Introduction of the Diversifying By Investing in Educators and Students to Improve Outcomes for Youth Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the Diversifying by Investing in Educators and Students to Improve outcomes For Youth (DIVERSIFY) Act.

It should be a guarantee that all students in our country are taught by expert teachers and attend schools where the teacher workforce reflects our nation's rich diversity.

However, research tells us that while people of color comprise 40 percent of our nations' population and majority of our public school students, only 20 percent of all teachers are people of color.

One of the barriers to a well-prepared and diverse teacher workforce is the high cost of college and student loan debt.

High quality teacher preparation is also more likely to be financially out of reach for students of color, while the high cost of college and increasing student loan debt burdens hits students of color especially hard as they are more likely to come from families that are unable to contribute financially to their higher education.

These facts come at a time when college affordability has reached crisis levels.

Today, more than two-thirds of individuals entering the field of education borrow money to pay for their higher education, resulting in an average debt of about $20,000 for those with a bachelor's degree and $50,000 for those with a master's degree.

Our nation's service scholarship for teachers--The TEACH Grant Program--has not increased to keep up with the rising cost of college.

While college cost have increased, the TEACH Grant has been cut each year for most of its existence.

Failing to protect and increase the TEACH Grant limits the program's potential to support high needs schools in ensuring that all students are taught by a well-prepared and diverse educator workforce.

I urge this body to pass this bill.

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