S. 4415 - TEACH Improvement Act of 2026 - amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding TEACH grants

Sep 4, 2026

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S. 4415 (the TEACH Improvement Act of 2026) proposes amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965 to strengthen and revise TEACH grant provisions. The bill defines eligible institutions, post-baccalaureate programs, and teacher candidates, and establishes a program authority requiring payments to eligible institutions for TEACH grants. It sets grant amounts based on attendance and applicant categories, outlines prepayment, reimbursement authority, and direct payment options, and addresses distribution rules and reductions for part-time students.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

TEACH Improvement Act of 2026

Short title and purpose

TEACH Grants: definitions and program established

Payment methodology and grant amounts

Payment system options and reductions

II 119TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4415 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding the use of TEACH grants, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 28, 2026 Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. REED, and Mr. GALLEGO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding the use of TEACH grants, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘TEACH Improvement 5 Act of 2026’’. 6 SEC. 2. TEACH GRANTS. 7 Subpart 9 of part A of title IV of the Higher Edu- 8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U. S.C. 1070g et seq. ) is amended 9 to read as follows: 2 1 ‘‘Subpart 9—TEACH Grants 2 ‘‘SEC. 420L. DEFINITIONS. 3 ‘‘For the purposes of this subpart: 4 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term‘eligi- 5 ble institution’ means an institution of higher edu- 6 cation, as defined in section 102, that the Secretary 7 determines— 8 ‘‘(A) provides high-quality teacher prepara- 9 tion and professional development services, in- 10 cluding extensive clinical experience as a part of 11 pre-service preparation; 12 ‘‘(B) is financially responsible and is not 13 subject to heightened cash monitoring or provi- 14 sional certification; 15 ‘‘(C) provides pedagogical coursework, or 16 assistance in the provision of such coursework, 17 including the monitoring of student perform- 18 ance, and formal instruction related to the the- 19 ory and practices of teaching; and 20 ‘‘(D) provides supervision and support 21 services to teachers, or assistance in the provi- 22 sion of such services, including mentoring fo- 23 cused on developing effective teaching skills and 24 strategies. 25 ‘‘(2) POST-BACCALAUREATE.—The term ‘post- 26 baccalaureate’ means a program of instruction for •S 4415 IS 3 1 individuals who have completed a baccalaureate de- 2 gree that— 3 ‘‘(A) is offered by an eligible institution 4 that does not offer a baccalaureate degree in 5 education; 6 ‘‘(B) does not lead to a graduate degree; 7 and 8 ‘‘(C) consists of courses required by a 9 State in order for a teacher candidate to receive 10 a professional certification or licensing creden- 11 tial that is required for employment as a teach- 12 er in an elementary school or secondary school 13 in that State. 14 ‘‘(3) TEACHER CANDIDATE.—The term ‘teacher 15 candidate’ means a student or teacher described in 16 subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 420N(a)(2) . 17 ‘‘SEC. 420M. PROGRAM ESTABLISHED. 18 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.— 19 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 20 shall pay to each eligible institution such sums as 21 may be necessary to pay to each teacher candidate 22 who files an application and agreement in accord- 23 ance with section 420N, and who qualifies under 24 paragraph (2) of section 420N(a), a TEACH Grant 25 in the amount of— 4 1 ‘‘(A) in the case of an applicant who is not 2 an applicant under section 420N(a)(2)(B)— 3 ‘‘(i) $4,000 for each of the first 2 4 years during which that teacher candidate 5 is in attendance at the institution; and 6 ‘‘(ii) $5,000 for each of the second 2 7 years during which that teacher candidate 8 is in attendance at the institution; and 9 ‘‘(B) in the case of an applicant under sec- 10 tion 420N(a)(2)(B), $5,000 for each year dur- 11 ing which that individual is in attendance at the 12 institution. 13 ‘‘(2) REFERENCES.—Grants made under para- 14 graph (1) shall be known as ‘Teacher Education As- 15 sistance for College and Higher Education Grants’ 16 or ‘TEACH Grants’. 17 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT METHODOLOGY.— 18 ‘‘(1) PREPAYMENT.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 85 per- 20 cent of any funds provided to an eligible institu- 21 tion under subs

FAQs

What is S. 4415 intended to do?

It amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 regarding the use of TEACH grants and related provisions.

Who qualifies as an eligible institution and a teacher candidate under the bill?

The bill defines “eligible institution” based on teacher preparation and financial responsibility requirements, and defines “teacher candidate” by reference to specified statutory sections.

How does the bill set TEACH grant payment amounts and methods?

It specifies grant amounts by attendance period and applicant category, and describes payment approaches including prepayment, possible reimbursement systems, and direct payments to teacher candidates in certain cases.

Sep 4, 2026

Upload by Hazel