March 2006

Dear Colleague:

The purpose of this letter is to make you aware of federal benefits that are available 
to certain teachers. In our continuing efforts to ensure that schools are able 
to attract and retain qualified teachers, President George W. Bush signed the 
"Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005" ("HERA") on 
February 8. The Act makes permanent certain teacher loan forgiveness provisions 
included in the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act of 2004, which President Bush 
signed on October 30, 2004. In addition, the HERA expands the loan forgiveness 
program to teachers employed in nonprofit private schools.

The HERA authorizes up to $17,500 in student loan forgiveness for certain full-time 
  secondary school teachers of mathematics or science who meet the "highly 
  qualified" teacher definition under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). 
  The HERA also authorizes up to $17,500 in student loan forgiveness for certain 
  highly qualified full-time elementary and secondary school special education 
  teachers whose primary responsibility is to provide special education to children 
  with disabilities (as those terms are defined in Section 602 of the Individuals 
  with Disabilities Education Act). To qualify, a special education teacher must 
  be teaching children with disabilities that correspond to the teacher’s 
  special education training and must have demonstrated knowledge and teaching 
  skills in the content areas of the elementary or secondary school curriculum 
  in which he or she is teaching.

Effective July 1 of this year, the HERA expands the loan forgiveness program 
  to teachers who are exempt from state certification and employed in nonprofit 
  private schools. The HERA provides that an individual who is employed as a teacher 
  in a nonprofit private school and is exempt from state certification requirements 
  may have such employment qualify for the loan forgiveness program if the teacher 
  can demonstrate rigorous subject knowledge and skills by taking competency tests 
  in the applicable grade levels and subject areas. The HERA requires that the 
  competency tests be recognized by five or more states for the purpose of fulfilling 
  the highly qualified teacher requirements under NCLB, and that the score achieved 
  by a teacher on each test equal or exceed the average passing score of those 
  five states. The HERA makes no change for private school teachers who are subject 
  to state certification and who meet the "highly qualified" teacher 
  definition under NCLB; they will continue to qualify for student loan forgiveness 
  to the extent they meet the eligibility requirements.
  Teachers who do not teach in the specialties noted above and began teaching 
  after October 30, 2004, may be eligible for up to $5,000 in student loan forgiveness, 
  so long as they meet the "highly qualified" teacher definition under 
  NCLB or, effective July 1, 2006, meet the requirements set forth in the HERA 
  for private school teachers, and meet the eligibility requirements set forth 
  below. Teachers who began their teaching service prior to October 30, 2004, 
  continue to qualify for up to $5,000 in student loan forgiveness and are not 
  required to meet the "highly qualified" teacher definition.

**Teacher Loan Forgiveness Eligibility Rules Applicable to All Federal 
  Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Federal Direct Loan Program Borrowers**

The following rules apply to all applicants for Teacher Loan Forgiveness benefits:

- A teacher seeking student loan forgiveness must be a new borrower, which 
    is defined as a borrower who did not have an outstanding balance on a FFEL 
    or Direct Loan on October 1, 1998, or on the date the borrower obtained a 
    FFEL or Direct Loan after October 1, 1998.
- Eligible loans include Federal Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized); 
    Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loans (Direct Subsidized Loans); Federal Direct 
    Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loans (Direct Unsubsidized Loans); and any portion 
    of a Federal Consolidation Loan or Federal Direct Consolidation Loan that 
    was used to pay off one of these eligible loans.
- The loan cannot be in a default status.
- A teacher must have taught for five consecutive complete academic years 
    in an eligible, low-income school. A low-income school is an elementary or 
    secondary school that:

> is in a school district that qualifies for funds under Title I of the 
>       Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended;
>     has been selected by the Secretary based on a determination that more 
>       than 30 percent of the school’s total enrollment is made up of children 
>       from low-income families; and
>     is listed in the annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher 
>   Cancellation Benefits. (See the link for “Low-Income School Search” 
>   and other information at http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students /english/cancelperk.jsp?tab=repaying.)

I encourage you to provide this information to all current and prospective teachers 
who may be eligible for these benefits. Applications are available from the lender 
or servicer of the teacher's outstanding student loan in the FFEL program. Applications 
are available from the Direct Loan Servicer if the teacher has a Federal Direct 
Loan. More information on repaying student loans and on the Teacher Loan Forgiveness 
Program is available at http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students /english/cancelstaff.jsp?tab=repaying. 
If you have questions concerning these requirements and benefits, please contact 
the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-4-FED-AID.

| | Sincerely,        
| | ------------------
| | /s/               
| | Margaret Spellings



Enclosure

|Last Modified: 03/31/2006
|-------------------------