The U.S. Department of Education (ED) released a fact sheet Thursday on “Sustaining Investments in Teachers Beyond the American Rescue Plan” in conjunction with public remarks from Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona at a New York college. The fact sheet and Cardona’s remarks focus on the current teacher shortage across the country and how to leverage federal resources to address it.
The fact sheet states that the Biden administration “is committed to a comprehensive policy agenda to build a racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse and well-prepared educator workforce to support the success of every student.” The fact sheet names examples of how American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ARP ESSER) can be used to invest in teachers, including increasing partnerships between teacher preparation programs and the State, providing mentoring programs for teachers early in their careers, and ensuring teachers have opportunities for advancement, among others.
In addition to providing examples of how ARP ESSER funds can be used to address teacher shortages, the fact sheet also notes other sources of federal funding that can be used for teacher investment, including Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B, the Higher Education Act Teacher Quality Partnership Grants, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, and many others. The fact sheet breaks down the potential uses of federal funding for teacher investment into several categories, including providing teachers with a living wage, investing in a teacher pipeline, supporting additional certification and professional development, helping teachers afford training and education for the profession, providing teachers with resources to allow them to succeed, and creating opportunities for advancement.
The ED fact sheet on teacher investments is available here.
