Sec. 212. State commissions to advance the teaching profession
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Subpart 5 of part B of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq. ), as added by section 211, is amended by adding at the end the following: The purpose of this section is to support States in developing recommendations about policy and the use of resources described in subsection (b)(4) to modernize and advance the teaching profession, in order to— ensure that all students in the United States have access to experienced and qualified teachers who will help those students succeed at the same rates as students in the world’s highest-performing education systems; address structural and organizational deficiencies in the teaching profession, in order to— raise the standards, status, and salaries of the teaching profession; and attract and retain promising and talented young people to teaching; and identify and reform policies and practices at the State, local educational agency, and school-level to promote excellent teaching for all students, particularly subgroups of students.
From the amounts appropriated under subsection (g), after making the reservations described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to States (such as a State educational agency, a Governor, an entity designated by the Governor, or a consortium of State agencies) that have submitted applications described in subsection
(d)to develop and operate State commissions to develop recommendations about policy and the use of resources described in subsection (b)(4) to modernize and advance the teaching profession, in accordance with this section. From the total amount appropriated under subsection
(g)for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve— 1 percent to inform students, parents, teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, education system leaders, policymakers, and researchers about the recommendations made by States supported under this section and related findings to modernize and advance the teaching profession; 2 percent for technical assistance and program administration; and 3 percent to provide grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to regional educational laboratories (established under section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 ( 20 U.S.C. 9564 )) or qualified nonprofit organizations with demonstrated experience in research and practice related to teaching and learning to assist States that receive grants under this section in— conducting applied research and data analysis; summarizing and reporting on policies and practices from the world’s highest-performing school systems; and implementing recommendations to modernize and advance the teaching profession, improve instruction, and improve students’ access to experienced and qualified teachers. A State receiving a grant under paragraph
(1)shall use not less than 75 percent of the grant funds to develop and operate a State commission that meets the requirements of this paragraph (referred to in this section as the State Commission ). A State receiving a grant under paragraph
(1)may reserve not more than 25 percent of the total grant amount received by the State for technical assistance, administrative purposes, and public information efforts related to the activities and recommendations of the State Commission. A State that receives a grant to operate a State Commission under this section shall ensure that— not less than half of the members of the State Commission are current or former teachers, and that, collectively, such members— have diverse life experiences and backgrounds; serve students from urban, suburban, and rural communities across the State; and include teachers at different stages in their careers, including novice, mid-career, veteran, and retired teachers; and the State Commission includes not less than 1 representative from each of the following categories, to the greatest extent practicable: The Governor or a designated representative. The State educational agency and the State teacher licensing or credentialing agency. State legislators. Current teachers. Principals and other school leaders, including superintendents. State and local school board members. Labor organizations that represent teachers, paraprofessionals, and school support staff. Civil rights organizations. Institutions of higher education, including deans of education schools or programs operated by such institutions. State boards, local boards, or other representatives of in-demand industry sectors or occupations in the State (as those terms are defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3102 )). The State labor agency. Parents of students enrolled in public schools in the State, including parent teacher associations, if applicable. Representatives with expertise in school finance. In developing recommendations about policy and the use of resources to modernize and advance the teaching profession, a State Commission shall analyze the use and distribution of Federal, State, and local resources, including in-kind resources, donations, and grant opportunities, such as from philanthropic organizations, and findings from resource inequity reviews described in section 1111(d). In order to receive a grant under this section, a State shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and including such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. Such application shall include each of the following: The State’s plan to develop and implement the State Commission, which may be updated by the State as necessary. A description of the State’s efforts to regularly engage students, parents, teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, education system leaders, policymakers, and researchers in activities of the State Commission. An assurance that the State will develop a final report that meets the reporting requirements in subsection (e). A State Commission supported under this section shall— review findings and research from high-performing and rapidly improving international educational systems regarding policies to recruit, retain, develop, and promote experienced and qualified teachers that may be adaptable to the State’s educational context and challenges, such as— incentivizing talented and motivated students to pursue teaching careers; supporting effective pre-baccalaureate teacher preparation programs, as described in section 202(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, including paid clinical experiences or practicums under the supervision of expert mentor teachers to ensure that novice teachers have mastered the curricula and subject they plan to teach; advancing the teaching profession through career ladders that provide skilled teachers with additional responsibilities, adjusted roles, and increased compensation; and developing the conditions for teachers, principals, and school leaders to collaborate, utilize research methods, and utilize differentiated teaching roles to continuously improve and adapt instruction to improve students’ educational opportunities and academic outcomes, which may include examining how States and local educational agencies organize schools and the school day to foster opportunities for greater collaboration and improved student belonging; develop policy and resource use recommendations to modernize and advance the teaching profession, in order to— ensure all students in the State are taught by experienced and qualified teachers to improve student outcomes, including academic achievement and access to high-quality educational opportunities; address structural and organizational deficiencies in the teaching profession, informed by activities described in subparagraph (A); and identify and reform policies and practices at the State, local educational agency, and school-level to promote excellent teaching for all students, particularly subgroups of students; examine students’ access to in-field, experienced, and qualified teachers in the State, including any discrepancies in such access for all students in the State and for students in the State disaggregated by— each subgroup of students; and students enrolled in urban, suburban, and rural schools served by local educational agencies; examine short and long-term trends in the State’s teaching workforce, such as— the number of positions filled by teachers who are not fully certified or licensed for the subject or subjects they are teaching; the number of teaching positions left vacant; teacher retention and turnover; teacher perceptions of learning conditions, such as teacher burnout and high stress rates; the availability of teacher wellness supports; interest among students in pursuing teaching careers and the number of teacher candidates in the State; and occupational prestige and on-the-job satisfaction; examine whether teachers, paraprofessionals, and education support staff are paid a livable and competitive salary or wage that is at least commensurate with annual salaries for similarly-educated and experienced professionals in the region in which the local educational agencies they are employed by are located; conduct educator workplace surveys or studies to receive input from teachers, paraprofessionals, and education support staff in the activities of the Commission; and regularly engage and inform the public about such Commission’s activities and findings. A State commission supported under this section may— examine the quality, affordability, and rigor of the State’s teacher certification or licensure pathways, such as— the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs that serve the State, including alignment with the State’s standards and evidence-based instructional practices and development of teacher subject expertise; and the percentage of teachers whose preparation includes paid clinical experiences or practicums; examine the career trajectory and experiences of— novice teachers, including— the number of local educational agencies that operate formal induction and mentoring structures that provide novice teachers additional support from experienced and qualified veteran teachers in the same subject or area; the prevalence of novice teachers that do not fully meet applicable State certification and licensure requirements in the area such teachers are assigned to teach, including examining whether subgroups of students are disproportionately taught by such teachers; and retention rates, such as identifying promising schools or local educational agencies with high retention rates; mid-career teachers, including— whether teachers have had opportunities for professional advancement, such as— additional responsibilities, adjusted roles, and increased compensation; incentives for teachers to continuously improve their practice and skills; and structured professional learning activities; whether the school day provides teachers with structured time to collaborate, conduct research and measure innovative teaching practices, and tutor students to improve students’ educational opportunities and academic outcomes; teacher retention and mobility rates across schools and local educational agencies; and professional satisfaction and participation in teacher feedback or appraisal systems to improve teaching performance for all staff; and veteran teachers, including— whether teachers have the opportunity to mentor staff, support school decisionmaking, and direct professional learning to improve teaching and learning; identification of practices that retain and reward experienced and qualified teachers; and interviews or research on effective teacher retention strategies and why such teachers have remained in their classrooms or profession; examine whether State and local policies promote aligned and evidence-based decisionmaking, including whether teachers receive the subject-specific professional learning, collaboration time, appraisal and feedback opportunities, and high-quality instructional materials necessary for their students to succeed; and develop and identify innovative practices to improve teacher retention, satisfaction, and instructional quality. Not later than 5 years after receiving a grant under this section, a State Commission supported under this section shall— publish a report to the public detailing the activities of such Commission and the recommendations about policy and the use of resources described in subsection (b)(4) within the State to modernize and advance the teaching profession; submit such report to the Governor, the State educational agency, the State legislature, including to the greatest extent practicable, the State legislature committee with jurisdiction over education matters, and relevant public agencies or associations within the State; and submit such report to the Secretary. Federal funds provided under this section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, or local funds available to carry out the activities described in this section. There are authorized to be appropriated and there are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. .
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