Title: Teacher Loan Repayment Act of 2017
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Teacher Loan Repayment Act of 2017
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the financial aid programs for teachers.
Specifically, it terminates the authority of the Department of Education (ED) to: (1) award new grants under the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant program, and (2) enter new loan forgiveness agreements under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program.
The bill authorizes and directs ED to administer a new loan repayment for teachers program. To qualify, a borrower must be a full-time teacher in a low-income school or location and meet other requirements. ED, on behalf of a qualified borrower, makes $250-$400 direct monthly payments on Federal Family Education Loan or Direct Loan program subsidized, unsubsidized, and, in certain circumstances, consolidation Loans.
To remain eligible for loan repayment, a borrower must continue to be employed in the school or location of initial eligibility.
The total maximum loan repayment amount is $23,400 over six years. A borrower must repay the remaining principal and interest.
An individual who currently participates in the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program may continue participating in such program or enter the new loan repayment for teachers program.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1247 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1247

    To provide for loan repayment for teachers in high-need schools.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 25, 2017

 Mr. Hatch (for himself and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for loan repayment for teachers in high-need schools.

    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 ``Teacher Loan Repayment Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. LOAN REPAYMENT FOR TEACHERS.

    (a) Sunsets.--The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et 
seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 420O--
                    (A) by striking ``Beginning'' and inserting ``(a) 
                In General.--Beginning''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Sunset.--Beginning on the date of enactment of the Teacher 
Loan Repayment Act of 2017, the Secretary shall not award funds under 
this subpart for new TEACH Grants.'';
            (2) in section 428J, by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Sunset.--Beginning on the date of enactment of the Teacher 
Loan Repayment Act of 2017, the Secretary shall not enter into a new 
agreement to assume the obligation to repay a qualified loan amount 
under this section.'';
            (3) in section 428K--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 
                (i); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (g) the 
                following:
    ``(h) Sunset.--Beginning on the date of enactment of the Teacher 
Loan Repayment Act of 2017, the Secretary shall not enter into a new 
agreement to forgive a qualified loan amount under this section.''; and
            (4) in section 460, by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Sunset.--Beginning on the date of enactment of the Teacher 
Loan Repayment Act of 2017, the Secretary shall not enter into a new 
agreement to cancel the obligation to repay a qualified loan amount 
under this section.''.
    (b) Loan Repayment for Teachers.--Title IV of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

                 ``PART J--LOAN REPAYMENT FOR TEACHERS

``SEC. 499A. LOAN REPAYMENT FOR TEACHERS.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to encourage highly 
qualified individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession, 
and to ensure qualified effective teachers are encouraged to work in 
high-need schools.
    ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Child with a disability.--The term `child with a 
        disability' has the meaning given the term in section 602 of 
        the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
            ``(2) Student loan.--The term `student loan' means a loan--
                    ``(A) made, insured, or guaranteed under part B, 
                except as provided in subparagraph (C);
                    ``(B) made under part D or E, except as provided in 
                subparagraph (C); or
                    ``(C) made under section 428C or 455(g), to the 
                extent that such loan was used to repay a Federal 
                Direct Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized 
                Stafford Loan, or a loan made under section 428 or 
                428H.
    ``(c) Program Authorized.--The Secretary shall carry out a program 
under which the Department of Education shall assume the obligation to 
repay a student loan, by direct payments on behalf of a borrower to the 
holder of such loan, in accordance with subsection (e), for any 
borrower who--
            ``(1) is not in default on a loan for which the borrower 
        seeks forgiveness; and
            ``(2) is employed as a full-time teacher for service in an 
        academic year (including such a teacher employed by an 
        educational service agency)--
                    ``(A) in a public elementary school or secondary 
                school, which, for the purpose of this paragraph and 
                for that year--
                            ``(i) has been determined by the Secretary 
                        (after consultation with the State educational 
                        agency of the State in which the school is 
                        located) to be a school in which the number of 
                        children meeting a measure of poverty under 
                        section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and 
                        Secondary Education Act of 1965, is not less 
                        than 40 percent of the total number of children 
                        enrolled in such school; and
                            ``(ii) is in a school district served by a 
                        local educational agency that is eligible in 
                        such year for assistance pursuant to part A of 
                        title I of the Elementary and Secondary 
                        Education Act of 1965; or
                    ``(B) in a public elementary school or secondary 
                school or location operated by an educational service 
                agency, which, for the purpose of this paragraph and 
                for that year, has been determined by the Secretary 
                (after consultation with the State educational agency 
                of the State in which the educational service agency 
                operates) to be a school or location in which the 
                number of children taught who meet a measure of poverty 
                under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and 
                Secondary Education Act of 1965, is not less than 40 
                percent of the total number of children taught at such 
                school or location.
    ``(d) Special Rules.--
            ``(1) List.--If the list of schools in which a teacher may 
        perform service pursuant to subsection (c)(2) is not available 
        before May 1 of any year, the Secretary may use the list for 
        the year preceding the year for which the determination is made 
        to make such service determination.
            ``(2) Continuing eligibility.--Any teacher who performs 
        service in a school during which time their service meets the 
        requirements of subsection (c)(2) in any year, and, in a 
        subsequent year, fails to meet the requirements of such 
        subsection, may continue to teach in such school and shall be 
        eligible for loan cancellation pursuant to this section in 
        subsequent years.
            ``(3) Choice of loan repayment program.--An individual who, 
        on the date of enactment of the Teacher Loan Repayment Act of 
        2017, is participating in a loan repayment program under 
        section 428J, 428K, or 460, may choose to continue to 
        participate in such program or may enter into participation in 
        the program under this section if eligible to participate in 
        the program under this section.
    ``(e) Terms of Loan Repayment.--
            ``(1) Borrower agreement.--The Secretary and an individual 
        who desires to receive student loan repayment under this 
        section shall enter into an agreement that includes a provision 
        that to remain eligible to receive student loan repayment under 
        this section, the individual shall remain employed in the 
        school or location for which the individual gained eligibility 
        for student loan repayment under this section.
            ``(2) Student loan payment amount.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the agreement described in 
                paragraph (1), the Secretary shall agree to make a 
                student loan payment for such individual of $250 a 
                month for the first and second year of teaching, $300 a 
                month for the third year of teaching, $350 a month for 
                the fourth year of teaching, and $400 a month for the 
                fifth and sixth year of teaching.
                    ``(B) Maximum total amount.--The maximum total 
                amount of student loan payments made by the Secretary 
                for an individual under this section shall be $23,400.
                    ``(C) Remaining balance.--An individual shall enter 
                repayment on any remaining principal and interest due 
                on a student loan for which the Secretary has made 
                payments under this section after the maximum total 
                amount has been reached under subparagraph (B).
            ``(3) Beginning of payments.--Nothing in this section shall 
        authorize the Secretary to pay any amount to reimburse a 
        borrower for any student loan payments made by such borrower 
        prior to the date on which the Secretary entered into an 
        agreement with the borrower under this subsection.''.
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