CA Educ Code § 69617 (2021)
2021 California Code|Education Code - EDC|TITLE 3 - POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION|DIVISION 5 - GENERAL PROVISIONS|PART 42 - STUDENT FINANCIAL AID PROGRAM|CHAPTER 2 - Student Financial Aid Programs|ARTICLE 5.1 - Golden State Teacher Grant Program|Section 69617.

69617.  (a) (1) Subject to moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of this section, the commission shall administer the Golden State Teacher Grant Program. Under the program, the commission shall provide one-time grant funds of up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) to each student enrolled on or after January 1, 2020, in a professional preparation program leading to a preliminary teaching credential, at either a qualifying institution, as defined in subdivision (l) of Section 69432.7, or a teacher preparation program approved by the Commission on Teaching Credentialing that has a main campus location or administrative entity that resides in California, including teacher preparation programs operated by local educational agencies in California, if the student commits to working in a high-need field at a priority school for four years after the student receives the teaching credential.(2) Funds appropriated for the Golden State Teacher Grant Program in the Budget Act of 2020 and the Budget Act of 2021 shall be available for encumbrance or expenditure by the commission until June 30, 2026.(3) Grant funds shall be used to supplement and not supplant other sources of grant financial aid.(b) The one-time grant funds issued pursuant to this section shall not exceed the amount appropriated for the Golden State Teacher Grant Program in the Budget Act of 2020 and the Budget Act of 2021.(c) (1) A grant recipient shall agree to teach in a high-need field at a priority school for four years and shall have five years, upon completion of the recipient’s professional preparation program, to meet that obligation. Except as provided in paragraph (4), a grant recipient shall agree to repay the state 25 percent of the total received grant funds annually, up to full repayment of the received grant funds, for each year the recipient fails to do one or more of the following:(A) Be enrolled in or have successfully completed a teacher preparation program approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.(B) While enrolled in the teacher preparation program, maintain good academic standing.(C) Upon completion of the teacher preparation program, satisfy the state basic skills proficiency test requirement pursuant to Sections 44252 and 44252.5.(D) Complete the required teaching service following completion of the recipient’s teacher preparation program.(2) Nonperformance of the commitment to teach in a high-need field at a priority school for four years shall be certified by the State Department of Education.(3) Nonperformance of the commitment to earn a preliminary teaching credential in a high-need field shall be certified by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to the Student Aid Commission.(4) Any exceptions to the requirement for repayment shall be defined by the commission, and may include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, counting a school year towards the required four-year teaching requirement if a grant recipient is unable to complete the school year when any of the following occur:(A) The grant recipient has completed at least one-half of the school year.(B) The employer deems the grant recipient to have fulfilled the grant recipient’s contractual requirements for the school year for the purposes of salary increases, probationary or permanent status, and retirement.(C) The grant recipient was not able to teach due to the financial circumstances of the school district, including a decision to not reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year.(D) The grant recipient has a condition covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.) or similar state law.(E) The grant recipient was called or ordered to active duty status for more than 30 days as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.(d) The commission may use up to 1.5 percent of funding appropriated for purposes of this section for outreach and administration.(e) For purposes of this section, “high-need field” means any of the following:(1) Bilingual education.(2) Mathematics or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including computer science and career technical education in STEM subjects.(3) Science.(4) Special education.(5) Multiple subject instruction.(6) Transitional kindergarten.(7) Other subjects as designated annually by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing based on an analysis of the availability of teachers in California pursuant to Section 44225.6.(f) (1) A “priority school” means a school with 55 percent or more of its pupils being unduplicated pupils, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 42238.02.(2) The commission, in coordination with the State Department of Education, shall publish a list of priority schools by January 1 of each year for which money has been appropriated by the Legislature to support grants pursuant to this section.(g) The commission may adopt regulations necessary for the implementation of the Golden State Teacher Grant program. The commission may adopt emergency regulations it deems necessary for the implementation of this program, in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). For purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, including Section 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption of those regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare, notwithstanding subdivision (e) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code.(h) The commission shall conduct an evaluation of the Golden State Teacher Grant Program to determine the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs in recruiting, developing support systems for, and retaining special education, bilingual education, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers and teachers of color. The commission shall provide, with respect to the evaluation, a report to the Department of Finance and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on or before December 31, 2025, and every two years thereafter.(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 262, Sec. 9. (SB 169) Effective September 23, 2021.)