I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 789

To expand the eligibility of individuals to qualify for loan forgiveness for 

teachers in order to provide additional incentives for teachers currently 

employed or seeking employment in economically depressed rural areas, 

Territories, and Indian Reservations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2003

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To expand the eligibility of individuals to qualify for loan 

forgiveness for teachers in order to provide additional 

incentives for teachers currently employed or seeking employment in economically depressed rural areas, Territories, and Indian Reservations.

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 Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF TEACHER LOAN FORGIVENESS PRO2 GRAMS. 

3 (a) GUARANTEED STUDENT LOANS.—Part B of title 

4 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended by—

5 (1) redesignating section 428K (20 U.S.C. 

6 1078–11) as section 428L; and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 428J the following 

8 new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 428K. EXPANDED LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACH10 ERS. 

11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

12 expand, subject to the availability of appropriations there13 for, the eligibility of individuals to qualify for loan forgive14 ness for teachers beyond that available under section 

15 428J, in order to provide additional incentives for such 

16 individuals to teach in economically disadvantaged or de17 pressed and underserved rural areas. 

18 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appro20 priated pursuant to subsection (i), the Secretary 

21 shall carry out a program, through the holder of the 

22 loan, of assuming the obligation to repay a qualified 

23 loan amount for a loan made under section 428 or 

24 428H, in accordance with subsection (c), for any 

25 new borrower on or after October 1, 1998, who— 
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1 ‘‘(A) is employed as a full-time teacher in 

2 a public elementary or secondary school in an 

3 economically disadvantaged or depressed and 

4 underserved rural area; 

5 ‘‘(B) has a State certification (which may 

6 include certification obtained through alter7 native means) or a State license to teach, and 

8 has not failed to comply with State or local ac9 countability standards; and 

10 ‘‘(C) is not in default on a loan for which 

11 the borrower seeks forgiveness. 

12 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—The Sec13 retary shall by regulations, establish a formula that 

14 ensures fairness and equality for applicants in the 

15 selection of borrowers for loan repayment under this 

16 section, based on the amount available pursuant to 

17 subsection (i). 

18 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED LOANS AMOUNT.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall repay 

20 not more than the percentage specified in paragraph 

21 (2) of the loan obligation on a loan made under sec22 tion 428 or 428H that is outstanding after the com23 pletion of each complete school year of teaching de24 scribed in subsection (b)(1). No borrower may re-
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1 ceive a reduction of loan obligations under both this 

2 section and section 460. 

3 ‘‘(2) PERCENTAGE ELIGIBLE.—The percent of 

4 the loan obligation which the Secretary shall repay 

5 under paragraph (1) of this subsection is 15 percent 

6 for the first or second year of such service, 20 per7 cent for the third or fourth year of such service, and 

8 30 percent for the fifth year of such service. 

9 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CONSOLIDATION LOANS.—

10 A loan amount for a loan made under section 428C 

11 may be a qualified loan amount for the purposes of 

12 this subsection only to the extent that such loan 

13 amount was used to repay a Federal Direct Stafford 

14 Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, 

15 or a loan made under section 428 or 428H for a 

16 borrower who meets the requirements of subsection 

17 (b), as determined in accordance with regulations 

18 prescribed by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF YEARS OF SERVICE FOR

20 CONTINUING EDUCATION LOANS.—For purposes of 

21 paragraph (2), the year of service is determined on 

22 the basis of the academic year that the borrower 

23 began the service as a full-time teacher, except that 

24 in the case of a borrower who incurs a loan obliga25 tion for continuing education expenses while teach-
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1 ing, the year of service is determined on the basis 

2 of the academic year following the academic year for 

3 which the loan obligation was incurred. 

4 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

5 issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 

6 the provisions of this section. 

7 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

8 be construed to authorize any refunding of any repayment 

9 of a loan. 

10 ‘‘(f) LIST.—If the list of schools in which a teacher 

11 may perform service pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A) is 

12 not available before May 1 of any year, the Secretary may 

13 use the list for the year preceding the year for which the 

14 determination is made to make such service determination. 

15 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY PROVISIONS.—

16 ‘‘(1) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY.—Any teacher 

17 who performs service in a school that—

18 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements of subsection 

19 (b)(1)(A) in any year during such service; and 

20 ‘‘(B) in a subsequent year fails to meet the 

21 requirements of such subsection, 

22 may continue to teach in such school and shall be 

23 eligible for loan forgiveness pursuant to subsection 

24 (b).
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1 ‘‘(2) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No 

2 borrower may, for the same service, receive a benefit 

3 under both this section and subtitle D of title I of 

4 the National and Community Service Act of 1990 

5 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.). 

6 ‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) AREA.—The term ‘economically disadvan8 taged or depressed and underserved rural area’ 

9 means any of the following areas in any State (as 

10 that term is defined in section 103): 

11 ‘‘(A) A rural area that has a chronically 

12 high rate of unemployment. 

13 ‘‘(B) A rural area in which at least 30 per14 cent of the households have household incomes 

15 of less than $15,000, as determined on the 

16 basis of the most recent decennial census. 

17 ‘‘(C) An Indian reservation. 

18 ‘‘(D) Any other rural area that, as deter19 mined by regulations, has a significant shortage 

20 of educational and employment opportunities. 

21 ‘‘(2) INDIAN RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘Indian 

22 reservation’’ includes Indian reservations, public do23 main Indian allotments, former Indian reservations 

24 in Oklahoma, and land held by incorporated Native 

25 Alaskan groups, regional corporations, and village 
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1 corporations under the provisions of the Alaska Na2 tive Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(3) YEAR.—The term ‘year’, where applied to 

4 service as a teacher, means an academic year as de5 fined by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002 and 

9 each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

10 (b) DIRECT STUDENT LOANS.—Part D of title IV of 

11 the Higher Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting 

12 after section 460 the following new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 460A. EXPANDED LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACH14 ERS. 

15 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

16 expand, subject to the availability of appropriations there17 for, the eligibility of individuals to qualify for loan forgive18 ness for teachers beyond that available under section 460, 

19 in order to provide additional incentives for such individ20 uals to teach in economically disadvantaged or depressed 

21 and underserved rural areas. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appro24 priated pursuant to subsection (i), the Secretary 

25 shall carry out canceling the obligation to repay a 
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1 qualified loan amount in accordance with subsection 

2 (c) for Federal Direct Stafford Loans and Federal 

3 Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans made under this 

4 part for any new borrower on or after October 1, 

5 1998, but who— 

6 ‘‘(A) is employed as a full-time teacher in 

7 a public elementary or secondary school in an 

8 economically disadvantaged or depressed and 

9 underserved rural area; 

10 ‘‘(B) has a State certification (which may 

11 include certification obtained through alter12 native means) or a State license to teach, and 

13 has not failed to comply with State or local ac14 countability standards; and 

15 ‘‘(C) is not in default on a loan for which 

16 the borrower seeks forgiveness. 

17 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—The Sec18 retary shall by regulations, establish a formula that 

19 ensures fairness and equality for applicants in the 

20 selection of borrowers for loan repayment under this 

21 section, based on the amount available pursuant to 

22 subsection (i). 

23 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED LOANS AMOUNT.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall cancel 

25 not more than the percentage specified in paragraph
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1 (2) of the loan obligation on a loan made under this 

2 part that is outstanding after the completion of each 

3 complete school year of teaching described in sub4 section (b)(1). No borrower may receive a reduction 

5 of loan obligations under both this section and sec6 tion 428J. 

7 ‘‘(2) PERCENTAGE ELIGIBLE.—The percent of 

8 the loan obligation which the Secretary shall repay 

9 under paragraph (1) of this subsection is 15 percent 

10 for the first or second year of such service, 20 per11 cent for the third or fourth year of such service, and 

12 30 percent for the fifth year of such service. 

13 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF CONSOLIDATION LOANS.—

14 A loan amount for a Federal Direct Consolidation 

15 Loan may be a qualified loan amount for the pur16 poses of this subsection only to the extent that such 

17 loan amount was used to repay a Federal Direct 

18 Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf19 ford Loan, or a loan made under section 428 or 

20 428H for a borrower who meets the requirements of 

21 subsection (b), as determined in accordance with 

22 regulations prescribed by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF YEARS OF SERVICE FOR

24 CONTINUING EDUCATION LOANS.—For purposes of 

25 paragraph (2), the year of service is determined on 
10

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1 the basis of the academic year that the borrower 

2 began the service as a full-time teacher, except that 

3 in the case of a borrower who incurs a loan obliga4 tion for continuing education expenses while teach5 ing, the year of service is determined on the basis 

6 of the academic year following the academic year for 

7 which the loan obligation was incurred. 

8 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to 

9 issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 

10 the provisions of this section. 

11 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

12 be construed to authorize any refunding of any repayment 

13 of a loan. 

14 ‘‘(f) LIST.—If the list of schools in which a teacher 

15 may perform service pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A) is 

16 not available before May 1 of any year, the Secretary may 

17 use the list for the year preceding the year for which the 

18 determination is made to make such service determination. 

19 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY PROVISIONS.—

20 ‘‘(1) CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY.—Any teacher 

21 who performs service in a school that—

22 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements of subsection 

23 (b)(1)(A) in any year during such service; and 

24 ‘‘(B) in a subsequent year fails to meet the 

25 requirements of such subsection, 
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1 may continue to teach in such school and shall be 

2 eligible for loan forgiveness pursuant to subsection 

3 (b). 

4 ‘‘(2) PREVENTION OF DOUBLE BENEFITS.—No 

5 borrower may, for the same service, receive a benefit 

6 under both this section and subtitle D of title I of 

7 the National and Community Service Act of 1990 

8 (42 U.S.C. 12571 et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(h) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) AREA.—The term ‘economically disadvan11 taged or depressed and underserved rural area’ 

12 means any of the following areas in any State (as 

13 that term is defined in section 103): 

14 ‘‘(A) A rural area that has a chronically 

15 high rate of unemployment. 

16 ‘‘(B) A rural area in which at least 30 per17 cent of the households have household incomes 

18 of less than $15,000, as determined on the 

19 basis of the most recent decennial census. 

20 ‘‘(C) An Indian reservation. 

21 ‘‘(D) Any other rural area that, as deter22 mined by regulations, has a significant shortage 

23 of educational and employment opportunities. 

24 ‘‘(2) INDIAN RESERVATION.—The term ‘Indian 

25 reservation’ includes Indian reservations, public do-
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1 main Indian allotments, former Indian reservations 

2 in Oklahoma, and land held by incorporated Native 

3 Alaskan groups, regional corporations, and village 

4 corporations under the provisions of the Alaska Na5 tive Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

6 ‘‘(3) YEAR.—The term ‘year’, where applied to 

7 service as a teacher, means an academic year as de8 fined by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

11 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2002 and 

12 each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.’’.

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