Expanding Assistance For Educator Programs
For educator preparation stipend programs, current law defines "eligible student" to mean a student who is eligible for financial assistance because the student's expected family contribution does not exceed 200% of the maximum federal Pell-eligible expected family contribution. The bill amends the definition of "eligible student" to mean a student who is eligible for financial assistance because the student's expected family contribution does not exceed 250% of the maximum federal Pell-eligible expected family contribution.
Current law requires that a student eligible for the student educator stipend program must be placed as a student educator in a school- or community-based setting in Colorado. The bill allows a student to be placed as a student educator in a school- or community-based setting in Colorado or within 100 miles of the Colorado state border.
The bill creates an exception to the student educator stipend program and the educator test stipend program for funds appropriated to the department of higher education from the economic recovery and relief cash fund. The Colorado commission on higher education (commission) is authorized to approve criteria for students who qualify for the student educator stipend program and the educator test stipend program. For the student educator stipend program, the commission is required, first, to consider students with an expected family contribution that does not exceed 300% of the maximum federal Pell-eligible expected family contribution. For the educator test stipend program, the commission is required, first, to consider students with an expected family contribution that does not exceed 300% of the maximum federal Pell-eligible expected family contribution and, second, to consider graduates of an approved program of preparation who were placed as student educators before passing the assessment of professional competencies in state fiscal years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22.
Current law requires eligible applicants for the temporary educator loan forgiveness program (forgiveness program) to be educators licensed as teachers or school counselors. The bill broadens the program requirements to allow eligible applicants to be educators licensed as principals or special service providers.
The bill broadens the requirements of the forgiveness program. The commission is required, first, to consider applicants who hold educator licenses and prioritize the approval of those applications based on the length of time each applicant has been employed under the license, beginning with those who have been employed the shortest length of time. The bill removes the forgiveness program requirement that the commission approves applicants who have contracted for a qualified position in a rural school or a rural school district or in a content shortage area whose percentage of at-risk pupils exceeded 60% in the 2021-22 budget year.
(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)