Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB816 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Patrick S.B. No. 816
2	2	Shapiro, West
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Texas Teach Corps Student Loan Repayment Assistance
8	8	Program for undergraduate students who agree to teach in school
9	9	districts in this state that have shortages of teachers in
10	10	mathematics or science.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
13	13	Subchapter GG to read as follows:
14	14	SUBCHAPTER GG. TEXAS TEACH CORPS STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE
15	15	PROGRAM FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE CLASSROOM TEACHERS
16	16	Sec. 61.9831. LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The
17	17	board shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board
18	18	rules, assistance in the repayment of eligible student loans for
19	19	eligible undergraduate students who agree to teach mathematics or
20	20	science for a specified period in school districts in this state
21	21	that are determined by the Texas Education Agency to have shortages
22	22	of teachers in mathematics or science.
23	23	Sec. 61.9832. ELIGIBILITY; AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS.
24	24	(a) To be eligible to receive loan repayment assistance under this
25	25	subchapter, a person must:
26	26	(1) apply for the loan repayment assistance in the
27	27	manner prescribed by the board;
28	28	(2) have graduated from high school in this state;
29	29	(3) be currently enrolled in an educator preparation
30	30	program accredited by the State Board for Educator Certification
31	31	that is provided by an institution of higher education or by a
32	32	private or independent institution of higher education in this
33	33	state;
34	34	(4) have a cumulative grade point average of at least
35	35	2.75 on a four-point scale or the equivalent;
36	36	(5) enter into an agreement with the board providing
37	37	that:
38	38	(A) the person will earn a baccalaureate degree
39	39	through completion of an educator preparation program described by
40	40	Subdivision (3);
41	41	(B) the person will graduate with a cumulative
42	42	grade point average of at least 2.75 on a four-point scale or the
43	43	equivalent;
44	44	(C) the person will obtain, within the period
45	45	prescribed by board rule, appropriate certification under
46	46	Subchapter B, Chapter 21, to teach mathematics or science in a
47	47	public school in this state;
48	48	(D) beginning with the first school year that
49	49	begins after the date the person obtains the appropriate
50	50	certification described by Paragraph (C), the person will accept an
51	51	offer of full-time employment to teach mathematics or science, as
52	52	applicable based on the person's certification, in a school
53	53	district in this state selected by the person from among districts
54	54	determined by the Texas Education Agency to have shortages of
55	55	teachers in that subject for that first school year for which the
56	56	person is accepting employment;
57	57	(E) the person will complete four consecutive
58	58	years of employment as a full-time classroom teacher in a district
59	59	described by Paragraph (D) whose primary duty is to teach
60	60	mathematics or science, as applicable, based on the person's
61	61	certification; and
62	62	(F) the person acknowledges the conditional
63	63	nature of the loan repayment assistance; and
64	64	(6) comply with any other requirement adopted by the
65	65	board under this subchapter.
66	66	(b) Except as provided by Section 61.9833, for the first
67	67	school year of employment and each following consecutive school
68	68	year of employment, as described by Subsections (a)(5)(D) and (E),
69	69	not to exceed a total of four years, the board may provide
70	70	assistance for the repayment of a portion of an eligible person's
71	71	eligible loans. Subject to the availability of funding under
72	72	Section 61.9836 and except as otherwise provided by this
73	73	subsection, the amount of an assistance payment provided under this
74	74	subsection in any year to an eligible person is $5,000. The board
75	75	shall increase that amount as necessary to adjust for inflation or,
76	76	as determined by the board, on the basis of other relevant
77	77	considerations. The board shall reduce the amount of a single
78	78	assistance payment or refrain from making an assistance payment to
79	79	an eligible person as necessary to avoid making total payments
80	80	under this subsection to the person in an amount greater than the
81	81	total amount of principal and interest due on the person's eligible
82	82	loans.
83	83	(c) For purposes of this subchapter, whether a school
84	84	district is determined to have a shortage of mathematics or science
85	85	teachers for a school year is based on a determination made by the
86	86	Texas Education Agency during the preceding school year. Not later
87	87	than April 1 of each school year, the Texas Education Agency shall
88	88	determine which school districts in this state have a shortage of
89	89	mathematics or science teachers during that school year and shall
90	90	provide that information to the board and to each educator
91	91	preparation program in this state accredited by the State Board for
92	92	Educator Certification.
93	93	(d) For purposes of Subsection (a)(5)(E), if a person is
94	94	employed as a teacher in a school district determined to have a
95	95	shortage of teachers in mathematics or science for the first year of
96	96	employment, each subsequent year of continuous employment as a
97	97	teacher in that district is considered to be employment in a
98	98	district determined to have such a shortage of teachers in that
99	99	subject in that subsequent year, regardless of whether the Texas
100	100	Education Agency determined that the district had a shortage of
101	101	teachers in that subject for that year.
102	102	(e) To satisfy the teaching obligation prescribed by an
103	103	agreement under this section, a person must teach mathematics or
104	104	science courses for not less than an average of four hours each
105	105	school day.
106	106	Sec. 61.9833. EXCEPTION TO CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT
107	107	REQUIREMENT. The board shall excuse an otherwise eligible person
108	108	from the requirement imposed by Section 61.9832(a)(5)(E) that the
109	109	employment be performed in consecutive years if the break in
110	110	employment is a result of the person's:
111	111	(1) full-time enrollment in a course of study related
112	112	to the field of teaching that is approved by the State Board for
113	113	Educator Certification and provided by an institution of higher
114	114	education or by a private or independent institution of higher
115	115	education in this state;
116	116	(2) service on active duty as a member of the armed
117	117	forces of the United States, including as a member of a reserve or
118	118	National Guard unit called for active duty;
119	119	(3) temporary total disability for a period of not
120	120	more than 36 months as established by the affidavit of a qualified
121	121	physician;
122	122	(4) inability to secure employment as required by
123	123	Section 61.9832 for a period not to exceed 12 months, because of
124	124	care required by a disabled spouse or child;
125	125	(5) inability, despite reasonable efforts, to secure,
126	126	for a single period not to exceed 12 months, employment as required
127	127	by Section 61.9832; or
128	128	(6) satisfaction of the provisions of any other
129	129	exception adopted by the board for purposes of this section.
130	130	Sec. 61.9834. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
131	131	under this subchapter repayment assistance for the repayment of any
132	132	student loan that:
133	133	(1) is for education at a public or private
134	134	institution of higher education; and
135	135	(2) is received by an eligible person through an
136	136	eligible lender.
137	137	(b) If the loan is not a state or federal guaranteed student
138	138	loan, the note or other writing governing the terms of the loan must
139	139	require the loan proceeds to be used for expenses incurred by a
140	140	person in attending a postsecondary educational institution.
141	141	(c) The board may not provide loan repayment assistance
142	142	under this subchapter for a student loan that is in default at the
143	143	time of the person's application for repayment assistance.
144	144	Sec. 61.9835. PAYMENT OF ASSISTANCE. (a) The board shall
145	145	pay any loan repayment assistance under this subchapter in a lump
146	146	sum:
147	147	(1) payable to both the holder of the loan and the
148	148	eligible person; or
149	149	(2) delivered on the eligible person's behalf directly
150	150	to the holder of the loan.
151	151	(b) Loan repayment assistance provided under this
152	152	subchapter may be applied to any amount due on the loan.
153	153	(c) Each fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt to
154	154	allocate all money available to the board for the purpose of
155	155	providing loan repayment assistance under this subchapter.
156	156	Sec. 61.9836. MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE TEACHER INVESTMENT
157	157	FUND. (a) In this section, "fund" means the mathematics and
158	158	science teacher investment fund.
159	159	(b) The fund is a dedicated account in the general revenue
160	160	fund and consists of:
161	161	(1) appropriations of money to the fund by the
162	162	legislature;
163	163	(2) gifts, grants, and other donations received for
164	164	the fund; and
165	165	(3) interest and other earnings from the investment of
166	166	the fund.
167	167	(c) The fund may be used only to provide repayment
168	168	assistance for the repayment of loans eligible under Section
169	169	61.9834, including related administrative costs.
170	170	(d) The fund is exempt from the application of Sections
171	171	403.095 and 404.071, Government Code.
172	172	(e) The board may solicit and accept grants, gifts, or
173	173	donations from any public or private entity for the purposes of this
174	174	subchapter. All money received under this subchapter shall be
175	175	deposited in the fund.
176	176	Sec. 61.9837. AMOUNT OF LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE.
177	177	(a) The total amount of loan repayment assistance paid by the
178	178	board under this subchapter may not exceed the total amount of money
179	179	available in the fund under Section 61.9836 and any other money that
180	180	the board is legally authorized to use for purposes of this
181	181	subchapter.
182	182	(b) Not more than 4,000 eligible persons may be provided
183	183	loan repayment assistance in the amount authorized under this
184	184	subchapter in any school year.
185	185	(b-1) This subsection expires January 1, 2016.
186	186	Notwithstanding Subsection (b), not more than the following number
187	187	of eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance in
188	188	the amount authorized under this subchapter in the specified school
189	189	year:
190	190	(1) in the 2012-2013 school year, not more than 1,000
191	191	eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance;
192	192	(2) in the 2013-2014 school year, not more than 2,000
193	193	eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance; and
194	194	(3) in the 2014-2015 school year, not more than 3,000
195	195	eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance.
196	196	(c) If in any year the amount of money available for loan
197	197	repayment assistance under this subchapter is insufficient to
198	198	provide loan repayment assistance to each eligible applicant or if
199	199	there are more eligible applicants than the number authorized by
200	200	this section, the board shall establish criteria to determine which
201	201	eligible applicants will be provided repayment assistance as the
202	202	board determines appropriate to further the purposes of this
203	203	subchapter.
204	204	Sec. 61.9838. RULES. The board shall:
205	205	(1) adopt rules necessary for the administration of
206	206	this subchapter, including a rule providing for the manner in which
207	207	a person may apply for loan repayment assistance; and
208	208	(2) distribute to each educator preparation program
209	209	approved by the State Board for Educator Certification offered by
210	210	an institution of higher education or by a private or independent
211	211	institution of higher education in this state a copy of the rules
212	212	adopted under this section.
213	213	SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
214	214	shall begin providing loan repayment assistance under Subchapter
215	215	GG, Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act, for eligible
216	216	persons teaching in the 2012-2013 school year.
217	217	SECTION 3. This Act does not make an appropriation. A
218	218	provision in this Act that creates a new governmental program,
219	219	creates a new entitlement, or imposes a new duty on a governmental
220	220	entity is not mandatory during a fiscal period for which the
221	221	legislature has not made a specific appropriation to implement the
222	222	provision.
223	223	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
224	224	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
225	225	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
226	226	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
227	227	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.