Quite commonly, reports on elementary and secondary school teachers begin with the rather obvious notion that the quality of instruction is critical to student learning. Decades of federal policymaking have been built on the premise that good pre-service preparation is an effective route to quality teaching and, ultimately, improved educational outcomes. Current policy continues this approach through provisions in Title II, Part A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA, P.L. 89-329, as amended). This report provides a description of current programs and provisions in Title II-A and identifies a number of the key issues that may be part of the debate over the reauthorization of the HEA. The report begins with a discussion of the broader context within which this conversation might occur.