Minnesota Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment Program

 

If you have questions about this program, please contact the staff member listed on this page via email. If a staff member is not listed, please email info.ohe@state.mn.us and provide a detailed description of your question.

If you are going to apply for this program, you will be asked if you have read this page before you can apply.

The Minnesota Teacher Shortage Student Loan Repayment Program was established to provide student loan repayment assistance to teachers providing classroom instruction in Minnesota. The purpose of the program is to encourage teachers, particularly those who belong to a race or ethnicity underrepresented in the state's teacher workforce, to teach in Minnesota, to teach in license shortage areas, or to teach in rural school districts. (See the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for a list of the current shortage areas and rural school districts)

Who is Eligible to Apply?

In general, applicants must currently:

• Hold a teaching license issued by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board.
• Be employed by a school district to provide classroom instruction in their license area
• Have outstanding qualified educational loan debt not in default; and
• Belong to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce.

To the extent that funds are available, eligibility extends to teachers:

• Who teach in a rural school district; or
• Teach in a license shortage area.

What is the Application Process?

The application for the 2024 Minnesota Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment Program is now closed.

Applicants who meet the eligibility requirements will be notified if they are selected for application review in October. Those applicants will be asked to provide additional documentation to verify the information on the application by November 30.

Awards will be disbursed in spring 2025.

If you submitted a 2024 application and have been selected for verification, the documents below are required to complete the verification process.

2024 Application Data Verification Forms and Instructions

What is the Selection Process?

Awards for this program are not made on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Office of Higher Education adopted administrative rules addressing the criteria for how participant awards will be prioritized. If there are insufficient funds available to award all eligible applicants, applications are prioritized based on the following:

• the financial need of an applicant, considering the applicant's income, household size, and total qualified educational loan;
• whether or not the applicant belongs to a racial or ethnic group underrepresented in the Minnesota teacher workforce;
• previous awards to the applicant from the Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment Program;
• whether or not the applicant taught in a license field shortage area;
• whether or not the applicant taught in a rural school district; and
• the statewide distribution of funds

Teacher Shortage Student Loan Repayment rules

How much money can you get?

Funds are very limited to this program compared to the number of eligible applicants. Selected applicants receive an award up to $1,000 in loan repayment assistance paid directly to them. Awardees are limited to $5,000 in total repayment assistance.

View Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about this program.

Related Reports

• Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment Program 2024 Report
• Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment Program 2023 Report
• Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program 2022 Report
• Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program 2021 Report
• Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program 2020 Report
• Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program 2019 Report
• Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program 2018 Report
• Teacher Shortage Loan Forgiveness Program 2017 Report