The Supporting the Teaching Profession Through Revitalizing Investments in Valuable Educators (STRIVE) Act aims to boost funding for teacher preparation programs as well as greater incentives for those who enter the field, including tax credits and loan forgiveness.
Rowan Writing Arts Professor Amy J. Woodworth spoke on behalf of the bill, stating that “educators working conditions are student learning conditions.” Woodworth, Rowan AFT’s Second Vice President, joined the bill’s sponsors, U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Congressman Donald Norcross, on Thursday calling for its passage.
Among its specific measures, the STRIVE act seeks to:
- Increase funding for teacher preparation programs and allow early childhood educators to participate in the programs;
- Overhaul loan forgiveness programs so that new teachers can have their loans forgiven by working seven years in a low-income school, as well as extending the assistance to existing teachers who have worked longer than seven years and still have debt;
- Subsidize teacher certification and licensing fees and expenses for low-income students preparing to become teachers;
- Increase the available tax credit for teachers who spend their own money on classroom supplies and other expenses from $250 to $2,500.
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