Sponsor
Adam Smith
Representative · D-WA
Representative · D-WA
Requires teacher residency partnerships to set participant selection criteria and prioritize recruiting individuals underrepresented in the teaching profession, explicitly including men.
The bill aims to increase diversity and transparency in teacher residency selection—benefiting students and underrepresented prospective teachers—while imposing administrative costs and potentially reducing selection chances for some applicants and inviting legal or political challenges.
K-12 students—especially those from historically underserved backgrounds—benefit from a more diverse teacher workforce, which research links to improved engagement and academic outcomes.
Prospective teachers from underrepresented groups (including men) are more likely to be recruited and selected into residency programs, increasing diversity in the teacher pipeline.
Eligible teacher residency partnerships will have clearer, standardized selection criteria, improving transparency and consistency in admissions and candidate prioritization.
Applicants who are not in designated underrepresented groups will face reduced chances of selection if programs prioritize underrepresented candidates.
Eligible partnerships and applicants could face legal or political challenges alleging improper preference policies if prioritization focuses narrowly on certain characteristics.
Eligible residency program partnerships will incur additional administrative burden to develop, implement, and justify new selection criteria and prioritization processes.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Amends the Higher Education Act teacher residency selection rules to require eligible partnerships to establish selection criteria for participants and to prioritize recruiting and selecting individuals who are underrepresented in the teaching profession, explicitly including men. The change restructures current language and creates a clear, substantive duty for residency programs to focus recruitment on underrepresented groups rather than leaving prioritization implicit. The amendment affects how higher education–based teacher residency programs set eligibility and selection policies, shifting program responsibilities toward active recruitment and selection of underrepresented candidates. It does not add new funding or change program scope beyond selection and recruitment priorities.
Official title: To amend the requirements for teaching residency programs under part A of title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Introduced July 16, 2026 by Adam Smith · Last progress July 16, 2026