Thank Lawmakers for Increasing Student Teacher Stipend Funding in the FY26–27 Budget

Pennsylvania’s lawmakers recently passed the FY2026-27 budget, and we were thrilled to see it include a $40 million investment into the Student Teacher Support Program!

This is a $10 million increase from the prior year and $5 million more than Governor Josh Shapiro proposed in February.

The Student Teacher Support Program provides stipends to help aspiring educators cover rising tuition, housing, transportation, and basic living costs during a required full-time, unpaid internship. In exchange, recipients commit to teaching in Pennsylvania for at least three years, ensuring a strong return on the commonwealth’s investment.

The increase will fund approximately 800 additional stipends for eligible student teachers, along with $2,500 stipends for their mentor teachers. It reflects continued bipartisan support for this effective, common-sense strategy to ending Pennsylvania’s teacher shortage crisis.

Beyond student teacher stipends, the FY 2026-27 budget also includes several other measures that could help address the teacher shortage crisis:

• A third installment of $565 million in adequacy funding for underfunded school districts, which may be used for educator recruitment and retention initiatives

• A $10 million increase in funding for Grow PA, which provides college scholarships to students studying in high-need fields, including education

• A $5 million increase in funding for child care recruitment and retention bonuses

Now’s the time to celebrate!

Let’s make sure our lawmakers know we are grateful for their support and excited to continue working together to rebuild the teacher pipeline.