SSB 1061 (LSB 1192DP (6) 87)

SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED COLLEGE STUDENT AID COMMISSION BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to eligibility requirements for grant and loan forgiveness programs administered by the college student aid commission that provide assistance to elementary and secondary school teachers in this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 261.110, subsection 2, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  An Iowa resident or nonresident applicant shall be eligible for a teach Iowa scholar grant if the applicant meets all of the criteria specified under, or established in accordance with, subsection 3. Priority shall be given to applicants who are residents of Iowa.  A person is ineligible for this program if the person receives a forgivable loan under section 261.111 or loan forgiveness under section 261.112.
    Sec. 2.  Section 261.112, subsection 1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  A teacher shortage loan forgiveness program is established to be administered by the commission. A teacher is eligible for the program if the teacher is practicing in a teacher shortage area as designated by the department of education pursuant to subsection 2.  A person is ineligible for this program if the person receives a grant under section 261.110 or a forgivable loan under section 261.111. For purposes of this section, “teacher” means an individual holding a practitioner’s license issued under chapter 272, who is employed in a nonadministrative position in a designated shortage area by a school district or area education agency pursuant to a contract issued by a board of directors under section 279.13.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill makes a person who receives a forgivable loan under the teacher shortage forgivable loan program or loan forgiveness under the teacher shortage loan forgiveness program ineligible to receive a grant under the teach Iowa scholar program. The bill also makes a person who receives a grant under the teach Iowa scholar program or a forgivable loan under the teacher shortage forgivable loan program ineligible to receive loan forgiveness under the teacher shortage loan forgiveness program. All three programs are administered by the college student aid commission. 
   Under Code section 261.110, the teach Iowa scholar program provides up to $4,000 annually to applicants who were in the top 25 percent of a teacher preparation program or who had earned other comparable academic credentials, and who are preparing to teach full-time in certain hard-to-staff subject areas at a school district, charter school, area education agency, or accredited nonpublic school in this state.
   Under Code section 261.112, the teacher shortage loan forgiveness program provides loan forgiveness to teachers who are employed by a school district or area education agency and who are practicing in a teacher shortage area as designated by the department of education. The annual amount of loan forgiveness shall not exceed the resident tuition rate established for the regents universities or 20 percent of the teacher’s total federally guaranteed Stafford loan amount under the federal family education loan program or the federal direct loan program, including principal and interest, whichever amount is less. 
   Under Code section 261.111, the teacher shortage forgivable loan program provided forgivable loans to applicants who were enrolled in an approved practitioner preparation program in a designated area in which teacher shortages were anticipated. The last year in which moneys were appropriated for this program was fiscal year 2007-2008.