Kaine and Collins Reintroduce PREP Act

On Wednesday U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, reintroduced the Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals (PREP) Act. The bipartisan piece of legislation addresses educator shortages and increases workforce diversity. With priority given to rural communities, PREP helps to ensure an adequate supply of teachers and principals who have the capacity to prepare students for the future. Specifics in the PREP Act include the expansion of high need districts to encompass schools experiencing teacher shortages in rural communities as well as in areas such as in special education. The bill also supports educator preparation programs to create a diverse educator workforce of teachers and school leaders. The Council for Exceptional Children is proud to join with CASE, TED, and other national organizations to endorse the PREP Act. 

Full text of the bill is available here.