Mentor allotment funding

New legislation (House Bill 2) eliminates the mentor program allotment as of Sept. 1, 2026, and instead provides funding for districts participating in HB 2’s new preservice and mentorship partnership programs. The mentorship partnership program, to be established by the commissioner of education, provides two years of mentorship for new teachers of record (two years of experience or less) who have completed a preservice partnership program for participating districts meeting the existing statutory mentoring program requirements. These requirements include that the mentor must meet with the new teacher a minimum of 12 hours each semester, mentoring sessions must address certain required topics, districts must designate a specific time during the regular school day for meetings between mentor and beginning teachers, with no meetings allowed to be required during the teachers’ preparation and planning periods, and districts must schedule release time or a reduced teaching load for mentor teachers and classroom teachers to facilitate mentoring activities. The existing statutory mentoring program also provides that, to the extent practicable, the mentor and mentored teacher must teach in the same school and teach the same subject or grade level, as applicable. 

The preservice partnership program allotment, starting in the 2026-27 school year, provides $3,000 for each classroom teacher being mentored under the mentorship partnership program, limited to 40 individuals per district. The allotment also provides stipends for mentor teachers of at least $1,000, and allows any remaining funding to be used to provide scheduled release time for mentors and classroom teachers to meet and engage in mentoring activities, as well as support for mentor teachers through required annual training and strategic staffing.