It’s no surprise that state Rep. Carol Gregory’s first bill to receive approval by the full House is one geared to put teachers with new skills in Washington classrooms.

Gregory, D-Federal Way, is a former teacher herself, and was president of the Federal Way school board when she was appointed early this year to replace the late Rep. Roger Freeman in the House.

Gregory knew coming in that Washington needs more teachers who are qualified to teach computer science, environmental sustainability, English as a second language and bilingual and special education.

Her House Bill 1570, which passed out of the House on Monday with a 70-to-27 majority, adds those fields to the list of specialties that currently allow teachers to apply to the Retooling to Teach Mathematics and Sciences Conditional Scholarship Program.

Gregory’s bill changes the name of the existing program to the Educator Retooling Conditional Scholarship Program.  Formerly open only to teachers seeking endorsements in math or science, the program will now offer potential scholarship loans of up to $3,000 a year for the above areas as well.

“Unlike other loans, we hope teachers won’t be paying them back in cash,” Gregory wrote in a press release. “We’ll forgive one year of the loan for every two years that these teachers work in a Washington K-12 classroom to educate our kids. It’s a small but smart investment that we’ll profit from every time a student learns another skill that will help them take their place in Washington’s 21st-century economy.”

Under the terms of HB 1570, which now heads to the Senate for consideration, preference for the scholarship loans is given to applicants who are veterans or National Guard members, or who are assigned to schools where students are most in need of teachers who can teach in the qualifying fields.