H.R. 7202

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7202 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7202

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
support signing and retention bonuses for teachers in rural schools, 
and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 22, 2026

Ms. Bynum introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 
support signing and retention bonuses for teachers in rural schools, 
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 ``Invest in Rural Teachers Act''.

SEC. 2. RURAL SCHOOL RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating part C as part D; and
(2) by inserting after part B, the following:

``PART C--RURAL TEACHER INCENTIVE BONUSES

``SEC. 2251. RURAL TEACHER INCENTIVE BONUSES.

``(a) Grants to States.--
``(1) Authority to award grants.--The Secretary shall carry 
out a program under which the Secretary makes grants to States 
to enable States to award subgrants to eligible entities, in 
accordance with subsection (b), to support signing and 
retention bonuses for teachers in rural schools.
``(2) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, a State shall submit an application to the 
Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require.
``(b) Subgrants to Eligible Entities.--
``(1) Authority to award grants.--A State that receives a 
grant under subsection (a) shall use the grant funds to award 
subgrants to eligible entities to pay signing and retention 
bonuses, in accordance with paragraph (3), to individuals hired 
to teach in rural schools.
``(2) Application.--To be eligible to receive a subgrant 
under this subsection, an eligible entity shall submit an 
application to the State at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the State may require.
``(3) Use of funds.--
``(A) In general.--An eligible entity that receives 
a subgrant under paragraph (1) shall use the subgrant 
funds to award a signing and retention bonus to each 
teacher hired by the agency who agrees to teach in a 
rural school for a period of 3 school years.
``(B) Bonus amount and disbursement.--The amount of 
the signing and retention bonus paid to a teacher under 
subparagraph (A) shall be $5,000 annually for each year 
of the 3 school-year period described in such 
subparagraph.
``(4) Prioritization of homegrown teachers.--An eligible 
entity that receives a subgrant under this subsection shall 
seek to prioritize the recruitment, hiring, and award of 
bonuses to teachers who previously resided in the community 
served by the entity, including teachers who were born, raised, 
and educated in such community.
``(c) Partnerships With Institution of Higher Education.--States 
and eligible entities shall seek to enter into partnerships with 
institutions of higher education for purposes of--
``(1) informing students in teacher preparation programs 
about the availability of rural teacher incentive bonuses under 
this section; and
``(2) encouraging students in such programs to seek 
teaching positions in rural schools.
``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `eligible entity' means--.
``(A) a local educational agency that meets the 
requirements of section 5211(b); or
``(B) an educational service agency that serves 
such a local educational agency.
``(2) The term `rural school' means a school under the 
jurisdiction of a local educational agency described in 
paragraph (1)(A).''.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 2003 of such Act is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Rural Teacher Incentive Bonuses.--For the purposes of 
carrying out part C, there are authorized to be appropriated 
$500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2030.''.
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