Teachers unions are set to receive billions of dollars in additional federal aid to help them hire more teachers, according to a new report.
The bipartisan Budgetary Analysis and Management Act, the bipartisan bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on Friday, provides the first federal funding for teacher retention programs for nearly two decades, a move that’s expected to help boost teacher pay.
The money would be earmarked to help districts with teacher shortages, according the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which estimates the program would cost about $5 billion a year over a decade.
The spending plan also includes $8 billion for teacher training and retraining, the Congressional Budget Act said.
The additional funds are intended to be used to hire more new teachers, as well as teachers who have left the profession to work in the private sector.
The federal funding is part of a bipartisan effort to expand and modernize public schools.
That’s the centerpiece of Trump’s Education Jobs Act, which the president signed into legislation last month.
It requires that states set aside money for teacher hiring, but it has not been fully implemented.