(1) The general assembly finds that:

(a) A recent study by the department of higher education and the department of education identified the existence of a teacher shortage in Colorado;

(b) The study specifically found that the inability to retain teachers, either in a specific school district or public school or in the profession, is a significant cause of the teacher shortage. The four-year teacher attrition rate for public schools in Colorado is sixteen and four-tenths percent, about two percent higher than the national average. The percentage of teachers who plan to leave teaching in Colorado is also about two percent higher than the national average.

(c) The Colorado teacher shortage study and other research have identified several strategies to address the issue of teacher retention, including providing robust induction programs and other significant supports for new teachers; providing peer review and mentorship programs both as support for new teachers and as career advancement opportunities for experienced teachers; allowing flexibility in work schedules to decrease teacher-student contact time and increase time for planning, collaborating, and mentoring; providing opportunities for professional development and recognition for experienced teachers; and creating career advancement pathways to help in retaining experienced teachers; and

(d) Implementing these strategies requires funding, and a strategy that may be effective in addressing the issues in one school district or public school may not be effective in another school district or public school. Because each school district and public school faces different challenges, each school district and public school needs the opportunity to select a strategy that will best meet the needs of that school district or public school and to receive funding to implement that strategy.

(2) The general assembly therefore finds that, to significantly decrease the teacher shortage in Colorado and support school districts and public schools that demonstrate both teacher shortages and the need for financial assistance to address the shortages, it is necessary to establish a grant program for school districts, public schools, and boards of cooperative services that operate public schools that will provide funding to them to implement a wide variety of locally appropriate options to improve their ability to successfully retain teachers.