YES:
MR. SPEAKER:
Your Committee on Education , to which was referred House Bill 1121 , has had
the same under consideration and begs leave to report the same back to the House with the
recommendation that said bill be amended as follows:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
to eligible applicants.
(c) The fund consists of the following:
(1) Appropriations made by the general assembly.
(2) Gifts, grants, devises, or bequests made to the state in
order to achieve the purposes of the fund.
(d) The fund shall be administered by the board. The expenses
of administering the fund shall be paid from money in the fund.
(e) Funds appropriated to the fund shall be placed in the state
treasury to the credit of the teacher recruitment and retention
fund. Loan repayment assistance payments shall be made out of
this fund by the treasurer of state upon a warrant issued by the
auditor of state in accordance with rules adopted by the board.
Sec. 4. The board shall receive and consider all applications for
loan repayment assistance it receives from teachers with
outstanding guaranteed student loans made, issued, or guaranteed
under a program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) .
Sec. 5. (a) To qualify for loan repayment assistance for student
loans under this chapter a person must:
(1) hold a license to teach under IC 20-6.1-3;
(2) complete at least one (1) year of teaching service in a
geographical area of Indiana where a critical shortage of
teachers exists, as determined by the board;
(3) agree in writing to the employment requirements set forth
in section 7 of this chapter; and
(4) meet any additional criteria established by the board.
(b) For each year for which a teacher qualifies under subsection
(a), the board may grant loan repayment assistance to the teacher
in an amount not to exceed the lesser of:
(1) fifty percent (50%) of the total principal and interest of
the guaranteed student loans owed by the teacher during the
year for which the teacher qualifies under subsection (a); or
(2) three thousand dollars ($3,000).
(c) The loan repayment assistance granted to a qualified teacher
under this chapter must be used to reduce the principal and
interest on a guaranteed student loan owed by that qualified
teacher. The years of service rendered to obtain loan repayment
assistance for student loans must be consecutive and may not
exceed five (5) years. The maximum amount of loan repayment
assistance that may be granted to any qualified teacher is fifteen
thousand dollars ($15,000).
Sec. 6. A qualified teacher must apply for a loan repayment on
an application form supplied by the board. The board shall
consider each application and determine the eligibility of the
applicant for the loan repayment assistance.
Sec. 7. (a) Before being granted loan repayment assistance
under this chapter, each qualified teacher must enter into a
contract with the board agreeing to the terms and conditions upon
which the loan repayment assistance will be granted to the
qualified teacher.
(b) As a condition of being granted loan repayment assistance
under this chapter, a teacher must agree to employment for a
period of at least five (5) years as a licensed teacher in a school
district located in a geographical area of Indiana where a critical
shortage of teachers exists.
(c) Service rendered by a teacher in a geographical area where
a critical shortage of teachers exists before that teacher becomes a
participant in the program may not be considered to have fulfilled
the employment commitment required by subsection (b).
(d) A person failing to comply with the employment
commitment required by subsection (b) in any required school year
is immediately in breach of contract and becomes liable
immediately to the board for the sum of all loan payments awarded
to that person, less one-third (1/3) of the amount of that sum for
each year that service was rendered, plus interest accruing at the
current federal Stafford Loan rate at the time the breach occurs.
Sec. 8. The board shall maintain complete and accurate records
in implementing the loan repayment fund, including records of the
following:
(1) The receipt, disbursement, and uses of funds.
(2) The number of applications for loan repayment assistance.
(3) The number and amount of loans for which loan
repayment assistance has been provided by the board.
(4) Other pertinent information requested by the board.
Sec. 9. The board may adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 necessary to
carry out this chapter, including rules governing the enforcement
of any employment requirements and repayment requirements.
(Reference is to HB 1121 as introduced.)
and when so amended that said bill do pass.