II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2399 

To provide Federal student loan relief for teachers who work in a military 

impacted community. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 20, 2021 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide Federal student loan relief for teachers who work 

in a military impacted community. 

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 ‘‘Defense Community 

5 Teacher Support Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACHERS IN MILITARY 

7 IMPACTED COMMUNITIES. 

8 (a) FFEL LOANS.—Section 428J of the Higher Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–10) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A)— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘in a school’’; 

2 (B) by striking ‘‘locations; and’’ and in3 serting ‘‘locations; or’’; and 

4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(ii) in a school in a military impacted 

6 community; and’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (c)(3)— 

8 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

9 ‘‘OR SERVING MILITARY IMPACTED COMMU10 NITIES’’ after ‘‘EDUCATION’’; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

13 (C) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking 

14 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

15 and 

16 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(C) an elementary school or secondary 

18 school teacher employed in a school in a mili19 tary impacted community.’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (g)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking 

22 ‘‘(b)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(b)(1)(A)(i)’’; and 

23 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(4) MILITARY CONNECTED TEACHERS.—In the 

25 case of an elementary school or secondary school 


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1 teacher who is employed in a school in a military im2 pacted community, is the spouse of a member of the 

3 armed forces, and is required to move as a result of 

4 the spouse’s permanent change of station, the teach5 er may meet the 5-year teaching requirement of this 

6 section by teaching in multiple elementary schools or 

7 secondary schools in different military impacted 

8 communities.’’; and 

9 (4) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘DEFINI10 TION.—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the term’’ 

11 and inserting the following: ‘‘DEFINITIONS.—For 

12 purposes of this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) MILITARY DEPENDENT STUDENT.—The 

14 term ‘military dependent student’ means a student 

15 described in subparagraph (B) or (D)(i) of section 

16 7003(a)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(a)(1)). 

18 ‘‘(2) MILITARY IMPACTED COMMUNITY.—The 

19 term ‘military impacted community’, when used with 

20 respect to a school, means a school served by a local 

21 educational agency for which not less than 20 per22 cent (as rounded to the nearest whole percent) of 

23 the students in average daily attendance in all 

24 schools served by the local educational agency during 


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1 the preceding school year were military dependent 

2 students for such year. 

3 ‘‘(3) YEAR.—The term’’. 

4 (b) FEDERAL DIRECT LOANS.—Section 460 of the 

5 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087j) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A)— 

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘in a school’’; 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘locations; and’’ and in10 serting ‘‘locations; or’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(ii) in a school in a military impacted 

13 community; and’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (c)(3)— 

15 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

16 ‘‘OR SERVING MILITARY IMPACTED COMMU17 NITIES’’ after ‘‘EDUCATION’’; 

18 (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

20 (C) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking 

21 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

22 and 

23 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(C) an elementary school or secondary 

2 school teacher employed in a school in a mili3 tary impacted community.’’; 

4 (3) in subsection (g)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking 

6 ‘‘(b)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(b)(1)(A)(i)’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(4) MILITARY CONNECTED TEACHERS.—In the 

9 case of an elementary school or secondary school 

10 teacher who is employed in a school in a military im11 pacted community, is the spouse of a member of the 

12 armed forces, and is required to move as a result of 

13 the spouse’s permanent change of station, the teach14 er may meet the 5-year teaching requirement of this 

15 section by teaching in multiple elementary schools or 

16 secondary schools in different military impacted 

17 communities.’’; and 

18 (4) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘DEFINI19 TION.—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the term’’ 

20 and inserting the following: ‘‘DEFINITIONS.—For 

21 purposes of this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) MILITARY DEPENDENT STUDENT.—The 

23 term ‘military dependent student’ means a student 

24 described in subparagraph (B) or (D)(i) of section 


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1 7003(a)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7703(a)(1)). 

3 ‘‘(2) MILITARY IMPACTED COMMUNITY.—The 

4 term ‘military impacted community’, when used with 

5 respect to a school, means a school served by a local 

6 educational agency for which not less than 20 per7 cent (as rounded to the nearest whole percent) of 

8 the students in average daily attendance in all 

9 schools served by the local educational agency during 

10 the preceding school year were military dependent 

11 students for such year. 

12 ‘‘(3) YEAR.—The term’’. 

Æ 


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