Student teachers in California can now receive stipends to help cover some of the costs of completing their teacher preparation programs.

The one-time $10,000 stipends for aspiring teachers are available to students completing the required in-classroom training portion of their teacher preparation programs, which are typically unpaid.

Student teachers are required to complete at least 600 hours of teaching, and many aspiring educators never earn their teaching credential due to the financial burden during their training period, according to Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

Sandy said in an Oct. 13 press release announcing the stipend that the financial support will allow eligible student teachers to work alongside experienced educators and develop the necessary skills for leading their own future classrooms.

Student teachers will not apply for the stipend themselves. Because the Student Teacher Stipend Program is funded through Proposition 98, the money can only be distributed to local education agencies. As a result, eligibility must be verified by the teaching credential program and the local education agency where the student teacher will teach. These two agencies submit stipend applications for eligible students.

To qualify, the student teacher must be enrolled in a Commission-approved preliminary teaching credential program, be completing at least 500 of the required 600 hours of clinical practice, and begin or continue clinical practice as of July 1.

An additional $5,000 stipend will be available to student teachers pursuing credentials in specific, high-need fields—including science, math, and special education—beginning in the 2027–28 school year.

California launched the stipend program in an effort to address the teacher shortage while promoting careers in the classroom. 

One student who is slated to receive the stipend this fall, Melissa Aguilera, teaches sixth-grade students at McKee Middle School in Bakersfield. She said the stipend will help offset the costs of pursuing a teaching career.

“Between graduating with my bachelor’s and applying for the credential program, I needed to take time off of school to solely work on saving money in order to afford tuition for the prerequisite classes and credential program,” Aguilera said in a statement. “Without the stipend, I would be continuing to tap into my savings to pay for certain bills and necessities.”

Plans for the stipend program began in the summer of 2025, when the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing partnered with the Kern County Superintendent of Schools and other organizational partners to build the infrastructure needed to accept and manage applications statewide.

Once the system was in place, the project moved toward raising awareness and developing an evaluation plan to determine if the investment would be successful.

“California’s students deserve excellent teachers, and that starts with making sure aspiring educators have the support, preparation, and resources they need to enter the profession and succeed in the classroom,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “By investing in future teachers today, we’re strengthening California’s classrooms and building a stronger educator workforce for years to come.”

The Student Teacher Stipend Program is expected to support around 12,500 student teachers, as the state plans to invest $708 million through 2032 toward the program.