108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 438

AN ACT

To increase the amount of student loans that may

be forgiven for teachers in mathematics, science,and special education.

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 438

AN ACT

To increase the amount of student loans that may be forgiven for teachers in mathematics, science, and special

education.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teacher Recruitment

3 and Retention Act of 2003’’.

4 SEC. 2. INCREASED QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNTS.

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

6 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–10(c)) is amend7 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

8 ‘‘(3) INCREASED AMOUNTS FOR TEACHERS IN

9 MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, OR SPECIAL EDUCATION.—

10 ‘‘(A) SERVICE QUALIFYING FOR IN11 CREASED AMOUNTS.—Notwithstanding the

12 amount specified in paragraph (1), the aggre13 gate amount that the Secretary shall repay

14 under this section shall not be more than

15 $17,500 in the case of—

16 ‘‘(i) a secondary school teacher—

17 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements

18 of subsection (b), subject to subpara19 graph (D) of this paragraph; and

20 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ21 ment for purposes of such subsection

22 has been teaching mathematics or

23 science on a full-time basis;

24 ‘‘(ii) an elementary or secondary

25 school teacher—
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1 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements

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

4 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ5 ment for purposes of such subsection

6 has been as a special education teach7 er whose primary responsibility is to

8 provide special education to children

9 with disabilities (as those terms are

10 defined in section 602 of the Individ11 uals with Disabilities Act); and

12 ‘‘(III) who, as certified by the

13 chief administrative officer of the pub14 lic or nonprofit private elementary or

15 secondary school in which the bor16 rower is employed, is teaching chil17 dren with disabilities that correspond

18 with the borrower’s special education

19 training and has demonstrated knowl20 edge and teaching skills in the content

21 areas of the elementary or secondary

22 school curriculum that the borrower is

23 teaching; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) an elementary or secondary

2 school teacher who primarily teaches read3 ing and—

4 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements

5 of subsection (b), subject to subpara6 graph (D) of this paragraph;

7 ‘‘(II) who has obtained a sepa8 rate reading instruction credential

9 from the State in which the teacher is

10 employed; and

11 ‘‘(III) who is certified by the

12 chief administrative officer of the pub13 lic or nonprofit private elementary or

14 secondary school in which the bor15 rower is employed to teach reading—

16 ‘‘(aa) as being proficient in

17 teaching the essential compo18 nents of reading instruction as

19 defined in section 1208 of the El20 ementary and Secondary Edu21 cation Act of 1965; and

22 ‘‘(bb) as having such creden23 tial.

24 ‘‘(B) ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Notwith25 standing the requirements of subsection (b)(1)
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1 and paragraph (1) of this subsection that 5

2 consecutive complete years of service have been

3 completed prior to the receipt of loan forgive4 ness, in the case of service described in sub5 paragraph (A) of this paragraph, the Secretary

6 shall repay a portion of a borrower’s loan obli7 gation outstanding at the commencement of the

8 qualifying service under this subsection, not to

9 exceed a total of $17,500, in the following in10 crements:

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

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

14 year of such service;

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

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

18 year of such service;

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

20 such outstanding loan obligation, which21 ever is less, at the completion of the fourth

22 year of such service; and

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

24 such outstanding loan obligation, which-
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1 ever is less, at the completion of the fifth

2 year of such service.

3 ‘‘(C) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE RE4 QUIRED FOR ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Any

5 borrower who receives accelerated payment

6 under this paragraph shall enter into an agree7 ment to continue in the qualifying service for

8 not less than 5 consecutive complete school

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

10 years, to repay the United States, in accordance

11 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary,

12 the amount of the loans repaid by the Secretary

13 under this paragraph, together with interest

14 thereon and, to the extent required in such reg15 ulations, the reasonable costs of collection. Such

16 regulations may provide for waiver by the Sec17 retary of such repayment obligations upon proof

18 of economic hardship as specified in such regu19 lations.

20 ‘‘(D) HIGHER POVERTY ENROLLMENT RE21 QUIRED.—In order to qualify for an increased

22 repayment amount under this paragraph, sec23 tion 465(a)(2)(A) shall, for purposes of sub24 section (b)(1)(A) of this section, be applied by
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1 substituting ‘40 percent of the total enrollment’

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

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

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

5 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

6 ‘‘(3) INCREASED AMOUNTS FOR TEACHERS IN

7 MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, OR SPECIAL EDUCATION.—

8 ‘‘(A) SERVICE QUALIFYING FOR IN9 CREASED AMOUNTS.—Notwithstanding the

10 amount specified in paragraph (1), the aggre11 gate amount that the Secretary shall repay

12 under this section shall not be more than

13 $17,500 in the case of—

14 ‘‘(i) a secondary school teacher—

15 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements

16 of subsection (b)(1), subject to sub17 paragraph (D) of this paragraph; and

18 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ19 ment for purposes of such subsection

20 has been teaching mathematics or

21 science on a full-time basis;

22 ‘‘(ii) an elementray or secondary

23 school teacher—
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1 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements

2 of subsection (b)(1), subject to sub3 paragraph (D) of this paragraph;

4 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ5 ment for purposes of such subsection

6 has been as a special education teach7 er whose primary responsibility is to

8 provide special education to children

9 with disabilities (as those terms are

10 defined in section 602 of the Individ11 uals with Disabilities Act); and

12 ‘‘(III) who, as certified by the

13 chief administrative officer of the pub14 lic or nonprofit private elementary or

15 secondary school in which the bor16 rower is employed, is teaching chil17 dren with disabilities that correspond

18 with the borrower’s special education

19 training and has demonstrated knowl20 edge and teaching skills in the content

21 areas of the elementary or secondary

22 school curriculum that the borrower is

23 teaching; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) an elementary or secondary

2 school teacher who primarily teaches read3 ing and—

4 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements

5 of subsection (b), subject to subpara6 graph (D) of this paragraph;

7 ‘‘(II) who has obtained a sepa8 rate reading instruction credential

9 from the State in which the teacher is

10 employed; and

11 ‘‘(III) who is certified by the

12 chief administrative officer of the pub13 lic or nonprofit private elementary or

14 secondary school in which the bor15 rower is employed to teach reading—

16 ‘‘(aa) as being proficient in

17 teaching the essential compo18 nents of reading instruction as

19 defined in section 1208 of the El20 ementary and Secondary Edu21 cation Act of 1965; and

22 ‘‘(bb) as having such creden23 tial.

24 ‘‘(B) ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Notwith25 standing the requirements of subsection
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1 (b)(1)(A) and paragraph (1) of this subsection

2 that 5 consecutive complete years of service

3 have been completed prior to the receipt of loan

4 forgiveness, in the case of service described in

5 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Sec6 retary shall repay a portion of a borrower’s loan

7 obligation outstanding at the commencement of

8 the qualifying service under this subsection, not

9 to exceed a total of $17,500, in the following in10 crements:

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

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

14 year of such service;

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

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

18 year of such service;

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

20 such outstanding loan obligation, which21 ever is less, at the completion of the fourth

22 year of such service; and

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

24 such outstanding loan obligation, which-
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1 ever is less, at the completion of the fifth

2 year of such service.

3 ‘‘(C) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE RE4 QUIRED FOR ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Any

5 borrower who receives accelerated payment

6 under this paragraph shall enter into an agree7 ment to continue in the qualifying service for

8 not less than 5 consecutive complete school

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

10 years, to repay the United States, in accordance

11 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary,

12 the amount of the loans repaid by the Secretary

13 under this paragraph, together with interest

14 thereon and, to the extent required in such reg15 ulations, the reasonable costs of collection. Such

16 regulations may provide for waiver by the Sec17 retary of such repayment obligations upon proof

18 of economic hardship as specified in such regu19 lations.

20 ‘‘(D) HIGHER POVERTY ENROLLMENT RE21 QUIRED.—In order to qualify for an increased

22 repayment amount under this paragraph, sec23 tion 465(a)(2)(A) shall, for purposes of sub24 section (b)(1)(A)(i) of this section, be applied
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1 by substituting ‘40 percent of the total enroll2 ment’ for ‘30 percent of the total enrollment’.’’.

3 SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER RE4 QUIREMENTS.

5 (a) AMENDMENTS.—

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

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

8 10(b)(1)) is amended—

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

10 at the end of subparagraph (A); and

11 (B) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C)

12 and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(B) if employed as an elementary or sec14 ondary school teacher, is highly qualified as de15 fined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary

16 Secondary Education Act of 1965; and’’.

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

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

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

20 at the end of clause (i); and

21 (B) by striking clauses (ii) and (iii) and in22 serting the following:

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

24 secondary school teacher, is highly quali25 fied as defined in section 9101(23) of the
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1 Elementary Secondary Education Act of

2 1965; and’’.

3 (b) TRANSITION RULE.—

4 (1) RULE.—The amendments made by sub5 section (a) of this section to sections 428J(b)(1) and

6 460(b)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965

7 shall not be applied to disqualify any individual who,

8 before the date of enactment of this Act, commenced

9 service that met and continues to meet the require10 ments of such sections as in effect before such date

11 of enactment.

12 (2) RULE NOT APPLICABLE TO INCREASED

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

14 subsection shall not apply for purposes of obtaining

15 increased qualified loan amounts under sections

16 428J(b)(3) and 460(b)(3) of the Higher Education

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

18 SEC. 4. INFORMATION ON BENEFITS TO RURAL SCHOOL

19 DISTRICTS.

20 The Secretary shall—

21 (1) notify local educational agencies eligible to

22 participate in the Small Rural Achievement Program

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

24 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
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1 1965 of the benefits available under the amendments

2 made by this Act; and

3 (2) encourage such agencies to notify their

4 teachers of such benefits.

Passed the House of Representatives July 9, 2003.

Attest:

Clerk.