Oregon Department of Education - Oregon Achieves Together

Instructional Assistant and Substitute Teacher Training Reimbursement Grant

Oregon Department of Education sent this bulletin at 11/17/2022 08:44 AM PST

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Instructional Assistant and Substitute Teacher Reimbursement Grant Applications Open

Fall Greetings

We are pleased to announce the roll out of the Substitute Reimbursement Grant with the application and information available at our Grant site. Substitute teachers and instructional assistants are such an integral part of the educational workforce, and this grant understands the role they play in our education system by providing some financial support for the required training they must complete.

In the past, substitute teachers and instructional assistants have had to pay for their own required training. This includes trainings required to maintain professional licenses, trainings required by a district or ESD to work there for the upcoming year, and other professional development. These out of pocket costs put a burden on substitute teachers and instructional assistants that other education staff do not have to bear. HB 4030 provides $19.5 million to cover these costs for this year.

Under the provisions of HB 4030, ODE will only be able to provide the reimbursements for substitute teachers and instructional assistants to districts and ESDs. To ensure the grant funds are allocated appropriately, ODE will require districts and ESDs to apply for these funds. First, ODE needs an application from the district or ESD, which is due by December 1, 2022, so we can determine the funding allocation. The allocation of funds for this grant is not a straightforward formula due to the various relationships between ESDs, districts, third party contractors, and individual substitute teachers and instructional assistants. Once all applications have been submitted, ODE will allocate the funds based on the formula in OAR 581-017-0790.

ODE will distribute the funds to districts and ESDs based on their reimbursement requests submitted. The funds then will be paid by the districts and ESDs to the substitute teachers and instructional assistants. The eligible costs may include any tuition or registration costs, travel expenses or time needed to complete the training as required by the district or ESD. No administrative costs will be covered, and all funds must be distributed to the individual employee. The grant will fund any eligible expenditures incurred between April 15, 2022, and June 30, 2023.

As a public school teacher in Oregon for 22 years, I understand how valuable these highly qualified professionals are to our educational system. Without them, teachers could not take professional development, attend to family matters, or provide quality education. Thank you for your help in facilitating this process.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at ODE.SubReimbursementGrant@ode.oregon.gov.

Sincerely,

Michelle Merfeld

Substitute Reimbursement Grant Administrator

Oregon Department of Education Office of School Facilities | Office of Finance and Information Technology

(971) 208-0240

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