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Union Calendar No. 90

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 438

[Report No. 108–182] 

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

in mathematics, science, and special education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 29, 2003

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

MCKEON, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. PLATTS, 

Mr. TIBERI, Mr. BAKER, Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico, and Mr. GRAVES) 

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

Education and the Workforce 

JUNE 26, 2003

Additional sponsors: Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. KELLER, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. SIMMONS, 

Mr. HOBSON, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. 

PORTER, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. 

NUNES, Mr. JENKINS, Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire, and Ms. EDDIE

BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas 

JUNE 26, 2003 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 29, 2003] 

A BILL

To increase the amount of student loans that may be for-
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given 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 and Retention Act of 2003’’.

6 SEC. 2. INCREASED QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNTS. 

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

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–10(c)) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(3) INCREASED AMOUNTS FOR TEACHERS IN

11 MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, OR SPECIAL EDUCATION.—

12 ‘‘(A) SERVICE QUALIFYING FOR INCREASED

13 AMOUNTS.—Notwithstanding the amount speci14 fied in paragraph (1), the aggregate amount that 

15 the Secretary shall repay under this section shall 

16 not be more than $17,500 in the case of—

17 ‘‘(i) a secondary school teacher—

18 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements of 

19 subsection (b), subject to subparagraph 

20 (D) of this paragraph; and 

21 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ22 ment for purposes of such subsection 

23 has been teaching mathematics or 

24 science on a full-time basis; and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) an elementary or secondary school 

2 teacher—

3 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements of 

4 subsection (b), subject to subparagraph 

5 (D) of this paragraph; 

6 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ7 ment for purposes of such subsection 

8 has been as a special education teacher 

9 whose primary responsibility is to pro10 vide special education to children with 

11 disabilities (as those terms are defined 

12 in section 602 of the Individuals with 

13 Disabilities Act); and 

14 ‘‘(III) who, as certified by the 

15 chief administrative officer of the pub16 lic or nonprofit private elementary or 

17 secondary school in which the borrower 

18 is employed, is teaching children with 

19 disabilities that correspond with the 

20 borrower’s special education training 

21 and has demonstrated knowledge and 

22 teaching skills in the content areas of 

23 the elementary or secondary school cur24 riculum that the borrower is teaching. 
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1 ‘‘(B) ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Notwith2 standing the requirements of subsection (b)(1) 

3 and paragraph (1) of this subsection that 5 con4 secutive complete years of service have been com5 pleted prior to the receipt of loan forgiveness, in 

6 the case of service described in subparagraph (A) 

7 of this paragraph, the Secretary shall repay a 

8 portion of a borrower’s loan obligation out9 standing at the commencement of the qualifying 

10 service under this subsection, not to exceed a 

11 total of $17,500, in the following increments: 

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

13 outstanding loan obligation, whichever is 

14 less, at the completion of the second year of 

15 such service; 

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

17 such outstanding loan obligation, whichever 

18 is less, at the completion of the third year 

19 of such service; 

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

21 such outstanding loan obligation, whichever 

22 is less, at the completion of the fourth year 

23 of such service; and 

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

25 such outstanding loan obligation, whichever 
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1 is less, at the completion of the fifth year of 

2 such service. 

3 ‘‘(C) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE RE4 QUIRED FOR ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Any bor5 rower who receives accelerated payment under 

6 this paragraph shall enter into an agreement to 

7 continue in the qualifying service for not less 

8 than 5 consecutive complete school years, or, 

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

10 the United States, in accordance with regula11 tions prescribed by the Secretary, the amount of 

12 the loans repaid by the Secretary under this 

13 paragraph, together with interest thereon and, to 

14 the extent required in such regulations, the rea15 sonable costs of collection. Such regulations may 

16 provide for waiver by the Secretary of such re17 payment obligations upon proof of economic 

18 hardship as specified in such regulations. 

19 ‘‘(D) HIGHER POVERTY ENROLLMENT RE20 QUIRED.—In order to qualify for an increased 

21 repayment amount under this paragraph, section 

22 465(a)(2)(A) shall, for purposes of subsection 

23 (b)(1)(A) of this section, be applied by sub24 stituting ‘40 percent of the total enrollment’ for 

25 ‘30 percent of the total enrollment’.’’. 
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1 (b) DIRECT LOANS.—Section 460(c) of the Higher 

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

3 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(3) INCREASED AMOUNTS FOR TEACHERS IN

5 MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, OR SPECIAL EDUCATION.—

6 ‘‘(A) SERVICE QUALIFYING FOR INCREASED

7 AMOUNTS.—Notwithstanding the amount speci8 fied in paragraph (1), the aggregate amount that 

9 the Secretary shall repay under this section shall 

10 not be more than $17,500 in the case of—

11 ‘‘(i) a secondary school teacher—

12 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements of 

13 subsection (b)(1), subject to subpara14 graph (D) of this paragraph; and 

15 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ16 ment for purposes of such subsection 

17 has been teaching mathematics or 

18 science on a full-time basis; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) an elementray or secondary school 

20 teacher—

21 ‘‘(I) who meets the requirements of 

22 subsection (b)(1), subject to subpara23 graph (D) of this paragraph; and 

24 ‘‘(II) whose qualifying employ25 ment for purposes of such subsection
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1 has been as a special education teacher 

2 whose primary responsibility is to pro3 vide special education to children with 

4 disabilities (as those terms are defined 

5 in section 602 of the Individuals with 

6 Disabilities Act); and 

7 ‘‘(III) who, as certified by the 

8 chief administrative officer of the pub9 lic or nonprofit private elementary or 

10 secondary school in which the borrower 

11 is employed, is teaching children with 

12 disabilities that correspond with the 

13 borrower’s special education training 

14 and has demonstrated knowledge and 

15 teaching skills in the content areas of 

16 the elementary or secondary school cur17 riculum that the borrower is teaching. 

18 ‘‘(B) ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Notwith19 standing the requirements of subsection (b)(1)(A) 

20 and paragraph (1) of this subsection that 5 con21 secutive complete years of service have been com22 pleted prior to the receipt of loan forgiveness, in 

23 the case of service described in subparagraph (A) 

24 of this paragraph, the Secretary shall repay a 

25 portion of a borrower’s loan obligation out-
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1 standing at the commencement of the qualifying 

2 service under this subsection, not to exceed a 

3 total of $17,500, in the following increments: 

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

5 outstanding loan obligation, whichever is 

6 less, at the completion of the second year of 

7 such service; 

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

9 such outstanding loan obligation, whichever 

10 is less, at the completion of the third year 

11 of such service; 

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

13 such outstanding loan obligation, whichever 

14 is less, at the completion of the fourth year 

15 of such service; and 

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

17 such outstanding loan obligation, whichever 

18 is less, at the completion of the fifth year of 

19 such service. 

20 ‘‘(C) PROMISE TO COMPLETE SERVICE RE21 QUIRED FOR ACCELERATED PAYMENT.—Any bor22 rower who receives accelerated payment under 

23 this paragraph shall enter into an agreement to 

24 continue in the qualifying service for not less 

25 than 5 consecutive complete school years, or, 
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1 upon a failure to complete such 5 years, to repay 

2 the United States, in accordance with regula3 tions prescribed by the Secretary, the amount of 

4 the loans repaid by the Secretary under this 

5 paragraph, together with interest thereon and, to 

6 the extent required in such regulations, the rea7 sonable costs of collection. Such regulations may 

8 provide for waiver by the Secretary of such re9 payment obligations upon proof of economic 

10 hardship as specified in such regulations. 

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

13 repayment amount under this paragraph, section 

14 465(a)(2)(A) shall, for purposes of subsection 

15 (b)(1)(A)(i) of this section, be applied by sub16 stituting ‘40 percent of the total enrollment’ for 

17 ‘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 Sec6 ondary 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 

12 inserting the following: 

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

14 secondary school teacher, is highly qualified 

15 as defined in section 9101(23) of the Ele16 mentary Secondary Education Act of 1965; 

17 and’’. 

18 (b) TRANSITION RULE.—

19 (1) RULE.—The amendments made by subsection 

20 (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 of 

2 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 teach19 ers of such benefits.
Union Calendar No. 90

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 438

[Report No. 108–182] 

A BILL

To increase the amount of student loans that may 

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

JUNE 26, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

and ordered to be printed