I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 647
To increase the amount of student loan forgiveness and loan cancellation 
available to qualified teachers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2003
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To increase the amount of student loan forgiveness and 
loan cancellation available to qualified teachers, and for 
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Canceling Loans to 
Allow School Systems to Attract Classroom Teachers 
Act’’.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL QUALIFIED LOAN AMOUNTS FOR STU-
DENT LOAN FORGIVENESS AND LOAN CAN-
CELLATION. 
(a) FFEL LOANS.—Section 428J of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–10) is amended—
(1) in subsection (c)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ 
and inserting ‘‘$17,500’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall repay the 
loan obligations for elementary school or secondary 
school teachers who meet the requirements of sub-
section (b) on a first-come first-served basis, subject 
to the availability of appropriations, but shall give 
priority in providing loan repayment under this 
paragraph for a fiscal year to teachers who—
‘‘(A)(i) are employed as special education 
teachers whose primary responsibility is to 
teach or support children with disabilities (as 
defined in section 602 of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Act); and 
‘‘(ii) as certified by the chief administrative 
officer of the public or nonprofit private elemen-
tary school or secondary school in which the 
borrower is employed, are teaching children 
with disabilities (as defined in section 602 of
the Individuals with Disabilities Act) that cor-
respond with the borrower’s training and have 
demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in 
the content areas of the elementary school or 
secondary school curriculum that the borrower 
is teaching; or 
‘‘(B) are employed as teachers of mathe-
matics or science in local educational agencies 
that are determined by a State educational 
agency under section 2141 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to have 
failed to make progress toward meeting the an-
nual measurable objectives described in section 
1119(a)(2) of such Act for 2 consecutive 
years.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2003 and 
each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 
(b) DIRECT LOANS.—Section 460 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087j) is amended—
(1) in subsection (c)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ 
and inserting ‘‘$17,500’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall cancel 
loan obligations under this section for elementary 
school or secondary school teachers who meet the re-
quirements of subsection (b) on a first-come first-
served basis, subject to the availability of appropria-
tions, but shall give priority in canceling loan obliga-
tions under this section for a fiscal year to teachers 
who—
‘‘(A)(i) are employed as special education 
teachers whose primary responsibility is to 
teach or support children with disabilities (as 
defined in section 602 of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Act); and 
‘‘(ii) as certified by the chief administrative 
officer of the public or nonprofit private elemen-
tary school or secondary school in which the 
borrower is employed, are teaching children 
with disabilities (as defined in section 602 of 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) 
that correspond with the borrower’s training 
and have demonstrated knowledge and teaching 
skills in the content areas of the elementary 
school or secondary school curriculum that the 
borrower is teaching; or
‘‘(B) are employed as teachers of mathe-
matics or science in local educational agencies 
that are determined by a State educational 
agency under section 2141 of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to have 
failed to make progress toward meeting the an-
nual measurable objectives described in section 
1119(a)(2) of such Act for 2 consecutive 
years.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2003 and 
each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’.
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