Amend SB 4 by inserting the following new SECTION, appropriately numbered, and by renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly: SECTION _____. (a) Chapter 21, Education Code, is amended by adding Subchapter K to read as follows: SUBCHAPTER K. TEXAS TROOPS TO TEACHERS PROGRAM Sec. 21.501. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "program" means the Texas Troops to Teachers Program. Sec. 21.502. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. The agency shall establish a program to: (1) assist persons who have served in the armed forces of the United States and are separated from active duty to obtain certification as an elementary or secondary school teacher in this state; and (2) facilitate the employment of those persons by school districts that have a shortage of teachers. Sec. 21.503. ELIGIBILITY. A person is eligible for the program if the person: (1) has served in the armed forces of the United States; (2) is honorably discharged, retired, or released from active duty on or after October 1, 1990, after at least six years of continuous active duty service immediately before the discharge, retirement, or release; (3) has received a baccalaureate or advanced degree from a public or private institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting agency or group that is recognized by a nationally recognized accreditation board; and (4) satisfies any other criteria for selection jointly prescribed by the agency and the State Board for Educator Certification. Sec. 21.504. INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS. (a) The agency shall develop an application for the program. (b) The agency and the State Board for Educator Certification shall distribute the applications and information regarding the program. Sec. 21.505. SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS. (a) The agency shall select persons to participate in the program on the basis of applications submitted to the agency. (b) Each application must be submitted: (1) in the form and contain the information the agency requires; and (2) in a timely manner. (c) An application is considered to be submitted in a timely manner for purposes of Subsection (b)(2) if the application is submitted: (1) not later than October 5, 1999, in the case of an applicant discharged, retired, or released from active duty before January 19, 1999; or (2) except as provided by Subdivision (1), not later than the first anniversary of the date of the applicant's discharge, retirement, or release from active duty. Sec. 21.506. LIMITATION ON IMPLEMENTATION. The agency may not select a person to participate in the program unless the agency has sufficient state appropriations to pay the stipend provided by Section 21.509 at the time of the selection. Sec. 21.507. PREFERENCES. (a) In selecting persons to participate in the program, the agency shall give preference to a person who: (1) has significant educational or military experience in science, mathematics, or engineering and agrees to seek employment as a teacher in one of those subjects in a public elementary or secondary school in this state; or (2) has significant educational or military experience in a field other than science, mathematics, or engineering identified by the agency as a field important for state educational objectives and agrees to seek employment as a teacher in a subject related to that field in a public elementary or secondary school in this state. (b) The commissioner shall determine the level of experience considered significant for purposes of this section. Sec. 21.508. AGREEMENT. A person selected to participate in the program must enter into a written agreement with the agency under which the person agrees to: (1) obtain, within the period the agency by rule requires, certification as an elementary or secondary school teacher in this state; and (2) accept, during the first school year that begins after the date the person becomes certified, an offer of full-time employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher with a school district in this state. Sec. 21.509. STIPEND. The agency shall pay to each participant in the program a stipend of $5,000. Sec. 21.510. REIMBURSEMENT. (a) A participant in the program who fails to obtain certification or employment as required in the agreement under Section 21.508 or who voluntarily leaves or is terminated for cause from the employment after teaching in a public elementary or secondary school in this state for less than five school years shall reimburse the agency for the portion of the stipend that bears the same ratio to the amount of the stipend as the unserved portion of required service bears to the five years of required service. (b) The obligation to reimburse the agency under this section is, for all purposes, a debt to the state. A discharge in bankruptcy under Title 11, United States Code, does not release a participant from the obligation to reimburse the agency. The amount owed bears interest at the rate equal to the highest rate being paid by the United States on the day the reimbursement is determined to be due for securities that have maturities of 90 days or less, and the interest accrues from the day the participant receives notice of the amount due. (c) For purposes of this section, a participant in the program is not considered to be in violation of an agreement under Section 21.508 during any period in which the participant: (1) is pursuing a full-time course of study related to the field of teaching at a public or private institution of higher education approved by the State Board for Educator Certification; (2) is serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States; (3) is temporarily totally disabled for a period not to exceed three years as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; (4) is unable to secure employment for a period not to exceed one year because of care required by a disabled spouse; (5) is seeking and unable to find full-time employment as a teacher in a public elementary or secondary school for a single period not to exceed 27 months; or (6) satisfies the provisions of any additional reimbursement exception adopted by the agency. (d) A participant is excused from reimbursement under Subsection (a) if: (1) the participant becomes permanently totally disabled as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; or (2) the agency waives reimbursement in the case of extreme hardship to the participant. Sec. 21.511. The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this subchapter. (b) If the commissioner of education determines that federal funds are available for a federal program with the general purposes of Subchapter K, Chapter 21, Education Code, as added by Subsection (a) of this section, such as for a program under 10 U.S.C. Section 1151, the commissioner of education shall discontinue the Texas Troops to Teachers Program and shall file notice of that discontinuation with the secretary of state to be published in the Texas Register.