1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; strengthening the Increase Teachers of Color Act; making 
1.3 	permanent a pilot scholarship program for aspiring teachers of color; establishing 
1.4 	a special revenue fund account; appropriating money; amending Laws 2021, First 
1.5 	Special Session chapter 2, article 2, section 45; Laws 2023, chapter 55, article 5, 
1.6 	section 65, subdivisions 3, 6.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Laws 2021, First Special Session chapter 2, article 2, section 45, is amended 
1.9 	to read:
1.10 	Sec. 45. ASPIRING MINNESOTA TEACHERS OF COLOR SCHOLARSHIP 
1.11 	PILOT PROGRAM.
 1.12 		Subdivision 1.Scholarship pilot program established. The commissioner must establish 
1.13 	a scholarship pilot program to support undergraduate and graduate students who are preparing 
1.14 	to become teachers, have demonstrated financial need, and belong to racial or ethnic groups 
1.15 	underrepresented in the state's teacher workforce.
1.16 		Subd. 2.Eligibility. (a) To be eligible for a scholarship under this section, an applicant 
1.17 	must:
1.18 	(1) either: (i) be admitted and enrolled in a teacher preparation program approved by 
1.19 	the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board and be seeking initial licensure,;
1.20 	or (ii) be enrolled in an eligible institution under Minnesota Statutes, section 136A.103, and 
1.21 	be completing a two-year program specifically designed to prepare early childhood educators
1.22 	an associate's degree in early childhood education, education, or special education;
2.1 	(2) affirm to the teacher preparation program or the Office of Higher Education that the 
2.2 	applicant is a person of color or American Indian;
2.3 	(3) be meeting satisfactory academic progress as defined under Minnesota Statutes, 
2.4 	section 136A.101, subdivision 10; and
2.5 	(4) demonstrate financial need based on criteria developed by the commissioner.
2.6 	(b) An eligible applicant may receive a scholarship award more than once, but may 
2.7 	receive a total of no more than $25,000 $30,000 in scholarship awards from the program.
2.8 	(c) An applicant may apply for both a scholarship under this section and an 
2.9 	underrepresented student teacher grant under Minnesota Statutes, section 136A.1274, but 
2.10 	may not receive an award from both programs during the same academic semester or term 
2.11 	unless there are sufficient funds appropriated to support all eligible applicants.
2.12 		Subd. 3.Scholarship award amount. (a) The commissioner must establish a priority 
2.13 	application deadline and must give equal consideration to all eligible applicants regardless 
2.14 	of the applicant's attended institution or the order the application was received before the 
2.15 	priority application deadline. If the funds available for the program are insufficient to make 
2.16 	full awards to all eligible applicants who apply on or before the deadline, the commissioner 
2.17 	must make awards based on the expected family contribution Student Aid Index of an 
2.18 	applicant, prioritizing applicants with the lowest expected family contributions Student Aid 
2.19 	Indexes. If there are multiple complete applications with identical expected family 
2.20 	contributions Student Aid Indexes, awards must be randomly selected starting with those 
2.21 	applications may be prioritized by received by the priority application completion date
2.22 	deadline established by the commissioner.
2.23 	(b) For eligible applicants enrolled in a teacher preparation program as part of a 
2.24 	baccalaureate or postbaccalaureate degree program, the maximum award amount is $10,000 
2.25 	per year for full-time study that may be used to defray a teacher candidate's overall cost of 
2.26 	attendance as determined by their attended institution. For eligible applicants enrolled in 
2.27 	an associate's degree program, the maximum award amount is $6,000 per year for full-time 
2.28 	study. For undergraduate students, full-time study means enrollment in a minimum of 15
2.29 	12 or more credits per term. For graduate students, full-time study means enrollment in a 
2.30 	minimum of six graduate credits or the equivalent.
2.31 	(c) If an eligible applicant is enrolled full time in a program for only one term during 
2.32 	the academic year, the applicant may receive no more than half of the applicable maximum 
2.33 	award amount is $5,000. If an eligible applicant is enrolled part less than full time, the award 
2.34 	amount must be prorated on a per-credit basis.
3.1 	(d) Subject to the funds available for the program, and subject to the limitation in 
3.2 	paragraph (e), the minimum award amount established under this section for full-time study 
3.3 	must be no less than $1,000 per year.
3.4 	(e) An eligible applicant's individual award amount must not exceed the applicant's cost 
3.5 	of attendance after deducting: (1) the student's expected family contribution Student Aid 
3.6 	Index; (2) the sum of all state or federal grants and gift aid received, including a Pell Grant 
3.7 	and state grant grants; (3) the sum of all institutional grants, scholarships, tuition waivers, 
3.8 	and tuition remission amounts; and (4) the amount of any private grants or scholarships.
3.9 	(f) Awards are made until available funds are expended. Eligible applicants who 
3.10 	completed their applications on or before the priority application deadline but who did not 
3.11 	receive an award due to insufficient funds, and eligible applicants who completed their 
3.12 	applications after the priority application deadline, shall be placed on an award waiting list 
3.13 	by order of application completion date.
3.14 		Subd. 4.Administration. (a) The commissioner must establish an application process 
3.15 	for individual students and institutions on behalf of all eligible students at the institution 
3.16 	and other guidelines for implementing the scholarship program.
3.17 	(b) A scholarship award must be paid to the eligible applicant's teacher preparation 
3.18 	institution on behalf of the eligible applicant. Awards may be paid only when the institution 
3.19 	has confirmed to the commissioner the applicant's name, racial or ethnic identity, gender, 
3.20 	licensure area sought, and enrollment status.
3.21 		Subd. 4a.Account established. An aspiring Minnesota teachers of color scholarship 
3.22 	program account is created in the special revenue fund for depositing money appropriated 
3.23 	to or received by the commissioner for the program. Money deposited in the account is 
3.24 	appropriated to the commissioner, does not cancel, and is continuously available for 
3.25 	scholarship awards under this section.
3.26 		Subd. 5.Service expectation. An applicant who receives a scholarship under this section 
3.27 	is expected to serve as a full-time teacher in Minnesota after completing the program for 
3.28 	which the scholarship was awarded.
3.29 		Subd. 6.Report. By December 15 of each year, the commissioner must submit a full 
3.30 	report on the details of the scholarship program for the previous fiscal year to the legislative 
3.31 	committees with jurisdiction over E-12 and higher education finance and policy. The reports 
3.32 	must also be made available on the Office of Higher Education's website. The reports must 
3.33 	include the following information:
4.1 	(1) the number of applicants and the number of award recipients, each broken down by 
4.2 	postsecondary institution with ten or more recipients;
4.3 	(2) the total number of awards, the total dollar amount of all awards, and the average 
4.4 	award amount;
4.5 	(3) summary data on the racial or ethnic identity, gender, licensure area sought, and 
4.6 	enrollment status of all applicants and award recipients; and
4.7 	(4) other summary data identified by the commissioner as outcome indicators.

4.8 	Sec. 2. Laws 2023, chapter 55, article 5, section 65, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
4.9 		Subd. 3.Collaborative urban and greater Minnesota educators of color grants. (a) 
4.10 	For collaborative urban and greater Minnesota educators of color competitive grants under 
4.11 	Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.635:

4.12		$
	5,440,000
	.....
	2024
	
4.144.13
		$
	5,440,000
6,440,000
	.....
	2025
	
4.15 	(b) The board may retain up to $100,000 of the appropriation amount to monitor and 
4.16 	administer the grant program.
4.17 	(c) Any balance does not cancel but is available in the following fiscal year.
4.18 	(d) The base for fiscal year 2026 and later is $5,440,000.

4.19 	Sec. 3. Laws 2023, chapter 55, article 5, section 65, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
4.20 		Subd. 6.Mentoring, induction, and retention incentive program grants for teachers 
4.21 	of color. (a) To develop and expand mentoring, induction, and retention programs designed 
4.22 	for teachers of color or American Indian teachers under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.70:

4.23		$
	3,500,000
	.....
	2024
	
4.254.24
		$
	3,500,000
8,500,000
	.....
	2025
	
4.26 	(b) Any balance does not cancel but is available in the following fiscal year.
4.27 	(c) The base for grants under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.70, for fiscal year 2026 
4.28 	and later is $4,500,000, of which at least $3,500,000 each fiscal year is for grants to develop 
4.29 	and expand mentoring, induction, and retention programs designed for teachers of color or 
4.30 	American Indian teachers.
5.1 	(d) The board may retain up to three percent of the appropriation amount to monitor and 
5.2 	administer the grant program.

5.3 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATIONS; OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
 5.4 	(a) $10,000,000 in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the general fund for transfer to 
5.5 	the aspiring Minnesota teachers of color scholarship program account in the special revenue 
5.6 	fund under Laws 2021, First Special Session chapter 2, article 2, section 45, as amended 
5.7 	by this act. The commissioner of the Office of Higher Education and the commissioner of 
5.8 	management and budget shall transfer to the program's special revenue fund account any 
5.9 	remaining balance of the amount appropriated for the program in Laws 2021, First Special 
5.10 	Session chapter 2, article 1, section 2, subdivision 38.
5.11 	(b) The commissioner may use no more than $200,000 of this appropriation to administer 
5.12 	the program.

5.13 	Sec. 5. REVISOR INSTRUCTION.
 5.14 	The revisor of statutes shall codify Laws 2021, First Special Session chapter 2, article 
5.15 	2, section 45, as amended by this act, as a new section in Minnesota Statutes numbered 
5.16 	section 136A.1273.