By Greenberg, Rangel, Thompson, Tillery, H.B. No. 1689 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to student loan repayment assistance for certain 1-3 child-care workers. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding 1-6 Subchapter T to read as follows: 1-7 SUBCHAPTER T. EARLY CHILDHOOD CHILD-CARE WORKER 1-8 STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM 1-9 Sec. 61.871. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: 1-10 (1) "Child-care facility" has the meaning assigned by 1-11 Section 42.002, Human Resources Code. 1-12 (2) "Early childhood child-care worker" means a person 1-13 who works more than 30 hours a week in a child-care facility, 1-14 whether as an employee, owner, or volunteer, and whose duties 1-15 consist primarily of providing child care or education to children 1-16 less than four years of age. 1-17 Sec. 61.872. LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The 1-18 board shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board 1-19 rules, assistance in the repayment of eligible student loans for 1-20 persons who apply and qualify for the assistance. 1-21 Sec. 61.873. ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE. To be eligible to 1-22 receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person 1-23 must: 1-24 (1) hold an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate 1-25 degree in early childhood development or the equivalent from a 2-1 public or private institution of higher education accredited by a 2-2 recognized accrediting agency; and 2-3 (2) enter into an agreement to serve as an early 2-4 childhood child-care worker as provided by Section 61.875. 2-5 Sec. 61.874. ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) A person may receive loan 2-6 repayment assistance under this subchapter for the repayment of any 2-7 student loan for education at any public or private institution of 2-8 higher education through any lender. If the loan is not a state or 2-9 federal guaranteed student loan, the note or other writing 2-10 governing the terms of the loan must require the loan proceeds to 2-11 be used for expenses incurred by a person attending any public or 2-12 private institution of higher education. 2-13 (b) The board may not provide repayment assistance for a 2-14 student loan that is in default at the time of the person's 2-15 application. 2-16 Sec. 61.875. AGREEMENT. (a) To qualify for loan repayment 2-17 assistance under this subchapter, a person must enter into a 2-18 written agreement with the board as provided by this section. The 2-19 agreement must specify the conditions the person must satisfy to 2-20 receive repayment assistance. 2-21 (b) The agreement must require the person to serve two years 2-22 as an early childhood child-care worker in this state not later 2-23 than the third anniversary of the date the person enters into the 2-24 agreement, and must specify a number of additional years of service 2-25 as an early childhood child-care worker in this state for which the 2-26 person may receive repayment assistance and the period within which 2-27 the person must complete those years of additional service. Only 3-1 service as an early childhood child-care worker after the date the 3-2 person enters into the agreement may be used to satisfy the service 3-3 requirement under the agreement. 3-4 (c) The agreement must provide that the repayment assistance 3-5 the person receives before the person has served the first two full 3-6 years as an early childhood child-care worker under the agreement 3-7 or any repayment assistance the person receives after the first two 3-8 years of service but before completing each additional full year of 3-9 service constitutes a loan until the person completes that two 3-10 years or additional year of service, as applicable, and satisfies 3-11 any other applicable conditions of the agreement. The agreement 3-12 must require the person to sign a promissory note acknowledging the 3-13 conditional nature of the repayment assistance received and 3-14 promising to repay the amount of that assistance received plus 3-15 applicable interest and reasonable collection costs if the person 3-16 does not satisfy the applicable conditions. The board shall 3-17 determine the terms of the promissory note. To the extent 3-18 practicable, the terms must be the same as those applicable to 3-19 state or federally guaranteed student loans made at the same time. 3-20 All amounts collected in repayment of a loan under this subsection, 3-21 including interest, but excluding collection costs paid by the 3-22 board to another person to collect or assist in collecting the 3-23 amount, shall be deposited to the credit of the trust fund 3-24 established by Section 61.878. 3-25 Sec. 61.876. AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE; LIMITATIONS. 3-26 (a) For each year that a qualified person serves as an early 3-27 childhood child-care worker in this state under an agreement under 4-1 Section 61.875, the person may receive loan repayment assistance in 4-2 an amount not to exceed 15 percent of the total amount of the 4-3 person's outstanding student loans, including scheduled interest 4-4 payments that would become due if the loan is not prepaid, when the 4-5 person enters into the agreement. The amount of repayment 4-6 assistance paid for a year may not exceed the lesser of: 4-7 (1) the actual amount of the loan payments the person 4-8 receiving the assistance is required to make for that year; or 4-9 (2) an amount set by the board equal to the maximum 4-10 amount of resident tuition and required fees paid by a person 4-11 enrolled as a full-time student at a general academic teaching 4-12 institution for the most recent academic year, excluding summer 4-13 sessions. 4-14 (b) The board may enter into an agreement to provide loan 4-15 repayment assistance under Section 61.875 only to the extent money 4-16 in the trust fund established by Section 61.878 or money 4-17 appropriated to the trust fund for future deposit to the trust fund 4-18 will be sufficient to provide the repayment assistance as it 4-19 becomes payable. If that money will not be sufficient to provide 4-20 repayment assistance to each eligible applicant, the board shall 4-21 select persons to receive repayment assistance from the eligible 4-22 applicants according to financial need or on another basis the 4-23 board considers reasonable to further the purposes of this 4-24 subchapter. 4-25 (c) The board may determine the manner in which the loan 4-26 repayment assistance is to be paid and shall include provisions 4-27 governing the manner of repayment in the agreement. The board may 5-1 provide for the payment of a portion of the repayment assistance in 5-2 one or more installments before the person completes a full year of 5-3 service as an early childhood child-care worker and for the payment 5-4 of the remainder of the repayment assistance for that year after 5-5 the completion of the full year of service. 5-6 Sec. 61.877. ADMINISTRATION; RULES. (a) The board shall 5-7 adopt rules necessary for the administration of this subchapter. 5-8 (b) The board shall distribute a copy of the rules adopted 5-9 under this section and pertinent information in this subchapter 5-10 to each public or private institution of higher education in this 5-11 state that offers a degree program in early childhood development 5-12 or an equivalent degree. 5-13 Sec. 61.878. FUNDING. (a) The loan repayment assistance 5-14 program established by this subchapter is funded from the 5-15 child-care worker student loan assistance trust fund. The trust 5-16 fund is established outside the treasury and is administered by the 5-17 comptroller. Money in the trust fund may be spent without 5-18 appropriation and only to fund the program. Interest and income 5-19 from the assets of the trust fund shall be credited to and 5-20 deposited in the trust fund. 5-21 (b) The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and 5-22 donations from any public or private source for the purposes of 5-23 this chapter and shall deposit money accepted under this subsection 5-24 to the credit of the trust fund. 5-25 (c) The legislature may appropriate money to the trust fund. 5-26 SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 1999 fall 5-27 semester. 6-1 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 6-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 6-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 6-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 6-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 6-6 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 6-7 passage, and it is so enacted.