COLUMBUS, Ohio - College students who are student teaching could receive pay and health coverage, cost-of-living stipends, licensing exam reimbursements and tuition discounts under a new Ohio House bill.
The legislation is a bid to address a shortage of teachers across Ohio, its sponsors say.
House Bill 523 would make the pay and benefits optional for school districts - which could offer the wages and insurance. It would also be optional for the state, which could offer licensing exam reimbursements and for colleges and universities to offer tuition discounts.
However, the bill would make it explicit in state law and eliminate any confusion that may exist about whether student teachers can be paid, said Rep. Sean Brennan, a Parma Democrat, a sponsor of the bill.
Brennan is sponsoring the bill with Rep. Gayle Manning, a North Ridgeville Republican. They testified Wednesday in an Ohio House Education Committee hearing that HB 523 could build the state's teacher workforce at a time when there are teacher shortages.
A handful of states have begun compensating student teachers. In Michigan students earn $9,600 per semester from the MI Future Educator Stipend. Pennsylvania provides $10,000 annually to student teachers with at least a 3.0 GPA who commit to working in the state for three years after graduation. Kentucky passed legislation in 2024 providing $5,000 during the 70-day training period, equivalent to about $9.52 per hour.
Under Ohio's HB 523, districts that choose to pay student teachers would have to offer at least the state's minimum wage, currently at $11 an hour.
The bill is similar to legislation introduced about a year ago, HB 205, except HB 523 doesn't require a study of the state's teacher shortage, said Brennan, who is sponsoring both bills.
Brennan said that the teacher shortage study isn't necessary since it was ordered in the 2023 state budget bill. The Republican cosponsor of HB 205 left the General Assembly, and legislative staff advised Brennan to introduce a fresh bill with Manning as the new Republican sponsor, he said.
Lawmakers on the Education Committee seemed receptive to the bill.
Rep. Sarah Fowler Arthur, an Ashtabula Republican who chairs the committee, said that school district officials have told her they'd like to pay student teachers as a way to attract talented people to work for them after graduation.
Many Ohio college students must sign a contract that they will not work a second job during the student teaching period, said Rep. Joe Miller, an Amherst Democrat who worked in education.
"These kids are going out there, doing the job of the teacher - with oversight, just like an internship," Miller said. "And they're accruing student debt along the way."