Federal Policy and Legislation

AACTE maintains a constant presence on Capitol Hill and with the current administration to advocate on behalf of the educator preparation profession.

Current policy and legislation related to educator preparation:

Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This act authorizes programs and accountability to support the improvement of the nation’s PK-12 education system. Title II of ESEA focuses on the federal role in supporting educator quality.

Higher Education Act
Title II of HEA authorizes programs that support reforms in teacher preparation and requires annual institutional and state reporting on the quality of programs.

Federal Funding
Learn more about the current federal investment in educator preparation.

TEACH Grants
This federal program supports the recruitment of high-quality teacher candidates for hard-to-staff fields and schools.

Teacher Quality Partnership Grants
This federal program supports partnerships between institutions of higher education and high-need local education agencies and schools to strengthen the teacher pipeline.

Special Education Personnel Preparation
The Special Education Personnel Preparation program is designed to ensure that children with disabilities are supported by fully qualified school personnel.

Institute of Education Sciences
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) was created in 2002 through the Education Science Reform Act (ESRA, Title I of P.L. 107-279) as an independent research arm of the U.S. Department of Education.

Proposed Bills Supported by AACTE
AACTE supports several bills introduced in the current Congress.

View Federal Policy and Legislation Resources