Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Mr. President. As career opportunities and the requisite skills for success adapt to the demands of the 21st century, so too must the instruction and preparation students receive. Educators are tasked with designing educational experiences that rise to the rigorous State academic standards and reflect the needs and interests of our Nation's diverse student population. We have become accustomed to welcoming the start of the school year with news headlines describing overfilled classrooms and districts struggling to fill teacher vacancies. Though the challenge of teacher and principal shortages is felt broadly across the country, with a particularly acute impact on our rural communities, it is an issue we can remedy.

The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act is an opportunity to strengthen the preparation and leaders and to further support State efforts to successfully implement the Every Student Succeeds Act. It is also an opportunity to address the fact that schools in high-need communities are often staffed by a revolving door of underprepared and inexperienced teachers who are unable to meet students' needs. This in part due to State teacher shortages.

This is why I am pleased to introduce today with my colleague Senator Collins, the Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals Act, or PREP Act. As schools across our Nation continue to face growing class sizes, many are struggling with a shortage of qualified teachers. Rural communities in particular are experiencing a dearth of teachers equipped to meet their growing needs. The PREP Act aims to create high- quality teacher residency programs to develop a diverse workforce that is well-prepared to provide the educational opportunities students need to be successful in the 21st century.

More specifically, this legislation would expand the definition of "high need'' districts under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to include those experiencing teacher shortages in rural communities and in areas such as special education, English language, science, technology, engineering, math, and CTE, to allow for access to additional support and improvement. It would also encourage school districts to establish partnerships with local community colleges and universities to ensure their education programs are developing future teachers in content areas where there is currently a shortage of educators. It would increase access to teacher and school leader residency programs and preparation training while requiring States to identify areas of teacher or leader shortages by subject across public schools and use that data to target their efforts. Additionally, the PREP Act bolsters support for teacher preparation programs at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) or Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to invest in a diverse and well-prepared educator workforce.

Improving our Nation's educational system is contingent on our ability to prepare, support, and retain quality educators. Research shows that better prepared teachers stay longer in the profession and are more likely to remain in their roles and positively impact young people and their communities. As we look to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle see the PREP Act as a commonsense opportunity to help ensure that students in every zip code across the country have the well-prepared teachers and school leaders they deserve.

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