The Tennessee Future Teacher Scholarship Act of 2023 provides scholarships to students in their junior or senior year of college who are enrolled in an educator preparation program (EPP) approved by the state board of education at an eligible postsecondary institution. This bill makes the following changes to the Act: (1) In addition to a student who is enrolled in an approved EPP in their junior or senior year, this bill adds that a student may be eligible for the scholarship by being enrolled in an approved EPP as a post-baccalaureate student, if the student is seeking an initial educator license; (2) Presently, the scholarship program is scheduled to terminate on July 1, 2028. This bill extends the program to July 1, 2030, and commensurately extends the dates by which the office of research and education accountability, in the office of the comptroller of treasury, is required to review and study the Tennessee Future Teacher scholarship program and report to legislative committees; (3) In order to qualify for a Tennessee future teacher scholarship under present law, the student must either be eligible for and receive the HOPE scholarship or, if enrolled in a private institution, maintain the concordant equivalent to the grade point average required for continuation of the HOPE scholarship. This bill such deletes requirements. This bill also conditions continued eligibility for the Tennessee future teacher scholarship upon a student continuing to meet the standards established by the state board of education for admission to the student's EPP or the standards of the approved EPP in which the student is enrolled; (4) Present law requires that a Tennessee future teacher scholarship recipient sign a promissory note agreeing to teach in an LEA or public charter school in this state for at least four consecutive years in a targeted setting. This bill reduces the service obligation from four to two years; and (5) Under present law, the amount of a Tennessee future teacher scholarship is the cost of tuition and mandatory fees charged to all students for coursework leading to completion of an approved undergraduate EPP at the public institution attended less all other gift aid. For a student who attends a private institution, the scholarship must not exceed the average of the scholarship amount at all public institutions in this state with an EPP. This bill removes the requirement that gift aid be subtracted from the cost of attendance before determining a scholarship amount and sets the scholarship at a flat $5,000.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 49-4-701(b)(2), 49-4-701, 49-4-701(b), 49-4-701(c), 49-4-701(d), 49-4-701(f)(2), 49-4-701(h), 49-4-701(i), 49-4-701(k)