Senate Education Committee Advances Bill to Prepare Colorado’s Future Teachers
April 5, 2019
Denver, CO - The Senate Education Committee yesterday voted 4-to-0 to pass SB19-190, Teacher Preparation Program Support, a bill sponsored by Senator Nancy Todd (D-Aurora) to create the “Growing Great Teachers Act” to prepare more Coloradans for the experience of teaching in our public schools. The bill now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.
“As a former teacher myself, I know how critical hands-on training can be, and I am proud of our bipartisan effort to prepare Colorado’s next generation of educators,” said Senator Todd. “We need to make sure that every teacher is adequately prepared to provide the best possible education to our children, and this bill will help prepare the future teachers of our state to teach in the real world by training in a real-world setting.”
SB19-190 would allow institutions of higher education to offer approved educator preparation programs or alternative teacher programs through a contract with the Department of Higher Education. These programs must include strong partnerships with local school districts and offer a full year of financially supported student teaching with a credentialed veteran educator. The bill also creates the Classroom Residency Design Grant Program.
“The Growing Great Teachers Act will innovate our current education programs and equip our future educators with all the tools they need to become excellent teachers after they graduate,” added Senator Todd.
Under this legislation, the veteran instructor must hold a master’s certificate from the Department of Education and will be offered a stipend of at least $2,000 during the year of mentorship. The Department of Education will collaborate with the Department of Higher Education to endorse potential mentor teachers overseeing teacher candidates.
For more on SB19-190, please visit https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb19-190.
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