1. Short title and findings (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Supporting the Teaching profession through Revitalizing Investments in Valuable Educators Act or the STRIVE Act . (b) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) States identified significant teacher shortages in their reports to the Department of Education during the 2017–2018 school year, with 46 States and the District of Columbia identifying shortages in special education, 47 States and the District of Columbia identifying teacher shortages in mathematics, 43 States identifying teacher shortages in science, 32 States identifying shortages in teachers of English learners, and 32 States identifying teacher shortages in career and technical education. One reason for the shortages in these areas is because mathematics and science teachers can earn significantly higher starting salaries in the private sector. Further, rural communities face limitations in recruiting and retaining teachers for reasons such as funding issues, limited teacher supply, and geographic isolation. (2) Students in high-poverty and high-minority schools, both urban and rural, typically feel the largest impact of teacher shortages. These schools often experience difficulty hiring and high turnover on a regular basis, and they are the most severely affected when teacher shortages become widespread. This happens, in part, because inequitable funding of schools leaves many low-wealth urban and rural communities with inadequate resources, so they must pay lower salaries and typically have poorer working conditions. (3) According to a study by Mathematica, when high-performing teachers were offered large financial incentives to transfer to low-performing schools, their students’ scores climbed 10 points in reading and 9 points in math compared to students statewide over 2 years. (4) According to a survey conducted by Scholastic, 97 percent of teachers list supportive school leadership as essential or very important for retaining strong teachers and improving student