WASHINGTON, D.C. – Your U.S. Representative, David Price, is working on legislation with another North Carolina representative known as the Keep Teachers Teaching Act, which would allow states and school districts to apply for federal grants to create programs to help with teacher retention.

According to the Congressional Research Service, half of all teachers stop teaching after the first five years.

The bill would also allow states and school districts to share information about programs to improve teacher retention. Rep. Price introduced this bill last year as well.

Rep. Price is also co-sponsoring the bill of North Carolina Representative G.K. Butterfield, called the Support Educators and Reinvest in Valuable Education Act. Many teachers have the option of teaching special education or teaching math and science in a low-income school for five years to receive $17,500 in loan forgiveness.

Rep. Butterfield’s bill would make it so that those who teach any subject in low-income schools for five years would be eligible for the same amount of loan forgiveness.

Both Rep. Butterfield and Rep. Price  say that these proposed bills are meant to help out states like North Carolina who have seen budget cuts to education.

Rep. Butterfield is also a co-sponsor of Rep. Price’s Keep Teachers Teaching bill.

Tune in to the WCHL Friday Morning News with Ron Stutts at 8:00 a.m. to hear from Congressman Price about the legislation he’s sponsoring to help with education nationwide.