Federal TEACH Grant

TEACH Grant Basics

The Federal TEACH Grant program was established in 2008. It provides grants of up to $4,000 per year to qualifying students who agree to serve as a full-time, highly qualified teacher in a high-need field at a low-income school for four years. If a student fails to complete their service obligation within eight years of graduation, their Federal TEACH Grant will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan which must be repaid with interest.

Detailed information about this program is available on the U.S. Department of Education’s TEACH Grant website.

Application Process

1. Complete the online TEACH Grant Initial Counseling session to be sure this is an appropriate program for you. (This counseling session may be completed for informational purposes and does NOT commit you to participation in the program.)
2. Take time to consider this opportunity. When you are ready to commit to the service obligation, sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve or Repay with the U.S. Department of Education.
3. Complete the Lewis & Clark Federal TEACH Grant Application and submit it to the Financial Aid Office.
4. After we receive your L&C Federal TEACH Grant Application, confirm that you meet the academic eligibility requirement, and verify your enrollment in a TEACH-Grant eligible degree program, we will award the Federal TEACH Grant.

Students who are graduating or leaving their TEACH Grant program must complete TEACH Grant Exit Counseling online through the StudentAid.gov website.

Highly Qualified Teacher

To have teaching service count toward the TEACH Grant service obligation, recipients must meet the definition of a highly qualified teacher. For an explanation of the requirements, refer to the TEACH Grant Initial and Subsequent Counseling Guide.

High-Need Fields

• Math
• Science
• Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
• Special Education
• Reading Specialist
• Other high-need fields defined at the state level

TEACH Grant-eligible degree programs are those that prepare students to teach in high-need fields.

Low-Income Serving School

To satisfy the terms of the TEACH Grant, teaching service must be performed at elementary or secondary schools (public/private) or educational service agencies serving low-income students that are listed in the annual Teacher Cancellation Low-Income Directory. In addition, elementary or secondary schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education or operated on Indian reservations by Indian tribal groups under contract or grant with the BIE qualify as low-income schools.

Conversion to Loan

Should a TEACH Grant recipient fail to meet the requirements of their service obligation, their grant will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan. The loan must be repaid in full with interest calculated retroactively from the date the grant funds were originally disbursed.