(a) Establishment.--The Educator Pipeline Support Grant Program is established within the agency.

(b) Duties.--The agency, in consultation with the department, shall administer the program and, in the agency's sole discretion, award a grant to an individual who submits a completed application and satisfies the eligibility requirements under section 1204-B.¹

(c) Application.--No later than 120 days after the effective date of this subsection, the agency shall develop and make available an application form that an individual who is seeking placement as a student teacher may use to apply for a grant under the program.

(d) Transfer of appropriation.--The appropriation in the amount of $10,000,000 to the department in section 215 of the act of August 3, 2023 (P.L. 471, No. 1A), known as the General Appropriation Act of 2023, for the purpose of teacher stipend is transferred to the agency for the administration and implementation of the program.

(g) Additional duties.--When the agency awards a grant to a student teacher under this article, the agency shall also award a grant payment to the student teacher's cooperating teacher. The cooperating teacher shall receive a minimum grant of $2,500. The agency may reduce the grant award amount to a cooperating teacher if the cooperating teacher receives compensation from an institution of higher education for serving as a cooperating teacher. An institution of higher education may not charge a student teacher who receives a grant for the cost of paying a cooperating teacher.

(h) Dissemination of information.--The agency shall annually provide information about the program on the department's publicly accessible Internet website and to all approved educator preparation programs and public and nonpublic secondary schools. An approved educator preparation program shall annually disseminate information about the program, including information identifying the school entities that qualify the student for an additional grant award amount under subsection (e).

(i) Payment.--The agency shall establish a method for paying grant awards under the program to a school entity or nonpublic school. The school entity or nonpublic school shall use all of the money received under the program for payment to student teachers and cooperating teachers as required by this section and the agency.

(j) Administrative fee.--The agency may take a reasonable administrative fee for direct costs associated with the implementation, administration and servicing of the program. The fee shall be taken from the funding received under subsection (f) and may not exceed 5%.