Govwatch

Introduced

In Committee

3

Passed One Chamber

4

Passed Both

5

Signed into Law

Sponsor

Jahana Hayes

Democrat · CT · Representative

Votes with party: 97.9% (575 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/H001081

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (63)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

2026-05-04

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

House Committee on Education and WorkforceReferred To · 2026-05-04

Previously

Education and Workforce CommitteeReferred To · 2026-05-04

Plain-English Summary

The proposal would officially recognize the week of May 4-8, 2026, as "Teacher Appreciation Week" to honor and celebrate teachers across the country. This designation would encourage schools, communities, and organizations to hold special events and activities during that week to acknowledge teachers' contributions to education and student development. The measure is currently under review by the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Education

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H. Res. 1255 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1255 Supporting the designation of the week of May 4 through May 8, 2026, as ``Teacher Appreciation Week''. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 4, 2026 Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Mr. Bell, Ms. Norton, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Elfreth, Mr. Min, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Craig, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Morelle, Ms. Brown, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Frost, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Case, Mr. Lieu, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Figures, Mrs. Grijalva, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. McClellan, Mr. Veasey, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Foster, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Mannion, Ms. Simon, Ms. Dexter, Mr. Amo, Ms. Titus, Mr. Olszewski, and Ms. Goodlander) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce _______________________________________________________________________ RESOLUTION Supporting the designation of the week of May 4 through May 8, 2026, as ``Teacher Appreciation Week''. Whereas May 4 through May 8, 2026, is ``Teacher Appreciation Week'', in recognition of the critical and selfless work the Nation's 3,000,000 public school teachers do for their students; Whereas teachers are the cornerstone of the American education system, providing essential knowledge, skills, and guidance to the next generation; Whereas bipartisan efforts have previously recognized the value of teacher expertise, including initiatives to improve teacher recruitment, retention, evaluation, and professional development; Whereas teachers report that they feel unheard in key education decisions despite their direct impact on student learning and success; Whereas only 19 percent of teachers would recommend the profession to others, making clear that change is necessary; Whereas a large majority of teachers support maintaining-- (1) Federal protections for students against discrimination based on gender and sexual identity (84 percent); (2) the guaranteed right of undocumented students to attend public school (74 percent); (3) funding for title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) (92 percent); (4) the public service loan forgiveness program under section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) (87 percent); (5) the use of culturally relevant teaching materials that consider the heritage, history, and knowledge of all students (88 percent); (6) the statewide collection of student achievement data to identify achievement gaps among schools and student subgroups and channel resources accordingly (79 percent); (7) the reservation of public tax dollars for public schools (84 percent); and (8) the existence of a fully staffed and functioning Department of Education (70 percent); and Whereas a large majority of teachers support reimagination of the profession through strategies such as-- (1) safely leveraging artificial intelligence as a tool to support teaching and learning (88 percent); (2) exploring alternatives to the traditional one-teacher, one- classroom model, such as team-teaching (85 percent); (3) differentiating compensation for teachers who work in hard-to-staff subject areas (87 percent) and schools (93 percent), teacher leaders (89 percent), and teachers who are highly effective (75 percent); and (4) proactively diversifying the profession so that school staff more often reflect the racial identity of the student population they teach (80 percent): Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) supports the designation of ``Teacher Appreciation Week''; (2) recognizes the invaluable role of teachers in shaping the future of America's students and…

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communities; (3) respects the hard work of teachers in constantly improving their practice in search of effective strategies for their classes; (4) affirms that public school teachers should have a seat at the table in education policymaking at all levels, including Federal, State, and local decisionmaking; and (5) encourages Federal, State, and local leaders to engage directly with teachers, ensuring their voices and expertise are reflected in policies that impact the classroom. <all>

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Related legislation

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HR9245Beginning Educator Mentorship and Retention Act
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HR8928Scratch Cooked Meals for Students Act
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HRES1221Supporting the designation of the week of April 27 through May 1, 2026, as "National Specialized Instructional Support Personnel Appreciation Week".
Referred to Committee · 2026-04-28

Supporting the designation of the week of May 4 through May 8, 2026, as "Teacher Appreciation Week".