Federal

Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grants are authorized in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which was enacted into law in fall 2007 to amend Title IV, Part A, of the Higher Education Act.

These non-need-based grants are used to recruit teachers into hard-to-staff fields and hard-to-staff schools. Grants of up to $16,000 ($4,000/year) for undergraduates and $8,000 for graduate students preparing to be teachers in high-need fields can be used to cover the cost of tuition and related expenses. Students at eligible institutions qualify to receive TEACH grants by scoring in the top 25th percentile on college admissions tests such as the SAT or ACT and remain eligible by maintaining at least a cumulative 3.25 GPA.

Upon completion of their program, grantees must complete a 4-year teaching service obligation in a high-need field at a school that receives Title I funds. Note that if the service obligation is not completed, the TEACH grant funds convert to a loan for which the recipient is responsible.

In order to offer TEACH grants, both the teacher preparation program and the host institution must meet eligibility requirements. For details, see the U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid.

Read AACTE’s recommendations to improve TEACH Grants.

Last Updated September 2021

The Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant program, authorized in Title II of the Higher Education Act, is the only federal initiative designed to strengthen and reform educator preparation at institutions of higher education.

TQP grants support the preparation of profession-ready teachers for high-need schools and high-need subject areas. Under this program, partnerships between institutions of higher education and high-need schools and districts compete for funding to develop master’s-level residency programs or to reform undergraduate preservice preparation programs.

Program Highlights

• Grantees are partnerships among institutions of higher education, high-need local education agencies, high-need schools, and other eligible entities that work together to develop a pipeline of profession-ready teachers.
• Grantees are required to provide extensive, yearlong clinical preparation to teacher candidates.
• Grantees must provide an induction program for at least the first two years of a graduate’s teaching career.
• Candidates participating in teaching residency programs commit to teaching for at least three years in a high-need field in the high-need district where they were prepared.
• All candidates are prepared to teach students with disabilities, to teach English language learners, and to teach literacy strategies.
• Grantees are expected to maintain the reforms even after the federal funding ends, and they must provide a 100% funding match.

Results of TQP Grants

• Schools and school districts involved in TQP are seeing improvements in the quality and retention of their teachers and in the quality of their students’ learning experiences and achievements.
• TQP grants have funded significant professional development opportunities for teachers in high-need schools, meaningful induction/mentoring programs for novice teachers, and the implementation of evidence-based reforms in teacher preparation programs.
• Teacher preparation programs at institutions of higher education have deepened their partnerships with their PK-12 colleagues and the communities they serve.

Last Updated February 2021

The Special Education Personnel Preparation program is designed to ensure that children with disabilities are supported by fully certified school personnel. Competitive grants provide research-based training and professional development to help states meet identified needs for fully certified professionals. A significant portion of the grants go to institutions of higher education to support training for special education, general education, and specialized instructional personnel to ensure that these graduates have the skills and knowledge needed to serve students with disabilities.

The program, authorized through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part D Sec. 622 (20 U.S.C. 1462 and 1481), features several required high-priority areas, including beginning special educators, personnel to serve children with low-incidence disabilities, and leadership personnel. Grants require incorporation of best practices as determined through research, evaluations, and experience.

Pathways to meeting the required priorities include partnering with states and local education agencies to ensure teachers are profession ready as they enter the classroom; addressing inequities in the distribution of effective teachers; and alleviation of ongoing personnel shortages of teachers and leaders who are prepared to provide evidence-based services for children with disabilities.

Program performance information indicates that 95% of grants incorporate scientifically or evidence-based practices; that only 1% of scholars exit training programs prior to completion due to poor academic performance; and that 93% of degree/certification recipients work in the area(s) for which they were trained.

Last Updated February 2021

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) was created in 2002 through the Education Science Reform Act (ESRA, Title I of P.L. 107-279) as an independent research arm of the U.S. Department of Education. IES conducts broad types of research and work that addresses school readiness and education from infancy through adulthood and includes special populations such as English language learners and students with disabilities. The IES director provides a biennial report to Congress on the status of grantees, providing a brief overview and highlights of the projects that IES and each of its research centers is overseeing.

IES is composed of four research centers:

National Center for Education Research (NCER)
NCER supports research activities to improve the quality of education and thereby increase student academic achievement, reduce the achievement gap between high-performing and low-performing students, and increase access to and completion of postsecondary education.

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States and other nations. NCES supports the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems program, and the College Navigator.

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE)
NCEE is responsible for conducting evaluations of federal programs, synthesizing and disseminating information from evaluation and research, and providing technical assistance. NCEE supports the “What Works Clearinghouse,” Regional Educational Laboratories, and the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC).

National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER)
NCSER supports rigorous research on infants, toddlers, children, and youth with and at risk for disabilities through advancing the understanding of and practices for teaching, learning, and organizing education systems.

Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs)

To assist IES in conducting research, 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) throughout the United States work to bridge the disconnect that sometimes exists between education research and practice:

• Appalachia
• Central
• Mid-Atlantic
• Midwest
• Northeast & Islands
• Northwest
• Pacific
• Southeast
• Southwest
• West

Each of the RELs assists in conducting research that is differentiated based on regional need and addresses local issues that can also benefit the entire nation. To the extent possible, RELs design their research to address the needs of the local communities based on input from stakeholders.

Last Updated February 2021

Augustus F. Hawkins Center of Excellence (Hawkins) Program, authorized under Part B of Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), is designed to support comprehensive, high-quality State-accredited teacher preparation programs by creating centers of excellence at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Tribal Colleges or Universities (TCUs); or Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), such as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The Hawkins Program will help increase the number of, and retain, well-prepared teachers from diverse backgrounds, resulting in a more diverse teacher workforce prepared to teach in our Nation’s most underserved elementary and secondary schools and close student opportunity and achievement gaps. This program focuses on the various aspects of the teacher preparation pipeline, including the recruitment, preparation, support, placement, retention, and retraining of teachers for and in under-resourced schools to support underserved students.

The following AACTE member institutions have received grants:

• Bowie State University (MD)
• California State University, Dominquez Hills
• CSU Fullerton Auxiliary Services Corporation (California State University, Fullerton)
• East Central University
• Florida International University
• Fort Lewis College
• Metropolitan State University of Denver
• National University
• North Carolina Central University
• Northeastern State University
• Prairie View A&M University
• Sam Houston State University
• Sonoma State University
• Texas A&M University Kingsville
• Texas State University
• The University of Nevada-Las Vegas
• University Enterprises Corporation at CSUSB (California State University, San Bernardino)
• University of Colorado Denver
• University of Hawai’i
• University of Houston-Clear Lake
• University of Texas at El Paso
• William Paterson University of New Jersey

Educators with federal student loans have three federal loan forgiveness program options:

1. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program
2. Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) Program
3. Perkins Loan cancellation for teachers

PSLF forgives the remaining balance on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying payments (a minimum of 10 years). Unlike other programs, PSLF doesn’t require teaching at a low-income public school. Instead, PSLF requires that borrowers work for a qualifying employer. This includes government organizations at any level (U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal), nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or other nonprofit organizations that provide certain types of qualifying public services. Loan amounts forgiven under PSLF are not considered taxable by the IRS. View complete program details at StudentAid.gov/publicservice.

TLF forgives up to $17,500 of Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans and Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans after five complete and consecutive years of teaching at a qualifying school.

To qualify for TLF, borrowers must have been employed as a full-time teacher at an eligible school for five complete and consecutive academic years. At least one of those years must have been after the 1997–98 academic year, and the applicant must have been a new borrower on or after Oct. 1, 1998.

Any time spent teaching to receive benefits through AmeriCorps, or time counted toward PSLF doesn’t count toward the required five years of teaching for TLF.

Certain highly qualified special education and secondary mathematics or science teachers can qualify for up to $17,500 in forgiveness. Other eligible teachers can qualify for up to $5,000.

Direct PLUS Loans, FFEL PLUS Loans, and Perkins Loans aren’t eligible to be forgiven through TLF. Only Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans and Subsidized and Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans qualify.

This program forgives up to 100% of Federal Perkins Loan(s) if borrowers teach full time at a low-income school or teach certain subjects (mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual or special education, or any subject determined by the borrower’s state education agency as having a shortage of qualified teachers). Unlike other forgiveness programs, Perkins Loan cancellation forgives portions of loans in yearly increments after borrowers meet service requirements. Other forgiveness programs wait to forgive loans until after all the required years of the service requirement.

Private school teachers can qualify if

• the school has established its nonprofit status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and
• the school is providing elementary and/or secondary education according to state law.

Learn more about Perkins Loan cancellation.