H.R. 2869 Text - Introduced in House - 116th Congress (2019-2020)

To amend title 10, United States Code, to expand and rename the Troops-to-Teachers Program, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the “Heroes Entering Roles Of Education Service Act” or the “HEROES Act”.

SEC. 2. Troops-to-Schools Program.

Section 1154 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in the section heading, by striking: “employment as teachers: Troops-to-Teachers Program” and inserting “employment in schools: Troops-To-Support-Education Program”;

(2) in subsection (a)—

(A) in paragraph (6), by striking “Troops-to-Teachers” and inserting “Troops-To-Support-Education”;

(B) by redesignating paragraphs (7) and (8) as paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively;

“(7) QUALIFYING POSITION.—

“(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term ‘qualifying position’ means any full-time position in an eligible school, including a position as:

“(i) a teacher, including an elementary school teacher, a secondary school teacher, or a career or technical education teacher;

“(ii) a school resource officer;

“(iii) a school leader;

“(iv) specialized instructional support personnel;

“(v) a paraprofessional; or

“(vi) other staff.

“(B) Such term does not include a position that is—

“(i) performed primarily at a location outside the grounds of an eligible school; or

“(ii) held by an individual who is employed by a contractor.

“(8) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER.—The term ‘school resource officer’ has the meaning given that term in section 1709(4) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389(4)).”; and

(D) by amending paragraph (10), as so redesignated, to read as follows:

“(10) ADDITIONAL TERMS.—The terms ‘elementary school’, ‘local educational agency’, ‘other staff’, ‘paraprofessional’, ‘school leader’, ‘secondary school’, ‘specialized instructional support personnel’, and ‘State’ have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).”;

(3) in subsection (b)—

(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “Troops-to-Teachers” and inserting “Troops-To-Support-Education”;

(B) in paragraph (1), by striking “become a teacher” and inserting “obtain a qualifying position”; and

(i) in clause (i), by striking “or” at the end;

(ii) in clause (ii), by striking “and” at the end and inserting “or”; and

(iii) by adding at the end the following new clause:

“(iii) experiencing a shortage of personnel to fill qualifying positions; and”;

(4) in subsection (d)(3)—

(A) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E); and

(B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following new subparagraph:

“(D) If a member of the armed forces is applying for the Program to receive assistance for placement in a qualifying position other than a position as a teacher described in subparagraph (B) or subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall require the member to obtain the professional credentials that are required by the State for the position involved.”;

(5) in subsection (e)—

(A) in paragraph (1)(A)—

(i) in clause (i), by striking “become a teacher” and inserting “obtain a qualifying position”; and

(ii) in clause (ii), by striking “as an elementary school teacher” and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting “in a qualifying position for not less than three school years in an eligible school to begin the school year after the member obtains the professional credentials required for the position involved”;

(B) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking “as a teacher in an eligible elementary school or secondary school or as a career or technical teacher” and inserting “in a qualifying position”; and

(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking “educational level, certification, or licensing” and inserting “educational level, certification, licensing, or other professional credentials”;

(ii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking “as an elementary school teacher, secondary school teacher, or career or technical teacher” and inserting “in a qualifying position”; and

(iii) in subparagraph (C)—

(I) in clause (i), by striking “5,000” and inserting “7500”; and

(II) in clause (ii), by striking “3,000” and inserting “4500”;

(6) in subsection (f)(1)—

(A) in subparagraph (A)—

(i) by striking “become a teacher” and inserting “obtain a qualifying position”; and

(ii) by striking “as an elementary school teacher, secondary school teacher, or career or technical teacher” and insert “in a qualifying position”; and

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking “, employment as an elementary school teacher, secondary school teacher, or career or technical teacher” and inserting “employment in a qualifying position”;

(7) in subsection (h)(2)(A) by striking “as elementary school teachers, secondary school teachers, and career or technical teachers” and inserting “in qualifying positions”;

(8) in subsection (i), by striking “$15,000,000” and inserting “$20,000,000”; and

(9) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(j) Public-Private partnership.—

“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into one or more partnerships with nonprofit entities, including veterans service organizations, to assist with the placement of participants in eligible schools in accordance with this section.

“(2) NONPROFIT ENTITY DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘nonprofit entity’ means an entity qualifying as an exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.”.