Bill Text: MS SB2732 | 2019 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Student Financial Aid; repeal discontinued grant and forgivable loan programs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-03-05 - Died In Committee [SB2732 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2019-SB2732-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Universities and Colleges; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Harkins
Senate Bill 2732
(As Passed the Senate)
AN ACT TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-35, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE ASSISTANT TEACHER FORGIVABLE LOAN PROGRAM; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-41, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CHILDREN OF ARMED SERVICES MEMBERS REPORTED AS PRISONERS OF WAR OR MISSING IN ACTION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-43, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC MANAGEMENT GRADUATE INTERN PROGRAM; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-61, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE STATE MEDICAL FORGIVABLE LOAN PROGRAM; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-63, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE STATE DENTAL FORGIVABLE LOAN PROGRAM; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-65, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE OUT-OF-STATE GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL FORGIVABLE LOAN PROGRAM; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-67, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONS FORGIVABLE LOAN PROGRAM; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-69, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE FAMILY PROTECTION SPECIALIST SOCIAL WORKER FORGIVABLE LOAN PROGRAM; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-77, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE TEACHING FELLOWS PROGRAM; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-106-79, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE TEACHER EDUCATION ALTERNATE ROUTE CERTIFICATION SCHOLARS PROGRAM; TO AMEND SECTION 37-106-55, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE THE REFERENCE TO THE TEACHING FELLOWS PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-106-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the Assistant Teacher Forgivable Loan Program, is repealed.
SECTION 2. Section 37-106-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides scholarships for the children of armed services members who were prisoners of war or missing in action in Southeast Asia, is repealed.
SECTION 3. Section 37-106-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the Mississippi Public Management Graduate Intern Program, is repealed.
SECTION 4. Section 37-106-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the State Medical Forgivable Loan Program, is repealed.
SECTION 5. Section 37-106-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the State Dental Forgivable Loan Program, is repealed.
SECTION 6. Section 37-106-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the Out-of-state Graduate and Professional School Forgivable Loan Program, is repealed.
SECTION 7. Section 37-106-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the Health Care Professions Forgivable Loan Program, is repealed.
SECTION 8. Section 37-106-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the Family Protection Specialist Social Worker Forgivable Loan Program, is repealed.
SECTION 9. Section 37-106-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the Teaching Fellows Program, is repealed.
SECTION 10. Section 37-106-79, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides for the Teacher Education Alternate Route Certification Scholars Program, is repealed.
SECTION 11. Section 37-106-55, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-106-55. (1) There is established the "Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program," the purpose of which is to attract qualified teachers to those geographical areas of the state and those subject areas of the curriculum where there exists a critical shortage of teachers by awarding forgivable loans to persons declaring an intention to serve in the teaching field who actually render service to the state while possessing an appropriate teaching license.
(2) Individuals shall not
be eligible to enroll in the Critical Needs Teacher Scholarship Program after
the 2014-2015 academic year * * *.
Any individual who is enrolled in or accepted for enrollment at a teacher
education program approved by the State Board of Education or other program at
a baccalaureate degree-granting institution of higher learning in the State of
Mississippi and has a passing score on the Praxis I Basic Skills Test who
expresses in writing an intention to teach in a geographical area of the state
or a subject area of the public school curriculum in which there exists a critical
shortage of teachers, as designated by the State Board of Education, shall be
eligible for a forgivable loan to be applied toward the costs of the
individual's college education. The annual amount of the award shall be equal
to the total cost for tuition, room and meals, books, materials and fees at the
college or university in which the student is enrolled, not to exceed an amount
equal to the highest total cost of tuition, room and meals, books, materials
and fees assessed by a state institution of higher learning during that school
year. Awards made to nonresidents of the state shall not include any amount
assessed by the college or university for out-of-state tuition.
(3) Awards granted under the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program shall be available to both full-time and part-time students. Students enrolling on a full-time basis may receive a maximum of two (2) annual awards. The maximum number of awards that may be made to students attending school on a part-time basis, and the maximum time period for part-time students to complete the number of academic hours necessary to obtain a baccalaureate degree in education, shall be established by rules and regulations promulgated by the board. Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loans shall not be based upon an applicant's financial need.
(4) Awards granted under the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program shall be made available to nontraditional licensed teachers showing a documented need for student loan repayment and employed in those school districts designated by the State Board of Education as a geographical area of the state or in a subject area of the curriculum in which there is a critical shortage of teachers. The maximum annual amount of this repayment should not exceed Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00) and the maximum time period for repayment shall be no more than four (4) years.
(5) Except in those cases where employment positions may not be available upon completion of licensure requirements, at the beginning of the first school year in which a recipient of a Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan is eligible for employment as a licensed teacher or a nontraditional teacher intern pursuant to Section 37-3-2(6)(b), that person shall begin to render service as a licensed teacher or nontraditional teacher intern in a public school district in a geographical area of the state or a subject area of the curriculum where there is a critical shortage of teachers, as approved by the State Board of Education.
(6) Failure to repay any loan and interest that becomes due shall be cause for the revocation of a person's teaching license by the State Board of Education.
(7) Repayment and conversion terms shall be the same as those outlined in Section 37-106-53.
(8) The board shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the proper administration of the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program.
(9) The State Board of Education shall compile and report, in consultation with the board, an annual report with findings and recommendations to the legislative committees on education by December 1, 2003, and annually thereafter, on the following:
(a) The number of participants in the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program, by institution and by freshman, sophomore, junior and senior level;
(b) The number of nontraditional teacher license program participants;
(c) The number of individuals who completed the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program and the school district in which they are employed;
(d) The number of individuals who are in default of their obligation under the Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program and the status of their obligation;
(e) The number of participants in the program who have successfully completed the Praxis examination in their junior year; and
(f) The number of noneducation majors participating in the program.
(10) Where local school districts exhibit financial need, the State Department of Education may, subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, provide financial assistance for the recruitment of certified teachers in an amount not to exceed Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) annually.
This section shall stand repealed July 1, 2020.
SECTION 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.
