WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) yesterday introduced the Creating Quality Technical Educators Act. This legislation will create a teacher residency grant program to help address the career and technical education (CTE) teacher shortage in schools. The program creates partnerships between elementary, middle, or high schools and higher education institutions to offer one-year teacher residencies to train prospective educators. The Creating Quality Technical Educators Act takes a proactive approach to recruit and train high-quality CTE teachers who will be able to better prepare students with the skills needed to fill in-demand jobs.

“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,” Senator Capito said. “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.”

“To strengthen our economy, we’ve got to ensure our education system meets the needs of the modern workforce,” Senator Kaine said. “One important way we can accomplish that is by ensuring we have enough high-quality CTE teachers in schools. This commonsense, bipartisan bill is a big step forward in equipping the next generation with the skills they need to succeed.” 

“Quality CTE teachers play a key role in expanding access to high quality programs and making sure more students and parents recognize the value of a CTE education – all of which helps lead to more and better job opportunities for students,” Senator Portman said. “I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to ensure that we have better prepared teachers for this generation and generations to come.”

“I’ve heard firsthand from students, businesses and manufacturers in Wisconsin and it’s clear that we need to do more to support career and technical education so people are better equipped for the high-skilled jobs of today and tomorrow,” Senator Baldwin said. “This bipartisan legislation will help address the CTE teacher shortage by taking action to recruit and train high-quality CTE teachers. Career and technical education has shown to be one of the most effective ways to respond to our workforce readiness needs and create shared prosperity so I’m proud to work across party lines on this effort.”

The residencies target mid-career professionals in related technical fields, recent college graduates, veterans, or currently licensed teachers with a desire to transition to a CTE focus, to provide students with the opportunity to learn from teachers who have had success in their field of interest. 

The bill is supported by the Alliance for Excellent Education, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), and Advance CTE. Senators Capito, Kaine, Portman, and Baldwin introduced an earlier version of the Creating Quality Technical Educators Act in the 114th Congress. 

Text of the Creating Quality Technical Educators Act is available here.

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