New legislation would pay student teachers in TN during internship

Student teachers in Tennessee could soon get paid during their required four-month internships. A new proposal would include a $1,400 to $2,000 monthly stipend for those working their way toward a career in education. The money would be paid to student teachers during their mandatory internship. Officials hope the proposal could help ease the state’s growing teacher shortage, caused by both recruitment and retention issues. According to the nonprofit EdTrust-Tennessee, the state has around 1,400 official teacher vacancies on top of the more than 5,000 positions currently filled by individuals with emergency credentials or who don’t have a permit. Officials say the stipend could help future educators cover the associated costs of becoming a teacher and draw people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford to study to become an educator.