What's happening
This bill creates a student loan repayment program for teachers who commit to work in underserved rural school districts in New York.
Why it matters
Addresses teacher shortages in rural areas. by specifically targeting districts that have difficulty attracting and retaining educators, potentially improving educational quality and stability for students in underserved regions.
Offers substantial financial relief. for participating teachers, with up to $20,000 per year in student loan repayment, making teaching in rural areas more attractive and helping to alleviate the overall student debt burden for educators.
Requires a five-year service commitment. , ensuring that districts receive sustained support rather than short-term staffing, and includes a proportional repayment formula if participants do not fulfill their obligation, which encourages long-term retention.
Includes hardship waivers and death exceptions. for repayment obligations, providing important safeguards for teachers who may face unexpected life challenges, thus reducing financial risk for participants.
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Who cares
Licensed teachers with student debt
Eligible teachers taking jobs in identified underserved rural areas could receive up to $20,000 annually in loan repayment in exchange for at least five years of teaching service, with repayment obligations if they fail to meet the conditions.
Rural school districts struggling to recruit and retain teachers
The bill would target loan repayment awards to teachers taking jobs in districts identified as having recruitment and retention difficulties.
New York State Education Department
The department would establish the program, identify eligible districts annually and develop award criteria.
New York State Center for Rural Schools
The center would help identify districts with teacher recruitment and retention difficulties and be consulted on program regulations.
Headline styles
Pay Off Rural Teachers’ Loans
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Recommit, enacting clause stricken
- Referred to higher education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
867
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. YOUNG -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the rural teacher education loan repayment program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 676-a to read as follows:
§ 676-a. Rural teacher education loan repayment program. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
a. "Rural school district" shall mean a school district providing services within a rural area.
b. "Rural area" shall mean a county with a population of two-hundred thousand or less; or a town with a population density of one hundred fifty or less per square mile.
c. "Student loan expenses" shall mean the aggregate total of annual student loans for the cost of attendance at an undergraduate and/or graduate institution leading to teaching certification. Interest paid or due on such loans shall be deemed to be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to this section.
2. Establishment. a. There shall be established within the department the rural teacher education loan repayment program. The department shall, in cooperation and coordination with the New York state center for rural schools, annually identify rural school districts which are having difficulty attracting and retaining teachers, and develop criteria upon which awards shall be made to teachers who become employed by such identified rural school districts who agree to provide teaching services within such rural area for not less than five years.
b. The commissioner is authorized, within amounts made available for the purposes of this section, to make awards beginning January first, two thousand twenty, to a teacher who as determined by the commissioner
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04027-01-9
S. 867 2
to be taking employment in a rural area identified as being underserved, who is licensed to teach in this state and who agrees to for at least five years teach in such rural area. Such a teacher shall be eligible for a loan repayment award of up to twenty thousand dollars per year.
3. Awards. Rural teacher education loan repayment awards shall be awarded annually. Such awards shall be allocated by the president in accordance with the criteria established pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
4. Limit on awards. Loan repayment awards made to a teacher pursuant to subdivision two of this section shall not exceed the total qualifying outstanding debt of the teacher from student loans to cover tuition and other related educational expenses, made by or guaranteed by the federal or state government, or made by a lending or educational institution approved under title IV of the federal higher education act. Loan repayment awards shall be used solely to repay such outstanding debt.
5. Default. Within such time as the commissioner shall by regulation provide, a recipient of an award shall have practiced as a teacher in an rural area in the state. If a recipient fails to comply fully with such conditions, the president shall be entitled to receive from such recipient an amount to be determined by the formula:
A = 2B(t-s)
______
t in which "A" is the amount the president is entitled to recover, "B" is the sum of all payments made to the recipient and the interest on such amount which would be payable if at the times such awards were paid they were loans bearing interest at the maximum prevailing rate; "t" is the total number of months in the recipient's period of obligated services; and "s" is the number of months of services actually rendered by the recipient. Any amount which the president is entitled to recover under this subdivision shall be paid within the five-year period beginning on the date that the recipient failed to comply with this condition. Any obligation to comply with such provisions shall be canceled upon the death of the recipient. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of any financial obligation when compliance would involve extreme hardship.
6. Rules. The commissioner shall consult with the New York state center for rural schools, and the commissioner, in coordination with the corporation, shall promulgate regulations to effectuate the provisions and purposes of this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any criteria, rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the rural teacher education loan repayment program
Purpose
To establish a rural teacher education loan repayment program to provide loans to teachers who commit to teaching in an underserved rural area of the state.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Adds a new section 676-a to the education law to authorize the commissioner of education in consultation with the higher education services corporation to develop a rural teacher education loan repayment program. The program would provide awards of up to $20,000 per year to teachers who commit to serve in a designated rural underserved area for a minimum five year period. Rural areas are defined as counties with a population of 200,000 or less or towns of with a population density of 150 or less per square mile. The bill establishes a loan recapture provision should the recipient fail to fulfill the completion of their five year term of service.
Section 2. Establishes an effective date 120 days after enactment.
Justification
This bill was created in response to need for teachers to serve in vari- ous teaching positions in rural areas of the state. It can be difficult to attract and retain quality teachers in rural areas such as the South- ern Tier and Western New York. This bill will grant the Commissioner of Education the authority to develop a loan repayment program for teachers who commit to working in underserved areas of the state for at least five years. The Commissioner would be granted flexibility to determine areas which are currently unable to attract a reasonable pool of appli- cants for various teaching positions.
Legislative history
2018: S.8302 Referred to Higher Education
Fiscal implications
Undetermined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect 120 days after becoming a law provided, however, that the commissioner shall have the power to immediately promulgate any rules or regulations necessary for the implementation of this act.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.