Title: Encourage our Educators Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Encourage our Educators Act
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify provisions of the teacher loan forgiveness program.
Specifically, the legislation reduces from five to three years the period of service a full-time teacher must complete consecutively to be eligible for forgiveness under the Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan program. It also increases from $5,000 to $17,500 the amount of available loan forgiveness for an elementary or secondary school teacher in any subject. (Currently, forgiveness up to $17,500 is only available for a full-time secondary school math or science teacher or for a special education teacher.)
The bill eliminates the prohibition on counting the same qualifying service for both the teacher and the public service loan forgiveness programs.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 414 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 414

  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow an individual to 
   qualify for both teacher loan forgiveness and public service loan 
                  forgiveness, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 10, 2017

Mrs. Lawrence introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow an individual to 
   qualify for both teacher loan forgiveness and public service loan 
                  forgiveness, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Encourage our Educators Act''.

SEC. 2. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACHERS.

    (a) Part B.--Section 428J of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1078-10) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter preceding 
        subparagraph (A), by striking ``5'' and inserting ``3'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``$5,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$17,500''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``fifth'' and inserting 
                        ``third''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (3); and
            (3) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) by inserting ``or'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (A); and
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (B).
    (b) Part D.--Section 460 of the Higher Education of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087j) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1), in the matter preceding 
        subparagraph (A), by striking ``5'' and inserting ``3'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``$5,000'' and inserting 
                        ``$17,500''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``fifth'' and inserting 
                        ``third''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (3); and
            (3) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) by inserting ``or'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (A); and
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (B).

SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    Section 455(m)(4) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(m)(4)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``428J,''; and
            (2) by striking ``428L, or 460'' and inserting ``, or 
        428L''.
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