A major addition to Governor Branstad’s education reform bill that was passed by the Iowa House last week is a tuition reimbursement plan.

42nd District House Representative Chip Baltimore says that the plan would provide $4,000 a year up to five years for the top students coming out of college who commit to teach in Iowa for at least a five year time period.

He states that this plan will help aspiring teachers fund their education and make it more affordable to go into the profession.  According to 2011 education statistics from the US Census Bureau, Iowa was 8th in the country in high school graduates at 90.3% and 37th in college graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher at 24.9%.

Baltimore believes that the incentive plan would give young people the opportunity to go into the teaching profession that it would help with costs coming out of college on top of the current minimum teacher salary base of $28,000.

“(There’s) a lot to take on in terms of student loan debt or tuition costs, if you’re only making that much coming out of college.  So we thought it was a great opportunity for us to truly try to attract some really bright students into the teaching profession.”

The education reform bill is currently being looked at in the Iowa Senate.

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