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WASHINGTON - Today Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) joined with Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Michael Bennett (D-CO) to announce the introduction of the Post 9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act of 2009. The legislation would update the Troops to Teachers (TTT) program to increase the number of schools qualified to participate and would make more retiring servicemen and women eligible for the program.
TTT provides veterans with a $5,000 stipend to help cover the costs of teaching certification in exchange for three years of service in schools which serve low-income students.
Since its authorization in 1993, nearly 11,000 troops have participated in the program, bringing math, science and foreign language expertise to the classroom.
The bill incorporates H.R. 1313, legislation introduced in March by Petri and Rep. Doris O. Matsui to restore the original intent of the law regarding which schools may participate.
"We intended the program to increase the pool of available teachers to schools across the country and to attract veterans with advanced skills and training to the teaching profession," said Petri, an early advocate of the program. "Unfortunately, a simple drafting error in the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act resulted in an Education Department ruling restricting the number of school districts in which veterans can fulfill their teaching requirement."
"Since the implementation of the ruling in September 2005, retiring military have found the number of schools at which they would be eligible to teach drastically reduced. In my home state of Wisconsin, the number of eligible school districts has been reduced from approximately 395 to 11," he said. "The Department's new interpretation locks out schools in many rural areas and small communities. This is a shame, especially given the success of this program and its ability to meet some of our nation's greatest teaching needs."
H.R. 1313, and the new bill which incorporates it, would restore the original intent of TTT, resulting in a 49 percent increase in the number of eligible schools. It would also retain the current criteria for troops to receive an additional bonus of $5,000 for teaching in a high need school at which specified percentages of students are from low-income families or have disabilities.
The new bill would also increase the numbers of service personnel who would qualify to participate in TTT.
Currently, eligibility for TTT requires that members of the military have six years of service, and that members of the National Guard and reserves have 10 years of service with a commitment to serve an additional three years. Petri said that those requirements should be changed to accommodate the many men and women who have served honorably and well in the difficult conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"This proposed legislation reduces the years of service requirement from six to four years for members of the active duty military. Additionally, it creates a 'years of service' exemption for any member of the reserve, National Guard, or active duty military who has served on active duty since Sept. 11, 2001, similar to eligibility requirements for the Post 9/11 GI Bill," Petri said.
Petri noted that TTT participants fill several critical needs among educators: 82 percent are male, over one-third are ethnic minorities, and a majority bring an expertise in science and math to the classroom. "Teachers who have served in the military come with valuable life experience and character traits that are uncommon in the classroom. In an increasingly globalized economy, these valuable characteristics provide a vital resource for schools across the country," he said.
More information on the Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act
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