The publication is reproduced in full below:
CONSIDER TEACHERS ACT OF 2021
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 848) to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve the service obligation verification process for TEACH Grant recipients, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 848
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 ``Consider Teachers Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. TEACH GRANTS.
Section 420N of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g-2) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``(referred to in this section as the `service obligation window')'' after
``under this subpart'';
(B) in subparagraph (C)(vii), by inserting ``or geographic area'' after ``field''; and
(C) by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E) and inserting the following:
``(D) submit a certification of employment by the chief administrative officer of the school in accordance with subsection (d)(5); and
``(E) meet all State certification requirements for teaching (which may include meeting such requirements through a certification obtained through alternative routes to teaching);'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``In the event'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--In the event''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Reconsideration of conversion decisions.--
``(A) Request to reconsider.--In any case where the Secretary has determined that a recipient of a grant under this subpart has failed or refused to comply with the service obligation in the agreement under subsection (b) and has converted the grant into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D in accordance with paragraph (1),
(including a TEACH Grant converted to a loan prior to the date of enactment of the Consider Teachers Act of 2021 and including cases where such loans have been fully or partially paid), the recipient may request that the Secretary reconsider such initial determination and may submit additional information to demonstrate satisfaction of the service obligation. Upon receipt of such a request, the Secretary shall reconsider the determination in accordance with this paragraph not later than 90 days after the date that such request was received.
``(B) Reconsideration.--If, in reconsidering an initial determination under subparagraph (A) (including reconsideration related to a TEACH Grant that was converted to a loan prior to the date of enactment of the Consider Teachers Act of 2021 and including cases where such loans were fully or partially paid), the Secretary determines that the reason for such determination was the recipient's failure to timely submit a certification required under subsection
(b)(1)(D) (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Consider Teachers Act of 2021), an error or processing delay by the Secretary, a change to the fields considered eligible for fulfillment of the service obligation
(as described in subsection (b)(1)(C)), a recipient having previously requested to have the TEACH Grant converted to a loan, or another valid reason determined by the Secretary, and that the recipient has, as of the date of the reconsideration, demonstrated that the recipient did meet, or is meeting the service obligation in the agreement under subsection (b), the Secretary shall--
``(i) discharge the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D, and reinstate the recipient's grant under this subpart;
``(ii) discharge any interest or fees that may have accumulated during the period that the grant was converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D;
``(iii) if the recipient has other loans under part D, apply any payments made for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D during such period to those other loans under part D;
``(iv) if the recipient does not have other loans under part D, reimburse the recipient for any amounts paid on the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D during such period;
``(v) request that consumer reporting agencies remove any negative credit reporting due to the conversion of the TEACH Grant to a loan; and
``(vi) use the additional information provided under subparagraph (A) to determine the progress the recipient has made in meeting the service obligation.
``(C) Extension of time to complete service obligation.--In the case of a recipient whose TEACH Grant was reinstated in accordance with subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall, upon such reinstatement--
``(i) extend the time remaining for the recipient to fulfill the service obligation described in subsection (b)(1) to a period of time equal to--
``(I) 8 years; minus
``(II) the number of full academic years of teaching that the recipient completed prior to the reconversion of the loan to a TEACH Grant under subparagraph (B), including any years of qualifying teaching completed during the period when the TEACH Grant was in loan status; and
``(ii) treat any full academic years of teaching described in clause (i)(II) as years that count toward the individual's service obligation (regardless of whether the TEACH Grant funds were in grant or loan status) if that time otherwise meets the requirements of this section.''; and
(3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Communication with recipients.--The Secretary shall notify TEACH grant recipients not less than once per calendar year regarding how to submit the employment certification under subsection (b)(1)(D) and the recommendations and requirements for submitting that certification under subsection (d)(5).
``(4) Qualifying schools and high-need fields.--The Secretary shall maintain and annually update a list of qualifying schools as described in subsection (b)(1)(B), and a list of high-need fields as described in subsection
(b)(1)(C) and shall make such lists publicly available on the Department's website in a sortable and searchable format.''.
SEC. 3. SUBMISSION OF EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATION.
Section 420N(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g-2(d)), as amended by section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Submission of employment certification.--
``(A) Recommended submissions.--The Secretary shall notify TEACH Grant recipients that the Department recommends that TEACH Grant recipients submit the employment certification described in subsection (b)(1)(D) as soon as practicable after the completion of each year of service.
``(B) Required submission.--A TEACH Grant recipient shall be required to submit to the Department employment certification within the timeframe that would allow that individual to complete their service obligation before the end of the service obligation window.
``(C) Notification.--The Secretary shall notify TEACH Grant recipients of the required submission deadlines described in this paragraph.
``(D) Adjustment of deadline.--The Secretary shall adjust the submission deadline described in subparagraph (B) to account for a service obligation window extension.
``(E) Alternative to certification.--The Secretary shall provide an alternative to the certification of employment described in subsection (b)(1)(D) for recipients who cannot obtain such required certification of employment from the chief administrative officer of the school because the recipient can demonstrate the school is no longer in existence or the school refuses to cooperate.''.
SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF TIME TO FULFILL SERVICE OBLIGATION DUE
TO COVID-19.
(a) Section 3519(a) of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136; 20 U.S.C. 1001 note) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``For the purpose of section 420N of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g-2), during a qualifying emergency,'' and inserting ``Notwithstanding any provision of subpart 9 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.),'';
(2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' after the semicolon;
(3) in paragraph (2), by striking ``such section 420N.'' and inserting ``section 420N of such Act; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) shall extend the service obligation window (as described in section 420N(b)(1)(A) of such Act) for a period of not more than 3 years, in addition to any extensions provided in accordance with subpart 9 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.), in the case of a grant recipient whose service obligation window begins during, or includes--
``(A) the qualifying emergency period; or
``(B) a period of recession or economic downturn related to the qualifying emergency period, as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of Labor.''.
(b) Section 3519 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136; 20 U.S.C. 1001 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Federal Perkins Loans.--Notwithstanding section 465 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ee), the Secretary shall waive the requirements of such section in regard to full-time service and shall consider an incomplete year of service of a borrower as fulfilling the requirement for a complete year of service under such section, if the service was interrupted due to a qualifying emergency.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136).
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION.
In carrying out this Act and any amendments made by this Act, or any regulations promulgated under this Act or under such amendments, the Secretary of Education may waive the application of--
(1) subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'');
(2) the master calendar requirements under section 482 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1089);
(3) negotiated rulemaking under section 492 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098a); and
(4) the requirement to publish the notices related to the system of records of the agency before implementation required under paragraphs (4) and (11) of section 552a(e) of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Privacy Act of 1974''), except that the notices shall be published not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
General Leave
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 848, the Consider Teachers Act of 2021.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 848, the Consider Teachers Act, introduced by Senators Braun and Sinema in the Senate, and led by Delegate Holmes Norton and Representative Spartz in the House.
High quality teachers are the backbone of our Nation's education system. Yet, since even before the COVID-19 pandemic, communities across the country, particularly low-income communities, have faced a growing shortage of educators.
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To address this shortage, the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education grant program, or the TEACH grant program, offers upfront grant aid to incentivize individuals to pursue teaching and serve in low-income communities.
Since 2007 these grants have helped people across the country become high-quality teachers in the communities where they are needed most. However, administrative issues with the program have inadvertently converted thousands of these grants into loans which must be paid back with interest. According to an investigative report in 2016, upwards of 63 percent of TEACH grants had been converted to loans, leaving badly needed teachers with burdensome debt.
The bipartisan bill we are considering today addresses these issues in two key ways: First, it implements a reconsideration process to ensure TEACH grant recipients do not see their grants converted into loans by mistake; and, second, the bill creates flexibility so that teachers can still fulfill the grant's requirements in light of school closures and disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Simply put, the Consider Teachers Act is a bipartisan legislative fix which will ensure TEACH grants can continue to strengthen and expand our Nation's teacher workforce.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. SPARTZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Consider Teachers Act. When created, the TEACH grant program was to support students interested in becoming teachers. Unfortunately, the grant program has run into administrative challenges brought on by clerical and paperwork issues. Because of these issues, approximately two-thirds of all TEACH grants are converting into Federal student loans.
To address these inadvertent errors, the Consider Teachers Act reforms the program to ensure that teachers are not indebted due to simple mistakes. First, the legislation gives grant recipients the ability to reverse a conversion and eases the timeline for when the grant recipients must certify their employment with the Department of Education.
Second, the bill also extends the time grant recipients have to fulfill their service obligation in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic. The pandemic upended all of our lives, and teachers who lost their job shouldn't be unfairly punished for circumstances outside of their control.
Mr. Speaker, with the TEACH grant program, the Federal Government made a commitment to future teachers, and the Consider Teachers Act fulfills the original promise of the program. I urge all Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 848, the Consider Teachers Act of 2021. I introduced the companion bill with Congresswoman Victoria Spartz. I would like to thank Senators Mike Braun and Kyrsten Sinema also for their leadership on this bill, and my good friend, Chairman Bobby Scott, for bringing this bill to the floor today.
This bill would improve the service obligation verification process for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant Program, or TEACH grant program, as it is called. The TEACH grant program was created to attract the best and brightest to the teaching profession in underserved communities. The TEACH grant program provides up to $4,000 a year in grants to students who agree to serve for at least 4 years as full-time teachers in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income families. The obligation to teach 4 years must be completed within an 8-year period. Those who do not fulfill their service requirement have their grants converted into Federal direct unsubsidized Stafford loans which must be paid back with interest. These loans cannot revert to grants.
According to the Office of Management and Budget, 66 percent of the grants are converted into loans. Though 21,000 grant recipients have completed the program without conversion, 94,000 recipients have had their grants converted to loans. Those conversions are often triggered by small paperwork issues, such as submitting the annual form 1 day late or missing a date or signature.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Education released a reconsideration process for recipients who had their grants converted into loans but had either fulfilled, or could still fulfill, their service obligations. The department also turned back the clock to allow teachers who had left the TEACH grant program once their grants were converted to loans to give them more time to complete their service obligations. These changes allowed the department to lift the debt of 2,300 recipients.
I am pleased that the department made additional improvements to the program on July 1, 2021, including opening the reconsideration process to all TEACH grant program recipients. This bill would codify some of these changes, creating a safeguard from changes in department leadership.
This bill would also outline yearly deadlines and notification requirements to rectify some of the TEACH grant program's previous administrative mishaps. Furthermore, with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, many recipients have had trouble finding qualifying work. This bill would create a grace period for those individuals by extending the service obligation fulfillment period by 3 years for anyone who was fulfilling their obligations when the coronavirus pandemic began.
This past year has given us all a hard lesson in the invaluable service that teachers and educators provide to our society. As many young students have turned to homeschooling and remote learning, we have all come to appreciate the hard work and incredible talent of our teachers who foster the mental, physical, and emotional growth of our children every day. This bill ensures that that pipeline of talent for the teaching profession remains strong and that we do not unduly burden TEACH grant program recipients who have dedicated themselves to serving our most vulnerable communities.
I understand what that means because my own mother, Vela Holmes, was a teacher in the D.C. Public Schools.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.
Mrs. SPARTZ. In closing, Mr. Speaker, the TEACH grant program fails too many of our teachers, and it needs to be fixed. It is important that our Federal Government honors its promises. The Consider Teachers Act creates flexibility and streamlines processes.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote in favor of this bill. Strong teachers are essential for high-quality learning.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate again my thanks to Representative Spartz and Delegate Norton for working across the aisle on this bipartisan priority in the House.
As my colleagues have reiterated, the TEACH grant program is supposed to help prepare high quality and diverse educators for our Nation's underserved students. Today it is critical that the TEACH grant program actually works as intended as we recover from a global health emergency that cost education jobs, exacerbated achievement gaps, and worsened the teacher shortage in many States and districts. That is why we must ensure that Federal initiatives to strengthen the teacher workforce make it easier, not harder, for individuals to enter the teaching profession.
The Consider Teaching Act would help achieve this goal by ensuring that TEACH grants do not have the unintended effect of leaving educators with burdensome loans. This simple yet urgent step will allow prospective teachers across the country to continue accessing the resources they need to pursue careers in teaching.
Importantly, this bill is an opportunity to demonstrate that regardless of party affiliation, each of us in Congress shares a commitment to improving the quality of education by investing in well-
prepared teachers.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues, again, to support the bill and vote for the Consider Teachers Act.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 848.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion are postponed.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 130
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