Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) is hoping for a major push to ensure that children receive the best possible education with his new legislation addressing nationwide teacher shortages.

The Supporting Future Educators Act would help prepare and retain outstanding teachers, increase teacher diversity and support communities and schools that are facing shortages in rural and urban areas.

In order to achieve these goals Sen. Franken plans to:

• Create a Strenthen-Our-Schools grant program to help address shortages in rural school districts. It would support teacher residency programs, provide additional training for current teacher and attract student teachers to placements in high-need districts.
• Authorize the Education Department to create a national database of qualified teachers who can provide supervision. This would help diversify student teaching programs since they won’t be limited to geographic area.
• Formally recognize teaching as a part of Career and Technical Education to encourage an earlier start on pathways for becoming a teacher and allow schools access to a broader range of funding to support dual-enrollment programs in education.

Earlier this year Sen. Franken also introduced legislation that would reduce teacher shortages in rural Minnesota and in Indian Country, by improving education for rural and Native American students throughout Minnesota.

By — Sarah Winkelmann