PRINTER'S NO. 3383
No. 2513 Session of 1988
INTRODUCED BY RUDY, COWELL, EVANS, BATTISTO, COY, COLAFELLA,
LESCOVITZ, TIGUE, LIVENGOOD, BURNS, LINTON, KOSINSKI, RYBAK,
STAIRS, DAVIES, WASS AND DALEY, MAY 25, 1988
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MAY 25, 1988
AN ACT
1 Providing for Commonwealth support for an Urban and Rural
2 Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program for Pennsylvania residents
3 who graduate from institutions of higher education and who
4 apply their degrees to teaching in urban and rural public
5 schools in this Commonwealth.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Short title.
9 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Urban and
10 Rural Teacher Loan Forgiveness Act.
11 Section 2. Findings and declaration of intent.
12 The General Assembly finds and declares that:
13 (1) The number of college students planning to enter the
14 teaching profession has declined at a time when the need for
15 additional teachers has increased.
16 (2) Demand from industry and other opportunities attract
17 existing and potential teachers away from the profession.
18 (3) The pool of qualified teachers, especially those in
19 math and science, has diminished.
1 (4) Economically hard-pressed rural and urban school
2 districts find it difficult to attract highly qualified
3 teachers from the diminished pool.
4 (5) Payment of a portion of student loans for certified
5 teachers serves the important public purpose of encouraging
6 new teachers to teach in economically hard-pressed areas of
7 this Commonwealth.
8 Section 3. Definitions.
9 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11 context clearly indicates otherwise:
12 "Agency." The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance
13 Agency.
14 "Approved Commonwealth urban or rural public school
15 district." An eligible urban or rural public school district
16 which the secretary has certified as having a need for teacher
17 loan forgiveness assistance because of difficulty in attracting
18 highly qualified teachers.
19 "Eligible rural public school district." A public school
20 district that has a population of less than 300 per square mile
21 and either:
22 (1) more than 8% of the pupils in average daily
23 membership are low-income pupils as defined in section
24 2502.11 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
25 as the Public School Code of 1949; or
26 (2) the market value/income aid ratio, as defined in
27 section 2501 of the Public School Code of 1949, is greater
28 than seven-tenths.
29 This definition shall also apply to an intermediate unit or area
30 vocational-technical school if the composite data for all
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1 participating school districts meet the criteria specified
2 herein.
3 "Eligible urban public school district." A public school
4 district that has a population greater than 850 per square mile
5 and either:
6 (1) more than 8% of the pupils in average daily
7 membership are low-income pupils as defined in section
8 2502.11 of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
9 as the Public School Code of 1949; or
10 (2) the market value/income aid ratio, as defined in
11 section 2501 of the Public SChool Code of 1949, is greater
12 than seven-tenths.
13 The term shall also apply to an intermediate unit or area
14 vocational-technical school if the composite data for all
15 participating school districts meet the criteria specified
16 herein.
17 "Qualified applicant." A person who meets all of the
18 following criteria:
19 (1) Is certified by the Department of Education to
20 teach.
21 (2) Is in the first year of full-time teaching.
22 (3) Is teaching at a Commonwealth-approved urban or
23 rural public school district.
24 (4) Has borrowed through the agency-administered
25 Guaranteed Student Loan Program.
26 "Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.
27 Section 4. Urban and Rural Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program.
28 Qualified applicants who are selected for the Urban and Rural
29 Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program in accordance with this act
30 shall be eligible for payment by the agency of a portion of the
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1 debt incurred by the applicant through the agency-administered
2 Guaranteed Student Loan Program for the education necessary to
3 be certified to teach in Pennsylvania. For each academic year
4 that the applicant is a full-time teacher in an approved
5 Commonwealth urban or rural public school district, the agency
6 may forgive a proportional part of the applicant's loan so that
7 the loan may be entirely forgiven over four years of full-time
8 teaching. No more than $2,500 shall be forgiven in any year, and
9 no more than $10,000 shall be forgiven for any applicant.
10 Payments shall be made in accordance with the procedures
11 established by the agency.
12 Section 5. Loan forgiveness awards.
13 Recipients of the loan forgiveness awards shall be those
14 teachers who are certified by the Department of Education and
15 who have received a satisfactory rating by the district for the
16 academic year. Each teacher shall be required to submit such
17 documentation of continued eligibility as the agency may
18 require.
19 Section 6. Funding.
20 Loan forgiveness awards may be made to the extent that funds
21 are appropriated by the General Assembly.
22 Section 7. Responsibility of agency.
23 It shall be the responsibility of the agency to administer
24 the Urban and Rural Loan Forgiveness Program established by this
25 act and to adopt such regulations, policies, procedures and
26 forms as are necessary and not inconsistent with the provisions
27 of this act.
28 Section 8. Effective date.
29 This act shall take effect July 1, 1988.
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