(1) (a) There is created in the department the educator test stipend program,
referred to in this section as the stipend program. The purpose of the stipend
program is to award stipend money to an approved program of preparation to
reduce financial barriers for eligible students by paying the fees and costs, which
may include travel and lodging costs, associated with the assessment of
professional competencies required for licensure and required endorsements
pursuant to sections 22-60.5-203 and 22-60.5-212.
(b) (I) The commission shall adopt any necessary policies and the department
shall adopt any necessary guidelines to implement and administer the stipend
program.
(II) In its adoption of any necessary policies pursuant to subsection (1)(b)(I) of
this section, the commission shall create a formula for calculating the amount of
stipend money awarded to each approved program of preparation based on the
total number of eligible students in an approved program of preparation and the
amount required to pay the fees and costs associated with the assessment of
professional competencies for licensure and the required endorsement for each
eligible student.
(c) The department shall collect data to measure the effectiveness of the
stipend program, which data includes, but need not be limited to:
(I) The total number of eligible students served by each approved program of
preparation;
(II) The total amount of stipend money each eligible student receives each
year;
(III) A survey of eligible students to measure the eligible students'
experience with the stipend program;
(IV) The demographic data of each eligible student aggregated by race,
ethnicity, and gender;
(V) The reported number of hours each eligible student works a second job
to earn income;
(VI) A comparison of eligible students' financial burdens with the national
average of financial burdens imposed on students enrolled in teacher and
counselor preparation programs; and
(VII) The data correlation between the eligible students who receive stipend
money through the educator test stipend program and the subsequent placement
and retention of those eligible students as educators, to the extent the data is
available.
(2) (a) To qualify to participate in the stipend program, a student must be an
eligible student. No later than July 1, 2022, and no later than July 1 each year
thereafter, each approved program of preparation shall notify the department of
the number of eligible students who qualify for the stipend program.
(b) (I) No later than August 1, 2022, and no later than August 1 each year
thereafter, the department, subject to available appropriations, shall disburse to
each approved program of preparation stipend money, plus additional money to pay
the direct costs of operating the stipend program. The approved program of
preparation shall distribute the stipend money to each eligible student to pay the
fees and costs associated with the assessment of professional competencies for
licensure and the required endorsement.
(II) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2)(b)(I) of this section, if the
amount appropriated is insufficient to fully fund the total number of eligible
students, the approved program of preparation shall reduce the stipend amounts
paid to each eligible student in proportion to the deficit.
(c) The approved program of preparation shall determine the number of
times an eligible student may be reimbursed if the student must retake the
assessment of professional competencies.
(3) The general assembly shall annually appropriate money to the
department to implement this section, including money to pay the costs of
implementing and administering the stipend program, which may include the direct
costs incurred by approved programs of preparation in operating the stipend
program.
(4) (a) For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the general assembly shall
appropriate to the department money from the economic recovery and relief cash
fund created pursuant to section 24-75-228 to fund stipends for eligible students.
(b) The department or the stipend recipient shall spend or obligate any
stipend money received pursuant to this subsection (4) that originated from the
federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund in accordance with section 24-75-226 (4)(d).
(c) The department and any person who receives money from the
department, including each stipend recipient, shall comply with the compliance,
reporting, record-keeping, and program evaluation requirements established by the
office of state planning and budgeting and the state controller in accordance with
section 24-75-226 (5).
(c.5) For purposes of this subsection (4) only, the commission shall approve
the criteria of eligible students, including:
(I) First, consideration for eligible students whose expected family
contribution does not exceed three hundred percent of the maximum federal Pell-eligible expected family contribution; and
(II) Second, consideration for graduates of an approved program of
preparation who were placed as student educators before passing the assessment
of professional competencies in state fiscal years 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22.
(d) This subsection (4) is repealed, effective January 31, 2027.