H.R. 10530 — Quality Educator Partnership Act

This section establishes the Office of Educator Workforce in the Department of Education, headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary. The Office develops national policy on educator recruitment, preparation, professional development, retention, and advancement in elementary and secondary education; provides technical assistance to states, local educational agencies, and preparation programs; administers federal educator workforce grant programs including those under titles II and III of the Quality Educator Partnership Act; evaluates cross-state initiatives such as Grow Your Own programs, teacher residencies, and registered apprenticeships; and coordinates collaboration among states, institutions of higher education, and local agencies.

This section establishes an Office of Educational Technology and Digital Literacy in the Department of Education, administered by a Director appointed by the Secretary. The Director develops educational technology policy and strategies to support digital literacy skills at the elementary, secondary (including middle grades), and postsecondary levels, including research on artificial intelligence skills, updates to the National Education Technology Plan, and capacity-building for local educational agencies and educator preparation programs.

This section requires the Secretary of Education to conduct an annual evaluation of the adequacy of staffing and resources available to the Office for Civil Rights. The evaluation must assess the office’s capacity to enforce civil rights complaints, collect compliance data, and meet the requirements of section 203 of the Department of Education Organization Act in order to ensure every student equal access to high-quality education regardless of race, national origin, income, sex, age, language, or disability, including equitable access to profession-ready educators.

This section directs the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to monitor states’ implementation of educator equity plans under section 1111(g)(1)(B) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and to submit an annual report on that implementation to Congress.

This section establishes an educator data infrastructure program at the National Center for Education Statistics. It requires the Statistics Commissioner to collect and publish annual data on all state-approved educator preparation programs, including enrollment, completion rates, and licensure exam passage, as well as state educator workforce policies and outcomes such as credential types, vacancies, out-of-field teaching, and three-year retention rates, with specified disaggregations. It directs an annual report to Congress and the public on educator qualifications and preparation, and convenes a panel of researchers and practitioners to recommend revised reporting requirements, with a report due within one year.

This section establishes the purposes of the title: to test and scale research-based educator preparation strategies; to design integrated systems for educator recruitment, preparation, support, retention, and advancement; to increase the supply of profession-ready educators who reflect the communities they serve; to enable innovative pathways for prospective educators of any age or experience; to incentivize enrollment in high-quality programs in high-need fields, particularly for underrepresented groups; and to align state and local workforce strategies with economic development plans.

This section authorizes appropriations of $600 million for fiscal year 2027 and $1 billion for each of the succeeding four fiscal years. Of the total amounts, it reserves 2 percent for technical assistance and capacity building, 5 percent for the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence program, 43 percent for subtitle A activities, and 50 percent for subtitle B activities.

This section defines terms for the title. An eligible program is a teacher or educator preparation program, legally authorized in its state, that leads to a standard or advanced state license or certificate in a high-need field, is offered by an accredited institution participating in federal student aid programs, and includes a clinical residency of at least one school year. An eligible student is an undergraduate or postbaccalaureate U.S. citizen or permanent resident enrolled in such a program who maintains satisfactory academic progress. High-need fields include science, mathematics, foreign language, bilingual education, English language acquisition, reading specialist, special education, early childhood education, and other fields listed in the Department of Education's annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing. A qualifying high-need school is a high-need early childhood program or school serving low-income families listed in the Department's Teacher Cancellation Low-Income Directory, or a Bureau of Indian Education school.

This section establishes the National Educator Service Corps to alleviate teacher shortages. The Secretary pays eligible students up to $15,000 per year in tuition scholarships (after Pell Grants), monthly stipends of $1,500 (or $2,500 with dependents), and a $25,000 clinical residency stipend for a maximum of 4 years, adjusted annually for CPI inflation, in exchange for 1 year of full-time teaching in a high-need field or as a library media specialist at a qualifying high-need school per year of assistance.

This section authorizes appropriations of $500 million for fiscal year 2027, $600 million for fiscal year 2028, $700 million for fiscal year 2029, $800 million for fiscal year 2030, $900 million for fiscal year 2031, and $1 billion for fiscal year 2032 to carry out this title, including administering the National Educator Service Corps.

This section establishes a National Center for Research and Technical Support on Educator Workforce Development and Design within the Institute of Education Sciences. The center (1) conducts longitudinal studies on educator preparation, retention, and staffing models; (2) provides technical assistance for state and local evaluation of new educator workforce designs; (3) manages a dedicated What Works Clearinghouse channel focused on educator workforce initiatives; and (4) partners with the Office of Educational Technology and the Office of Educator Workforce to research best practices for using artificial intelligence, simulation, and immersive technologies in educator preparation.

This section authorizes the Secretary to award grants to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations partnering with local educational agencies to evaluate and scale practices that improve educator preparation, student achievement, and educator recruitment and retention. It covers closing achievement gaps for major racial and ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged students, children with disabilities, English learners, and students by gender or migrant status; evidence-based staffing and mentoring models; expanded access in rural and high-need communities; high-impact tutoring; and emerging technology tools such as AI-driven platforms and virtual-reality simulations. The section authorizes such sums as necessary and prohibits using technology to replace educators in classrooms.