Yesterday the House Higher Education Committee held a public hearing on House Bill 2881, legislation sponsored by Representative Gerry Pollet aimed at addressing the state’s teacher shortage and helping to meet McCleary educational obligations.  If enacted and funded, the measure would expand enrollments in teacher preparation programs within Western’s Woodring College of Education, including expanding enrollments in the areas of greatest need throughout the state such as STEM education, special education, elementary education and early childhood education.

To help attract students to the teaching profession, the bill also seeks to reestablish funding for the existing Future Teachers Conditional Scholarship/Loan Repayment Program, as well as provide other financial aid incentives to students enrolled in teacher preparation programs.  Other elements of HB 2881 also focus on recruiting and retaining individuals into the teaching profession, including efforts aimed at attracting people from traditionally underserved communities to pursue teaching, as well as establishing training and teacher mentoring programs.  You can read a summary of the bill here.

With the legislative cutoff for bills to be passed out of policy committees in their house of origin just around the corner on February 5, House Bill 2881 is one of a handful of bills that Western will be tracking closely over the next few days.  Stay tuned for new WLR posts and updates on Twitter as the 2016 session unfolds.