PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 9, 2023
Pay Teachers Act
This bill provides funding to support education programs and addresses teacher shortages, including by establishing a minimum salary for public elementary and secondary school teachers.
Specifically, the bill requires states to establish a minimum annual salary of at least $60,000 for full-time teachers that increases with experience. It establishes a pathway for eligible states to extend their time line to comply with these requirements.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill provides specified funds to the Department of Education (ED) for FY2024 and each succeeding year (indexed for inflation) for
federal aid to local educational agencies for the education of disadvantaged children,
programs to support rural education,
the Impact Aid program,
technical assistance to support the equitable distribution of teachers,
the Teacher Quality Partnership grant program (and further directs ED to prioritize these grants for programs to address teacher shortages),
the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence program,
personnel development to improve services and results for children with disabilities,
the Supporting Effective Educator Development program, and
the Teacher and School Leader Incentive program.
Additionally, the bill provides specified funds to the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) for FY2024 and each succeeding year (indexed for inflation) for programs and activities operated or funded by the BIE for BIE-funded schools. Entities receiving these funds must ensure that teachers are compensated with at least the minimum annual salary established by the BIE.
The bill provides specified funds to ED for FY2024 to contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study resource equity requirements.
People & committees
Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · I–VT
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Apr 21, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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