S.B. No. 1757

AN ACT

relating to student loan repayment assistance under the math and science scholars loan repayment program.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 61.9832, Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:

(a) To be eligible to receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person must:

(1) apply annually for the loan repayment assistance in the manner prescribed by the board;

(2) be a United States citizen;

(3) have completed an undergraduate or graduate program in mathematics or science;

(4) have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 [3.5] on a four-point scale or the equivalent;

(5) be:

(A) certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, to teach mathematics or science in a public school in this state; or

(B) teaching under a probationary teaching certificate;

(6) have been employed for at least one year as a teacher teaching mathematics or science at a public school that receives funding under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.);

(7) not be in default on any other education loan;

(8) not receive any other state or federal loan repayment assistance, including a Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant or teacher loan forgiveness;

(9) enter into an agreement with the board under Subsection (c); and

(10) comply with any other requirement adopted by the board under this subchapter.

(c) To receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person must enter into an agreement with the board that includes the following provisions:

(1) the person will accept an offer of full-time employment to teach mathematics or science, as applicable based on the person's certification, in a public school that receives funding under Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 6301 et seq.);

(2) the person will complete four consecutive years of employment as a full-time classroom teacher in a school described by Subdivision (1) whose primary duty is to teach mathematics or science, as applicable, based on the person's certification;

(3) beginning with the school year immediately following the last of the four consecutive school years described by Subdivision (2), the person will complete an [four] additional number of consecutive school years teaching in any public school in this state, as prescribed by board rule; and

(4) the person acknowledges the conditional nature of the loan repayment assistance.

(c-1) The rules adopted under Subsection (c)(3) may not require a person to complete more than four additional consecutive school years of teaching as described by that subdivision.

SECTION 2. Section 61.9835(a), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The board may provide repayment assistance under this subchapter for the repayment of any student loan that:

(1) is for education at:

(A) a public or private institution of higher education; or

(B) a nonprofit, tax-exempt, regionally accredited college or university operating in accordance with a memorandum of understanding with this state under an executive order issued by the governor; and

(2) is received by an eligible person through an eligible lender.

SECTION 3. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall adopt rules necessary to administer Section 61.9832, Education Code, as amended by this Act.

(b) Section 61.9832, Education Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a loan repayment assistance agreement entered into under Subchapter KK, Chapter 61, Education Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A loan repayment assistance agreement entered into before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1757 passed the Senate on April 29, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays 2; and that the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 25, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1757 passed the House, with amendment, on May 22, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 101, Nays 41, three present not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

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Governor