The Minnesota Teacher Shortage Student Loan Repayment Program was established to provide student loan repayment assistance to teachers providing classroom instruction in a teacher shortage area in Minnesota. The purpose of the program is to encourage teachers to teach in license shortage areas and rural school districts. (See the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for a list of the current shortage areas and rural school districts).
Who is Eligible to Apply?
In general, applicants must currently:
- Hold a teaching license issued by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board.
- Be employed by a school district to provide classroom instruction
- Have outstanding qualified educational loan debt; and
- Teach in a license field shortage area, teach in a rural school district, or belong to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce.
What’s the Application Process?
Apply for the 2023 Minnesota Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment Program. The application will be available until August 31st, 2023.
Applicants who meet the eligibility requirements will be notified if they are selected for application review in October. Those applicants will be asked to provide additional documentation to verify the information on the application by November 30th.
Awards will be disbursed in spring 2024.
What’s the Selection Process?
Awards for this program are not made on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Office of Higher Education adopted administrative rules addressing the criteria for how participant awards will be prioritized. If there are insufficient funds available to award all eligible applicants, applications are prioritized based on the following:
- the financial need of an applicant, considering the applicant’s income, household size, and total qualified educational loan;
- previous awards to the applicant from the Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment Program;
- whether or not the applicant taught in a license field shortage area;
- whether or not the applicant taught in a rural school district;
- whether or not the applicant belongs to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce; and
- the statewide distribution of funds
Teacher Shortage Student Loan Repayment rules
How much money can you get?
Funds are very limited to this program compared to the number of eligible applicants. Selected applicants receive an award up to $1,000 in loan repayment assistance paid directly to them. Awardees are limited to $5,000 in total repayment assistance.
