Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District has introduced a bill designed to help rural schools fill teacher shortages through a partnership program.
The Rural Education Investment Act would require the U.S. Department of Education to set aside and increase grant funding for rural districts from a program called the Teacher Quality Partnership, or TQP.
The TQP places educators, who are finishing up masters-level course work, in a K-12 classroom, full-time — but Golden says rural schools win very few of these grants.
His proposal would increase the share of TQP grant funding for rural areas so that it is equal to the percentage of K-12 students living there.
More than half of Maine kids attend rural schools.
