Tackling Ohio’s teacher vacancy data problem should be a priority for lawmakers in the upcoming year. Prior to the holidays, I analyzed how a few important tweaks to the provisions of last session’s House Bill 563 could provide state leaders with an opportunity to do so. But data collection and transparency weren’t the only focus of the bill. It also proposed some innovative ways to support student teachers that could help bolster recruitment efforts.
It might seem odd to focus on student teaching as a recruitment strategy. After all, most teacher candidates are three years into their education degrees by the time they begin student teaching. But unlike apprentices, who are paid during on-the-job training, student teachers work full time for free. Not only that, many are required to continue paying college tuition. Candidates must cover fees for required background checks and licensure tests out of their own pocket. And to top it all off, most preparation programs encourage candidates not to work second jobs. That means prospective teachers must somehow afford housing, food, transportation, and other living expenses without any income whatsoever. For college students or career changers who are on the fence about education, that’s a heck of a financial deterrent. And for students who manage to make it work by relying on student loans, the cost is merely deferred—with interest, and while working in a field that pays less than others. Even if they’re eligible for federal student loan forgiveness programs, teachers won’t escape paying at least some of that debt.
If policymakers want education to be a more attractive career option, then student teaching must become less of a financial drain. HB 563 might have died at the end of the 2024 legislative session, but the ideas it put forward can and should be resurrected in 2025. Let’s examine three.
1. Stipends
The simplest way to erase the financial strain of student teaching is to pay teacher candidates for their work. One way to do so is for the state to provide stipends to students who are enrolled in teacher preparation programs while they work as student teachers. This would require the legislature to set aside funding. And since the state’s coffers aren’t quite as flush as in years past, including a new stipend program in the upcoming state budget could give some legislators pause. But teacher shortages have been a persistent problem for years. Ensuring that prospective teachers aren’t enduring financial hardship while completing mandatory student teaching requirements is a relatively simple policy fix that could boost recruitment efforts. Lawmakers could also initially require that stipends be means-tested, so that limited state funds would be directed to the most disadvantaged college students.
Student teacher stipends would also help Ohio remain competitive with nearby states. In 2023, Pennsylvania lawmakers passed Act 33, which established a $10 million Educator Pipeline Support Grant Program that provides up to $15,000 to eligible student teachers. Since then, Pennsylvania leaders have allocated a total of $30 million to the stipend program. Michigan, meanwhile, provides its student teachers with stipends of $9,600. If neighboring states are making teacher training more affordable, then it stands to reason that prospective teachers might choose to go out of state for college and, eventually, work. That’s the last thing Ohio leaders want, especially since they’ve already invested in efforts to keep talent in Ohio.
2. Licensure test fee waivers and reimbursements
In Ohio, teacher candidates must pass exams that assess their pedagogical and content knowledge prior to earning a teaching license. Required exams vary based on the subject and grade level that candidates plan to teach, but typically cost over $100 each.[1] For a prospective first grade teacher, these fees add up to more than $350. For a future high school math teacher, the total is above $200. Candidates who don’t pass the first time must pay to take the test again. Add in the cost of background checks while taking into account that student teachers work for free, and it’s no surprise that many candidates struggle to cover test fees. To help ease the financial burden, DEW could provide test fee waivers/reimbursements based on financial need to teacher candidates while they are student teaching. Given that the state already offers fee waivers for the ACT and SAT, it makes sense to extend this aid to prospective teachers.
3. Tuition waivers
Despite working full time in schools, many student teachers are still required to pay college tuition. This is a financial double whammy. Not only are they potentially accumulating additional student debt, they’re doing so while working full-time for free. To ease the financial strain, lawmakers could require higher education institutions to waive tuition for teacher candidates while they complete student teaching. As with stipends, lawmakers could begin with means-tested waivers. But going forward, it’s probably in the state’s best interest to ensure that all of its future teachers are shielded from a financial double whammy that could send them searching for a new career.
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Student teachers don’t typically come up when policymakers and advocates discuss retention and recruitment efforts. But they should. These individuals are on their final lap before they head into the classroom, and the best way to ensure they cross the finish line is to prevent mandatory student teaching experiences from draining their bank accounts. Making student teaching a more financially feasible requirement could also boost the recruitment of new teachers, especially those from low-income backgrounds and career changers who can’t afford to forego income while training. Last year’s HB 563 offered several simple and relatively inexpensive policy fixes that could address these issues. Here’s hoping lawmakers include those provisions in the upcoming state budget.
[1] Although most exams cost $109, Ohio’s Foundations of Reading exam is more expensive at $139.
