2024 Student Teaching Stipend Pilot
About the pilot
The 2024 State Legislature created a student teaching stipend pilot to help determine how to reduce the financial burden of completing student teaching and to strengthen the pipeline of incoming teachers. The legislature identified eight institutions that will provide stipends to student teachers. Those institutions are:
- St. Cloud State University,
- Bemidji State University,
- Minnesota State University - Mankato
- Winona State University,
- Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College,
- the University of Minnesota - Duluth,
- the University of Minnesota - Crookston, and
- Augsburg University.
Student teacher eligibility
A student teacher from one of the eight institutions above is eligible for a stipend if the individual is:
- enrolled in an approved initial licensure program that requires a minimum of 12 weeks of student teaching,
- completing a minimum of 12 weeks of student teaching during the fall of 2024 or spring of 2025 in a Minnesota school district or charter school, and
- meeting satisfactory academic progress, as defined under Minnesota Statutes, section 136A.01, subdivision 10.
Note: Eligibility does not rely on financial need or licensure area.
Next steps
The State of Minnesota will transfer $4,868,000 to the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities for further reallocation.
The State of Minnesota will transfer $1,218,000 to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for further reallocation.
Finally, the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) will enter into a contract with Augsburg University in order to disperse the remaining $317,000.
Each institution will be responsible for determining the stipend amount based on the available funding and number of eligible student teachers.
Report
PELSB will submit a report to the legislature by February 2025 to share:
- the number of student teachers receiving stipends by each institution,
- the districts and charters where the student teachers were placed, and
- the amount of each stipend.
PELSB will submit a final report by July 1, 2025, to share:
- Survey and interview results from student teachers and institutions about the strengths and weaknesses of this particular pilot program,
- Recommendations for future efforts to reduce financial barriers to completing teacher preparation.
