Consider Teachers Act passes Senate

The Consider Teachers Act, a bill introduced in the Senate by Senator Mike Braun, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, and in the House by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, aimed at fixing a broken system burdening teachers with unfair loans, has passed the U.S. Senate.

The TEACH Grant program provides grant assistance to students who serve four years as a full-time teacher in high-need, often underserved communities.

However, often due to basic clerical mistakes, thousands of teachers have found their grants converted into loans that must be paid back with interest.

The Consider Teachers Act aims to fix this broken system permanently, and provides extra time for teachers to complete service requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The TEACH grant is an important program to incentivize teachers to serve in neglected communities, but 12 years of poor government management has turned these grants into groans for thousands of teachers," said Senator Mike Braun.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, the majority of TEACH Grants, 66%, are converted into Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans which must be paid back with interest.

Previously, once converted, a loan cannot revert back to grant.

21,000 teachers have completed the program without a conversion, but 94,000 recipients have had their grants converted to loans.