Troops-to-Teachers Program
Title II, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001


The Troops-to-Teachers Program provides assistance, including stipends and bonuses, to help eligible members of the armed forces become certified or licensed by the states as elementary or secondary school teachers or vocational/technical teachers, and to become highly qualified teachers by demonstrating competency in the subjects they teach. The program also helps participants find employment as teachers in high-need local educational agencies (LEAs, local public school districts) or public charter schools.

Funds appropriated to the Department of Education for the Troops-to-Teachers Program (CFDA Number: 84.815) are transferred to the Department of Defense (DOD), which administers the program under the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES).

DOD established the highly successful Troops-to-Teachers Program in 1994 to help improve public school education by providing funds to recruit, prepare, and support former members of the military services as teachers in high-poverty schools.

The Troops-to-Teachers Program is operated to:

  • Assist eligible members of the armed forces to obtain certification or licensing as elementary or secondary school teachers or vocational or technical teachers, and to become highly qualified teachers; and
  • Facilitate the employment of eligible service members —
    • By LEAs or public charter schools that receive Title I grants because they have concentrations of children from low-income families, or experience a shortage of highly qualified teachers, in particular a shortage of science, mathematics, special education, or vocational or technical teachers; and
    • In elementary or secondary schools, or as vocational or technical teachers.

Eligibility of Participants

Eligible to apply is:

  • Any member of the armed forces who --
    • On or after Oct. 1, 1999, becomes entitled to retired or retainer pay;
    • Has an approved date of retirement that is within one year after the date on which the member submits an application to participate; or
    • Has been transferred to the Retired Reserve.
    • Any member who, on or after the date of enactment of NCLB —
    • Is separated or released from active duty after six or more years of continuous active duty immediately before the separation or release; or
    • Has completed a total of at least 10 years of active duty or other eligible service; and
    • Agrees to a reserve commitment for a period of not less than three years.
  • Any member who, on or after the date of enactment of NCLB, is retired or separated for physical disability;
  • Any member who —
    • During the period beginning on Oct. 1, 1990, and ending on Sept. 30, 1999, was involuntarily discharged or released from active duty for purposes of a reduction of force after six or more years of continuous active duty immediately before the discharge or release; or
    • Applied for the teacher placement program and satisfied eligibility criteria.

Selection Criteria for Participants

Educational Background

  • An applicant for assistance to become an elementary or secondary school teacher must have received a baccalaureate or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education (IHE).
  • An applicant for vocational or technical teacher must:
    • Have received the equivalent of one year of college and have six or more years of military experience in a vocational or technical field; or
    • Otherwise meet the state’s vocational/technical certification or licensing requirements.

    Honorable Service
  • The applicant’s last period of service in the armed forces must have been honorable. A member selected to participate in the program before he or she retires or is separated or released from active duty may continue to participate in Troops-to-Teachers after retirement, separation, or release only if his or her last period of service was honorable.

    Priority

  • Priority must be given to service members who have educational or military experience in science, mathematics, special education, or vocational or technical subjects and agree to seek employment as science, mathematics, or special education teachers in K-12 or other schools under the jurisdiction of an LEA.

Financial Assistance

A participant is paid a stipend of not more than $5,000 in any fiscal year. In lieu of the stipend, the participant may be paid a bonus of $10,000 to a participant who commits to commits to become a highly qualified teacher and accept full-time employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher, or vocational or technical teacher for not less than three school years in a high-need school. The total number of bonuses that may be paid in any fiscal year is limited to 3,000.

A ‘high-need school’ is a public elementary, secondary, or charter school that has:

  • At least 50 percent of students enrolled from low-income families; and/or
  • A large percentage of students who qualify for special education assistance under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
  • A ‘high-need LEA’ is an LEA that has:
  • A poverty rate of at least 20 percent or at least 10,000 poor children; and
  • A high percentage of teachers teaching out-of-field or with emergency credentials.

Repayment

A Troops-to-Teachers participant may be required to repay a stipend or bonus if he or she:

  • Fails to obtain teacher certification or licensing, to become a highly qualified teacher, or to obtain employment as a K-12 school teacher, or vocational or technical teacher;
  • Voluntarily leaves, or is terminated for cause from, employment as a K-12 school teacher, or vocational or technical teacher, during the three years of required service; or
  • Fails to complete a required term of three years as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces.

    The Secretary may waive the three-year commitment and financial reimbursement if it is deemed appropriate. Reimbursement may be waived if the participant becomes permanently totally disabled, or in cases of extreme hardship.

State Grants

The Secretary may award grants to states participating in Troops-to-Teachers, or to consortia of states, to permit them to operate offices for recruiting eligible members of the armed forces for participation and facilitating employment of participants as K-12 school teachers or vocational or technical teachers.

The Secretary may enter into a memorandum of agreement with a state educational agency (SEA), IHE, or consortia SEAs or IHEs, to develop, implement, and demonstrate teacher certification programs for members of the armed forces, to assist them to consider and prepare for a teaching career upon retirement from the armed forces. Preference will be given to proposals that include cost sharing.

Such a teacher certification program will:

  • Provide recognition of military experience and training as related to certification or licensing requirements;
  • Provide courses of instruction that may be conducted on or near a military installation;
  • Incorporate alternative approaches to achieve teacher certification, such as innovative methods to gaining field-based teaching experiences, and assessment of background and experience as related to skills, knowledge, and abilities required of K-12 school teachers or vocational or technical teachers;
  • Provide for courses to be delivered via distance education methods; and
  • Address any additional requirements or specifications established by the Secretary.