PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 10, 2025
American Teacher Act
This bill establishes grants to increase the minimum salary of public elementary and secondary school teachers. It also authorizes a national campaign regarding the value of the teaching profession.
First, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to award four-year grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies to establish a minimum annual salary of $60,000 (to be adjusted annually for inflation) for these teachers.
Second, the bill directs ED to award grants to eligible SEAs to provide cost-of-living adjustments to the annual base salary of teachers.
Finally, the bill authorizes ED to carry out a national campaign to (1) increase awareness about the importance of teachers and the value of the teaching profession, (2) encourage secondary school and college students to consider teaching as a professional career, and (3) diversify the pool of individuals who enter the teaching profession.
People & committees
Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24] · D–FL
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 16, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.2021 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.2021 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.2021 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.2021 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-10 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill proposes federal grants to help participating states establish an inflation-adjusted annual salary minimum of at least $60,000 for eligible full-time public-school teachers, with proportional minimums for part-time teachers. It also proposes separate grants to help eligible states already meeting the $60,000 base minimum increase teacher salaries for inflation. Eligibility depends on the school, the teacher’s qualifications, and state participation.
The purpose of this section is to ensure that each teacher who is employed full-time at a qualifying school in a State earns an annual salary for any year of employment of not less than $60,000 (adjusted for inflation).
each teacher who is employed part-time at a qualifying school in a State will be compensated on a salary basis at an annual rate per school year that is not less than the salary threshold described in subsection (b), proportionately reduced in accordance with the number of hours worked by such teacher;
the Secretary of Education shall award grants to eligible State educational agencies to provide, in accordance with subsection (c), cost-of-living adjustments to the annual base salary of such State and the annual salary of each teacher who is employed full-time at a qualifying school in such State.
with an annual base salary of not less than $60,000 for teachers who are employed full-time at a qualifying school;
The term qualifying school means, with respect to any school year, a public elementary school or a public secondary school.
meets the applicable requirements for State certification or licensure, as applicable, in the State in which such school is located and in the subject area in which the individual is the teacher of record;
The bill would be called the American Teacher Act. Its findings describe teacher shortages and inadequate compensation as reasons for action; these statements express the bill’s rationale, rather than establish what its programs would achieve.
This Act may be cited as the American Teacher Act.
Congress finds the following:
teacher shortages are among the most pressing threats to education access today
To restore stability in our schools and secure equitable access to high-quality education, we must raise awareness surrounding the value of teaching as a profession and provide compensation that reflects this value.
Using funds made available for the salary-minimum program, the Secretary of Education would award four-year grants to state education agencies. Agencies would have to apply under requirements set by the Secretary, including a sustainability plan and required assurances.
From amounts made available to carry out this section, the Secretary of Education shall award 4-year grants to State educational agencies.
To be eligible to receive such a grant, the State educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including— (i) the plan required under subparagraph (C); and (ii) the assurances required under subparagraph (D).
Applicants would have to explain how they would maintain and adjust the annual base minimum salary after the four-year grant ends.
The Secretary shall require a State educational agency submitting an application under subparagraph (B) to provide a plan that demonstrates how, following the conclusion of the 4-year grant period, such agency will continue to maintain and adjust the annual base minimum salary in accordance with subsection (b).
Participating states would have to promise to enact and enforce statewide salary schedules or minimum teacher salary requirements if necessary to achieve the program’s purpose. They would also have to assure that eligible full-time teachers receive at least the required annual salary and that eligible part-time teachers receive a minimum reduced proportionally to their hours.
The Secretary shall require a State educational agency submitting an application under subparagraph (B) to provide an assurance in such application that— (i) if necessary to achieve the purpose of this section, the State will enact and enforce legislation to establish a statewide teacher salary schedule or otherwise to establish minimum teacher salary requirements;
(ii) each teacher described in paragraph (1) will be compensated on a salary basis at an annual rate per school year that is not less than the salary threshold described in subsection (b); (iii) each teacher who is employed part-time at a qualifying school in a State will be compensated on a salary basis at an annual rate per school year that is not less than the salary threshold described in subsection (b), proportionately reduced in accordance with the number of hours worked by such teacher;
A state education agency receiving a salary-minimum grant would have to pass at least 85 percent of the grant funds to local education agencies through grants supporting the same purpose.
A State educational agency awarded a grant under this section shall use not less than 85 percent of the grant funds to award subgrants to local educational agencies to carry out the purpose of this section.
States would have to prioritize local education agencies serving greater numbers or percentages of schools receiving Title I funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or agencies whose schools all have federal locale codes 41, 42, or 43. The supplied text does not explain those codes.
The State educational agency, in allocating funds to local educational agencies under this section, shall give priority to local educational agencies— (I) serving greater numbers or percentages of elementary or secondary schools receiving funds under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); or (II) with respect to which all of the schools served by the local educational agency are designated with a locale code of 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary.
The bill specifies a $60,000 base minimum for school year 2026–2027 and permits a higher minimum.
For school year 2026–2027, the base minimum salary dollar amount shall be $60,000.
The base minimum salary dollar amount may be greater than the dollar amount described in paragraphs (1) or (2).
The bill also directs annual increases in the salary minimum based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, a consumer-price inflation measure published by the Department of Labor. This adjustment clause begins in 2026–2027 and refers to the preceding school year’s calculated amount, leaving the first-year calculation unclear.
For school year 2026–2027, the base minimum salary dollar amount shall be $60,000.
For school year 2026–2027 and each succeeding school year, the dollar amount referred to in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to refer to the dollar amount calculated under this subsection for the preceding school year, increased by a percentage equal to the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Department of Labor for the most recent calendar year.
Salary-minimum grant money would have to add to, rather than replace, other federal, state, and local public funds that otherwise would support teacher base salaries.
Grant funds received under this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, and local public funds that would, in the absence of such Federal funds, be made available for teacher base salaries.
State and local education agencies could not reduce or adjust teacher pay or a state teacher loan-forgiveness program because teachers qualify for salary supplementation under section 3.
A State educational agency or local educational agency shall not reduce or adjust any teacher pay or State teacher loan forgiveness program due to the eligibility of teachers within the jurisdiction of such agency for pay supplementation under this section.
When the Secretary requests it, state and local education agencies would have to demonstrate that their methods for allocating teacher pay and applicable state loan forgiveness preserve the state and local teacher-compensation funds each eligible teacher and school would otherwise receive.
Each State educational agency and local educational agency, upon request by the Secretary, shall demonstrate that the methodology used to allocate teacher pay and State teacher loan forgiveness (if applicable) to teachers and qualifying schools ensures that each such teacher and school receives the same State and local funds for teacher compensation it would receive if this Act had not been enacted.
A separate grant program would support inflation-related salary adjustments. To qualify, a state would need a base salary of at least $60,000 for eligible full-time teachers and would have to demonstrate in its application that inflation prevents it from adjusting that base salary or those teachers’ annual salaries for the cost of living.
From amounts made available to carry out this section, the Secretary of Education shall award grants to eligible State educational agencies
To be eligible to receive such a grant, the State educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including the demonstration required under subsection (d)(2).
the term eligible State means a State— (1) with an annual base salary of not less than $60,000 for teachers who are employed full-time at a qualifying school; and (2) that demonstrates in the application submitted under subsection (b) that, due to inflation, such State is unable to adjust such base salary or the annual salaries of such teachers for cost-of-living.
Under the separate adjustment program, both the state’s annual base salary and each eligible full-time teacher’s annual salary would increase by the most recent calendar year’s annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.
the annual salary of each teacher who is employed full-time at a qualifying school in such State.
The annual base salary of the State and the annual salary of each teacher described in subsection (a) shall be increased by a percentage equal to the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Department of Labor for the most recent calendar year.
The Secretary could reserve up to 4 percent of funds appropriated under section 8 for a national campaign promoting the importance of teachers, encouraging secondary-school and college students to consider teaching, and diversifying the people entering the profession.
The Secretary may reserve not more than 4 percent of the funds appropriated under section 8 to carry out a national campaign— (1) to increase awareness about the importance of teachers and the value of the teaching profession; (2) to encourage secondary school and college students to consider teaching as a professional career; and (3) to diversify the pool of individuals who enter the teaching profession.
The bill would preserve school and local education agency employees’ existing rights, remedies, and procedures under law and employment agreements. This includes applicable requirements to negotiate or consult in good faith and protections under collective bargaining agreements.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or otherwise affect the rights, remedies, and procedures afforded to school or local educational agency employees under Federal, State, or local laws (including applicable regulations, court orders, or requirements that local educational agencies negotiate or meet and confer in good faith) or under the terms of collective bargaining agreements, memoranda of understanding, or other agreements between such employers and their employees.
Qualifying schools would be public elementary and secondary schools. Several other terms, including “State” and the state and local education agencies administering the grants, would use definitions from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that are not reproduced in the bundle.
The terms elementary school, local educational agency, secondary school, Secretary, State, and State educational agency have the meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
The term qualifying school means, with respect to any school year, a public elementary school or a public secondary school.
Eligible teachers would have to provide direct classroom teaching, or comparable teaching outside a classroom, for the state-required full-time or part-time hours over a complete school year. They would also need applicable state and subject-area credentials and the skills needed for effective teaching, including the ability to improve student learning.
The term teacher means an individual who— (A) is a teacher of record who provides direct classroom teaching (or classroom-type teaching in a nonclassroom setting) in a qualifying school for not less than the normal or statutory number of hours of work for a full-time or part-time teacher over a complete school year (as determined by the State in which the school is located); (B) meets the applicable requirements for State certification or licensure, as applicable, in the State in which such school is located and in the subject area in which the individual is the teacher of record; and (C) possesses skills and knowledge needed for effective classroom practice, including with respect to demonstrating the ability to improve student learning.
Eligibility would also require being a “teacher of record”: a teacher officially assigned responsibility for specified students’ learning. Such teachers would need developed teaching and classroom-management skills and demonstrated ability to teach students with different cultural backgrounds and learning styles and to assess and support their learning.
The term teacher of record means a teacher who has— (A) been assigned the responsibility for specified pupils’ learning in a grade, subject, or course as reflected on the school’s official record of attendance; (B) learned and developed extensive teaching and basic classroom management skills; and (C) demonstrated the ability to plan and deliver instruction to students from different cultural backgrounds and with different learning styles and to assess and support student learning.
The term teacher means an individual who— (A) is a teacher of record
The bill would authorize Congress to provide whatever funding is necessary for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. It does not itself appropriate a dollar amount; actual funding would require appropriations.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated October 16, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Education and Workforce on March 10, 2025. That snapshot does not establish any later legislative action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-16T08:05:30Z. 2025-03-10: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. 2025-03-10: Introduced in House 2025-03-10: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-10. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No provision unrelated to the bill’s main subject was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish formal earmark status or absence in accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow special exemption, carve-out, or preferential benefit warranting a separate finding was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; ordinary program eligibility and allocation priorities are not by themselves targeted-benefit findings.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 16, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI