Educator Talent - Policy Updates

This webpage offers an overview of legislation passed in 2017, 2018 and 2019 by the General Assembly and State Board of Education rule updates that will be implemented by the Educator Talent Division at CDE. For all other policy updates, please visit the CDE Policy and Funding webpage. Information regarding implementation, grant opportunities and tools and resources for districts are available on this page.

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Rules
Policy
Educator Shortage Funding Opportunities

Rules

Educator Talent Rules Updates: On Feb.8, the Colorado State Board of Education approved a Notice of Rulemaking for the Rules for the Administration of the Educator Licensing Act of 1991 (1 CCR 301-37) and Rules for the Administration of a Statewide System to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Licensed Personnel Employed by School Districts and Boards of Cooperative Services (1 CCR 301-87).The board will vote to adopt these rules at its May 2023 meeting.

Policy

HB 13-1219 Statutory Changes to K-12 Education, Educator Preparation Program Report - The Educator Preparation Program Report (EPP Report), provides information about the effectiveness of programs that train teachers, principals and special service providers in our state. Additional information, including an overview of the expanded version of the report, an interactive dashboard, report highlights and executive summary, are available on the Educator Preparation Program Report webpage.
SB 19-003 Educator Loan Forgiveness Program - This bill authorizes the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) to offer loan repayment on qualified loans for educators who serve in hard-to-fill positions in Colorado. Please visit the Colorado Department of Higher Education's website to learn more. Program Update: Due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Colorado state budget, the Colorado Educator Loan Forgiveness Program did not receive an appropriation from the Colorado General Assembly for the 2020-21 fiscal year, and thus will be inactive for the 2020-21 fiscal year. As such the program is not able to accept any applications nor make any awards at this time.
SB 19-190 Teacher Preparation Program Support - This bill directs the Colorado Department of Higher Education and the Colorado Department of Education to work with the deans of schools of education to review, research, and identify best practices in teacher preparation with the intention that all educator preparation programs meet or exceed those best practices. The legislation also directs the department of education to collaborate with the department of higher education to create a mentor teacher endorsement for teachers.

HB 19-1002 Leadership Professional Development for School Principals - This bill authorizes the department of education to create a pilot program for the leadership development of school principals with a specific focus on distributive leadership and the development of positive school climate. Please visit the Principal Leadership Institute webpage for additional information.

HB 18-1309 Programs Addressing Teacher Shortages - During the 2018 legislative session, changes were made to state law related to programs to address the teacher shortage. This bill creates the teacher of record license and associated program to allow candidates who have completed all, or substantially all, of the required coursework for completion of a bachelor's degree but have not yet completed teaching field work requirements to be hired as teachers of record. CDE must create rules for the administration of the teacher record license and program.

Amendments were also added to the special services intern authorization, and changes were made to the definitions of 'school counselor' and 'school health professional' to include a larger subset of educators in the relevant grant programs. This bill also allows SSP intern authorizations to be renewed for a second year.

Information on the School Counselor Corps Grant Program can be found on CDE's Postsecondary webpage.
Information on the School Health Professional Grant Program can be found on CDE's Health and Wellness webpage.

SB 18-229 Student Teacher Criminal History Checks - A new fingerprinting process for future educators who are completing field experience placements is now available. This new process aligns with SB 18-229 regarding fingerprinting for future educators who are enrolled in Colorado educator preparation programs and placed in school districts as student teachers or alternative candidates. While this new process will provide enhanced visibility of a field experience student's criminal history and potential barriers that their history may present in their pursuit of educational licensure, it is critical for for all stakeholders to understand that field experience students WILL NOT undergo a full background investigation based upon any criminal history results returned until they fully meet the requirements and submit an application for a CDE-issued credential. For details regarding this new process, visit the Fingerprinting for Student Teachers page.

Information on educator fingerprinting for the Colorado Applicant Background Services (CABS) is available on the CDE Licensing Fingerprint Requirements page.

HB 17-1003 Strategic Plan to Address Teacher Shortages (PDF) - In 2017, CDE and the Colorado Department of Education (CDHE) collaboratively collected data to analyze the state’s educator shortage problem via a voluntary version of the survey to develop a strategic action plan. Voluntary Educator Shortage Survey results from the 2017-18 school year only represent a sample of 47% of school districts and are therefore not comparable to survey results from the 2018-19 school year. These survey results allow CDE to identify educator shortage areas across the state and report to Colorado Legislature to inform decisions regarding support for recruiting and retaining educators.
2022-23 Educator Shortage Survey results now available - CDE surveyed the state’s school districts and BOCES about the employment of teachers and special services providers (SSPs) in the 2022-23 school year to provide a complete picture of how Colorado is being impacted by the educator shortage. View a summary of the 2022-23 state-level educator shortage results with information provided separately for teacher, SSP, building leadership (principal/assistant principal) and paraprofessional positions. Data is also presented by teaching subject area, SSP type and rural designation (small rural, rural, non-rural). Detailed information for the 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 school years about the number of positions filled by specific shortage mechanisms (including hiring long-term substitutes, retired educators, alternative licensure program candidates and emergency authorizations holders), the number of positions that went unfulfilled and recruiting strategies used is also available through the interactive dashboard and corresponding downloadable Excel files on the Educator Shortage Survey Results webpage.

Educator Shortage Funding Opportunities

Resources for District & BOCES

A variety of resources and supports around educator recruitment are available to districts on the Educator Recruitment and District Supports webpage, including a downloadable list of financial resources to support aspiring and in-service educators.

The 2017-2018 Colorado Center for Rural Education (CCRE) Stipend Report and Executive Summary are available below. The CCRE Stipend Report provides a comprehensive review of each of the four stipends CCRE has awarded to rural educators since January 2017 (Colorado Rural Teaching Stipends, Concurrent Enrollment Educator Qualification Stipends, National Board Certified Teacher Stipends, and Rural Alternative Licensure Stipends). The Executive Summary summarizes key points of the report in a one-page handout.

Funding Opportunities

Current and future educators are encouraged to visit the Educator Recruitment and Retention webpage for the most up-to-date information regarding stipend, scholarship and grant opportunities.