The Massachusetts Paraprofessional Teacher Preparation Grant Program provides financial assistance to Massachusetts residents who are currently employed as paraprofessionals in Massachusetts public schools, but wish to become certified as full-time teachers. Financial need is not a requirement for the Paraprofessional Teacher Preparation Grant. However, recipients must annually file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Applicants must be a permanent legal resident of Massachusetts for at least one year prior to the opening of the academic year and be a U.S. Citizen or non-citizen eligible under Title IV regulations. They must enroll in an undergraduate degree program leading to teacher certification in a Massachusetts Public College. Applicants must also be employed, for a minimum of two years, as a paraprofessional in a Massachusetts public school. If they employed less than two years as a paraprofessional, a student may qualify for the grant only if the undergraduate course of study will lead to teacher certification in high-need disciplines: Math, Science, Special Education, Foreign Languages, or Bilingual Education. Students must enroll at an eligible institution which is defined as a regionally accredited public or private, college or university in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that offers a teacher preparation program leading to licensure, approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE); or a two-year public college that has a signed articulation or joint admissions agreement with such an institution for a teacher preparation program. Please visit the award's website for more information.