The board shall establish a planning committee to develop criteria for the screening and selection of recipients of the conditional scholarships. These criteria shall emphasize factors demonstrating excellence including but not limited to leadership ability, community contributions, and an ability to act as a role model for all students. The board may waive grade point requirements for an otherwise eligible individual under special circumstances. The board may award conditional scholarships to eligible classified employees from the funds appropriated to the board for this purpose, or from any private donations, or any other funds given to the board for this program. The amount of the conditional scholarship awarded an individual shall not exceed three thousand dollars per academic year.
Students are eligible to receive conditional scholarships for a maximum of five years.
The period for repayment shall be ten years, with payments of principal and interest accruing quarterly commencing nine months from the date the participant completes or discontinues the course of study. Provisions for deferral of payment shall be determined by the board. The entire principal and interest of each payment shall be forgiven for each payment period in which the participant teaches in an approved education program until the entire repayment obligation is satisfied. Should the participant cease to teach in an approved education program in this state before the participant's repayment obligation is completed, payments on the unsatisfied portion of the principal and interest shall begin the next payment period and continue until the remainder of the participant's repayment obligation is satisfied. The board is responsible for collection of repayments made under this section and shall exercise due diligence in such collection, maintaining all necessary records to ensure that maximum repayments are made.