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SENATE BILL NO. 174
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Education and Health
on January 22, 2026)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Pekarsky)
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
23.1-615.2
, relating to Virginia Student Teacher Scholarship Program established; report.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
23.1-615.2
as follows:
§
23.1-615.2
.
Virginia Student Teacher Scholarship
Program established.
A.
As used in this section
:
"
Approved program of study
"
means an undergraduate program leading to a bachelor
'
s degree offered by a baccalaureate public institution of higher education
or baccalaureate private institution of higher education
; a post-baccalaureate program; or a graduate program leading to a master's degree offered by an institution of higher education.
"Department" means the Department of
Education.
"
Program
"
means the Virginia Student Teacher Scholarship Program.
"
Student teacher
"
means a student completing a required
supervised
clinical practice through a traditional
educator
preparation program in
the Commonwealth
who is assigned to complete such
supervised
clinical practice at a public elementary or secondary school in
the Commonwealth
without payment
.
"
Supervised c
linical practice
"
means the
summative supervised student teaching
experience
that includes at least 150 clock hours spent in direct teaching under the guidance of a cooper
ating teacher.
B.
With such funds as are appropriated
by the General Assembly
for this purpose,
t
here is
hereby
established
the Virginia Student Teacher Scholarship Program
for the purpose of reducing financial barriers to teacher
licensure
and reducing teacher shortages in the
Commonwealth by awarding scholarships
to student teachers
in accordance with the provisions of this section
. The Program shall be administered by the
Department
in coordination with the
Cou
ncil
.
Pursuant to
the
P
rogram,
the
Department
shall award scholarships to student teachers
in an amount not to exceed $7,500
to assist with expenses incurred during the
supervised
clinical practice
required for licensure
. The
Department
may increase
such
maximum award amount to include a cost-of-living adjustment. A student teacher shall be eligible to receive
no more than one
scholarship
pursuant to
the
P
rogram
per
supervised clinical practice
experience
, regardless of the duration or academic structure of such
experience
.
C
.
To be eligible for a scholarship
pursuant to
the
P
rogram, an applicant shall
(i) b
e a resident of the
Commonwealth, (ii) b
e enrolled on a full-time basis in an approved program of study,
(iii) c
omplete all requirements of the approved program of study to be eligible to apply for
supervised
clinical practice,
(iv) be placed in a
n un
paid position as a student teacher at a
ny
public elementary or secondary school in the Commonwealth for such supervised clinical practice,
and
(v) a
gree to work as a teacher at a
ny
public elementary or secondary school in
the Commonwealth
for a period of no less than three years immediately following
licensure as a teacher
,
unless
the
Department
determines
, on a case
-
by
-
case basis,
that extenuating circumstances apply
. A student teacher's scholarship shall continue only during the period
in which
the student
teacher (a)
remains in good academic standing, as defined by the institution
at which such student
teacher
is enrolled
,
and
(b)
continues to meet the
Program
eligibility
requirements established in this subsection
.
A student teacher's
scholarship shall be terminated if the student
teacher
is dismissed from the institution of higher education or educato
r
preparation program for academic or disciplinary reasons or otherwise becomes ineligible for teacher licensure in
the Commonwealth
.
D
.
In administering the Program, the
Department
shall
:
1. D
evelop and implement an application process to provide scholarships to eligible student teachers under the
P
rogram beginning with the 202
6
–20
2
7
school year
. Such process shall
provide that, in the event that there are insufficient funds to provide an award to all eligible applicants, awards shall be prioritized based on each applicant's demonstrated financial need
;
2. Establish a method for paying scholarship awards under the
P
rogram to the local school division to which the student teacher is assigned. The local school division shall use all funds received under the Program for payment to eligible student teachers. A student teacher who receives a scholarship award under the
P
rogram shall not be considered a school employee for the purpose of fringe benefits or participation in the
Virginia Retirement System
;
and
3. Implement guidelines to ensure compliance with all eligibility requirements of the
P
rogram.
The
Department
may recover
scholarship
payment
s
made to a
student
teacher who does not comply with
clause (v) of subsection
C
unless it determines that extenuating circumstances
exist
.
E
.
In administering the Program
, including for the purpos
e of prioritizing awards pursuant to subdivision D 1, the
Department
may
(i)
require applicants to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form
, or any applicable successor program application or form, and (ii) use federal or state need-analysis methodology to ass
ess the financial need of applicants consistent with available appropriations.
F.
The
Department
, in coordination with
the
Council
, shall
submit to the Governor and the General Assembly and post in a publicly accessible format and location on its website
an annual report measuring the effectiveness of the
P
rogram
that shall include (i)
the total number of
P
rogram participants by local school division,
(ii) a
survey of
P
rogram participants to measure
such
participants' experience with the
P
rogram, and
(iii) d
emographic data of
P
rogram participants, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and gender.
G
.
Nothing in this
section
shall be construed to exempt any individual from meeting educator licensure requirements in accordance with rules and regulations
established
by the Board of Education.