Legislation Search

H.R. 2021: American Teacher Act

This bill, known as the American Teacher Act, aims to provide funding to states to enhance teacher salaries and address the growing teacher shortage in the United States. It recognizes the critical role teachers play in education and the challenges they face, particularly low wages compared to other professions that require similar education levels. Here is a breakdown of its key components:

Findings

The bill identifies several key issues in the education system:

Teachers are essential to students' success, serving various roles beyond education.
There is a significant shortage of teachers, leading to disrupted learning environments and low morale.
The compensation for teachers, which has seen a wage penalty compared to other college-educated professions, exacerbates recruitment and retention problems.
Many teachers supplement their income through additional jobs, making it difficult to sustain their careers, especially in under-resourced schools.
Efforts have been made at various governmental levels to address teacher salary issues.

Grants for Teacher Salary Increases

The bill proposes grant funding to state educational agencies to ensure all full-time teachers earn a minimum salary of $60,000 per year, adjusted for inflation. This includes:

Grant Purpose: To provide a base salary of $60,000 for full-time teachers at qualifying schools.
Grant Application: States must submit applications demonstrating their plans to meet these salary thresholds.
Sustainability Plan: States need to outline how they will maintain these salary levels after the grant period.
Subgrants: State agencies must allocate at least 85% of the grant funds to local educational agencies, prioritizing those serving high-needs schools.

Salary Threshold Adjustments

The minimum salary will be established for the school year 2026-2027 and will be adjusted annually based on inflation, using the Consumer Price Index as a measure.

Supplementary Funds

Funds from this bill are meant to supplement existing federal and state funding for teacher salaries, not replace them. States are required to ensure that funding received does not lead to reductions in other teacher compensation or support programs.

Cost-of-Living Adjustments

State educational agencies can receive grants to provide cost-of-living adjustments to teacher salaries, ensuring their compensation keeps pace with inflation as defined by the annual Consumer Price Index increase.

Awareness Campaign

A portion of the funding may be reserved for a national campaign aimed at:

Raising awareness about the importance of teachers.
Encouraging students to pursue teaching careers.
Diversifying the teaching workforce.

Compliance and Rights

The bill clarifies that it does not alter existing employee rights under federal, state, or local laws or agreements.

Funding Authorization

The legislation authorizes necessary appropriations for the implementation of these measures for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

Relevant Companies

EDUC - Educational Development Corporation may experience impacts due to changes in educational funding and resource allocations stemming from teacher compensation improvements.
TXRH - Texas Roadhouse, as a community-focused business, may see indirect benefits from higher teacher compensation leading to increased local spending.

This is an AI-generated summary of the bill text. There may be mistakes.

Actions

2 actions

Date	Action
Mar. 10, 2025	Introduced in House
Mar. 10, 2025	Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Corporate Lobbying

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Potentially Relevant Congressional Stock Trades

Estimated excess return of the underlying stock since the transaction

Politician	Stock	Transaction	Filed	Traded
Josh Gottheimer D / House	TXRH TEXAS ROADHOUSE, INC. - COMMON STOCK	Sale $1,001 - $15,000	Jan 14, 2025	Dec 06, 2024	-9.59%
Josh Gottheimer D / House	TXRH TEXAS ROADHOUSE, INC. - COMMON STOCK	Sale $1,001 - $15,000	Jul 09, 2024	Jun 21, 2024	-6.95%
Josh Gottheimer D / House	TXRH TEXAS ROADHOUSE, INC. - COMMON STOCK	Sale $1,001 - $15,000	Jun 08, 2024	May 06, 2024	-11.79%