(1) (a) The general assembly finds that: (I) There is a teacher shortage across the state, particularly in rural areas, which jeopardizes Colorado's ability to maintain the highest standards in education delivery; (II) There are various causes of the teacher shortage; and (III) There are resources available, and potentially available, that could help alleviate the teacher shortage; however, due to the unique causes of teacher shortages across the state, there is a need for collaboration to connect local education providers with resources to develop customized solutions. (b) Therefore, the general assembly declares that the creation of a partnership for rural education is an effective way to reduce teacher shortages in Colorado. (2) There is created the partnership for rural education preparation on the Denver campus of the university of Colorado, referred to in this section as the "partnership", to collaborate with other institutions of higher education to bring customized solutions to local education providers to address teacher shortages. Subject to available appropriations, and in collaboration with local education providers, the partnership shall work with identified local education providers to: (a) Regularly collect and report data on the current and projected hiring needs for the local education provider, including turnover trends, for teachers by geographic and content area; (b) Determine the causes of teacher shortages; (c) Identify available and potentially available resources that align supply and demand when addressing the teacher shortages; (d) Connect these resources to the local education provider through customized solutions targeted to the specific causes of the teacher shortage for the local education provider; (e) To the extent possible, identify methods for improving diversity of teachers; and (f) Provide technical assistance in implementing the local education provider's customized solution. (3) The partnership shall prepare and submit an annual report for each year in which the partnership is operating to the department of education, the department of higher education, and the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees, concerning data collected and strategies identified by the partnership to address teacher shortages across the state. (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 23-1-104 (1) to the contrary, the appropriation of money for purposes of this section is not included within the single line item appropriation to the regents of the university of Colorado. Any unexpended and unencumbered money appropriated for purposes of this section remains available for expenditure for purposes of this section in the next fiscal year without further appropriation.
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