S.F. 2246 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 261.109 Rural teacher shortage area 1 loan forgiveness program —— fund. 2 1. For purposes of this section: 3 a. “High-demand area” means a rural county designated by 4 the department of education as a geographic area experiencing 5 teacher shortages in specific content areas. 6 b. “Rural county” means a county that satisfies all of the 7 following: 8 (1) The county does not include any urbanized area. 9 (2) Less than twenty-five percent of persons residing in 10 the county are employed in another county that includes an 11 urbanized area. 12 (3) Less than twenty-five percent of persons employed in 13 the county reside in another county that includes an urbanized 14 area. 15 c. “Urbanized area” means a geographic area with a 16 population of fifty thousand or more, as determined by the most 17 recent population estimates issued by the United States bureau 18 of census. 19 2. A rural teacher shortage area loan forgiveness program 20 is established to be administered by the college student aid 21 commission. The department of education shall periodically 22 conduct a survey of school districts, accredited nonpublic 23 schools, and approved practitioner preparation programs to 24 determine current high-demand areas. 25 3. A student is eligible for the loan forgiveness program if 26 the student meets all of the following requirements: 27 a. Is a resident of this state enrolled at least part-time 28 as a sophomore, junior, or senior in an approved practitioner 29 preparation program, in a designated content area in which 30 teacher shortages are anticipated, at an institution of higher 31 learning under the control of the state board of regents or an 32 accredited private institution as defined in section 261.9. 33 b. Maintains a cumulative grade point average of at least 34 three point zero on a four point zero grade scale or the 35 -1- LSB 6282XS (4) 88 kh/jh 1/ 4

S.F. 2246 equivalent. 1 4. The commission may issue a loan to a student that is 2 eligible for a federally guaranteed Stafford loan amount under 3 the federal family education loan program or the federal direct 4 loan program or the recipient’s federal Perkins loan of up to 5 ten thousand dollars annually for not more than three years. 6 The maximum loan amount a student may be issued under this 7 subsection is thirty thousand dollars. 8 5. a. A loan issued in accordance with subsection 4 shall 9 not become due until after the student graduates or leaves 10 school. 11 b. Except as provided in paragraph “c” , loans issued in 12 accordance with subsection 4 shall be repaid at an annual 13 interest rate of five percent. 14 c. The commission shall forgive twenty-five percent of the 15 loan issued in accordance with subsection 4 and twenty-five 16 percent of the interest on the loan for each school year 17 the loan recipient is employed as a full-time teacher in a 18 high-demand area by a school district or accredited nonpublic 19 school. 20 6. A rural teacher shortage area loan forgiveness fund 21 is created in the state treasury under the control of the 22 commission and shall consist of moneys appropriated by 23 the general assembly and any other moneys received by the 24 commission for deposit in the fund. The commission shall 25 deposit in the rural teacher shortage area loan forgiveness 26 fund all repayments of loans made under this section and 27 the interest on such loans. The moneys in the fund are 28 appropriated to the commission for the rural teacher shortage 29 area loan forgiveness program. Notwithstanding section 8.33, 30 moneys deposited in the fund shall not revert to any fund 31 of the state at the end of any fiscal year but shall remain 32 in the rural teacher shortage loan forgiveness fund and be 33 continuously available for loan forgiveness under the program. 34 Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or 35 -2- LSB 6282XS (4) 88 kh/jh 2/ 4

S.F. 2246 earnings on moneys deposited in the fund shall be credited to 1 the fund. 2 7. The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A 3 to administer this section. 4 EXPLANATION 5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 6 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 7 This bill establishes a rural teacher shortage area loan 8 forgiveness program to be administered by the college student 9 aid commission to provide loan forgiveness for persons who are 10 employed as teachers in high-demand areas by a school district 11 or accredited nonpublic school. 12 The department of education is directed to periodically 13 conduct a survey of school districts, accredited nonpublic 14 schools, and approved practitioner preparation programs to 15 determine current high-demand areas. 16 The bill defines “high-demand area” as a rural county 17 designated by the department as a geographic area experiencing 18 teacher shortages in specific content areas. “Rural county” 19 means a county that does not include any urbanized area, less 20 than 25 percent of its residents are employed in another county 21 that includes an urbanized area, and less than 25 percent 22 of persons employed in the county reside in another county 23 that includes an urbanized area. “Urbanized area” means a 24 geographic area with a population of 50,000 or more. 25 To be eligible for a loan from the commission, a resident 26 student must be enrolled at least part-time as a sophomore, 27 junior, or senior in an approved practitioner preparation 28 program at a regents university or an accredited private 29 institution in a designated content area in which teacher 30 shortages are anticipated, maintain a 3.0 grade point average 31 on a 4.0 grade scale, and be eligible for a federal educational 32 loan. The loan does not come due until after the student 33 graduates or leaves school. Such a student is eligible for 34 a loan of up to $10,000 annually for not more than three 35 -3- LSB 6282XS (4) 88 kh/jh 3/ 4

S.F. 2246 years. Such a loan must be repaid at an annual interest rate 1 of 5 percent, but the commission shall forgive 25 percent of 2 the loan and interest on the loan for each school year the 3 loan recipient is employed as a full-time teacher by a school 4 district or accredited nonpublic school in a high-demand area. 5 The bill also establishes a rural teacher shortage area 6 loan forgiveness fund in the state treasury to be administered 7 by the commission. The fund consists of moneys appropriated 8 by the general assembly and any other moneys received by the 9 commission for deposit in the fund, including moneys repaid 10 by loan recipients. Moneys in the fund carry forward to be 11 continuously available for loan forgiveness under the program. 12 The commission is directed to adopt administrative rules for 13 purposes of administering the program. 14 -4- LSB 6282XS (4) 88 kh/jh 4/ 4