S.B. No. 1757
AN ACT
relating to student loan repayment assistance under the math and
science scholars loan repayment program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.9832, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
read as follows:
(a) To be eligible to receive loan repayment assistance
under this subchapter, a person must:
(1) apply annually for the loan repayment assistance
in the manner prescribed by the board;
(2) be a United States citizen;
(3) have completed an undergraduate or graduate
program in mathematics or science;
(4) have a cumulative grade point average of at least
3.0 [3.5] on a four-point scale or the equivalent;
(5) be:
(A) certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, to
teach mathematics or science in a public school in this state; or
(B) teaching under a probationary teaching
certificate;
(6) have been employed for at least one year as a
teacher teaching mathematics or science at a public school that
receives funding under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.);
(7) not be in default on any other education loan;
(8) not receive any other state or federal loan
repayment assistance, including a Teacher Education Assistance for
College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant or teacher loan
forgiveness;
(9) enter into an agreement with the board under
Subsection (c); and
(10) comply with any other requirement adopted by the
board under this subchapter.
(c) To receive loan repayment assistance under this
subchapter, a person must enter into an agreement with the board
that includes the following provisions:
(1) 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 public school that receives
funding under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.);
(2) the person will complete four consecutive years of
employment as a full-time classroom teacher in a school described
by Subdivision (1) whose primary duty is to teach mathematics or
science, as applicable, based on the person's certification;
(3) beginning with the school year immediately
following the last of the four consecutive school years described
by Subdivision (2), the person will complete an [four] additional
number of consecutive school years teaching in any public school in
this state, as prescribed by board rule; and
(4) the person acknowledges the conditional nature of
the loan repayment assistance.
(c-1) The rules adopted under Subsection (c)(3) may not
require a person to complete more than four additional consecutive
school years of teaching as described by that subdivision.
SECTION 2. Section 61.9835(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The board may provide repayment assistance under this
subchapter for the repayment of any student loan that:
(1) is for education at:
(A) a public or private institution of higher
education; or
(B) a nonprofit, tax-exempt, regionally
accredited college or university operating in accordance with a
memorandum of understanding with this state under an executive
order issued by the governor; and
(2) is received by an eligible person through an
eligible lender.
SECTION 3. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules necessary to administer Section 61.9832,
Education Code, as amended by this Act.
(b) Section 61.9832, Education Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to a loan repayment assistance agreement entered into
under Subchapter KK, Chapter 61, Education Code, on or after the
effective date of this Act. A loan repayment assistance agreement
entered into before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect immediately before that date, and the former law
is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1757 passed the Senate on
April 29, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 25, 2019, by the
following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1757 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 22, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 101,
Nays 41, three present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor