LITTLE ROCK, ARK. (KNWA) —  Governor Asa Hutchinson is expanding the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) Computer Science Teacher Stipend Program.

Computer science teachers at Arkansas high schools will be allowed to apply for up to $10,000 in stipends during a five-year period.

The expanded program will provide additional support for the development of computer science programs for up to five years. The stipends will come from the $2.5 million in annual funding that Hutchinson has allocated for ADE to support the computer science initiative.

In 2015, $5 million was approved to ADE to begin the Arkansas Computer Science Initiative.

“The expansion of this stipend program will continue our efforts to ensure that our students have access to quality computer science courses in our schools,” Hutchinson said. “Since the creation of the program, our state has added more than 225 fully-certified computer science teachers and has awarded over $200,000 in stipends directly to high school teachers.”