PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 1086, 1207 PRINTER'S NO. 2127
No. 919 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY D. EVANS, ROEBUCK, BAKER, DePASQUALE, FREEMAN, GALLOWAY, GRUCELA, JOSEPHS, W. KELLER, KING, KORTZ, LEACH, McILHATTAN, MELIO, MURT, MYERS, M. O'BRIEN, PALLONE, PARKER, PAYTON, PRESTON, READSHAW, SOLOBAY, STURLA, TANGRETTI, THOMAS, WALKO, YOUNGBLOOD AND LONGIETTI, MARCH 29, 2007
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, JUNE 27, 2007
AN ACT 1 Providing for Commonwealth support for a Specialty Teacher Loan 2 Forgiveness Program for Pennsylvania residents who graduate 3 from institutions of higher education and who apply their 4 degrees to teaching certain subjects in urban and rural <-- 5 public schools in this Commonwealth and for Commonwealth 6 support for a Professional Personnel Recruitment Initiative 7 Program to provide grants to certain institutions of higher 8 education; and making appropriations. 9 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 10 hereby enacts as follows: 11 CHAPTER 1 12 GENERAL PROVISIONS 13 Section 101. Short title. 14 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Teach for 15 Pennsylvania Program Act. 16 Section 102. Findings and declaration of intent. 17 The General Assembly finds and declares that: 18 (1) The number of college students planning to enter the 19 teaching profession in urban and rural areas THE COMMONWEALTH <--
1 OF PENNSYLVANIA appears to be inadequate to meet the need for 2 specialty teachers in those public schools. 3 (2) Demand from industry and other opportunities attract 4 existing and potential teachers away from specialty teaching 5 positions in urban and rural THE public school districts of <-- 6 this Commonwealth. 7 (3) The pool of qualified specialty teachers, especially 8 math, reading, computer science, science and special 9 education, and principals has diminished. 10 (4) Economically hard-pressed urban and rural school <-- 11 districts find it difficult to attract qualified specialty 12 teachers or principals from the diminished pool. 13 (5) Payment of a portion of student loans for certified 14 specialty teachers serves the important public purpose of 15 encouraging new teachers to teach in rural and urban areas of <-- 16 this Commonwealth. 17 Section 103. Definitions. 18 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 19 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 20 context clearly indicates otherwise: 21 "Agency." The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance 22 Agency. 23 "Designated specialty teacher certification category." Any 24 specialty category or subject area that a teacher is certified 25 to teach in this Commonwealth and that is determined by the 26 Secretary of Education under this act as a category or subject 27 area with an insufficient number of teachers to meet the 28 education needs of a designated urban or rural public school <-- 29 district. The secretary's determination of the specialty teacher 30 certification categories for each eligible urban or rural public <-- 20070H0919B2127 - 2 -
1 school district shall be based on recommendations from the 2 school district's superintendent regarding recruitment or 3 personnel needs for specialty teachers or information from the 4 Department of Education, organized by school district, which 5 demonstrates any distribution of emergency, special temporary or 6 special permanent teacher certificates for specialty category or 7 subject areas. 8 "Designated urban or rural public school district." An <-- 9 eligible urban or rural public school district which the <-- 10 Secretary of Education has certified as having a need for 11 teacher loan forgiveness assistance or teacher or principal 12 recruitment because of difficulty in attracting specialty 13 teachers or principals who are qualified. 14 "Eligible rural public school district." A public school <-- 15 district that has a population of less than 300 per square mile 16 and either: 17 (1) more than 8% of the pupils in average daily 18 membership are low-income pupils as defined in section 19 2502.11 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known 20 as the Public School Code of 1949; or 21 (2) the market value/income aid ratio as defined in 22 section 2501 of the Public School Code of 1949 is greater 23 than .7. 24 The term shall also apply to an intermediate unit or area 25 vocational-technical school if the composite data for all 26 participating school districts meet the criteria specified in 27 Chapter 3. 28 "Eligible urban public school district." A public school <-- 29 district that has a population greater than 850 per square mile 30 and either: 20070H0919B2127 - 3 -
1 (1) more than 8% of the pupils in average daily 2 membership are low-income pupils as defined in section 3 2502.11 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known 4 as the Public School Code of 1949; or 5 (2) the market value/income aid ratio, as defined in 6 section 2501 of the Public School Code of 1949, is greater 7 than .7. 8 The term shall also apply to an intermediate unit or area 9 vocational-technical school if the composite data for all 10 participating school districts meet the criteria specified in 11 Chapter 3. 12 "Program." The Specialty Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program 13 created by Chapter 3. 14 "Qualified applicant." A person who meets all of the 15 following criteria: 16 (1) Has graduated from an undergraduate or graduate 17 college and completed a teacher education curriculum or 18 program. 19 (2) Has achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in 20 the applicant's major area of study. 21 (3) Has completed the National Teaching Exam as 22 administered by the Educational Testing Service and achieved 23 a minimum score, as determined by the Secretary of Education, 24 in the Core Battery Exams that relate to general knowledge, 25 communications and professional knowledge and in any 26 designated specialty teacher certification category or any 27 combination of those categories. 28 (4) Holds a form of teacher certification to teach in 29 the public schools of this Commonwealth, valid for the 30 subjects or grades in which the teacher is giving 20070H0919B2127 - 4 -
1 instruction. 2 (5) Is within the first five years of full-time teaching 3 and: 4 (i) has achieved consecutive better-than-average <-- 5 SATISFACTORY teacher evaluation performance ratings; or <-- 6 (ii) in the case of a teacher having worked more 7 than five months but less than one year, has obtained a 8 better-than-average SATISFACTORY new-hire probationary <-- 9 review. 10 (6) Is teaching in a designated specialty teacher 11 certification category at a designated urban or rural public <-- 12 school district or at a nonprofit public school in such 13 district at which students may fulfill compulsory attendance 14 requirements. 15 (7) Has borrowed through the agency-administered Federal 16 Stafford Loan Program. 17 (8) Commits to residing in the urban or rural public <-- 18 school district in which the applicant is teaching for a 19 minimum period of five years. 20 CHAPTER 3 21 SPECIALTY TEACHER LOAN FORGIVENESS 22 Section 301. Specialty Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program. 23 (a) General rule.--Qualified applicants who are selected for 24 the Specialty Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program in accordance 25 with this chapter shall be eligible for payment by the agency of 26 a portion of the debt incurred by the applicant through the 27 agency-administered Federal Stafford Loan Program for the 28 education necessary to be certified to teach in this 29 Commonwealth. Subject to subsection (b), for each academic year 30 that the qualified applicant is a full-time teacher in a 20070H0919B2127 - 5 -
1 designated urban or rural public school district, the agency may <-- 2 forgive a part of the applicant's loan as follows: 3 (1) Year one, 5%. 4 (2) Year two, 10%. 5 (3) Year three, 20%. 6 (4) Year four, 25%. 7 (5) Year five, 40%. 8 (b) Amounts to be forgiven.-- 9 (1) Where a qualified applicant has achieved a 3.51 to 10 4.0 grade point average on a scale of 4.0 or the equivalent 11 for teaching certification in a designated specialty teacher 12 certification category, no more than $5,000 shall be forgiven 13 in any year, and no more than $25,000 shall be forgiven for 14 the qualified applicant who satisfies the requirements of 15 this chapter. 16 (2) Where a qualified applicant has achieved a 3.0 to 17 3.5 grade point average on a scale of 4.0 or the equivalent 18 for teaching certification in a designated specialty teacher 19 certification category, no more than $2,500 shall be forgiven 20 in any year, and no more than $12,500 shall be forgiven for 21 the qualified applicant who satisfies the requirements of 22 this chapter. 23 (c) Designations.--The Secretary of Education shall 24 designate specialty teacher certification categories and 25 eligible urban and rural public school districts no later than <-- 26 January 1 of the year preceding the beginning of an academic 27 year during which qualified applicants are eligible for loan 28 forgiveness. 29 Section 302. Loan forgiveness awards. 30 (A) DOCUMENTATION.--A recipient for loan forgiveness shall <-- 20070H0919B2127 - 6 -
1 be required to submit such documentation of continued 2 eligibility as the agency may require. A recipient who fails to 3 maintain eligibility shall be removed from the program and shall 4 repay, with interest, any loan forgiveness award made by the 5 agency to the recipient during any period of ineligibility. 6 (B) WAIVER OF REPAYMENT.--UPON APPLICATION OF THE RECIPIENT <-- 7 OF THE LOAN FORGIVENESS AWARD, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL WAIVE THE 8 REPAYMENT REQUIREMENT IF THE DEPARTMENT FINDS THAT THE RECIPIENT 9 WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ELIGIBILITY IN THE PROGRAM DUE TO 10 ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION ON THE PART OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR 11 OTHER THAN CAUSES ENUMERATED IN SECTION 1122 OF THE ACT OF MARCH 12 10, 1949 (P.L.30, NO.14), KNOWN AS THE PUBLIC SCHOOL CODE OF 13 1949, OR UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ELIGIBILITY DUE TO ILLNESS OR 14 CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS OF A MEMBER OF THE RECIPIENT'S IMMEDIATE 15 FAMILY, OR PARENTAL LEAVE TO CARE FOR A NEWBORN OR NEWLY ADOPTED 16 CHILD AND MAY WAIVE THE REPAYMENT REQUIREMENT DUE TO OTHER 17 EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES. 18 Section 303. Funding. 19 Loan forgiveness awards may be made to the extent that funds 20 are appropriated by the General Assembly and are sufficient to 21 cover the administration of the program. In the event that 22 funding is insufficient to fully fund administration and all 23 eligible applicants, the agency shall utilize a random lottery <-- 24 system for determining which applicants receive loan forgiveness 25 awards. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS, PRIORITY FUNDING SHALL BE GIVEN TO <-- 26 ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS CURRENTLY RECEIVING LOAN FORGIVENESS AWARDS 27 UNDER THIS PROGRAM. 28 Section 304. Responsibility of agency. 29 (A) ADMINISTRATION.--It shall be the responsibility of the <-- 30 agency to administer the Specialty Teacher Loan Forgiveness 20070H0919B2127 - 7 -
1 Program established by this chapter and to adopt such 2 regulations, policies, procedures and forms as are necessary and 3 consistent with the provisions of this chapter. 4 (B) ANNUAL REPORT.--THE AGENCY SHALL PROVIDE AN ANNUAL <-- 5 REPORT ON THE LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM TO THE DEPARTMENT OF 6 EDUCATION AND THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE AND THE 7 EDUCATION COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND POST A 8 COPY OF THE ANNUAL REPORT ON ITS PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE INTERNET 9 WEBSITE BY APRIL 1 OF EACH CALENDAR YEAR. THE ANNUAL REPORT 10 SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, INFORMATION REGARDING THE 11 PROGRAM'S OPERATIONS, NUMBER OF LOAN FORGIVENESS RECIPIENTS, THE 12 TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF LOAN FORGIVENESS AWARDED, THE NUMBER OF 13 NAMES OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHERE RECIPIENTS RECEIVING LOAN 14 FORGIVENESS ARE EMPLOYED AND THE AMOUNT OF PROJECTED LOAN 15 FORGIVENESS TO BE AWARDED TO RECIPIENTS IN THEIR FIVE YEARS IN 16 THE PROGRAM. 17 CHAPTER 5 18 PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL RECRUITMENT INITIATIVE 19 Section 501. Program authorization. 20 The Secretary of Education shall make awards to eligible 21 applicants, on a competitive basis, for efforts that result in 22 the recruitment of highly qualified teachers and principals. 23 Recruitment efforts regarding highly qualified teachers shall be 24 limited to individuals who will teach in a designated specialty 25 teacher certification category. All recruitment efforts paid for 26 by these funds shall be directed to providing teachers and 27 principals who agree to both work and live WORK in designated <-- 28 urban or rural public school districts. Awards to eligible <-- 29 applicants shall be made for a five-year period and shall be 30 subject to renewal without limit. 20070H0919B2127 - 8 -
1 Section 502. Eligible applicant. 2 An eligible applicant shall be a Pennsylvania-based 3 institution of higher education with an approved teacher 4 education program and/or an approved certification program for 5 elementary and secondary principals. 6 Section 503. Grant requirements. 7 To be eligible for a grant, an eligible applicant must submit 8 a proposal containing the following: 9 (1) A narrative statement explaining how the proposal 10 will result in meeting the goals of the program as described 11 in section 501. 12 (2) A demonstration that the application was developed 13 in association with participating designated urban or rural <-- 14 public school districts, teacher professional organizations 15 and administrator professional organizations. 16 (3) An assessment of the need for teachers in a 17 designated specialty teacher certification category or for 18 principals to demonstrate that the participating designated 19 urban or rural public school districts are underserved in <-- 20 either one or both categories of professional personnel. 21 (4) A plan demonstrating how potential teachers and 22 principals will be recruited for participation in a program. 23 The plan must assure that recruitment efforts will result in 24 an increase in candidates above the average numbers prepared 25 by the eligible applicant for the past five years. The plan 26 must show what types of support will be given to candidates 27 in areas such as, but not limited to, scholarships, academic 28 support, PRAXIS TEST PREPARATION and placement efforts. The <-- 29 plan must include a multiyear program of professional support 30 for newly hired teachers and principals. 20070H0919B2127 - 9 -
1 Section 504. Requirements for program participants. 2 (a) Teacher participants.--Program participants who are 3 teachers must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. 4 Such participants must complete the National Teaching Exam as 5 administered by the Educational Testing Service and achieve a 6 minimum score, as determined by the Secretary of Education, in 7 the Core Battery Exams that relate to general knowledge, 8 communications and professional knowledge and in any designated 9 specialty teacher certification category or any combination of 10 those categories. Such participants must agree to both teach in <-- 11 and reside in a participating designated urban or rural public <-- 12 school district for at least five years or repay all financial 13 assistance. Participants must maintain a satisfactory job 14 performance rating. 15 (b) Principal participants.--Program participants who are 16 principals must meet all requirements of the Department of 17 Education for certification as an elementary and/or secondary 18 principal. Such participants must agree to both serve in and <-- 19 reside in SERVE IN a participating designated urban or rural <-- 20 public school district for at least five years or repay all 21 financial assistance. 22 CHAPTER 11 23 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 24 Section 1101. Appropriations. 25 (a) Agency.--The sum of $1,000,000, or as much thereof as 26 may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Pennsylvania 27 Higher Education Assistance Agency for the fiscal year July 1, 28 2007, to June 30, 2008, for the support of the Specialty Teacher 29 Loan Forgiveness Program under Chapter 3. 30 (b) Department.--The sum of $500,000, or as much thereof as 20070H0919B2127 - 10 -
1 may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of 2 Education for the fiscal year July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, 3 for the support of the Professional Personnel Recruitment 4 Initiative Program under Chapter 5. In subsequent fiscal years 5 the Secretary of Education shall request such sums as are deemed 6 necessary to provide grants for the support of both continuing 7 and new programs under Chapter 5. 8 Section 1102. Effective date. 9 This act shall take effect in 60 days. A31L24BIL/20070H0919B2127 - 11 -