Senate Bill 2524

(As Passed the Senate)

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "BOARD CERTIFIED BEHAVIOR ANALYST LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM" TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE FINANCIAL AID BOARD; TO PROVIDE FOR THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPLICANTS UNDER THE LOAN PROGRAM; TO ESTABLISH THE BOARD CERTIFIED BEHAVIOR ANALYST LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) There is hereby established the "Board Certified Behavior Analyst Loan Repayment Program."

(2) Subject to the availability of funds, an eligible applicant for an initial award must have:

(a) Graduated from a graduate degree-granting institution of higher learning, located in Mississippi or otherwise, which is regionally accepted by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) or a comparable accreditation body;

(b) Signed a contract as a full-time first-year board certified behavior analyst in the State of Mississippi that ensures at least thirty-six (36) hours of practice a week;

(c) Obtained a standard license upon successful completion of the board certified behavior analyst certification examination housed through the Mississippi Autism Board; and

(d) Outstanding qualifying graduate educational loans, 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 graduate educational expense.

(3) Persons who have received funds from other forgivable loan programs established 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.

(4) Initial recipients shall be selected on a first-come, first-served basis of all eligible applicants, which shall be limited to only one hundred fifty (150) individuals receiving scholarship funds. In the second and subsequent years of an applicant's continued eligibility, priority consideration shall first be given to renewal applicants. In any given year, only one hundred fifty (150) new applicants shall be eligible to receive funds under the program.

(5) Awards for recipients who have signed a contract shall be as follows:

(a) One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) for the first year of employment;

(b) Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) for the second year of employment; and

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

(7) Awards shall be paid annually, after the expiration of the one-year employment contract for which the award was granted, to the recipient's lender or loan service provider, and shall be applied to the outstanding balance. Monies paid on the recipient's behalf toward qualifying graduate educational loans prior to receiving payment of the award shall not be eligible for repayment through the program.

(8) During the year for which the award is granted, a recipient must at all times keep the State Financial Aid Board informed of any changes to the recipient's current contact information and employment status.

(9) Recipients who fail to maintain a standard license or fail to fulfill the employment contract on which the award was based shall forfeit any right to the award.

(10) The State Financial Aid Board, in collaboration with the State Board of Education, shall track recipients of an award under this program through their fifth year of employment, unless the recipient shall leave their employment contract at an earlier date. Data collected shall include recipients' graduate institution and any other pertinent information necessary to determine the efficacy of the program in retaining board certified behavior analysts in their first three (3) years of employment.

(11) The State Financial Aid Board shall promulgate regulations necessary for the proper administration of this section.

(12) There is established in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the "Board Certified Behavior Analyst Loan Repayment Program Fund," into which shall be deposited those funds appropriated by the Legislature, and any other funds that may be available, for the purpose of implementing the loan repayment program established herein. Money in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse into the General Fund, and interest earned on any amounts deposited into the fund shall be credited to the special fund.

(13) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2028.

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