H.R. 10421 — Transforming Education for the Future Act

This section expands the types of professional development activities that local educational agencies may fund with subgrants under section 6612 to include developing digital literacy, media literacy, and AI literacy skills; reducing and preventing bullying and harassment in schools; developing cultural competency and implementing culturally relevant curricula; integrating restorative practices into multi-tiered systems of supports and disciplinary procedures; developing resources and supports for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or any other minority sexual or gender identity; and integrating arts and design principles into STEM curricula and instruction.

This section establishes 4-year grants from the Secretary of Education to State educational agencies to ensure every full-time teacher at a qualifying school earns a base salary of at least $60,000 beginning in school year 2027–2028, adjusted annually thereafter for inflation using the Consumer Price Index. States must allocate at least 85 percent of funds as subgrants to local educational agencies, with priority for those serving high percentages of title I schools or rural schools (locale codes 41, 42, or 43), and must maintain existing state and local teacher compensation levels.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary of Education awards funds to eligible State educational agencies to increase the annual base teacher salary and the salary of each full-time teacher at a qualifying school by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. Eligible agencies are those in States with a minimum annual base teacher salary of $60,000 that demonstrate an inability to provide cost-of-living adjustments due to inflation.

This section authorizes the Secretary to reserve up to 4 percent of funds appropriated under section 22206 for a national campaign to increase public awareness of the teaching profession, encourage secondary school and college students to pursue teaching careers, and diversify the pool of individuals entering the profession.

This section preserves the rights, remedies, and procedures available to school and local educational agency employees under existing Federal, State, or local laws, regulations, court orders, and collective bargaining agreements.

This section defines "qualifying school" as any public elementary or secondary school for a given school year. It defines "teacher" as an individual who serves as teacher of record providing direct instruction in such a school for a full-time or part-time workload, holds applicable state certification or licensure in the subject area, and demonstrates skills to improve student learning. It defines "teacher of record" as a teacher assigned responsibility for specified pupils' learning on the school's official records who has developed classroom management skills and can plan, deliver, and assess instruction for students from varied cultural backgrounds and learning styles.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary of Education allots funds to State educational agencies, in proportion to each State's share of funding under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, to recruit and retain paraprofessionals in public elementary schools, secondary schools, and preschool programs. States may reserve up to 5 percent of each allotment for administration and statewide activities and must award the remainder competitively to eligible entities, giving priority to those serving high percentages of low-income students or operating in rural areas or under the community eligibility provision.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to identify and disseminate evidence-based or evidence-informed best practices within 2 years of enactment for preventing suicide and improving mental health and resiliency among education professionals and other school staff, and for training those staff in strategies to support their own mental health.

This section establishes a national evidence-based or evidence-informed education and awareness initiative by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with medical professional associations, to encourage education professionals and school staff to seek mental health and substance use disorder services, identify suicide and mental health risks, respond to such risks, and reduce associated stigma. It requires a report to Congress within two years on activities and outcomes and authorizes $10 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2029.

This section establishes a grant program to improve mental health and resiliency among education professionals and other school staff. It authorizes $35 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2029, awards 3-year grants to state and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and consortia, gives priority to areas with high percentages of title I schools, supports training in educator preparation programs, and requires annual reports from grantees.

This section requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with stakeholders, to conduct a review within 2 years of enactment on improving the mental health of education professionals and other school staff and the outcomes of programs authorized under this part and section 764B of the Public Health Service Act. It also requires submission of a report to Congress that identifies best practices and makes recommendations on removing barriers to care and promoting resiliency.

This section directs the Comptroller General to submit a report to Congress, not later than 4 years after enactment, on the extent to which federal substance use disorder and mental health grant programs address the prevalence and severity of such conditions among education professionals and other school staff. The report must analyze available evidence and data and assess whether the programs have duplicative goals and objectives.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in this part, including chemical restraint, mechanical restraint, physical restraint, seclusion, positive behavioral interventions and supports, program personnel, law enforcement officer, school security guard, and State-approved crisis intervention training program.

This section establishes a new Part G under Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to address bullying and harassment in public elementary and secondary schools. It requires states receiving grants under the title to mandate that all local educational agencies adopt policies prohibiting such conduct based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics), disability, or religion; provide annual notice and grievance procedures; collect and publicly report school-level incident data; submit biennial state reports; and undergo independent federal evaluations every two years, with the first report due January 1, 2027. It includes a rule of construction preserving state authority to enact consistent anti-bullying laws.

This section establishes a grant program, administered by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to support comprehensive school-based violence prevention programs for youth at highest risk of gun violence in kindergarten through 12th grade or under age 19. Grants are awarded for up to 5 years (renewable) to partnerships consisting of a State educational agency and one or more local educational agencies in jurisdictions meeting specified violence thresholds (such as 35 or more homicides per year or double the national average juvenile violent crime arrest rate) plus at least one community-based nonprofit. Funds support evidence-based, trauma-informed activities including community engagement, mental health connections, social-emotional skill building, teacher professional development, and data collection. The Secretary must develop outcome measures, require grantee reports on graduation, employment, and postsecondary enrollment rates, and submit evaluation reports to Congress at least every 3 years.

This section defines terms for grants under this part. An eligible agency is a high-need local educational agency, an educational service agency acting on its behalf, or a state educational agency. A high-need local educational agency ranks in the top 15 percent of agencies in the state by number or percentage of children counted under section 1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and fails to meet at least two of the following ratios: one school counselor per 250 students, one school psychologist per 500 students, or one school social worker per 250 students. The section also defines Indian Tribe by reference to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994.

This section establishes a competitive grant program to increase the number of school-based mental health services providers in high-need local educational agencies by supporting recruitment, hiring, retention, and diversification. It reserves 2 percent of appropriated funds for administration, technical assistance, and data collection, 1 percent for Bureau of Indian Education schools, and 1 percent for outlying areas; limits grants to 5 years (renewable for 2 years); requires 25 percent nonfederal matching funds; and directs annual public reporting on the number of providers and year-over-year increases.

This section applies the requirements of section 4001 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to any State educational agency, local educational agency, or other entity that receives a grant or subgrant under this section, in the same manner as those requirements apply to entities receiving awards under title IV of that Act.

This section defines "effective school library" under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as a facility staffed by at least one full-time State-certified school librarian plus supporting staff, with adequate collections, facilities, teacher training, and collaboration opportunities. It also defines "information literacy" as the skills to find, evaluate, and use spoken, print, and digital information; "right to read" as student access to evidence-based instruction, effective school libraries, family literacy support, and diverse materials; and "teacher" to include school librarians.

This section requires state educational agencies to include school librarians in the development of Title I state plans and to describe how they will prevent disproportionate enrollment of low-income students, minority students, students with disabilities, and English learners in schools lacking effective school libraries, while measuring and publicly reporting progress on library access and incorporating digital and information literacy skills into academic standards. It also requires local educational agencies to include school librarians in plan development, to support state-certified school librarians for equitable library access, to assist schools in building libraries that develop those literacy skills and improve achievement, and to maintain policies protecting the right to read.

This section authorizes $500,000,000 for comprehensive literacy state development grants under section 2222 and $100,000,000 for innovative approaches to literacy grants under section 2226 for fiscal year 2027 and each of the succeeding 4 fiscal years. It excludes subpart 2 from national activities funding under part B. It expands formula grants, local uses of funds, and state literacy plans to support effective school libraries and State-certified school librarians, requires state library agency participation in literacy coordination, and makes conforming changes to reservations and definitions.

This section adds digital literacy and information literacy activities and programs, including those provided through effective school libraries, to the list of well-rounded educational experiences that states may support with Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant funds. It also adds such programs to the list of activities eligible for local educational agency grants.

This section directs the National Center for Education Statistics to collect biennial data on elementary and secondary school libraries, including the number and percentage of schools with dedicated facilities and their square footage, employment of full-time State-certified librarians, numbers of additional staff, physical and virtual collections, student devices, and time librarians spend planning with teachers or instructing students. It requires the Secretary of Education to submit the data to Congress every two years beginning one year after enactment and authorizes such sums as may be necessary.

This section establishes that no teacher, school librarian, school leader, paraprofessional, or other school staff shall be liable for harm caused by an act or omission carried out in conformity with state or local policies regarding the right to read. It further provides that states may not elect to exclude this protection from applying in their courts, unlike the rest of the subpart.

This section requires each State educational agency and local educational agency receiving funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to assure the Secretary that the agency will protect students’ First Amendment rights in school libraries by providing access to a variety of reading materials, recognizing school boards’ role in determining library holdings, and ensuring such decisions are not partisan or aimed at prescribing particular opinions. It also requires assurances that agencies will provide equal protection in school libraries under the Fourteenth Amendment and nondiscrimination laws.

This section establishes the National Center for Advanced Development in Education within the Institute of Education Sciences. The center identifies, develops, and promotes breakthrough technologies, new pedagogical approaches, innovative learning models, and assessments to improve teaching and learning from early childhood through postsecondary and adult education; addresses disparities in achievement and opportunity; supports student relationships and skill-building consistent with the science of learning and development; and evaluates and disseminates related data and strategies.

This section authorizes competitive grants to states for designing, developing, implementing, and improving statewide longitudinal data systems that integrate data from early childhood education, K-12 schools, career and technical education, postsecondary institutions, adult education, workforce programs, unemployment insurance records, and Bureau of Indian Education schools. Grants last up to 4 years and may be renewed for 2 additional years; up to 10 percent of funds may support 18-month planning grants. States must ensure public data disaggregation by student subgroup, technical quality, researcher access, privacy protections, and alignment with open data standards.

This section establishes a National Education Technology Clearinghouse within the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. The clearinghouse identifies the most commonly used education technology vendors, products, and services; evaluates them under a framework covering quality assurance, compliance with student data privacy laws, vendor data practices, content appropriateness, revenue sources, and effects on cognitive development; and publishes ratings, a list of safe and evidence-based vendors, and a list of vendors with concerning practices on a public website.

This section directs the Secretary to issue guidance within 1 year describing best practices for sourcing and contracting with education technology vendors, products, and services, including processes to consult educators and school staff. Within 2 years, the Secretary must issue guidance from the National Education Technology Clearinghouse on the quality and safety of all evaluated vendors, products, and services. The Secretary must update both sets of guidance at least every 2 years.