I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4410

To increase the amount of student loans that may be forgiven for highly 

qualified teachers in mathematics, science, and special education and 

for reading specialists. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 20, 2004

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. MCKEON, 

Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. TIBERI, 

Mr. KELLER, Mr. COLE, Mr. PORTER, Mr. BAKER, Mr. BRADLEY of New 

Hampshire, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. 

GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. GRAVES, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. JENKINS, Ms. 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. NUNES, Mr. 

SHIMKUS, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. SOUDER, and Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To increase the amount of student loans that may be forgiven for highly qualified teachers in mathematics, 

science, and special education and for reading specialists.

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 ‘‘Teacher Shortage Re5 sponse Act of 2004’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. INCREASED QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNTS. 

2 (a) FFEL LOANS.—Section 428J(c) of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–10(c)) is amend4 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) INCREASED AMOUNTS FOR TEACHERS IN

6 MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, OR SPECIAL EDUCATION.—

7 ‘‘(A) SERVICE QUALIFYING FOR IN8 CREASED AMOUNTS.—Notwithstanding the 

9 amount specified in paragraph (1), the aggre10 gate amount that the Secretary shall repay 

11 under this section shall not be more than 

12 $17,500 in the case of—

13 ‘‘(i) a secondary school teacher—

14 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements 

15 of subsection (b), subject to subpara16 graph (D) of this paragraph; and 

17 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ18 ment for purposes of such subsection 

19 has been teaching mathematics or 

20 science on a full-time basis; 

21 ‘‘(ii) an elementary or secondary 

22 school teacher—

23 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements 

24 of subsection (b), subject to subpara25 graph (D) of this paragraph; 
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1 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ2 ment for purposes of such subsection 

3 has been as a special education teach4 er whose primary responsibility is to 

5 provide special education to children 

6 with disabilities (as those terms are 

7 defined in section 602 of the Individ8 uals with Disabilities Act); and 

9 ‘‘(III) who, as certified by the 

10 chief administrative officer of the pub11 lic or nonprofit private elementary or 

12 secondary school in which the bor13 rower is employed, is teaching chil14 dren with disabilities that correspond 

15 with the borrower’s special education 

16 training and has demonstrated knowl17 edge and teaching skills in the content 

18 areas of the elementary or secondary 

19 school curriculum that the borrower is 

20 teaching; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) an elementary or secondary 

22 school teacher who primarily teaches read23 ing and—
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1 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements 

2 of subsection (b), subject to subpara3 graph (D) of this paragraph; 

4 ‘‘(II) who has obtained a sepa5 rate reading instruction credential 

6 from the State in which the teacher is 

7 employed; and 

8 ‘‘(III) who is certified by the 

9 chief administrative officer of the pub10 lic or nonprofit private elementary or 

11 secondary school in which the bor12 rower is employed to teach reading—

13 ‘‘(aa) as being proficient in 

14 teaching the essential compo15 nents of reading instruction as 

16 defined in section 1208 of the El17 ementary and Secondary Edu18 cation Act of 1965; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) as having such creden20 tial. 

21 ‘‘(B) ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Notwith22 standing the requirements of subsection (b)(1) 

23 and paragraph (1) of this subsection that 5 

24 consecutive complete years of service have been 

25 completed prior to the receipt of loan forgive-
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1 ness, in the case of service described in sub2 paragraph (A) of this paragraph, the Secretary 

3 shall repay a portion of a borrower’s loan obli4 gation outstanding at the commencement of the 

5 qualifying service under this subsection, not to 

6 exceed a total of $17,500, in the following in7 crements: 

8 ‘‘(i) up to $1,750, or 10 percent of 

9 such outstanding loan obligation, which10 ever is less, at the completion of the second 

11 year of such service; 

12 ‘‘(ii) up to $2,625, or 15 percent of 

13 such outstanding loan obligation, which14 ever is less, at the completion of the third 

15 year of such service; 

16 ‘‘(iii) up to $4,375, or 25 percent of 

17 such outstanding loan obligation, which18 ever is less, at the completion of the fourth 

19 year of such service; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) up to $8,750, or 50 percent of 

21 such outstanding loan obligation, which22 ever is less, at the completion of the fifth 

23 year of such service. 

24 ‘‘(C) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE RE25 QUIRED FOR ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Any 
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1 borrower who receives accelerated payment 

2 under this paragraph shall enter into an agree3 ment to continue in the qualifying service for 

4 not less than 5 consecutive complete school 

5 years, or, upon a failure to complete such 5 

6 years, to repay the United States, in accordance 

7 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, 

8 the amount of the loans repaid by the Secretary 

9 under this paragraph, together with interest 

10 thereon and, to the extent required in such reg11 ulations, the reasonable costs of collection. Such 

12 regulations may provide for waiver by the Sec13 retary of such repayment obligations upon proof 

14 of economic hardship as specified in such regu15 lations. 

16 ‘‘(D) HIGHER POVERTY ENROLLMENT RE17 QUIRED.—In order to qualify for an increased 

18 repayment amount under this paragraph, sec19 tion 465(a)(2)(A) shall, for purposes of sub20 section (b)(1)(A) of this section, be applied by 

21 substituting ‘40 percent of the total enrollment’ 

22 for ‘30 percent of the total enrollment’.’’. 

23 (b) DIRECT LOANS.—Section 460(c) of the Higher 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087j(c)) is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
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1 ‘‘(3) INCREASED AMOUNTS FOR TEACHERS IN

2 MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, OR SPECIAL EDUCATION.—

3 ‘‘(A) SERVICE QUALIFYING FOR IN4 CREASED AMOUNTS.—Notwithstanding the 

5 amount specified in paragraph (1), the aggre6 gate amount that the Secretary shall repay 

7 under this section shall not be more than 

8 $17,500 in the case of—

9 ‘‘(i) a secondary school teacher—

10 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements 

11 of subsection (b)(1), subject to sub12 paragraph (D) of this paragraph; and 

13 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ14 ment for purposes of such subsection 

15 has been teaching mathematics or 

16 science on a full-time basis; 

17 ‘‘(ii) an elementray or secondary 

18 school teacher—

19 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements 

20 of subsection (b)(1), subject to sub21 paragraph (D) of this paragraph; 

22 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ23 ment for purposes of such subsection 

24 has been as a special education teach25 er whose primary responsibility is to 
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1 provide special education to children 

2 with disabilities (as those terms are 

3 defined in section 602 of the Individ4 uals with Disabilities Act); and 

5 ‘‘(III) who, as certified by the 

6 chief administrative officer of the pub7 lic or nonprofit private elementary or 

8 secondary school in which the bor9 rower is employed, is teaching chil10 dren with disabilities that correspond 

11 with the borrower’s special education 

12 training and has demonstrated knowl13 edge and teaching skills in the content 

14 areas of the elementary or secondary 

15 school curriculum that the borrower is 

16 teaching; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) an elementary or secondary 

18 school teacher who primarily teaches read19 ing and—

20 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements 

21 of subsection (b), subject to subpara22 graph (D) of this paragraph; 

23 ‘‘(II) who has obtained a sepa24 rate reading instruction credential 
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1 from the State in which the teacher is 

2 employed; and 

3 ‘‘(III) who is certified by the 

4 chief administrative officer of the pub5 lic or nonprofit private elementary or 

6 secondary school in which the bor7 rower is employed to teach reading—

8 ‘‘(aa) as being proficient in 

9 teaching the essential compo10 nents of reading instruction as 

11 defined in section 1208 of the El12 ementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) as having such creden15 tial. 

16 ‘‘(B) ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Notwith17 standing the requirements of subsection 

18 (b)(1)(A) and paragraph (1) of this subsection 

19 that 5 consecutive complete years of service 

20 have been completed prior to the receipt of loan 

21 forgiveness, in the case of service described in 

22 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Sec23 retary shall repay a portion of a borrower’s loan 

24 obligation outstanding at the commencement of 

25 the qualifying service under this subsection, not 
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1 to exceed a total of $17,500, in the following in2 crements: 

3 ‘‘(i) up to $1,750, or 10 percent of 

4 such outstanding loan obligation, which5 ever is less, at the completion of the second 

6 year of such service; 

7 ‘‘(ii) up to $2,625, or 15 percent of 

8 such outstanding loan obligation, which9 ever is less, at the completion of the third 

10 year of such service; 

11 ‘‘(iii) up to $4,375, or 25 percent of 

12 such outstanding loan obligation, which13 ever is less, at the completion of the fourth 

14 year of such service; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) up to $8,750, or 50 percent of 

16 such outstanding loan obligation, which17 ever is less, at the completion of the fifth 

18 year of such service. 

19 ‘‘(C) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE RE20 QUIRED FOR ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Any 

21 borrower who receives accelerated payment 

22 under this paragraph shall enter into an agree23 ment to continue in the qualifying service for 

24 not less than 5 consecutive complete school 

25 years, or, upon a failure to complete such 5 
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1 years, to repay the United States, in accordance 

2 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, 

3 the amount of the loans repaid by the Secretary 

4 under this paragraph, together with interest 

5 thereon and, to the extent required in such reg6 ulations, the reasonable costs of collection. Such 

7 regulations may provide for waiver by the Sec8 retary of such repayment obligations upon proof 

9 of economic hardship as specified in such regu10 lations. 

11 ‘‘(D) HIGHER POVERTY ENROLLMENT RE12 QUIRED.—In order to qualify for an increased 

13 repayment amount under this paragraph, sec14 tion 465(a)(2)(A) shall, for purposes of sub15 section (b)(1)(A)(i) of this section, be applied 

16 by substituting ‘40 percent of the total enroll17 ment’ for ‘30 percent of the total enrollment’.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER RE19 QUIREMENTS. 

20 (a) AMENDMENTS.—

21 (1) FFEL LOANS.—Section 428J(b)(1) of the 

22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–

23 10(b)(1)) is amended—

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon 

25 at the end of subparagraph (A); and 
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1 (B) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) if employed as an elementary or sec4 ondary school teacher, is highly qualified as de5 fined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary 

6 Secondary Education Act of 1965; and’’. 

7 (2) DIRECT LOANS.—Section 460(b)(1)(A) of 

8 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1087j(b)(1)(A)) is amended—

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon 

10 at the end of clause (i); and 

11 (B) by striking clauses (ii) and (iii) and in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘(ii) if employed as an elementary or 

14 secondary school teacher, is highly quali15 fied as defined in section 9101(23) of the 

16 Elementary Secondary Education Act of 

17 1965; and’’. 

18 (b) TRANSITION RULE.—

19 (1) RULE.—The amendments made by sub20 section (a) of this section to sections 428J(b)(1) and 

21 460(b)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

22 shall not be applied to disqualify any individual who, 

23 before the date of enactment of this Act, commenced 

24 service that met and continues to meet the require-
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1 ments of such sections as in effect before such date 

2 of enactment. 

3 (2) RULE NOT APPLICABLE TO INCREASED

4 QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNTS.—Paragraph (1) of this 

5 subsection shall not apply for purposes of obtaining 

6 increased qualified loan amounts under sections 

7 428J(b)(3) and 460(b)(3) of the Higher Education 

8 Act of 1965 as added by section 2 of this Act. 

9 SEC. 4. INFORMATION ON BENEFITS TO RURAL SCHOOL 

10 DISTRICTS. 

11 The Secretary shall—

12 (1) notify local educational agencies eligible to 

13 participate in the Small Rural Achievement Program 

14 authorized under subpart 1 of part B of title VI of 

15 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

16 1965 of the benefits available under the amendments 

17 made by this Act; and 

18 (2) encourage such agencies to notify their 

19 teachers of such benefits.

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