HB 1424 Summary

• Establishes a teacher recruitment and retention fund administered by the Department of Education to provide student loan repayment assistance (up to $3,000 annually, maximum $15,000 total) to teachers working in critical shortage areas for at least five consecutive years.

• Requires teachers receiving loan repayment assistance to commit contractually to employment as licensed teachers in shortage area school districts for at least five years, with breach of contract triggering immediate repayment liability plus federal Stafford Loan interest rates.

• Creates a teachers' national board certification incentive fund to support teachers pursuing National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification through stipends ($200/day for two days) and 75% reimbursement of certification fees.

• Requires school corporations to provide at least five paid days of released time annually for teachers pursuing national board certification and provide $2,000 annual salary supplements for nationally certified teachers for the life of their certificates.

• Establishes a legislative goal to have at least one nationally board-certified teacher in every Indiana public school by 2025 and authorizes reimbursement to school corporations for substitute teacher costs and mentor stipends related to the certification program.