I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3925 

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a program of canceling 

certain Federal student loans of principals in high need schools. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 4, 2015 

Mrs. DAVIS of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a program 

of canceling certain Federal student loans of principals 

in high need schools. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recruiting and Retain5 ing Effective School Leaders Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PRINCIPALS IN HIGH 

7 NEEDS SCHOOLS. 

8 Part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is amended by adding at 

10 the end the following: 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3925 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 460A. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR PRINCIPALS IN HIGH 

2 NEEDS SCHOOLS. 

3 ‘‘(a) LOAN FORGIVENESS AUTHORIZED.—The Sec4 retary shall carry out a program of canceling the obliga5 tion to repay a qualified loan amount in accordance with 

6 subsection (b) for loans made under this part, which were 

7 first disbursed on or after July 1, 2010, to any borrower 

8 who— 

9 ‘‘(1) has graduated from a high-quality pro10 gram, as determined by the appropriate State agen11 cy for higher education, in consultation with the Sec12 retary; 

13 ‘‘(2) has been employed as a full-time principal, 

14 as defined by, for not less than 1 complete school 

15 year in a school or location that qualifies under sec16 tion 465(a)(2)(A) for loan cancellation for Perkins 

17 loan recipients who teach in such schools or loca18 tions; and 

19 ‘‘(3) is not in default on a loan for which the 

20 borrower seeks forgiveness. 

21 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

23 ‘‘(A) FIRST 4 YEARS.—Subject to para24 graph (2), after the completion of service as a 

25 principal as described in subsection (a)(2) for a 

26 complete school year for any school year after 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3925 IH

1 the first complete school year of such service 

2 through the fourth complete school year of such 

3 service, the Secretary shall cancel— 

4 ‘‘(i) 15 percent of the loan obligation 

5 on a loan made under this part, which was 

6 first disbursed on or after July 1, 2010; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the total amount of interest that 

9 accrued during such school year. 

10 ‘‘(B) SUCCEEDING YEARS.—Subject to 

11 paragraph (2), after the completion of service 

12 as a principal as described in subsection (a)(2) 

13 for a complete school year for any school year 

14 after the fourth complete school year of such 

15 service through the seventh complete school 

16 year of such service, the Secretary shall can17 cel— 

18 ‘‘(i) 20 percent of the loan obligation 

19 on a loan made under this part, which was 

20 first disbursed on or after July 1, 2010; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the total amount of interest that 

23 accrued during such school year. 

24 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—To be eligible for loan can25 cellation under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Nov 06, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3925.IH H3925

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3925 IH

1 graph (1) for any school year after the first complete 

2 school year of service, a principal— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall be serving as a principal in the 

4 school or location in which the principal served 

5 for such first year, except that a principal may 

6 serve as a principal in a different school or lo7 cation described in subsection (a)(2) for a 

8 school year after such first year if the local edu9 cational agency involved places the principal in 

10 such different school or location; and 

11 ‘‘(B) may stop serving as a principal for 

12 not more than 1 complete school year after 

13 such first year. 

14 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CONSOLIDATION LOANS.— 

15 A loan amount for a Federal Direct Consolidation 

16 Loan, which was first disbursed on or after July 1, 

17 2010, may be a qualified loan amount for the pur18 poses of this subsection only to the extent that such 

19 loan amount was used to repay a Federal Direct 

20 Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf21 ford Loan, a Federal Direct PLUS Loan for enroll22 ment in a graduate or professional program or a 

23 loan made under section 428, 428H, or 428B for 

24 enrollment in a graduate or professional program, 

25 for a borrower who meets the requirements of subVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Nov 06, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3925.IH H3925

smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3925 IH

1 section (a), as determined in accordance with regula2 tions prescribed by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(c) LIST.—If the list of schools in which a high need 

4 principal may perform service pursuant to subsection 

5 (a)(2) is not available before May 1 of any year, the Sec6 retary may use the list for the year preceding the year 

7 for which the determination is made to make such service 

8 determination. 

9 ‘‘(d) CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.—Any principal who 

10 performs service as in a school that— 

11 ‘‘(1) meets the requirements of subsection 

12 (a)(2) in any year during such service; and 

13 ‘‘(2) in a subsequent year fails to meet the re14 quirements of such subsection, may continue to 

15 serve as a principal in such school and shall be eligi16 ble for loan cancellation pursuant to subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(e) FORGIVENESS NOT CONSIDERED INCOME.—The 

18 amount of a loan, and interest on a loan, which is canceled 

19 under this section shall not be considered income for pur20 poses of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

21 ‘‘(f) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subsection 

22 shall be construed to authorize refunding of any refunding 

23 of any canceled loan. 

24 ‘‘(g) NO DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No borrower may, for 

25 the same service, receive a benefit under both this section 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3925 IH

1 and subtitle D of title I of the National and Community 

2 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12601 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

4 issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 

5 this section. 

6 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) PRINCIPAL.—The term ‘principal’ has the 

8 meaning given such term in section 2102 of the Ele9 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

10 U.S.C. 6602). 

11 ‘‘(2) YEAR.—The term ‘year’ where applied to 

12 service as a teacher means an academic year as de13 fined by the Secretary.’’. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS