Committee backs pilot to pay Pell‑eligible student teachers and add signing grant to ease teacher pipeline
Loading...
Summary
The committee approved LC492630S (presented as HB 310), a pilot providing a $5,000 student‑teaching stipend for 500 Pell‑eligible student teachers and a $2,500 signing grant for those who accept Georgia public‑school employment; sponsors framed it as a targeted workforce development effort and the measure passed by voice vote.
A committee member presented LC492630S (referred to in the hearing as HB 310), a pilot program to provide up to $5,000 to 500 Pell‑eligible student teachers during the unpaid student‑teaching semester and an additional $2,500 signing grant if recipients accept employment in a Georgia public school and meet the employment threshold described in the program.
Sponsor discussion focused on workforce shortages: the presenter cited a statewide teacher vacancy figure (5,358 as of Dec. 2, reported in the hearing) and framed the pilot as a targeted step to lower barriers for low‑income student teachers and improve the pipeline into high‑need subject areas. Members asked whether the pilot should be limited to high‑need certifications or geography; the presenter said the pilot is intentionally limited and broad targeting could weaken the incentive, but he welcomed committee input on focusing future iterations on high‑need areas.
Questions also addressed program mechanics and eligibility: the bill ties the signing grant to recipients of the student‑teaching stipend and sets conditions for the signing grant (for example, meeting a 30‑day employment threshold in the Department of Education); the pilot covers a fraction of the state’s roughly 3,000 annual student teachers, with sponsors noting the controlled scale is by design.
Committee members voiced broad support, noting the measure addresses recruitment and retention; the committee moved to approve LC492630S and the motion carried by voice vote.
