H.F. 155 Summary

• Establishes student teacher grants up to $7,500 for low-income students in teacher preparation programs who are student teaching in licensure shortage areas or belong to underrepresented racial/ethnic groups in the teacher workforce.

• Reserves a percentage of student teacher grant funds equal to or greater than the percentage of K-12 students from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, with unspent funds transferred to a reserve account.

• Increases annual teacher shortage loan forgiveness from $1,000 to $2,000 per year (up to $3,000 for teachers meeting both shortage area and underrepresented group criteria) and extends maximum awards from 5 to 10 years.

• Defines "licensure shortage area" based on Tier 3 or Tier 4 licensed teacher availability and requires student teachers to be in the ten most severe shortage areas in their economic development region.

• Directs the Office of Higher Education to consult stakeholders and report recommendations by December 1, 2020, on collecting detailed disaggregated race and ethnicity data from postsecondary institutions.