Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a Grow Your Own Teacher program making competitive grants to eligible entities to train and employ certain individuals in hard-to-staff schools or teaching positions.
Defines an "eligible entity" as a consortium consisting of a local educational agency (LEA) that receives school improvement funds under part A of title I of the Act and an institution of higher education that offers a state-accredited teacher certificate program.
Requires the grant to be used to: (1) train certain individuals who received a high school diploma from the LEA participating in the consortium to be teachers, including by having them observe and work with a veteran teacher in a classroom for at least a year; (2) employ such individuals in hard-to-staff schools and teaching positions in such LEA, with priority given to teaching positions in mathematics, science, special education, world languages, and English as a second language; and (3) employ such individuals in a manner that reduces the divergence between the racial diversity of teachers and of students.
Authorizes the Secretary to forgive the student loans incurred by training program participants who have been employed as teachers in hard-to-staff schools or teaching positions.