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H0504..........................................................by EDUCATION HIGH NEED EDUCATORS - Adds to existing law relating to education; to state the public interest of the state of Idaho and legislative intent; to provide for determination by the State Board of Education of educator fields considered to be "high need"; to provide for educator eligibility criteria for application to the "high need" loan forgiveness program and for loan forgiveness; to provide for reimbursement of reasonable costs incurred by educators who have not obtained a qualified educational loan; and to provide for administration of the program by the State Board of Education. 02/08 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/11 Rpt prt - to Educ
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2008IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 504 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING CHAPTER 12, TITLE 33, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDI- 3 TION OF A NEW SECTION 33-1281, IDAHO CODE, TO STATE THE PUBLIC INTEREST OF 4 THE STATE OF IDAHO AND LEGISLATIVE INTENT, TO PROVIDE FOR DETERMINATION BY 5 THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF EDUCATOR FIELDS CONSIDERED TO BE "HIGH 6 NEED," TO PROVIDE EDUCATOR ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR APPLICATION TO THE 7 "HIGH NEED" LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM AND FOR LOAN FORGIVENESS, TO PROVIDE 8 FOR REIMBURSEMENT OF REASONABLE COSTS INCURRED BY EDUCATORS WHO HAVE NOT 9 OBTAINED A QUALIFIED EDUCATIONAL LOAN AND TO PROVIDE FOR ADMINISTRATION OF 10 THE PROGRAM BY THE BOARD; AND PROVIDING A SUNSET DATE. 11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 12 SECTION 1. That Chapter 12, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 13 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 14 ignated as Section 33-1281, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 15 33-1281. "HIGH NEED" EDUCATOR FORGIVABLE LOAN PROGRAM. (1) It is hereby 16 declared that it is in the public interest to encourage and assist individuals 17 to pursue a career as an educator in a "high need" field within the state of 18 Idaho. It is the intent of the legislature to create a loan forgiveness pro- 19 gram in which funds shall be used to forgive the qualified educational loans 20 of individuals who work in this state as "high need" educators. 21 (2) The state board of education shall determine annually the educator 22 fields that shall be considered "high need" pursuant to this section. The 23 state board of education shall consider those educator fields that have been 24 identified as most difficult to fill in the annual report provided by the 25 state superintendent of public instruction. This determination shall be made 26 by the state board of education by resolution at any regular or special meet- 27 ing, and shall specify the educator fields that shall be considered "high 28 need" for the next succeeding school year. 29 (3) Any educator who is certified to serve in a "high need" field in this 30 state is eligible to apply to participate in this loan forgiveness program. 31 Qualified educational loans eligible for forgiveness include student loans 32 under the Stafford federal family education loan (FFEL) program, which may 33 include direct loans, FFEL lender loans or PLUS loans for graduate and profes- 34 sional degree students, federal Perkins loans or privately funded educational 35 loans processed through institutions of higher education for the purpose of 36 defraying costs associated with obtaining a baccalaureate or master's degree 37 for an initial certificate or, in the case of an existing educator, to 38 recertify in a critical shortage subject area. An educator must apply annually 39 to the state board of education for participation in this loan forgiveness 40 program. Selection of educators for loan forgiveness stipends shall be based 41 on available funding, and such additional criteria as may be established in 42 rule by the state board of education. In the event that there is not suffi- 43 cient funding to provide financial stipends to all eligible educators, such 2 1 criteria shall include a preference for applications that are received earli- 2 est in time by the state board of education during an application period. 3 (4) To be eligible for a financial stipend under this forgivable loan 4 program, an educator must agree to serve at least full-time in a "high need" 5 field in a public school in this state for a full school year. Service in a 6 "high need" field must occur during the school year for which such designation 7 is made. An educator who fulfills this commitment in a "high need" field shall 8 be eligible for loan forgiveness. The amount of loan forgiveness payments 9 available to an individual educator who fulfills this service requirement 10 shall be established annually by the state board of education, based on avail- 11 able funding for this forgivable loan program, and shall not exceed twenty 12 percent (20%) of the qualified loan up to four thousand dollars ($4,000) per 13 educator for service during any one (1) school year, or exceed a maximum 14 amount of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per educator for service during 15 any consecutive five (5) year period. To be eligible to participate in this 16 loan forgiveness program an educator shall not be in default on any educa- 17 tional loans, and during each service year must verify that he or she has made 18 all required contractual educational loan payments. An educator who has fully 19 or partially paid his qualified educational loan prior to the effective date 20 of this section is eligible for the program under this section. 21 (5) An educator who completed his education without obtaining a qualified 22 educational loan and who otherwise would be qualified pursuant to the provi- 23 sions of this section may apply to the state board of education for reimburse- 24 ment of the reasonable educational costs incurred in obtaining a baccalaureate 25 or master's degree in a "high need" field in amounts not to exceed those set 26 forth in subsection (4) of this section. 27 (6) The "high need" educator loan forgiveness program shall be adminis- 28 tered by the state board of education, which shall determine the eligibility 29 for loan forgiveness for the program. The state board of education shall adopt 30 rules to implement this chapter, including rules relating to application 31 forms, processes, loan forgiveness payments and deadlines. 32 SECTION 2. The provisions of this act shall be null, void and of no force 33 and effect on and after July 1, 2015.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 17634C1
This legislation relates to education; amending Chapter 12, Title 33,
Idaho Code, by the additional of a New Section 33-1281, Idaho Code, to
state the public interest of the State of Idaho and Legislative intent,
to provide for determination by the State Board of Education of
educator fields considered to be "High Need," to provide for educator
eligibility criteria for application to the "high need" loan
forgiveness program and for loan forgiveness, to provide for
reimbursement of reasonable costs incurred by educators who have not
obtained a qualified educational loan and to provide for administration
of the program by the Board; and providing a sunset date.
FISCAL NOTE
There will be a fiscal impact of potentially $80,000 in Year 1,
$120,000 in Year 2, $160,000 in Year 3, $160,000 in Year 4, and
$160,000 in Year 5 of the program. This assumes 20 qualified educators
will begin participation in Year 1, 10 additional qualified educators
in Year 2, and 10 additional qualified educators in Year 3 of the
program.
Contact
Name: Representative Tom Trail
Phone: (208) 332-1000
Representative Dean Mortimer
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 504