An act introduced in the U.S. Senate seeks to create a teacher residency grant program to address career and technical education teacher shortages in schools.
U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., introduced the Creating Quality Technical Educators Act on Tuesday.
The program seeks to create partnerships between elementary, middle or high schools and higher education institutions to offer one-year teacher residencies to train prospective educators. Residencies would target mid-career professionals in technical fields, recent college graduates, veterans or licensed teachers wanting to transition to a career and technical focus.
“Career and technical education teachers play an important role in providing students with the knowledge and skills they need to secure good-paying jobs in industries that are critical to economic growth and development,” Capito said in the release. “This legislation will help ensure students in West Virginia and throughout the country have access to CTE teachers who are well-prepared to set them up for success-both in school and in the workforce.”
Capito, Kaine, Portman and Baldwin introduced an earlier version in the 114th Congress. The release said act has support by the Alliance for Excellent Education, the American Federation of Teachers, the Association for Career and Technical Education, and Advance CTE.