SB16-104 Summary

• Establishes Article 76 in Title 23 of Colorado Revised Statutes to create incentive programs for teachers in rural Colorado school districts.

• Creates a rural education coordinator position (by July 1, 2017) housed in an institution of higher education to increase rural teacher recruitment and develop educator pipelines to rural schools.

• Provides up to 40 annual financial stipends of up to $2,800 per student to offset tuition costs for individuals in educator preparation programs who agree to student teach in rural schools; recipients must commit to teach in rural districts for at least 2 years or reimburse two-thirds of the stipend.

• Establishes teacher cadet programs in rural schools and school districts (by July 1, 2017) to identify and support high school students interested in teaching careers in rural Colorado.

• Provides up to 20 annual financial stipends of up to $6,000 each to rural teachers seeking National Board Certified Teacher status, concurrent enrollment certification, or continuing education; recipients must commit to teach 3 years in their rural district.

• Appropriates $441,095 to the Department of Higher Education for the 2016-17 fiscal year to fund rural teacher recruitment, retention, and professional development programs.