FACT SHEET: The U.S. Department of Education Announces Partnerships Across States, School Districts, and Colleges of Education to Meet Secretary Cardona's Call to Action to Address the Teacher Shortage (2024)

Institutions and System Leaders will Increase the Number of Teacher Candidates Prepared to Enter the Profession and Support Schools in the Fall and Beyond

Today, the U.S. Department of Education announces that states, school districts, and higher education leaders are continuing to come together to increase the number of teacher candidates prepared to enter the classroom and support schools. While they complete their preparation, teacher candidates are helping to work and address the impact of COVID-19 on students' social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs right now. Throughout the pandemic, many districts have faced significant challenges in attracting and retaining teachers, and preexisting teacher shortages in critical areas such as special education; bilingual education; science, technology, engineering, and math; career and technical education; and early childhood education have only been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These shortages in critical areas have a direct impact on educational opportunity for students, and research shows that educator shortages disproportionately impact students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, students with disabilities, and students from rural communities.

A Call to Action

In the State of the Union, President Biden encouraged leaders to use pandemic relief and recovery funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) and other federal funds to address teacher shortages—including the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER), Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER), and Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF) funds to help with these efforts.

To support the President's call, today Secretary Cardona is calling on state policymakers, higher education leaders, and school districts to use pandemic relief and recovery funds to increase the number of teacher candidates prepared to enter the profession as early as possible. He is also calling on teacher preparation programs and school districts to work together in innovative ways to address the teacher shortage.

To increase the number of teacher candidates prepared to enter the profession in the fall and beyond, and provide immediate supports to schools:

Secretary Cardona is calling on governors, state school chiefs, and state policymakers to commit to:

• Establish teaching as a Registered Apprenticeship. The U.S. Department of Labor has approved standards that create an easy pathway for states to establish and use apprenticeship funding to support teaching residencies, allowing teacher apprentices to earn a good wage while learning the skills—on-the-job and through higher education partners and their integrated coursework—necessary to provide a quality education to our nation's students. Registered Apprenticeship is an effective "earn and learn" model with a long history of establishing career pathways in various industries by providing structured, paid on-the-job learning experiences combined with job-related technical instruction with a mentor that leads to a nationally recognized credential. To learn more about Registered Apprenticeships, visit www.apprenticeship.gov.

• Invest in evidence-based teacher residency programs. States can provide grant funding to increase the number of partnerships between educator preparation programs (EPPs) and districts that support teaching residencies.

• Establish or expand loan forgiveness or service scholarship programs. These programs can also include a commitment to teach in a high need area for a minimum number of years.

• Increase teacher compensation. Provide a competitive and livable wage, including increasing starting salaries and salary caps for teachers.

Secretary Cardona is calling on school district leaders to commit to:

• Increase the number of partnerships between EPPs and districts that support teaching residencies and schools. Teacher residents, as part of their clinical experience, can serve in schools as substitutes, paraprofessionals, or tutors as their academic schedules allow and as they complete requirements for teacher certification.

• Increase the availability of qualified teacher residents to support educators, students, and staff. Districts can partner with institutions of higher education (IHEs) to provide additional supports to educators and students through the use of teaching candidates.

Secretary Cardona is calling on higher education leaders and EPPs to commit to:

• Increase the number of teaching residency programs and program capacity. Teacher residents, as part of their clinical experiences, can serve in schools as substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, or tutors as their academic schedules allow and as they complete requirements for teacher certification. An institution could use its HEERF institutional funds to expand its teacher training programs in response to the pandemic through such measures as hiring additional faculty and staff; providing stipends, scholarships, or other student aid; and creating additional course offerings.

• Work with states to establish teaching as a Registered Apprenticeship. The U.S. Department of Labor has approved standards that create an easy pathway for states to establish and use apprenticeship funding to support teaching residencies. As previously described, Registered Apprenticeship is an effective "earn and learn" model with a long history of establishing career pathways in various industries by providing structured, paid on-the-job learning experiences combined with job-related technical instruction with a mentor that leads to a nationally recognized credential. To learn more about Registered Apprenticeships, visit www.apprenticeship.gov.

• Establish or expand loan forgiveness or service scholarship programs. These programs can also include a commitment to teach in a high need area for a minimum number of years.

Answering the Call

Many states, districts, and IHEs across the nation have already established or are scaling up their partnerships and programs to support a strong and diverse pipeline of teachers with many currently providing support to schools as they work to recover from the pandemic. Secretary Cardona has encouraged the use of funds under the ARP Act and other federal COVID-19 relief funds to scale up EPPs at IHEs, and is calling on states, districts, and IHEs to work in partnership to address the short- and long-term challenges contributing to the teacher shortage across the country.

IHEs and districts are answering the call and establishing or building on existing efforts, for example:

• The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill launched a new mentorship program to recruit and retain teachers of color. UNC's Diverse and Resilient Educators Advised through Mentorship (DREAM) program combines 12 months of Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) instruction with 3 subsequent years of unique on-the-job guided mentorship to prepare candidates for a career as an educator. DREAM has a special focus on recruiting students and retaining teachers from diverse populations and is funded through a $4.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Effective Educator Development Grant Program. The program will graduate its first cohort in June 2022. For the duration of MAT program instruction, DREAM residents will receive $28,000 in financial support, contingent upon completion of the MAT program. After completing the MAT program, residents will earn initial North Carolina licensure in either Elementary Education or Special Education. Upon graduation, they will begin their teaching careers in Durham Public Schools, where they will receive 3 years of mentorship in a unique teacher-induction program that includes workshops, trainings, and seminars on issues that face beginning teachers.

• Dallas College in Texas will launch the state's first paid teacher residency apprenticeship in fall 2022 to serve short-term workforce needs of partner school systems; build a talent pipeline in underserved schools; and provide a rich career-embedded learning opportunity for students. Dallas College students will serve as residents 3 days per week and will then either tutor or act as a substitute 1 day per week. Students will be strategically placed in underserved schools with mentors. The residency is structured as a cohort model in which students participate in weekly cohort meetings and receive deep coaching from Dallas College faculty members. Dallas College received approval from the U.S. Department of Labor to serve as a Registered Apprenticeship sponsor for teaching residencies in February of 2022. The apprenticeship funds will be used to pay for students' tuition, as well as for performance-based assessments.

• At Adelphi University in New York, teaching residents co-teach in classrooms 3-4 days per week and substitute teach 1-2 days per week. Many residents are hired to become permanent substitute teachers for the remainder of the school year. Based on meeting set qualifications, residents can also provide academic coaching after school or tutor students. Residents are supported in these roles by school administrators and university supervisors through observations and targeted seminar discussions. Current efforts are underway to develop a Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Cooperative Service (CoSER) model of resident compensation in which district funds can be appropriated to pay residents a stipend during their experience.

• The University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Education is working with the rural districts on recruitment of both high school students and current non-certificated district employees into the teaching profession, targeted advising and wrap-around supports for students pursuing a teaching degree, district cohort-based supports, the integration of local and Indigenous knowledge into the pre-service teaching curriculum, and the organization of locally offered course "intensives" to speed attainment of credits towards a degree.

• At University at Buffalo, State University of New York, teaching residents receive stipends and serve as co-teachers in partner school classrooms 4 days per week for the duration of the school year. As of November 2021, there are two additional sub-eligible days each month when residents may be pulled to substitute teach for another teacher in the same school building for which they are paid at the contracted daily substitute teacher rate.

• University of Colorado Denver provides an undergraduate 4-year residency in which teacher candidates are hired in paid, part-time para-educator intern positions in partner schools within the district during their freshman-junior years and then transition to be a paid resident their senior year. The program supports about 50 students per year, focused on diverse, first-generation teacher candidates. Candidates also receive wrap-around services and supports for college/academic success and social and emotional support.

• University of Southern California teaching residents who have grown up in underserved communities are specifically recruited after completing their undergraduate degrees. In the 2022 academic year, they will receive full tuition from the university and a living stipend from the school district. They receive professional development from the district in addition to their MAT program course of studies, an integrated program where, without additional cost or units, candidates can meet the standards for general education, Education Specialist, and the Bilingual Authorization simultaneously.

• Virginia Commonwealth University teaching residents start the school year with their mentor teachers after an intensive summer semester of coursework. Residents co-teach 4 days per week alongside their mentor teachers, taking coursework in the evenings and on Fridays. The Richmond Teacher Residency (RTR) training model provides ongoing opportunities for residents to integrate theory and practice as they learn how to teach. Residents begin taking on roles in the classroom from the very first day, such as leading classroom routines. Over time, responsibilities eventually include periods where residents have full responsibility for planning and teaching classes for an entire week, when they are formatively assessed. By utilizing the co-teaching model, RTR lowers student-teacher ratios in high-needs classrooms, providing more individualized attention and opportunities to differentiate instruction for students.

States are also answering the call, for example:

• Tennessee developed and initially proposed the newly approved and federally recognized K-12 Teacher Occupation as a Registered Apprenticeship program. Tennessee registered its first program utilizing the new K-12 Teacher occupation approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship with Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and Austin Peay State University. This program is supported by the Tennessee Education Association and the National Education Association. This Registered Apprenticeship program provides prospective educators with a high-quality pathway to teaching.

• California signed into law a 2021-2022 state budget that includes a total of $350 million in state funding for the Teacher Residency Grant Program to help address areas of shortage by funding efforts in the state to recruit, support, and retain a diverse teacher workforce.

• New Mexico passed legislation on March 1, 2022, that provides $15.5 million in state funding to support teacher residencies, including a $35,000 minimum stipend for residents, $2,000 for mentors and principals, and $50,000 for program coordination at colleges of education. Funds are distributed proportionally across undergraduate, graduate degree, and graduate licensure-only programs that meet state residency definitions, which include co-design and collaboration with districts. Residents are placed in classrooms with experienced teachers and direct supports are provided for rural and regional IHEs. The state is also creating collaboratives across IHEs so that lessons can be shared, developing a community of practice for partnerships.

• Iowa announced the launch of the first-in-the-nation Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Grant program. The Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Workforce Development Agency will use $9 million in ARP ESSER funds to create the program, which will train high school students and paraeducators for the next step in their teaching careers.

• Delaware Pathways introduces career exploration as early as middle school with education and training as a featured career pathway. High school sophom*ores or juniors can take courses related to careers and concurrently enroll in an IHE for a 2- to 3-year program of study. The summer before and during their senior year of high school, students participate in paid internships for approximately 240 hours in their chosen field. When students graduate from high school, they have a high school diploma, 6-15 college credits, an industry-recognized credential, and work experience.

Building on the American Rescue Plan

EPPs and districts across the country are forming or expanding partnerships to help address these challenges and using funding under the ARP to support these efforts. Teaching residents currently enrolled in EPPs are serving as substitute teachers, providing classroom support to students and educators, and gaining valuable clinical experience. These partnerships benefit schools and teacher candidates and are supporting a diverse and well-prepared teacher pipeline. Federal recovery funds can be used in the following ways to support and scale up these efforts:

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) under ARP

• HEERF grant funds can be used to provide stipends, scholarships, and other financial aid to educators-in-training to help underwrite the cost of preparation. For example, HEERF funds can be used to provide teaching residents with a stipend to support living expenses, such as housing, or to cover the cost of travel between campus and the school in which they are completing their clinical experience. Teaching residencies can often be more expensive than less comprehensive pathways, and scholarships can help offset or underwrite the tuition costs for teaching residents from low-income backgrounds.

• HEERF grant funds can be used to cover the cost of additional courses or pay test fees to earn first or additional teaching licenses or certification. IHEs may respond to the teacher shortage facing America's school systems by using HEERF institutional grant funds to cover the cost of courses or pay the test fees needed to become a teacher or earn additional licenses or certifications.

• HEERF funds can be used to expand an institution's EPP in response to the pandemic. An IHE could use its HEERF institutional funds to expand its EPPs in response to the pandemic through such measures as hiring additional faculty and staff, expanding programs to prepare teachers in shortage areas such as special education and bilingual education, and creating additional course offerings.

• IHEs can discharge institutional student loans, debt, or unpaid balances to their IHEs with their own funds. An IHE can use its HEERF institutional grant funds to discharge unpaid institutional student debt incurred prior to the pandemic provided that the (1) institution is the holder of that debt (not, for example, a third party or loan provider); (2) the student was enrolled at the institution on or after March 13, 2020 (the date of the declaration of the national emergency); and (3) the student has an overdue balance that is due to financial constraints associated with the pandemic. This financial benefit may be particularly helpful for recruiting and retaining graduates entering teaching, where in many states they might be paid a less-competitive wage compared to other professions with similar requirements. This discharge would be tax free. Additional information can be found in these ARP FAQs [PDF, 517KB] and this Internal Revenue Service HEERF Fact Sheet [PDF, 349KB].

Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds under the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA Act) and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds under CARES, CRRSA and ARP Acts.

• GEER and ESSER funds may be used by a state and districts to make monthly payments on behalf of college graduates from low-income backgrounds who enter teaching and who enroll in a federal income-driven repayment plan to pay their student loans through 2024. A state or district may condition these payments on a commitment to serve in a high-need field or school (e.g., special education with a 4-year commitment). As stated in Question D-1 of the U.S. Department of Education's ESSER and GEER FAQs [PDF, 877KB], ESSER and GEER funds may generally be used to support and stabilize the educator workforce. As with any GEER or ESSER use of funds, the proposed use must: (1) be intended to prevent, prepare for, or respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of students; and (2) be permissible under the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR Part 200) (e.g., necessary and reasonable for the performance of the ESSER or GEER award). Grantees may also clearly communicate with and advise graduates about the availability of Public Service Loan Forgiveness, TEACH grant, and Teacher Loan Forgiveness programs.

• GEER and ESSER funds may be used to provide tuition assistance or reimbursem*nt under certain conditions. As stated in Question D-1 of the U.S. Department of Education's ESSER and GEER FAQs [PDF, 877KB], ESSER and GEER funds may generally be used to support and stabilize the educator workforce. As with any GEER and ESSER use of funds, the proposed use must: (1) be intended to prevent, prepare for, or respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of students; and (2) be permissible under the Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR Part 200 (e.g., necessary and reasonable for the performance of the ESSER or GEER award).

Supplemental Support under ARP (SSARP)

The SSARP Program assists public and private nonprofit IHEs that have the greatest unmet need related to the coronavirus, as determined by the Secretary after allocating available funds under HEERF III, including IHEs s with large populations of graduate students who otherwise did not receive a HEERF allocation under ARP.

• SSARP funds can be used for strategies to address students' basic needs and the forgiveness of institutional debts, which can include costs that are necessary to afford comprehensive educator preparation, such as teaching residencies. With the exception of financial aid grants to students, all institutional uses of HEERF funds (including SSARP funds) must be to "defray expenses associated with coronavirus." Thus, the extent to which costs that are necessary to afford comprehensive educator preparation can be covered using SSARP funds (or any HEERF institutional funds) is the extent to which these costs are "associated with coronavirus[.]" If an institution is incurring new costs in order to support teachers in training through the coronavirus pandemic, or expand programs to help address teaching shortages, those costs may be covered by HEERF institutional portion funds.

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