1.1 A bill for an act 1.2 relating to education finance; providing for programs to support teacher candidates 1.3 performing student teaching; appropriating money. 1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 1.5 Section 1. APPROPRIATION; STUDENT TEACHERS. 1.6 (a) $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 is appropriated from the general fund to the 1.7commissioner of education to create programs to support teacher candidates performing 1.8student teaching. The Department of Education must award a grant to a nonprofit organization 1.9to disburse stipends to all teacher candidates performing at least 12 weeks of student teaching 1.10at all teacher preparatory programs approved by the Professional Educator Licensing and 1.11Standards Board. Stipends must be awarded per student, per licensure program. 1.12 (b) Eligible grantees must have experience in handling sensitive and personally 1.13identifiable information. Consideration must be given to the length of student teaching and, 1.14to the extent practicable, grants awarded to students must provide compensation of $15 per 1.15hour or higher. The stipend must be paid directly to the student from the grantee and must 1.16not affect the student's financial aid package. Stipends must be awarded per student, per 1.17licensure program. Up to five percent of the grant is available for the awardee to use for 1.18grant administration. 1.19 (c) Of the amount in paragraph (a), up to five percent is available to the department for 1.20grant administration. 1.21 (d) This is a onetime appropriation. 1Section 1. REVISOR CR/VJ 25-0530403/28/25 State of Minnesota This Document can be made available in alternative formats upon request HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H. F. No. 3261 NINETY-FOURTH SESSION Authored by Curran04/28/2025 The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Education Finance