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Chapter 0023 - 572R - H Ver of HB2255
House Engrossed
teachers academy;
community college students
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
CHAPTER 23
HOUSE BILL 2255
AN
ACT
amending section 15-1655, Arizona Revised
Statutes; relating to school employee training.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Subject to the requirements of
article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 15-1655,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
15-1655.
Arizona teachers academy; tuition and fees scholarships; fund;
reporting requirements; definitions
A. Eligible postsecondary institutions shall
implement an Arizona teachers academy to incentivize students to enter the
teaching profession and to commit to teach in Arizona public schools or for or
in schools that serve primarily public school students with disabilities, which
are considered public schools for the purposes of this section.� The Arizona
board of regents, in consultation with eligible postsecondary institutions,
shall develop and implement centralized administrative processes for the academy,
including:
1. A marketing and promotion plan to recruit
students for the academy.
2. Data collection and reporting.
3. Tracking postgraduation service requirements.
4. Coordinating induction services.
5. Distributing monies in the Arizona teachers
academy fund between eligible postsecondary institutions.
6. Collecting reimbursement from individuals who
fail to meet service obligations.
B. The Arizona teachers academy may include new or
existing teacher preparation program pathways that are student-focused
and that employ proven, research-based models of best practices already being
implemented. Each eligible postsecondary institution may develop a portfolio of
teacher preparation programs to offer as part of the academy. Each
eligible postsecondary institution that admits students to the Arizona teachers
academy may give priority to senior and junior students but may not exclude
sophomore and freshman students. Programs offered as part of the
academy shall include accelerated models for:
1. High-demand teacher specializations, including
special education, science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
2. Critical need areas, including low-income public
schools, public schools located on Indian reservations, rural public schools
and schools that serve primarily public school students with disabilities.
3. Individuals seeking postbaccalaureate coursework
that results in professional certification.
4. Teachers who are currently teaching a dual
enrollment course to satisfy the requirements for teaching a dual enrollment
course adopted by a higher learning commission that accredits degree-granting
postsecondary educational institutions in the north central region, including
this state.
5. Students in noneducation programs to complete one
or more teacher preparation courses to prepare the student to receive a
teaching certification following graduation.
C. Each eligible postsecondary institution shall
develop formalized partnerships with public schools in this state to build
commitments for teacher employment on completion of the Arizona teachers
academy. The targeted deployment of teachers who have completed the
academy shall be based on the needs of each school system and the community
that is being served as well as the individual skills of each teacher.
D. Each eligible postsecondary institution shall
provide to each student who is enrolled in the Arizona teachers academy an
annual scholarship up to the actual cost of tuition and fees for a maximum of
two academic years or four semesters for graduate university students, up to
the actual cost of tuition and fees for a maximum of four academic years or
eight semesters for undergraduate university students, up to the actual cost of
tuition and fees for a maximum of
two
four
academic
years or
four
eight
semesters for
community college students for tuition and fees associated with the student's
program of study, up to the actual cost of obtaining national board
certification and renewal, and up to the actual cost of obtaining a teaching
certificate including the actual cost of the exam, after all other financial
gifts, aid or grants received by that student or
teacher. Scholarships under this subsection are subject to all of
the following:
1. If the student does not successfully complete the
academic year in good academic standing, the student shall reimburse the
Arizona board of regents for the total amount of the scholarship for tuition
and fees the student received for that year.
2. For each academic year that the student
successfully completes and for which the student receives a scholarship for all
tuition and fees, the student must agree to teach for one full school year in a
public school in this state. For students who are teaching and
receiving the scholarship concurrently, the commitment period begins after
graduation from the Arizona teachers academy. For teachers who are
seeking a national board certification, the teaching commitment is one
additional year after completing the requirements of the national board
certification program.
3. If a student enrolls in a summer term, that term
may not be included in the calculation of the student's postgraduation public
service commitment.
4. If the scholarship does not cover remaining
tuition and fee costs after other aid received, the eligible postsecondary
institution may not charge students the remaining difference. If the
scholarship amount exceeds tuition and fee costs at an eligible postsecondary
institution, the eligible postsecondary institution may use the remaining
amount to support Arizona teachers academy costs.
5. If the student does not fulfill the student's
obligation to teach in a public school, the student must reimburse the Arizona
board of regents for the proportional amount of the scholarship for tuition and
fees that the student received that corresponds to the number of school years
the student agreed to teach but did not teach in a public school in this state.
6. If the student is physically or mentally unable
to fulfill the requirements of the Arizona teachers academy, the Arizona board
of regents shall establish a process for assessing the student's ability to
repay the financial assistance received and shall determine any terms of
repayment.
7. The Arizona board of regents shall establish a
process for deferring service or repayment based on factors adopted by the
board.
E. The Arizona teachers academy fund is established
consisting of monies deposited pursuant to section 15-1281, subsection D,
paragraph 5 and section 15-1809, subsection E and legislative
appropriations made for the purpose of administering the Arizona teachers
academy. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are
exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of
appropriations. The Arizona board of regents shall administer the
fund and shall establish criteria for distributing monies in the fund to
eligible postsecondary institutions each fiscal year to fund the costs of the
academy.� Monies in the fund may be used only for:
1. Reimbursing Arizona teachers academy scholarships
that cover the balance of tuition and fees for undergraduate, graduate and
postbaccalaureate students who are enrolled in the Arizona teachers academy
after all other gifts and aid received.
2. Support for teachers who are currently employed
in a public school in this state and who are seeking a national board
certification.
3. Induction services for Arizona teachers academy
graduates.
4. Implementing a marketing and promotion plan to
recruit and retain students in the Arizona teachers academy with particular
emphasis on ensuring that participants reflect the diversity of this state's
student population and administering the Arizona teachers
academy. Annual expenditures for marketing, promoting and
administering the Arizona teachers academy may not exceed three percent of the
monies in the fund each fiscal year.
F. Monies remaining in the Arizona teachers academy
fund at the end of each fiscal year may be used by eligible postsecondary
institutions for Arizona teachers academy costs in the next fiscal year.
G. On or before March 1 each year, the Arizona board
of regents shall report to the joint legislative budget committee and the
governor's office of strategic planning and budgeting on all of the following:
1. The total number of students enrolled in the
Arizona teachers academy by eligible postsecondary institution in the current
academic year.
2. The number of Arizona teachers academy graduates
receiving induction services in the current academic year.
3. The estimated amount of monies committed from the
Arizona teachers academy fund in the current fiscal year.
H. On or before September 1 each year, the Arizona
board of regents shall report to the governor, the president of the senate and
the speaker of the house of representatives, and shall submit a copy to the
secretary of state, on all of the following:
1. The total number of students enrolled in the
Arizona teachers academy at each eligible postsecondary institution by year of
college enrollment and the number of teachers receiving a scholarship through
the Arizona teachers academy for national board certification.
2. The percentage of students who completed each
year of the academy and who plan to continue to the subsequent year, delineated
by each teacher preparation program offered by each eligible postsecondary
institution as part of the Arizona teachers academy.
3. The number of teachers who completed a program of
study through the Arizona teachers academy by each eligible postsecondary
institution.
4. The number of teachers currently teaching in a
public school in this state as part of an agreement for receiving an Arizona
teachers academy scholarship.
5. The number of graduates receiving induction
services.
6. The number of students who have defaulted on
their obligation and who are in repayment agreements.
7. The number of students who have deferred
repayment agreements.
8. The number of students who have completed
repayment agreements.
9. The methodology for distributing any monies
appropriated for the Arizona teachers academy to each eligible postsecondary
institution and the amounts distributed to each.
10. The amount of unused monies in the Arizona
teachers academy fund from the prior fiscal year.
I. A college in this state that is owned, operated
or chartered by a qualifying Indian tribe on its own Indian reservation and
that offers baccalaureate teacher education programs may participate in the
Arizona teachers academy and receive monies from the Arizona teachers academy
fund established by this section.
J. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Eligible postsecondary institution"
means any of the following:
(a) A
university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents.
(b) A
community college in this state.
(c) A college described in subsection I of this
section if the college opts to participate in the Arizona teachers academy
under subsection I of this section.
2. "School that serves primarily public school
students with disabilities" means a school in which more than seventy-five
percent of the students enrolled in the school are public school students who
are placed at the school according to an agreement with a school, a charter
school or the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind.
3. "Tuition and fees" means tuition,
mandatory fees and program fees that are associated with a program in the
Arizona teachers academy leading to teacher certification and that are charged
by an eligible postsecondary institution.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2.
Requirements for
enactment; three-fourths vote
Pursuant to article IV, part 1,
section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 15-1655, Arizona Revised Statutes,
as amended by this act, is effective only on the affirmative vote of at least
three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature.
APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR APRIL 7, 2026.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 7, 2026.