MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2025 Regular Session

To: Education; Appropriations A

By: Representative Scoggin

House Bill 1247

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-106-71, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO TRANSITION THE "MISSISSIPPI DYSLEXIA EDUCATION FORGIVABLE LOAN PROGRAM" TO A LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE MISSISSIPPI POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BOARD; TO PROVIDE THAT ELIGIBILITY IS LIMITED TO STUDENTS WHO HAVE GRADUATED WITH A MASTER'S DEGREE IN DYSLEXIA THERAPY FROM AN ACCREDITED INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING APPROVED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS AS WELL AS REQUIREMENTS FOR FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT AS A LICENSED DYSLEXIA THERAPIST PROVIDING DYSLEXIA INSTRUCTION OR CLINICAL SERVICE IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL OR CHARTER SCHOOL, SCHOOL DISTRICT, OR NONPUBLIC SCHOOL APPROVED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; TO REQUIRE RECIPIENTS TO HAVE AN OUTSTANDING QUALIFYING EDUCATIONAL LOAN RECEIVED PRIOR AND NOT IN DEFAULT OR DELINQUENT ON ANY EXISTING EDUCATIONAL LOAN; TO PROVIDE THE AWARDS SHALL BE ISSUED ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS, AND SHALL BE CAPPED AT $6,000.00 PER YEAR FOR EACH YEAR OF EMPLOYMENT UP TO A MAXIMUM OF THREE YEARS, TO PRESCRIBE ADDITIONAL CRITERIA REQUIRED BY THE MISSISSIPPI POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BOARD FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THE LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

     SECTION 1.  Section 37-106-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-106-71.  (1)  There is established the Mississippi Dyslexia Education * * *Forgivable Loan Repayment Program for the purpose of identifying and recruiting qualified university and college * * *students graduates from the state for * * *schooling in education with a focus on service in the schools providing dyslexia therapy.

     (2)  The receipt of a * * *forgivable loan repayment award under the program shall be solely limited to those students who * * * are enrolled in or who have been accepted for enrollment into have graduated with a master's degree * * *program of study for in dyslexia therapy * * *at from any accredited public or private institution of higher learning * * *within the State of Mississippi at the time an application for a forgivable loan is filed with the board approved by the Sate Department of Education, which provides instructional training as required under Chapter 173, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972, for dyslexia therapy preparation for AA licensure by the department.

     (3)  * * *The annual amount of the forgivable loan award shall be equal to the total cost for tuition, materials and fees at the college or university in which the student is enrolled.  Awards made to nonresidents of the state shall not include any amount assessed by the college or university for out‑of‑state tuition. Subject to the availability of funds, an eligible applicant for an initial award must have:

(a)  Legal residency in the State of Mississippi

(b)  Grained full-time employment providing instructional or clinical services as a licensed dyslexia therapist in a public school district in the state or an eligible nonpublic school, as defined by Section 37-173-1, and meets the criteria established in Section 37-173-17, not to exceed five (5) recipients providing instructional or clinical services in a nonpublic school at any time;

(c)  A current relevant Mississippi educator's license with the appropriate dyslexia therapy designation; and

(d)  Outstanding qualifying educational loans, received at any point during the recipient's postsecondary education year, which may include the principal, interest and related expenses such as the required interest premium on the unpaid balances of government and commercial loans obtained by the recipient for undergraduate educational expense.

     (4)  * * *Upon completion of the master's program and licensure requirements, a forgivable loan recipient who has not been previously licensed by the State Department of Education shall render service in an instructional or clinical capacity as a licensed dyslexia therapist in a public school district in the state or an eligible nonpublic school as defined by Section 37‑173‑1 and meets the criteria established in Section 37‑173‑17, not to exceed five (5) recipients rendering instructional or clinical services in a nonpublic school at any time. Persons who have received funds from other forgivable loan programs established for teachers under Mississippi law, or who are presently in default or delinquent on any federal, state, local or commercial qualifying educational loan, shall not be eligible for this program.

     (5)  * * *Repayment and conversion terms shall be the same as those outlined in Section 37‑106‑53. Recipients in the program shall be selected on a first-come, first-served basis from all eligible applicants.  The Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board shall renew eligible applicants approved in prior years only if the renewal applicant continues to meet the standards set forth in this section, and the renewal applicant has not received full funding provided by subsection (6).

     (6)  * * *The board shall prepare and submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, outlining in detail the number of participants who have received forgivable loans under the program, the record of service provided by those recipients as they transition out of the degree program into the public school districts of this state, and the projection for expanding the program to include more participants annually as determined by the need for such qualified professionals in the public school setting.  Additionally, the report shall include a summary of allocations and expenditures for the administration of the program and the total amount of funds issued to recipients of forgivable loans from the inception of the program until such time as the report has been prepared and submitted to the Legislature. Awards may be a maximum of Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000.00) for each year of employment up to a period of three (3) years.

     (7)  * * *The Mississippi Dyslexia Education Forgivable Loan Program shall be administered in the same manner as the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program established under Section 37‑106‑55 and shall be incorporated into the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program for all purposes. A recipient shall not be penalized for ending employment at a public or charter school or district in the State of Mississippi if the recipient begins working as a dyslexia therapist for another public or charter school or district in the State of Mississippi during the year on which the award is based.

(8)  Awards shall be granted on a year-to-year basis, and recipients have no obligation to seek a subsequent award.

(9)  Awards shall be paid annually after the expiration of the year of employment for which the award was granted to the recipient's lender or loan service provider, to be applied to the outstanding balance.  Monies paid by the recipient or on the recipient's behalf toward qualifying educational loans before payment of the award shall not be eligible for reimbursement through the program.

(10)  During the employment year for which the award is granted, a recipient shall at all times keep the Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board informed of any changes to the recipient's current, correct and complete employment status.

(11)  Recipients who fail to maintain a Mississippi professional standard educator's license or fail to fulfill the year of employment on which the award was based shall forfeit any right to the award.

(12)  The Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board, in collaboration with the State Board of Education, shall track award recipients under this program through their third employment year, unless the recipient leaves employment at a public or charter school or district in the state at an earlier date.  Data collected shall include recipients' place of employment and any other pertinent information necessary to determine the efficacy of the program in retaining licensed dyslexia therapists in the State of Mississippi.

(13)  The Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board shall promulgate regulations necessary for the proper administration of this section, including establishing a fiscal year policy for the program, and application dates and deadlines.

     ( * * *814)  Funding for the establishment and continued operation of the Mississippi Dyslexia Education * * *Forgivable Loan Repayment Program shall be administered by the board through a special fund established within the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program.  The board may accept and receive monetary gifts and donations from any source, public or private, which such funds shall be deposited in the special fund for the benefit of the Mississippi Dyslexia Education * * *Forgivable Loan Repayment Program with the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program.

     ( * * *915)  No more than twenty (20) students per cohort shall be selected annually to be admitted into the program for receipt of * * *forgivable loans beginning with the 2013‑2014 academic year loan repayment awards.  * * *However, forgivable loans awarded under the program shall be provided only to students who have been accepted into a Dyslexia Therapy Master's Degree Cohort Program approved by the State Department of Education that provides instructional training as required under Chapter 173, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972, for dyslexia therapy in preparation of those cohort students for AA licensure by the department.

     ( * * *1016)  As part of the Mississippi Dyslexia Education * * *Forgivable Loan Repayment Program, the State Department of Education is authorized and directed, subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, to provide financial assistance for the recruitment, placement and employment of qualified licensed dyslexia therapy professionals identified under Section 37-173-15(1)(b), Mississippi Code of 1972, in order to provide dyslexia screening, evaluation and therapy services to the students attending school in the school district.  Said funding may be used to purchase curriculum materials and supplies for dyslexia therapy services.  Said funding shall be provided to public school districts upon application therefor regardless of the financial need of the school district in an amount not to exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) annually, and subject to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature.  In order to qualify for such funds, the school district shall meet the following criteria:

          (a)  Use licensed dyslexia therapists or individuals participating in an approved training program resulting in State Department of Education licensure to provide dyslexia therapy to students diagnosed with dyslexia;

          (b)  Use daily Orton-Gillingham-based therapy;

          (c)  Have school leadership trained in dyslexia; and

          (d)  Have a current School Program Verification and Assurances form on file with the State Department of Education, Office of Curriculum and Instruction.  Procedures and standards for the application for such funds shall be established by regulations developed and issued by the State Board of Education.

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.

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