Answer: The primary project goal of the SW Minnesota Special Education Teacher Pathway Program is to address the special education teacher shortage by providing financial and programmatic support to those interested in becoming a licensed Tier III or IV special educator.

Answer: SW Minnesota Special Education Teacher Pathway Program was awarded $3,000,000 to support financial and programmatic support to qualified candidates. The funding runs out when all grant dollars are expended or on January 30, 2029, whichever is sooner.

Answer: The minimum requirements must be met for candidates to apply to this program are listed below. However, the application to apply for funding will include additional questions and paperwork (i.e. verification of employment, educational experience, letter of commitment from district/special education director, etc.).

*Currently the Special Education Teacher Pathway Program is FULL. 2025-26 school year priority will be given to current special educators with Tier I or Tier II licenses.

To submit an application, the applicant must:

• Be currently employed with a Joint Applicant (district partner).
• Demonstrate a willingness to be a special education teacher after completing the program.

Answer: Candidates are not able to receive reimbursement for funds already paid to Teacher Preparation Providers. Candidates must apply to the program and be accepted before tuition assistance is allocated to the partner Teacher Preparation Provider (TPP). Candidates must meet with Program Success Coach to demonstrate progress towards degree and special education teaching license to continue to receive funding.

Answer: If accepted into the program, you will be receiving monetary support from a grant that was awarded to Southwest Minnesota Region 6/8 schools for the amount of tuition, fees, books, and other allowable expenses for courses that are necessary to be licensed as a special education teacher.

At this time, grant recipients will receive up to $600 per credit for graduate level and up to $450 per credit for undergraduate level to cover tuition and fees for courses that are required for licensure. Application fee up to $50 and books/materials up to $300 per semester will be covered as requested.

For other non licensed, paraprofessional, and/or Tier I or II staff employed with a partner district in our region, the same funding limits apply as long as there is funding available in the grant. All courses for which this scholarship provides monetary support must be required for the obtaining of a Tier 3 teaching license.

Recipients are eligible to receive scholarship funds for a maximum of four years. Scholarship funds will be paid directly to the partner Teacher Preparation Provider. Many participants will have most, if not all tuition and fees paid from this grant as long as funds are available.

Answer: The Special Education Teacher Pathway Program will only pay for undergraduate or graduate courses that apply towards earning a special education teacher license in Minnesota. Grant funds will not pay for research or other non-licensure courses.

• Bemidji State University
• Hamline University
• Minnesota State University Mankato
• Minnesota State University Moorhead
• St Cloud State University
• Southwest Minnesota State University
• University of St Thomas
• Western Governors University
• Winona State University

Answer: If you are considering adding more than one license, please contact the Program Success Coach or Grant Administrator directly for approval. Approval will be based on your area's licensure needs and availability of funds.

Answer: Click here to view the Teacher Preparation Partners that have been approved as partners with our program. 

Answer: There are multiple requirements to be part of this program, one being employed with a district partner. If you meet the qualifying criteria and are accepted into the program, then you could select a special education licensure program offered by an approved teacher preparation program (TPP) partner. Many offer online programs to complete licensure requirements.

Answer: In order to receive and continue to receive tuition and other programmatic funding, participants must remain employed with a partner district. As far as obtaining employment as a special education teacher after licensure, all hiring decisions will be made by district employers.

Answer: All courses would need to be evaluated by your selected special education teacher licensure program provided by an approved Teacher Preparation Provider (TPP) partner. This program provides direct tuition funding to an approved TPP on behalf of approved participants in our program. If you have further questions, please contact the Program Success Coach for assistance with connecting to an approved TPP provider.

Answer: No, we are looking for people who would like to become a special education teacher in our region and this grant is available to provide direct tuition funding to remove barriers to becoming a licensed teacher. We are excited to welcome all great people to become a special education teacher – we are here to help you!

Answer: Yes, as long as we partner with the Teacher Preparation Provider (TPP), you are welcome to join any qualifying programs if accepted into that program. I would encourage you to reach out to the college of interest to you and ask about the possibility of transferring. The TPP provider can assist you with evaluating your transcript and provide information on how long and what courses are needed for your degree and licensure.

Answer: This is an allowable expense in the grant. We are working on the parameters of funding lost wages for non-licensed staff completing field experience and student teaching hours. Please contact the program success coach for more information. We also encourage candidates to review the students teacher grants to see if they qualify: https://www.ohe.state.mn.us/mPg.cfm?pageID=2248

• Be currently employed with a Joint Application (district partner).
• Demonstrate a willingness to be a special education teacher after completing the program.
• Make adequate progress toward licensure.

Answer: If you would like your school district to be considered, please contact liz.deen@swwc.org. Additional districts in economic regions 6 or 8 could be added through amendment. Once your district is added as a partner, and you meet the other qualification criteria, you can apply for funding.

Answer: Please email liz.deen@swwc.org for consideration to be added as a partner. Not all requests will be granted, but additional partners could be added quarterly at Regional Check-In meetings with district partners.

Answer: Yes!  You must be currently employed with a joint district partner in a special education field and demonstrate a willingness to be a special education teacher after completion of the program. If you are currently licensed in a special education area, you will need to commit to adding an additional special education license that would benefit your area. 

• The first priority remains Tier 1 or 2 special education teachers.
• The second priority remains paraprofessionals or other non-licensed employees as well as Tier 3 or Tier 4 teachers looking to add a special education license.

*The Special Education Teacher Pathway Program is FULL. During the 2025-26 school year, the program may consider additional candidates who are Tier I or II special education teachers.

• SPED: Academic and Behavioral Specialist
• SPED: Emotional Behavior Disorders
• SPED: Learning Disabilities
• SPED: Autism Spectrum Disorders
• SPED: Early Childhood Special Education
• SPED: Developmental Cognitive Disabilities

• SPED: Oral/Aural Deaf Education
• SPED: Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• SPED: Blind or Visually Impaired

Answer: Candidates must submit an official application once. Click here to apply. Scholarships are awarded on a semester basis and recipients need to show satisfactory progress in the previous semester to continue to receive a scholarship. Recipients are asked to submit their unofficial transcript showing their previous semester grade and a copy of their tuition invoice for the next semester in lieu of an application for semesters beyond the first semester for which scholarship funds are awarded. This must be sent a minimum of three weeks prior to the start of classes to allow for processing.

Answer: The course of study is a plan to complete courses and credits to complete all licensure requirements. This plan is created with your Teacher Preparation Provider and should include all courses that are required as well as the proposed semesters to complete. All scholarship recipients must submit a planned course of study that allows them to graduate and be license eligible by the end of the grant period in January 2029 or earlier if graduating prior to the grant end date. Please submit your plan to the SWWC Program Success Coach at the beginning and at the end of your program.

Answer: Staff that receive a scholarship through this opportunity will be required to participate in up to four coaching sessions per year that will be offered after school hours. There may be additional support opportunities available as needed.

Answer: Yes, scholarship recipients must remain employed by a district partner while receiving funds. By receiving these scholarship funds, you are committing to employment within the SW Minnesota community for a period equal to the length of scholarship support. This employment will be specifically a certified teaching position serving students with disabilities. The work commitment will be determined under the following formula: one year of scholarship support =one year of work within SW Region as a teacher after obtaining your Tier 3 license. For example, if you receive 4 semesters of scholarship support, you would need to work for 2 school years (4 semesters) within the SW Region. For purposes of this section, a scholarship received for a summer session is considered a semester. Although there is no penalty should you move outside the region or choose to not become employed as a special educator, but we are hopeful to support candidates that would like to continue employment in special education within our region after becoming licensed.

Answer: If, at any time, there are extenuating circumstances that may cause you to fall behind in coursework or disengage from the program, there must be prior communication with the Program Success Coach or Grant Administrator. In this instance, you understand that you will be required to develop an Academic Agreement with your university. You will be required to make this Agreement available to SWWC and your employer. Additionally, you understand that if you fail to meet the guidelines in said Academic Agreement, you will be asked to leave the Special Education Teacher Pathway Program and funding will no longer be available to you. At the end of each semester, you will be required to provide proof of good academic standing with the college/university to the grant management team at SWWC. Failure to show academic progress will result in being cancelled from the program and the candidate would need to reapply and be accepted should they wish to return.

Answer: Funds received from the scholarship can only be used for purposes of tuition, fees, books, and other approved allowable expenses and the funds must directly be related to coursework that leads to licensure in special education. The scholarship recipient is responsible and is aware that there may be a tax and financial aid implication of receiving these funds and is responsible for communicating this information to any parties that request this information.

Answer: Yes!

Minnesota Student Teaching Grant