Proposing an innovative strategy to reward teachers and principals for improving student academic achievement, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) today is introducing legislation to establish the Teacher Incentive Fund to strengthen teacher quality improvement programs. Price is joined by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the Education and Labor Committee, in introducing the legislation.
“Too many American students are let down by an education system that provides no incentive for teachers to challenge our children," said Price, who testified before the full education committee earlier today on his proposal. “Second only to parents, teachers have the most influence on the development of young minds. By rewarding those teachers who have encouraged students to excel in the classroom, America’s youth will be able to flourish and American competitiveness can be assured for a long time to come.
“The Teacher Incentive Fund will lower teacher attrition rates and make teaching jobs in hard to staff schools more attractive. If we want every child taught by a highly effective teacher, then we must create the mechanisms to encourage capable Americans to enter the teaching profession. Putting positive incentives in the classroom, and keeping the best teachers, we can produce more positive outcomes for all American students."
The Teacher Incentive Fund Act would help states and local school districts develop performance-based compensation systems, which have been used throughout the country to recognize and reward teachers and principals for demonstrating results in the classroom. The Teacher Incentive Fund Act would help expand use of these innovative pay systems, allowing more states and local communities to reward educators for raising student achievement levels and closing the achievement gap.
The federal government has provided nearly $500 million to help states and local communities design and implement performance pay systems in recent years. However, until the Teacher Incentive Fund is authorized and made a permanent component of the nation’s teacher quality improvement strategy, uncertainty remains about whether states and schools can fully implement the performance pay systems they have designed or plan to adopt.
Adding to that uncertainty are bureaucratic hurdles erected by the Democratic Congress that will prevent funding from being used to immediately begin implementing these innovative pay systems. The Teacher Incentive Fund is a completely voluntary program that simply provides seed money for states and school districts that wish to reward educators for improving student academic achievement. States and schools have the freedom and flexibility under Price’s Teacher Incentive Fund Act to design and implement systems that meet their unique local needs.
“The Teacher Incentive Fund puts states and local communities firmly in control of efforts to improve teacher quality," said Kline. “This is precisely the type of reform we should be embracing - models that allow parents, teachers, and local school leaders to work together to develop systems that meet each community’s unique needs. I commend Education Secretary Duncan for his efforts to expand performance pay systems to promote and reward teacher quality, and I thank Rep. Price for advancing this bipartisan concept through a flexible, locally driven program."
