Bill > S4231

Introduced Session

This bill establishes a program in the Department of Education (DOE) to encourage and assist school districts in developing grow-your-own teacher programs for the hiring of teachers of students with disabilities. Under a school district's grow-your-own teacher program, the district would make a good faith effort to hire, and to providing training and mentoring opportunities to, individuals, who are currently employed in the school district and are not certified as teaching staff members, as teachers of students with disabilities. Under the bill, the DOE will provide financial and other support deemed appropriate by the department to school districts that are selected for participation. To be eligible for financial and other support from the department, a school district would submit an application to the DOE. An application would, at a minimum: provide an overview of the district's grow-your-own program; detail the school district's need for hiring additional teachers of students with disabilities and the extent of any shortage of teachers of students with disabilities in the district's teacher workforce; include documented evidence, or otherwise provide a commitment, that the school district will dedicate funds toward aiding participating employees in the grow-your-own program with any costs associated with becoming certified as a teacher of students with disabilities; include descriptions of the training and mentoring opportunities that the district will provide to participating employees; detail flexibilities the district will provide to participating employees as they complete the necessary education to become certified as teachers of students with disabilities; delineate how the school district plans to utilize any grant funds that would be allocated to it and how those funds would supplement any funds dedicated by the district; describe efforts the district will initiate to make good faith efforts to hire and retain participating employees who become teachers of students with disabilities under the grow-your-own program; and outline plans to provide ongoing mentoring and support as a participating employee begins working as a teacher of students with disabilities. Support provided under the program established pursuant to this bill would be allocated to school districts in a manner to be determined by the DOE, except the DOE will, to the greatest extent possible, prioritize school districts that demonstrate the greatest shortage of teachers of students with disabilities and approve applications from at least one school district in each the northern, central, and southern regions of the State and seek a cross-section of school districts from urban, suburban, and rural areas of the State.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Benjie Wimberly (D)*,  Renee Burgess (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee (on 03/03/2025)

Official Document