Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL), Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (D-CT) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced the introduction of the Diversifying by Investing in Educators and Students to Improve Outcomes for Youth (DIVERSIFY) Act. The legislation will increase the TEACH Grant award to support students interested in becoming teachers, ensuring an education workforce as diverse as the students it serves. The DIVERSIFY Act would complement the important administrative fixes to the TEACH Grant proposed in the College Affordability Act by ensuring the grant amount more closely matches college costs. The DIVERSIFY Act Will help create a well-prepared and diverse educator workforce by:

• Increasing the maximum TEACH Grant award to $8,000 per year to align with the full cost of college today – which exceeds $20,000 a year.

• Protecting the TEACH Grant award from being cut by the Budget Control Act which this year alone resulted in a decrease to the maximum award of nearly $250.