S. 848, Consider Teachers Act of 2021
Summary
S. 848, the Consider Teachers Act of 2021, is an act to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve the service obligation verification process for TEACH Grant recipients. Section 2 amends section 420N of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–2), including adding a certification of employment by the chief administrative officer of the school and permitting State certification requirements to be met through alternative routes to teaching. It also adds a provision on reconsideration of conversion decisions, under which a recipient whose grant the Secretary converted into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan may request that the Secretary reconsider and may submit additional information.
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“S. 848, Consider Teachers Act of 2021.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/bills-bills-117s848es-bills-117s848es/
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117TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 848
AN ACT
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to
improve the service obligation verification process for
TEACH Grant recipients, and for other purposes.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consider Teachers Act
3 of 2021’’.
4 SEC. 2. TEACH GRANTS.
5 Section 420N of the Higher Education Act of 1965
6 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–2) is amended—
7 (1) in subsection (b)(1)—
8 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘(re-
9 ferred to in this section as the ‘service obliga-
10 tion window’)’’ after ‘‘under this subpart’’;
11 (B) in subparagraph (C)(vii), by inserting
12 ‘‘or geographic area’’ after ‘‘field’’; and
13 (C) by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E)
14 and inserting the following:
15 ‘‘(D) submit a certification of employment
16 by the chief administrative officer of the school
17 in accordance with subsection (d)(5); and
18 ‘‘(E) meet all State certification require-
19 ments for teaching (which may include meeting
20 such requirements through a certification ob-
21 tained through alternative routes to teaching);’’;
22 (2) in subsection (c)—
23 (A) by striking ‘‘In the event’’ and insert-
24 ing the following:
25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event’’; and
26 (B) by adding at the end the following:
† S 848 ES
3
1 ‘‘(2) RECONSIDERATION OF CONVERSION DECI-
2 SIONS.—
3 ‘‘(A) REQUEST TO RECONSIDER.—In any
4 case where the Secretary has determined that a
5 recipient of a grant under this subpart has
6 failed or refused to comply with the service obli-
7 gation in the agreement under subsection (b)
8 and has converted the grant into a Federal Di-
9 rect Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D
10 in accordance with paragraph (1), (including a
11 TEACH Grant converted to a loan prior to the
12 date of enactment of the Consider Teachers Act
13 of 2021 and including cases where such loans
14 have been fully or partially paid), the recipient
15 may request that the Secretary reconsider such
16 initial determination and may submit additional
17 information to demonstrate satisfaction of the
18 service obligation. Upon receipt of such a re-
19 quest, the Secretary shall reconsider the deter-
20 mination in accordance with this paragraph not
21 later than 90 days after the date that such re-
22 quest was received.
23 ‘‘(B) RECONSIDERATION.—If, in reconsid-
24 ering an initial determination under subpara-
25 graph (A) (including reconsideration related to
† S 848 ES
4
1 a TEACH Grant that was converted to a loan
2 prior to the date of enactment of the Consider
3 Teachers Act of 2021 and including cases
4 where such loans were fully or partially paid),
5 the Secretary determines that the reason for
6 such determination was the recipient’s failure to
7 timely submit a certification required under
8 subsection (b)(1)(D) (as in effect on the day be-
9 fore the date of enactment of the Consider
10 Teachers Act of 2021), an error or processing
11 delay by the Secretary, a change to the fields
12 considered eligible for fulfillment of the service
13 obligation (as described in subsection
14 (b)(1)(C)), a recipient having previously re-
15 quested to have the TEACH Grant converted to
16 a loan, or another valid reason determined by
17 the Secretary, and that the recipient has, as of
18 the date of the reconsideration, demonstrated
19 that the recipient did meet, or is meeting the
20 service obligation in the agreement under sub-
21 section (b), the Secretary shall—
22 ‘‘(i) discharge the Federal Direct Un-
23 subsidized Stafford Loan under part D,
24 and reinstate the recipient’s grant under
25 this subpart;
† S 848 ES
5
1 ‘‘(ii) discharge any interest or fees
2 that may have accumulated during the pe-
3 riod that the grant was converted to a
4 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford
5 Loan under part D;
6 ‘‘(iii) if the recipient has other loans
7 under part D, apply any payments made
8 for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf-
9 ford Loan under part D during such pe-
10 riod to those other loans under part D;
11 ‘‘(iv) if the recipient does not have
12 other loans under part D, reimburse the
13 recipient for any amounts paid on the Fed-
14 eral Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
15 under part D during such period;
16 ‘‘(v) request that consumer reporting
17 agencies remove any negative credit report-
18 ing due to the conversion of the TEACH
19 Grant to a loan; and
20 ‘‘(vi) use the additional information
21 provided under subparagraph (A) to deter-
22 mine the progress the recipient has made
23 in meeting the service obligation.
24 ‘‘(C) EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE
25 SERVICE OBLIGATION.—In the case of a recipi-
† S 848 ES
6
1 ent whose TEACH Grant was reinstated in ac-
2 cordance with subparagraph (B), the Secretary
3 shall, upon such reinstatement—
4 ‘‘(i) extend the time remaining for the
5 recipient to fulfill the service obligation de-
6 scribed in subsection (b)(1) to a period of
7 time equal to—
8 ‘‘(I) 8 years; minus
9 ‘‘(II) the number of full academic
10 years of teaching that the recipient
11 completed prior to the reconversion of
12 the loan to a TEACH Grant under
13 subparagraph (B), including any
14 years of qualifying teaching completed
15 during the period when the TEACH
16 Grant was in loan status; and
17 ‘‘(ii) treat any full academic years of
18 teaching described in clause (i)(II) as years
19 that count toward the individual’s service
20 obligation (regardless of whether the
21 TEACH Grant funds were in grant or loan
22 status) if that time otherwise meets the re-
23 quirements of this section.’’; and
24 (3) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the
25 following:
† S 848 ES
7
1 ‘‘(3) COMMUNICATION WITH RECIPIENTS.—The
2 Secretary shall notify TEACH grant recipients not
3 less than once per calendar year regarding how to
4 submit the employment certification under sub-
5 section (b)(1)(D) and the recommendations and re-
6 quirements for submitting that certification under
7 subsection (d)(5).
8 ‘‘(4) QUALIFYING SCHOOLS AND HIGH-NEED
9 FIELDS.—The Secretary shall maintain and annually
10 update a list of qualifying schools as described in
11 subsection (b)(1)(B), and a list of high-need fields
12 as described in subsection (b)(1)(C) and shall make
13 such lists publicly available on the Department’s
14 website in a sortable and searchable format.’’.
15 SEC. 3. SUBMISSION OF EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATION.
16 Section 420N(d) of the Higher Education Act of
17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–2(d)), as amended by section 2,
18 is further amended by adding at the end the following:
19 ‘‘(5) SUBMISSION OF EMPLOYMENT CERTIFI-
20 CATION.—
21 ‘‘(A) RECOMMENDED SUBMISSIONS.—The
22 Secretary shall notify TEACH Grant recipients
23 that the Department recommends that TEACH
24 Grant recipients submit the employment certifi-
25 cation described in subsection (b)(1)(D) as soon
† S 848 ES
8
1 as practicable after the completion of each year
2 of service.
3 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED SUBMISSION.—A TEACH
4 Grant recipient shall be required to submit to
5 the Department employment certification within
6 the timeframe that would allow that individual
7 to complete their service obligation before the
8 end of the service obligation window.
9 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall
10 notify TEACH Grant recipients of the required
11 submission deadlines described in this para-
12 graph.
13 ‘‘(D) ADJUSTMENT OF DEADLINE.—The
14 Secretary shall adjust the submission deadline
15 described in subparagraph (B) to account for a
16 service obligation window extension.
17 ‘‘(E) ALTERNATIVE TO CERTIFICATION.—
18 The Secretary shall provide an alternative to
19 the certification of employment described in
20 subsection (b)(1)(D) for recipients who cannot
21 obtain such required certification of employ-
22 ment from the chief administrative officer of
23 the school because the recipient can dem-
24 onstrate the school is no longer in existence or
25 the school refuses to cooperate.’’.
† S 848 ES
9
1 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF TIME TO FULFILL SERVICE OBLIGA-
2 TION DUE TO COVID–19.
3 (a) Section 3519(a) of the CARES Act (Public Law
4 116–136; 20 U.S.C. 1001 note) is amended—
5 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
6 striking ‘‘For the purpose of section 420N of the
7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–
8 2), during a qualifying emergency,’’ and inserting
9 ‘‘Notwithstanding any provision of subpart 9 of part
10 A of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965
11 (20 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.),’’;
12 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ after
13 the semicolon;
14 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘such section
15 420N.’’ and inserting ‘‘section 420N of such Act;
16 and’’; and
17 (4) by adding at the end the following:
18 ‘‘(3) shall extend the service obligation window
19 (as described in section 420N(b)(1)(A) of such Act)
20 for a period of not more than 3 years, in addition
21 to any extensions provided in accordance with sub-
22 part 9 of part A of title IV of the Higher Education
23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g et seq.), in the case
24 of a grant recipient whose service obligation window
25 begins during, or includes—
26 ‘‘(A) the qualifying emergency period; or
† S 848 ES
10
1 ‘‘(B) a period of recession or economic
2 downturn related to the qualifying emergency
3 period, as determined by the Secretary in con-
4 sultation with the Secretary of Labor.’’.
5 (b) Section 3519 of the CARES Act (Public Law
6 116–136; 20 U.S.C. 1001 note) is amended by adding at
7 the end the following:
8 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL PERKINS LOANS.—Notwithstanding
9 section 465 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
10 U.S.C. 1087ee), the Secretary shall waive the require-
11 ments of such section in regard to full-time service and
12 shall consider an incomplete year of service of a borrower
13 as fulfilling the requirement for a complete year of service
14 under such section, if the service was interrupted due to
15 a qualifying emergency.’’.
16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
17 this section shall take effect as if included in the enact-
18 ment of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136).
19 SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION.
20 In carrying out this Act and any amendments made
21 by this Act, or any regulations promulgated under this Act
22 or under such amendments, the Secretary of Education
23 may waive the application of—
† S 848 ES
11
1 (1) subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44,
2 United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Pa-
3 perwork Reduction Act’’);
4 (2) the master calendar requirements under
5 section 482 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
6 (20 U.S.C. 1089);
7 (3) negotiated rulemaking under section 492 of
8 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
9 1098a); and
10 (4) the requirement to publish the notices re-
11 lated to the system of records of the agency before
12 implementation required under paragraphs (4) and
13 (11) of section 552a(e) of title 5, United States
14 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Privacy Act of
15 1974’’), except that the notices shall be published
16 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment
17 of this Act.
Passed the Senate April 27, 2021.
Attest:
Secretary.
† S 848 ES
117TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION S. 848
AN ACT
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in
order to improve the service obligation
verification process for TEACH Grant recipients,
and for other purposes.
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