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Committee hears bill to let teaching coursework qualify for North Dakota scholarship
Summary
House Bill 10 98 would add a teaching coursework pathway so high school students can use teaching‑related classes to qualify for the $6,000 North Dakota scholarship; DPI supports the change and estimates only a handful of additional students would qualify.
Representative Jonas introduced House Bill 10 98, which would add coursework related to the teaching profession as an option under the North Dakota scholarship’s workforce‑ready pathway.
Jim Uppgren, legislative liaison and assistant director for school approval and opportunity at the Department of Public Instruction, said the North Dakota scholarship is a $6,000 award available for up to four years to students who meet in‑high‑school requirements; roughly 1,800 students receive the award each year and about 5,000 students use the scholarship across four cohorts.
Under the bill’s amendment, the teaching pathway would mirror an option that existed under the prior academic and CTE scholarships and would require four credits in a teaching pathway to match the rigor of the existing workforce option (four CTE credits or three language credits). Uppgren told the committee the department supports the bill and that, after correcting an original drafting error, DPI estimates the amendment would make roughly three additional students per year eligible statewide for the scholarship.
Senator Axman and other committee members asked about why the teaching pathway was listed under the workforce column rather than the post‑secondary column; Uppgren said the provision mirrors the structure in the former CTE scholarship and that the workforce‑pathway placement preserves a comparable coursework‑based option for students preparing for a specific profession.
No committee vote was recorded on the bill during the hearing. Testimony included local educators and YMCA representatives urging support for measures that encourage students into teaching and for continued attention to scholarship funding and childcare supports that affect workforce supply.
