By: Patrick S.B. No. 816
Shapiro, West
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the Texas Teach Corps Student Loan Repayment Assistance
Program for undergraduate students who agree to teach in school
districts in this state that have shortages of teachers in
mathematics or science.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter GG to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER GG. TEXAS TEACH CORPS STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE CLASSROOM TEACHERS
Sec. 61.9831. LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The
board shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board
rules, assistance in the repayment of eligible student loans for
eligible undergraduate students who agree to teach mathematics or
science for a specified period in school districts in this state
that are determined by the Texas Education Agency to have shortages
of teachers in mathematics or science.
Sec. 61.9832. ELIGIBILITY; AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS.
(a) To be eligible to receive loan repayment assistance under this
subchapter, a person must:
(1) apply for the loan repayment assistance in the
manner prescribed by the board;
(2) have graduated from high school in this state;
(3) be currently enrolled in an educator preparation
program accredited by the State Board for Educator Certification
that is provided by an institution of higher education or by a
private or independent institution of higher education in this
state;
(4) have a cumulative grade point average of at least
2.75 on a four-point scale or the equivalent;
(5) enter into an agreement with the board providing
that:
(A) the person will earn a baccalaureate degree
through completion of an educator preparation program described by
Subdivision (3);
(B) the person will graduate with a cumulative
grade point average of at least 2.75 on a four-point scale or the
equivalent;
(C) the person will obtain, within the period
prescribed by board rule, appropriate certification under
Subchapter B, Chapter 21, to teach mathematics or science in a
public school in this state;
(D) beginning with the first school year that
begins after the date the person obtains the appropriate
certification described by Paragraph (C), the person will accept an
offer of full-time employment to teach mathematics or science, as
applicable based on the person's certification, in a school
district in this state selected by the person from among districts
determined by the Texas Education Agency to have shortages of
teachers in that subject for that first school year for which the
person is accepting employment;
(E) the person will complete four consecutive
years of employment as a full-time classroom teacher in a district
described by Paragraph (D) whose primary duty is to teach
mathematics or science, as applicable, based on the person's
certification; and
(F) the person acknowledges the conditional
nature of the loan repayment assistance; and
(6) comply with any other requirement adopted by the
board under this subchapter.
(b) Except as provided by Section 61.9833, for the first
school year of employment and each following consecutive school
year of employment, as described by Subsections (a)(5)(D) and (E),
not to exceed a total of four years, the board may provide
assistance for the repayment of a portion of an eligible person's
eligible loans. Subject to the availability of funding under
Section 61.9836 and except as otherwise provided by this
subsection, the amount of an assistance payment provided under this
subsection in any year to an eligible person is $5,000. The board
shall increase that amount as necessary to adjust for inflation or,
as determined by the board, on the basis of other relevant
considerations. The board shall reduce the amount of a single
assistance payment or refrain from making an assistance payment to
an eligible person as necessary to avoid making total payments
under this subsection to the person in an amount greater than the
total amount of principal and interest due on the person's eligible
loans.
(c) For purposes of this subchapter, whether a school
district is determined to have a shortage of mathematics or science
teachers for a school year is based on a determination made by the
Texas Education Agency during the preceding school year. Not later
than April 1 of each school year, the Texas Education Agency shall
determine which school districts in this state have a shortage of
mathematics or science teachers during that school year and shall
provide that information to the board and to each educator
preparation program in this state accredited by the State Board for
Educator Certification.
(d) For purposes of Subsection (a)(5)(E), if a person is
employed as a teacher in a school district determined to have a
shortage of teachers in mathematics or science for the first year of
employment, each subsequent year of continuous employment as a
teacher in that district is considered to be employment in a
district determined to have such a shortage of teachers in that
subject in that subsequent year, regardless of whether the Texas
Education Agency determined that the district had a shortage of
teachers in that subject for that year.
(e) To satisfy the teaching obligation prescribed by an
agreement under this section, a person must teach mathematics or
science courses for not less than an average of four hours each
school day.
Sec. 61.9833. EXCEPTION TO CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT
REQUIREMENT. The board shall excuse an otherwise eligible person
from the requirement imposed by Section 61.9832(a)(5)(E) that the
employment be performed in consecutive years if the break in
employment is a result of the person's:
(1) full-time enrollment in a course of study related
to the field of teaching that is approved by the State Board for
Educator Certification and provided by an institution of higher
education or by a private or independent institution of higher
education in this state;
(2) service on active duty as a member of the armed
forces of the United States, including as a member of a reserve or
National Guard unit called for active duty;
(3) temporary total disability for a period of not
more than 36 months as established by the affidavit of a qualified
physician;
(4) inability to secure employment as required by
Section 61.9832 for a period not to exceed 12 months, because of
care required by a disabled spouse or child;
(5) inability, despite reasonable efforts, to secure,
for a single period not to exceed 12 months, employment as required
by Section 61.9832; or
(6) satisfaction of the provisions of any other
exception adopted by the board for purposes of this section.
Sec. 61.9834. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
under this subchapter repayment assistance for the repayment of any
student loan that:
(1) is for education at a public or private
institution of higher education; and
(2) is received by an eligible person through an
eligible lender.
(b) If the loan is not a state or federal guaranteed student
loan, the note or other writing governing the terms of the loan must
require the loan proceeds to be used for expenses incurred by a
person in attending a postsecondary educational institution.
(c) The board may not provide loan repayment assistance
under this subchapter for a student loan that is in default at the
time of the person's application for repayment assistance.
Sec. 61.9835. PAYMENT OF ASSISTANCE. (a) The board shall
pay any loan repayment assistance under this subchapter in a lump
sum:
(1) payable to both the holder of the loan and the
eligible person; or
(2) delivered on the eligible person's behalf directly
to the holder of the loan.
(b) Loan repayment assistance provided under this
subchapter may be applied to any amount due on the loan.
(c) Each fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt to
allocate all money available to the board for the purpose of
providing loan repayment assistance under this subchapter.
Sec. 61.9836. MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE TEACHER INVESTMENT
FUND. (a) In this section, "fund" means the mathematics and
science teacher investment fund.
(b) The fund is a dedicated account in the general revenue
fund and consists of:
(1) appropriations of money to the fund by the
legislature;
(2) gifts, grants, and other donations received for
the fund; and
(3) interest and other earnings from the investment of
the fund.
(c) The fund may be used only to provide repayment
assistance for the repayment of loans eligible under Section
61.9834, including related administrative costs.
(d) The fund is exempt from the application of Sections
403.095 and 404.071, Government Code.
(e) The board may solicit and accept grants, gifts, or
donations from any public or private entity for the purposes of this
subchapter. All money received under this subchapter shall be
deposited in the fund.
Sec. 61.9837. AMOUNT OF LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE.
(a) The total amount of loan repayment assistance paid by the
board under this subchapter may not exceed the total amount of money
available in the fund under Section 61.9836 and any other money that
the board is legally authorized to use for purposes of this
subchapter.
(b) Not more than 4,000 eligible persons may be provided
loan repayment assistance in the amount authorized under this
subchapter in any school year.
(b-1) This subsection expires January 1, 2016.
Notwithstanding Subsection (b), not more than the following number
of eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance in
the amount authorized under this subchapter in the specified school
year:
(1) in the 2012-2013 school year, not more than 1,000
eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance;
(2) in the 2013-2014 school year, not more than 2,000
eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance; and
(3) in the 2014-2015 school year, not more than 3,000
eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance.
(c) If in any year the amount of money available for loan
repayment assistance under this subchapter is insufficient to
provide loan repayment assistance to each eligible applicant or if
there are more eligible applicants than the number authorized by
this section, the board shall establish criteria to determine which
eligible applicants will be provided repayment assistance as the
board determines appropriate to further the purposes of this
subchapter.
Sec. 61.9838. RULES. The board shall:
(1) adopt rules necessary for the administration of
this subchapter, including a rule providing for the manner in which
a person may apply for loan repayment assistance; and
(2) distribute to each educator preparation program
approved by the State Board for Educator Certification offered by
an institution of higher education or by a private or independent
institution of higher education in this state a copy of the rules
adopted under this section.
SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall begin providing loan repayment assistance under Subchapter
GG, Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act, for eligible
persons teaching in the 2012-2013 school year.
SECTION 3. This Act does not make an appropriation. A
provision in this Act that creates a new governmental program,
creates a new entitlement, or imposes a new duty on a governmental
entity is not mandatory during a fiscal period for which the
legislature has not made a specific appropriation to implement the
provision.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.