HB2896 Summary

• State Board of Education must determine which schools and districts qualify as rural for purposes of this bill.

• Board of Higher Education shall establish one Rural Education Coordinator position, based at a recognized educator preparation institution, to increase rural teacher recruitment, expand access to rural education programs, develop educator pipelines, and support rural schools.

• Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall provide up to 40 annual stipends of $2,800 per student to offset tuition for individuals in educator preparation programs who agree to student teach in a rural school or district.

• Stipend recipients must work in a rural school or district for at least 2 years after student teaching or face potential repayment obligations of two-thirds (if declining employment) or one-third (if teaching only 1 year) of the stipend amount.

• Recognized institutions housing the Coordinator must annually report enrollment and stipend data to the Board of Higher Education and State Board of Education, with joint evaluation every 5 years to assess program effectiveness.