Section 4602 - Establishment; statement of purpose(a) The Department of Education, in partnership with the Department of Labor, shall create and administer the Delaware Educator Apprenticeship Program. School districts and charter schools will place participants into positions in schools, alongside teacher mentors, while the participants complete training and education programs to become a credentialed Delaware educator.(b) The purpose of this program is to support educator recruitment and increase the pipeline of qualified educators for our public schools by utilizing an apprenticeship model for training. This program will complement additional strategies underway through the State's Grow Your Own Educator Program and teacher residency programs by providing a low-cost pathway to become a certified educator to address the educator shortage in Delaware.(c) In selecting applicants for this program, the Department shall consider all of the following: (1) An applicant's commitment to Grow your Own Educator programs, including well-developed teacher academies and pathways that start in middle school and extend through high school.(2) An applicant's established and proposed partnerships with other institutions and programs.(3) An applicant's commitment to diversifying the workforce and supporting underrepresented populations.(4) An applicant's commitment to providing on-the-job training, competitive wages and benefits, and long-term hiring opportunities to program participants.(5) An applicant's commitment to new teacher mentoring programs, including mentor teacher training and support programs.(d) The Department of Education shall explore and may include the following elements in the design of the Delaware Educator Apprenticeship Program:(1) Technical assistance services to be provided by programs with expertise in the apprenticeship model.(2) National credentials that may be available for teacher apprentice programs.(3) Tax credits available to program participants.(4) Federal and state funding available for training and educating teacher mentors and apprentices.(5) Additional incentives for recruiting program participants.Added by Laws 2023 , ch. 180, s 1, eff. 8/23/2023.Section 2 of the 2023 enacting legislation provides that a pilot Delaware Educator Apprenticeship Program shall be created between 1 institute of higher education and 1 district or charter school for the 2023-2024 school year. The program shall be expanded based on interest and funding in the 2024-2025 school year and shall continue as funding is available. The Department of Education shall work with the Department of Labor, Delaware Workforce Development Board, Delaware State Education Association, school districts, and institutions of higher education to expand this program.