House Bill 634

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-106-55 AND 37-106-77, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT COLLEGE STUDENTS PREVIOUSLY ENROLLED IN THE CRITICAL NEEDS TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM WHO HAD NOT RECEIVED THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF AWARDS ALLOWABLE UNDER THAT PROGRAM BEFORE IT WAS REPEALED ON JULY 1, 2014, ARE ELIGIBLE TO ENROLL IN THE TEACHING FELLOWS PROGRAM OR THE CRITICAL NEEDS TEACHER FORGIVABLE LOAN PROGRAM IF THEY MEET THE REQUIREMENTS PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED FOR CONTINUED ENROLLMENT IN THE CRITICAL NEEDS TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-106-55, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-106-55. (1) There is established the "Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program," the purpose of which is to attract qualified teachers to those geographical areas of the state and those subject areas of the curriculum where there exists a critical shortage of teachers by awarding forgivable loans to persons declaring an intention to serve in the teaching field who actually render service to the state while possessing an appropriate teaching license.

(2) Individuals shall not be eligible to enroll in the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program after the 2014-2015 academic year, and in subsequent years individuals are encouraged to apply to the Teaching Fellows Program established in Section 37-106-77. Any student who was enrolled in the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program before Section 37-159-3 was repealed on July 1, 2014, by Section 39, Chapter 538, Laws of 2014, but who had not received the maximum number of awards that were available to students under Section 37-159-3 at the time the student initially enrolled in the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program must be accepted, after the 2014-2015 academic year, into either the Teaching Fellows Program created under Section 37-106-77 or the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program created under this section if the student has met the requirements for continued enrollment in the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program which were in effect before that program was repealed on July 1, 2014. Any other individual who is enrolled in or accepted for enrollment at a teacher education program approved by the State Board of Education or other program at a baccalaureate degree-granting institution of higher learning in the State of Mississippi and has a passing score on the Praxis I Basic Skills Test who expresses in writing an intention to teach in a geographical area of the state or a subject area of the public school curriculum in which there exists a critical shortage of teachers, as designated by the State Board of Education, shall be eligible for a forgivable loan to be applied toward the costs of the individual's college education. The annual amount of the award shall be equal to the total cost for tuition, room and meals, books, materials and fees at the college or university in which the student is enrolled, not to exceed an amount equal to the highest total cost of tuition, room and meals, books, materials and fees assessed by a state institution of higher learning during that school year. Awards made to nonresidents of the state shall not include any amount assessed by the college or university for out-of-state tuition.

(3) Awards granted under the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program shall be available to both full-time and part-time students. Students enrolling on a full-time basis may receive a maximum of two (2) annual awards. The maximum number of awards that may be made to students attending school on a part-time basis, and the maximum time period for part-time students to complete the number of academic hours necessary to obtain a baccalaureate degree in education, shall be established by rules and regulations promulgated by the board. Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loans shall not be based upon an applicant's financial need.

(4) Awards granted under the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program shall be made available to nontraditional licensed teachers showing a documented need for student loan repayment and employed in those school districts designated by the State Board of Education as a geographical area of the state or in a subject area of the curriculum in which there is a critical shortage of teachers. The maximum annual amount of this repayment should not exceed Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00) and the maximum time period for repayment shall be no more than four (4) years.

(5) Except in those cases where employment positions may not be available upon completion of licensure requirements, at the beginning of the first school year in which a recipient of a Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan is eligible for employment as a licensed teacher or a nontraditional teacher intern pursuant to Section 37-3-2(6)(b), that person shall begin to render service as a licensed teacher or nontraditional teacher intern in a public school district in a geographical area of the state or a subject area of the curriculum where there is a critical shortage of teachers, as approved by the State Board of Education.

(6) Failure to repay any loan and interest that becomes due shall be cause for the revocation of a person's teaching license by the State Board of Education.

(7) Repayment and conversion terms for students enrolled in the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program, including those students who were enrolled in the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program before Section 37-159-3 was repealed on July 1, 2014, by Section 39, Chapter 538, Laws of 2014, shall be the same as those outlined in Section 37-106-53.

(8) The board shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the proper administration of the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program.

(9) The State Board of Education shall compile and report, in consultation with the board, an annual report with findings and recommendations to the legislative committees on education by December 1 * * * ~~, 2003, and annually thereafter,~~of each year on the following:

(a) The number of participants in the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program, by institution and by freshman, sophomore, junior and senior level;

(b) The number of nontraditional teacher license program participants;

(c) The number of individuals who completed the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program and the school district in which they are employed;

(d) The number of individuals who are in default of their obligation under the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program and the status of their obligation;

(e) The number of participants in the program who have successfully completed the Praxis examination in their junior year; and

(f) The number of noneducation majors participating in the program.

(10) Where local school districts exhibit financial need, the State Department of Education may, subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, provide financial assistance for the recruitment of certified teachers in an amount not to exceed Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) annually.

This section shall stand repealed July 1, 2020.

SECTION 2. Section 37-106-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-106-77. (1) There is established the Teaching Fellows Program to attract qualified teachers by awarding forgivable loans to persons declaring an intention to serve in the teaching field who actually render service in the State of Mississippi while possessing an appropriate teaching license.

(2) Beginning with the 2015-2016 academic year, the Teaching Fellows Program shall be used to provide a four-year forgivable loan of Six Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($6,500.00) per year to Mississippi high school seniors interested in preparing to teach in the public schools of the state. The awarding of forgivable loans under the Teaching Fellows Program shall be administered by the Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board. The Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board shall adopt stringent standards, including a minimum grade point average and scholastic aptitude test scores, for awarding these forgivable loans to ensure that only the highest aptitude high school seniors receive them.

(3) Any full-time student who was enrolled in the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program before Section 37-159-3 was repealed on July 1, 2014, by Section 39, Chapter 538, Laws of 2014, but who had not received, as of July 1, 2014, a number of awards under that program which exceeds the maximum amount authorized under subsection (2) of this section for the Teaching Fellows Program must be deemed eligible for enrollment in the Teaching Fellows Program, after the 2014-2015 academic year, if the student has met the requirements for continued enrollment in the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program which were in effect before that program was repealed on July 1, 2014. A student enrolled in the Teaching Fellows Program under this subsection must comply with the repayment and conversion terms established under subsection (6) of this section.

(4) The State Board of Education shall administer the program in cooperation with the schools of education of the universities and colleges selected by the board. Teaching Fellows should be exposed to a range of extracurricular activities while in college. These activities should be geared to instilling a strong motivation not only to remain in teaching but to provide leadership for tomorrow's schools.

( * * *45) The State Board of Education shall form regional review committees to assist it in identifying the highest aptitude high school seniors for the program. The State Board of Education and the review committees shall make an effort to identify and encourage minority students and students who may not otherwise consider a career in teaching to enter the program.

( * * *56) Repayment and conversion terms shall be the same as those outlined in Section 37-106-53 except that the Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board shall forgive the loan in the following circumstances:

(a) Within seven (7) years after graduation, the recipient teaches for four (4) years at a Mississippi public school or at a school operated by the United States government in Mississippi;

(b) Within seven (7) years after graduation, the recipient teaches for three (3) consecutive years, unless the recipient takes an approved leave of absence, at a Mississippi public school in a school district that at the time the recipient accepts reemployment with the district which is under conservatorship or is a low-performing school system identified in accordance with Section 37-17-6 or is on probation status as defined by the State Board of Education; or

(c) The board finds that it is impossible for the recipient to teach for four (4) years, within seven (7) years after graduation, at a Mississippi public school or at a school operated by the United States government in Mississippi, because of the death or permanent disability of the recipient.

( * * *67) The State Board of Education and the Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board shall jointly promulgate rules and regulations for the proper administration of the Teaching Fellows Program established under this section. The State Board of Education shall be the administering agency of the program.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.