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Congressional Daily Record
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September 24, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextBy Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Wyden):
S. 5549. A bill to support educators; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, it is time for a national investment in building a strong and resilient educator workforce to ensure that all schools have the diverse, profession-ready teachers, principals, librarians, counselors, and other specialized instructional support personnel they need to support student development and academic achievement. Today, along with Senators Van Hollen and Wyden, I am introducing the Quality Educator Partnership Act to invest in a national strategy to support the educator workforce now and into the future. I am pleased that Representative Alma Adams is introducing a companion bill in the other body with Representatives Jahana Hayes and Suzanne Bonamici.
We are facing a national crisis in the education profession. A 2024 report from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University found that across multiple measures, regard for the teaching profession is at its lowest levels in 50 years—from prestige to interest in the field to job satisfaction. Since 2010, the decline has accelerate, with perceptions of teacher prestige falling between 20 percent and 47 percent and interest in teaching careers among high school seniors and college freshman declining nearly 50 percent. Between 2006 and 2021, the number of prospective
teachers earning licenses has fallen by over 100,000. We cannot afford to neglect the educator workforce any longer.
History shows that the Nation can rise to this challenge. Following the launch of Sputnik in 1957, Congress enacted the National Defense Education Act of 1958 that invested in math, science, and foreign language instruction and the teaching workforce to deliver it. With the rise of new technologies and artificial intelligence, we need that kind of effort today to ensure American students have professional educators that can teach the skills students will need to thrive in a changing environment. In February, a coalition of education organizations came together with a call to action to change the trajectory of the education profession through Federal leadership and systemic accountability, investing in innovation and sustainability, making the education profession an affordable career path, and advancing research and evidence to guide the future of learning.
answer the call to action. Our legislation calls for a comprehensive national strategy to recruit, prepare, retain, and advance high-quality educators from early childhood through secondary education led by a dedicated Office of Educator Workforce at the U.S. Department of Education. It calls for $500 million annual investment in partnerships between school districts and educator preparation programs to address local workforce needs. It includes $500 million for grants to States to design and implement educator workforce strategies. Our bill creates a new National Educator Service Corps that will cover the cost of tuition and living expenses for prospective teachers who agree to teach in high-need areas. Additionally, the Quality Educator Partnership Act calls for new investments in data collection and accountability to track the state of the educator workforce and equitable access to profession-ready educators. It also calls for new investments in research and development to prepare for the future of teaching.
across the field about what is needed to recruit, prepare, and support educators. To date, more than two dozen organizations have endorsed it, including the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, City Teaching Alliance, Center for Reaching and Teaching the Whole Child, International Society for Transforming Education, National Association for School-University Partnerships, National Center for Teacher Residencies, InnovateEDU, National Principals Association, Council for Academic Deans of Research Education Institutions, National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement, Deans for Impact, National Association of Community College Teacher Education Programs, 1890 Universities Foundation, ETS, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities, National Association for Music Education, ACTFL, National Center for Learning Disabilities, AILACTE, AMLE, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Council of Teachers of English, UNCF, Teach Plus, and American Library Association.
education profession. Our economic prosperity, the health of our democracy and civic society, and our ability to meet the challenges of climate change and the information age depend on our students having access to well-prepared and supported educators who reflect the diversity of the students they serve.
Today, the profession is in crisis. It is time to act. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the Quality Educator Partnership Act and work with me to see that it is enacted into law.