programs, that reduce stress through 10 supervisor/peer support and increased opportunities 11 for teachers to participate in professional learning 12 communities, teacher leadership positions, and deci- 13 sion making regarding school interventions and man- 14 agement. 15 (6) Teacher residency programs that provide 16 mental health and psychological support. 17 (7) Complementary health approaches, such as 18 mindfulness meditation, that improve teacher per- 19 formance. 20 (8) School reorganization that creates the con- 21 ditions to facilitate the transmission and sharing of 22 knowledge among teachers. 23 (9) Other innovative evidence-based approaches 24 that reduce stress and increase well-being in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3727.IH H3727 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3727 IH teaching profession, which may include increased 1 compensation. 2 (b) REPORT.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 4 after the end of the study carried out under sub- 5 section (a), the Director shall submit to the Com- 6 mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 7 Representatives and the Committee on Health, Edu- 8 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report 9 including— 10 (A) the results of the study carried out 11 under subsection (a); and 12 (B) recommendations for— 13 (i) decreasing teacher stress and in- 14 creasing teacher retention and well-being; 15 and 16 (ii) lowering stress-related health care 17 costs for teachers. 18 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The Director shall make 19 publicly available the report submitted under para- 20 graph (1). 21 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 22 (1) COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH APPROACH.— 23 The term ‘‘complementary health approach’’ includes 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3727.IH H3727 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3727 IH integrative health care, adjunctive health care, and 1 functional medicine. 2 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 3 the Director of the National Institutes of Health. 4 (3) TEACHER.—The term ‘‘teacher’’ means a 5 teacher teaching in any of kindergarten through 6 grade 12. 7 (d) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No ad- 8 ditional funds are authorized to carry out the require- 9 ments of this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out 10 using amounts otherwise authorized. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:44 Jun 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3727.IH H3727 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB