[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5767 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5767
To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to establish
teacher leader development programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 10, 2018
Mr. Polis (for himself and Mr. Messer) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to establish
teacher leader development programs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Teachers Are Leaders Act''.
SEC. 2. TEACHER LEADER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 200--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (21), (22), and
(23), as paragraphs (22), (23), and (24), respectively;
and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (20) the
following:
``(21) Teacher leader.--The term `teacher leader' means a
teacher who carries out formalized leadership responsibilities
based on demonstrated school needs, while maintaining a role as
a classroom instructor.''; and
(2) in section 202--
(A) in subsection (b)(6)(C), by striking
``subsection (f) or (g)'' and inserting ``subsection
(g) or (h)'';
(B) in subsection (c)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``a
teacher leader development program under
subsection (f),'' after ``subsection (e),'';
and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking
``subsection (f)'' and inserting ``subsection
(g)'';
(C) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), (h),
(i), (j), and (k), as subsections (g), (h), (i), (j),
(k), and (l), respectively; and
(D) by inserting after subsection (e) the
following:
``(f) Teacher Leader Development Program.--
``(1) In general.--A teacher leader development program
carried out with a grant awarded under this section shall
involve the professional development of teachers, as described
in paragraph (2), who maintain their roles as classroom
teachers but who also carry out formalized leadership
responsibilities to increase the academic achievement of
students and promote data-driven instructional practices that
address the demonstrated needs at their schools, such as--
``(A) development of curriculum and curricular
resources;
``(B) facilitating the work of committees and
teams;
``(C) family and community engagement;
``(D) school discipline and culture;
``(E) peer observations and coaching; or
``(F) dual enrollment instruction.
``(2) Professional development.--The professional
development of teachers in a teacher leader development program
carried out with a grant awarded under this section shall
include--
``(A) one year of professional development,
training, and support that may--
``(i) include--
``(I) the engagement of teachers in
rigorous coursework and fieldwork
relevant to their role as a teacher
leader, including available teacher
leader standards; and
``(II) regular observations and
professional support from--
``(aa) a principal, vice
principal, or a designated
instructional leader of the
school;
``(bb) a representative
from the institution of higher
education that is a partner in
the eligible entity;
``(cc) a representative
from another entity that is a
partner in the eligible entity;
and
``(dd) another member of
the teacher leader cohort, if
applicable, or a peer teacher;
and
``(ii) result in the awarding of a
credential in teacher leadership; and
``(B) one or 2 additional years of support from a
principal, vice principal, or a designated
instructional leader of the school, a representative
from the institution of higher education that is a
partner in the eligible entity, and a representative
from another entity that is a partner in the eligible
entity.
``(3) Teacher leader development program plan.--In carrying
out a teacher leader development program under this section, an
eligible entity shall develop a plan that shall describe--
``(A) how the work hours of teacher leaders will be
allocated between their classroom responsibilities and
responsibilities as a teacher leader, which may include
a description of whether the teacher leader will be
relieved from teaching duties during their
participation in the teacher leader development
program;
``(B) how the partnership will support teacher
leaders after the first year of professional
development in the program; and
``(C) how teacher leader activities could be
sustained by the eligible partnership after the program
concludes, which may include a description of
opportunities for the teacher leaders to assist in the
educator preparation program at the institution of
higher education in the partnership.
``(4) Selection of teacher leaders; use of funds.--In
carrying out a teacher leader development program under this
section, an eligible entity--
``(A) shall select a teacher for participation in
the program--
``(i) who--
``(I) is fully certified to teach
in the State in which the high-need
local educational agency that is a
partner in the eligible entity is
located;
``(II) is employed by a high-need
local educational agency that is a
partner in the eligible entity;
``(III) has not less than 3 years
of teaching experience; and
``(IV) submits an application for
participation to the eligible entity;
and
``(ii) based on selection criteria that
includes--
``(I) demonstration of strong
content knowledge or a record of
accomplishment in the field or subject
area the teacher will support as a
teacher leader; and
``(II) demonstration of attributes
linked to effective teaching that is
determined through interviews,
observations, artifacts, student
achievement, or performance
assessments, such as those leading to
an advanced credential;
``(B) may develop admissions goals and priorities
for the teacher leader development program that--
``(i) are aligned with the demonstrated
needs of the school or high-need local
educational agency in which the teacher is
employed;
``(ii) considers cultural competencies that
would make the applicant effective in the
applicant's teacher leader role; and
``(iii) considers whether the teacher has
substantial teaching experience in the school
in which the teacher is employed or in a school
that is similar to the school in which the
teacher is employed;
``(C) shall use the grant funds to pay for costs of
training and supporting teacher leaders for not less
than 2 years and not more than 3 years;
``(D) may use the grant funds to pay for a portion
of a stipend for teacher leaders if such grant funds
are matched by additional non-Federal public or private
funds as follows:
``(i) During each of the first and second
years of the grant period, grant funds may pay
not more than 50 percent of such stipend.
``(ii) During the third year of the grant
period, grant funds may pay not more than 33
percent of such stipend; and
``(E) may require teacher leaders to pay back the
cost of attaining a credential if they do not complete
their term of service in the teacher leader development
program.''.
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