Intermediates ask Legislature for $3 million to sustain special-education teacher apprenticeship

Four intermediate school districts and Minnesota State University, Mankato asked the Minnesota Legislature to provide continuing funding for a registered special-education teacher apprenticeship designed to produce fully licensed teachers for the state’s highest-need classrooms.

The request centers on Senate File 949, which Senator Mary K. Maquay moved before the Senate Education Finance Committee; Maquay said the bill would provide each of the four intermediate districts roughly $740,000 annually as part of a $3 million appropriation to continue the program. The committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill.

The apprenticeship, described at the hearing as the Intermediate Teacher Registered Apprenticeship Collaborative (iTRAC or ITRAC), pairs paraprofessionals who already work in intermediate (setting 4) special-education classrooms with mentor “journey” teachers while Minnesota State University, Mankato delivers co‑taught coursework during the work day. Dr. Valerie Bell, superintendent of Intermediate District 916, told the committee that the model provides a two‑year pathway to a bachelor of science in special education with categorical licenses in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and emotional/behavioral…