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Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton wants the state to start paying student teachers for their required internships, a proposal state education advocates say they support amid ongoing concerns about teacher shortages.
Sexton told Chalkbeat Tennessee this week he wants to provide additional state funding to allow local districts to pay teacher trainees directly.
Sexton said the amount could mean a $1,500 or $2,000 stipend, though the proposal appears to be in the early days of development with few concrete details.
“When I talk to teachers and new teachers, they’re frustrated that when they do their internships, they do it for free,” Sexton said, noting that some aspiring teachers are taking out loans to stay above water while they finish their programs. “They’re teaching, but they’re still trying to survive. That’s a barrier for them.”
Tennessee education preparation programs vary in cost, according to a 2022 state report, but more than two-thirds of surveyed teachers reported having debt because of them.
Gov. Bill Lee’s office, which is currently crafting the governor’s proposed budget for the legislative session that will reconvene in January, was noncommittal on Sexton’s proposal.
“Gov. Lee is grateful for Speaker Sexton’s commitment to ensuring every student has access to a quality education and looks forward to working in partnership with the General Assembly to further innovate Tennessee’s education system and support teachers, parents, and students,” a Lee spokesperson said.
The stipend proposal is the second teacher pipeline proposal Sexton has floated ahead of session. The Crossville Republican also wants to lower education requirements for would-be teachers, proposing an accelerated and specialized two-year associate’s degree pathway for potential elementary school teachers.
Sexton believes the program could be popular at community colleges that provide free tuition to eligible high school graduates in the state and often are located closer to rural schools that struggle with teacher recruitment. Sexton said any associate’s degree holder would have to pass the same PRAXIS exam as four-year graduates,
Teachers groups in the state have criticized the associate’s degree plan, arguing lowering academic standards to enter the profession is not an appropriate solution to reduce vacancies. But educator advocates say they’re on board with potential student teacher stipends.
“It’s imperative that solutions to the teacher shortage be crafted with care to avoid any reduction in quality with respect to the training needed to be a successful educator,” Tennessee Education Association President Tonya Coats said.
The leader of the Professional Educators of Tennessee said unpaid student teaching is a significant barrier that can deter talented teachers from the profession.
“Securing pay for student teachers is essential for making teaching a viable career choice, opening the door for future educators, and enriching the profession,” Executive Director J.C. Bowman said.
Tennessee has cobbled together various policies in recent years in an effort to address teacher staffing issues, a trend exacerbated nationwide by the COVID-19 pandemic. High turnover and attrition are among the causes, while rates of new graduates from Tennessee teaching training programs also declined in recent years.
Data released by the Tennessee Department of Education in November indicated total teacher vacancies, defined as a position left unfilled for 20 or more days, actually declined significantly from fall 2023 to fall 2024. Full vacancies fell from 1,434 to 817, a 43% reduction.
But that number doesn’t tell the full story of the state’s teacher shortage, as the number of potential vacancies filled by emergency hires increased by 9% over the same time period and by more than 300% in the last five years.
Tennessee schools are increasingly turning to emergency and usually unlicensed teachers, with 6,579 emergency credentials issued in the 2024-2025 school year, according to data released by the Tennessee Department of Education last month.
A portion of those emergency credentials include emergency endorsements, which is when an educator is granted permission to teach outside of their previous area of expertise. But most emergency credentials are going to temporary permits for unlicensed teachers.
Coats said compensating student teachers could address the “teacher pipeline shortage and place more high quality teachers in Tennessee classrooms without sacrificing valuable preparation.”
“Decisive action such as this is especially important now given the concerning trend of districts needing to fill vacancies with unqualified individuals on temporary emergency credentials,” Coats said.
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.
