88R10965 MM-D
By: Frazier, Leo-Wilson, Swanson, Lalani, H.B. No. 2672
et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility for 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 61.9831, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
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 persons who agree to teach mathematics or science for a
specified period in public schools [that receive federal funding
under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.)].
SECTION 2. Sections 61.9832(a) and (c), Education Code, are
amended 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 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 in any public school 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 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.
SECTION 3. Section 61.9839(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Sections 61.9833(b) and 61.9838(c), an [An]
eligible person may continue to receive the same amount of loan
repayment assistance received during the first four consecutive
years of teaching service required under Section 61.9832(c)(2) if
the person continues to teach in a public school in accordance with
board rules for the prescribed number of consecutive school years
occurring immediately after those [that receives funding under
Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
Section 6301 et seq.), after the] first four years [of teaching
service required under Section 61.9832(c)(2)].
SECTION 4. Section 61.9839(b), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 5. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
date of this Act, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
shall adopt rules necessary to administer Sections 61.9831,
61.9832, and 61.9839, Education Code, as amended by this Act.
(b) Sections 61.9831, 61.9832, and 61.9839, Education Code,
as amended by this Act, apply 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 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.