Assembly Bill 1148 mandates that, starting in the 2026-27 school year, school boards in Wisconsin must pay student teachers an hourly wage of at least $15 for their participation in the student teaching component of teacher preparatory programs. The bill also establishes a reimbursement mechanism through the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), which will provide financial aid to school boards based on the total hours student teachers worked in the previous school term. This reimbursement will be calculated at a rate of $15 per hour for each student teacher.

Additionally, the bill creates new statutory provisions, specifically sections 20.255 (2) (e) and 118.237, to facilitate the implementation of these changes. Section 20.255 (2) (e) outlines the funding for student teacher compensation grants, while section 118.237 defines key terms and details the payment process for student teachers. The bill also amends section 119.04 (1) to include the newly created section 118.237 among the applicable statutes for first-class city school districts.