I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3926 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve the service 
obligation verification process for TEACH Grant recipients, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 23, 2019 
Mr. VISCLOSKY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to 
improve the service obligation verification process for 
TEACH Grant recipients, 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 ‘‘Consider Teachers 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TEACH GRANT. 
(a) AGREEMENTS TO SERVE.—Section 420N(b) of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–2(b) 
is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking ‘‘upon 
completion’’ and inserting ‘‘by not later than Octo-
ber 31 after completion’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘failed or re-
fused to carry out such service obligation’’ and in-
serting ‘‘not completed the applicant’s service obliga-
tion within the 8-year period described in paragraph 
(1)(A) or the applicant withdraws from such service 
obligation’’. 
(b) REPAYMENT FOR FAILURE TO COMPLETE SERV-
ICE.—Section 420N(c) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–2(c) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(c) REPAYMENT
FOR
FAILURE
TO
COMPLETE 
SERVICE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that the Sec-
retary determines that any recipient of a grant 
under this subpart has not completed the recipient’s 
service obligation under subsection (b) or has with-
drawn from such service obligation, the sum of the 
amounts of any TEACH Grants received by such re-
cipient shall, upon such a determination, be treated 
as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan 
under part D, and shall be subject to repayment, to-
gether with interest thereon accruing from the date 
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of the grant award, in accordance with terms and 
conditions specified by the Secretary in regulations 
under this subpart. 
‘‘(2) RECONSIDERATION
OF
LOAN
TREAT-
MENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the event that the 
Secretary has made a determination under 
paragraph (1) with respect to a recipient of a 
grant under this subpart that results in such 
grant being treated as a Federal Direct Unsub-
sidized Stafford Loan under part D— 
‘‘(i) upon request of such recipient, 
the Secretary shall reconsider the deter-
mination; and 
‘‘(ii) such recipient may submit to the 
Secretary additional information to dem-
onstrate that— 
‘‘(I) the recipient has completed 
the service obligation within the 8- 
year period described in subsection 
(b)(1)(A); or 
‘‘(II) the 8-year period for com-
pletion of such service obligation has 
not yet expired. 
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‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF RECONSIDERATION.— 
If, in reconsidering a determination under sub-
paragraph (A), the Secretary determines that 
the recipient has, as of the date of the reconsid-
eration, demonstrated that the recipient has 
completed the service obligation within the 8- 
year period described in subsection (b)(1)(A), 
or that the 8-year period for completion of such 
service obligation has not yet expired, the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(i) cancel the amount of principal, 
interest accrued, or any fees that are out-
standing on the Federal Direct Unsub-
sidized Stafford Loan made to the recipi-
ent under this subpart, reinstate the recipi-
ent’s grant under this subpart, and extend 
the 8-year service period described in sub-
section (b)(1)(A) by an amount equal to 
the period during which such grant was 
treated as such loan; 
‘‘(ii) if the recipient has an out-
standing obligation on another loan made 
under part D, apply any payments made 
on such Federal Direct Unsubsidized Staf-
ford Loan toward such other loan, and in 
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a case in which the recipient has an out-
standing obligation on multiple loans made 
under part D, enable the borrower to de-
termine how such payments shall be ap-
plied toward such loans; 
‘‘(iii) if the recipient does not have an 
outstanding obligation on any other loan 
made under part D, reimburse the recipi-
ent for any amounts paid on such Federal 
Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan; and 
‘‘(iv) count any period of service of 
the recipient that meets the requirements 
of subsection (b)(1) and that was com-
pleted while the grant was being treated as 
such Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford 
Loan, toward the recipient’s service obliga-
tion under subsection (b)(1). 
‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
in this paragraph shall be construed to mean 
that the service obligation under this subpart is 
waived.’’. 
(c) COMMUNICATION WITH RECIPIENTS.—Section 
420N(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1070g–2(d) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(3) COMMUNICATION WITH RECIPIENTS.—Not 
later than October 5 of each year, the Secretary 
shall notify each recipient of a grant under this sub-
part of the following: 
‘‘(A) The terms and conditions the recipi-
ent must continue to meet to satisfy their serv-
ice obligation in the agreement under sub-
section (b). 
‘‘(B) The requirement and means for the 
recipient to provide evidence of qualified em-
ployment to the Secretary described under sub-
section (b)(1)(D). 
‘‘(C) The amount of service the Secretary 
has counted towards the recipients’ service obli-
gation in the agreement under subsection (b). 
‘‘(D) The period remaining for the recipi-
ent to complete the recipient’s service obligation 
in the agreement under subsection (b). 
‘‘(E) The conditions under which the Sec-
retary will treat a TEACH Grant as a loan 
under subsection (c)(1). 
‘‘(F) The amount of interest that may ac-
crue and that the recipient will be required to 
pay if such grant is treated as a loan under 
subsection (c)(1). 
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‘‘(G) The process under which the recipi-
ent may contact the Secretary to request a re-
consideration under subsection (c)(2). 
‘‘(H) The process under which a recipient 
may request to have a portion of the recipient’s 
service obligation excused pursuant to sub-
section (d)(2). 
‘‘(I) The process under which a recipient 
may request to withdraw from the recipient’s 
service obligation under subsection (b).’’. 
Æ 
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