(a) Period of loan repayment.
  (1) FSL. All loans shall be repaid in accordance with the statutes and regulations governing the Federal Family Education Loan Program.
  (2) FSLS. All loans shall be repaid in accordance with the statutes and regulations governing the Federal Family Education Loan Program.
  (3) CAL.
    (A) The repayment period shall be calculated based upon the amount borrowed.
    (B) The repayment period shall begin no earlier than six months after the date on which the student ceases to carry, at an eligible institution, at least one half the normal full-time course load as determined by the institution.
  (4) HEAL. All loans shall be repaid in accordance with the statutes and regulations governing the Health Education Assistance Loan Program, authorized by the Public Health Service Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§292 - 292y.
  (5) HELP. All loans extended under this program by the Board shall be repaid in the manner and under the statutes, rules and guidelines governing HEAL.
(b) Minimum repayment amount.
  (1) FSL. The Board shall provide a repayment schedule in which all of the FSL notes extended by the Board to a borrower are treated as an account, and the repayment amount shall be calculated to repay the account over the maximum authorized period. In no case will the minimum annual repayment on the account be less than $600.
  (2) FSLS. The Board shall provide a repayment schedule in which all of the FSLS notes extended by the Board to a borrower are treated as an account, and the repayment amount shall be calculated to repay the account over the maximum authorized period. In no case will the minimum annual repayment on the account be less than $600.
  (3) CAL. The Board shall provide a repayment schedule in which all of the CAL notes extended by the Board to a borrower are treated as an account, and the repayment amount shall be calculated to repay the account over the maximum authorized period.
  (4) HEAL. The Board shall provide a repayment schedule in which all of the HEAL notes extended by the Board to a borrower are treated as an account, and the repayment amount shall be calculated to repay the account over the maximum authorized period. The minimum annual repayment shall not be less than the amount provided by 42 USCS 292(d).
  (5) HELP. The Board shall provide a repayment schedule in which all of the HEAL notes extended by the Board to a borrower are treated as an account, and the repayment amount shall be calculated to repay the account over the maximum authorized period. The minimum annual repayment shall not be less than the amount that would have been provided by 42 U.S.C.S. §292(d), if the loan had been extended by the HEAL program.
(c) Prepayment. Any loans made through the program may be prepaid without penalty.
(d) Deferments.
  (1) The Commissioner shall grant deferments of loan repayment for FSL and FSLS loans as required by The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. §§1071 - 1087-4.
  (2) The Commissioner shall grant deferments of loan repayment for HEAL and HELP loans in the manner and under the circumstances provided for the HEAL loans in the Public Health Service Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§292 - 292y.
  (3) Interest on non-subsidized loans (FSLS, HEAL, and HELP) which accrues during authorized deferment periods shall be charged to the borrower. Interest on FSLs which accrues during authorized deferment periods shall be charged to the United States Department of Education, unless the borrower has lost eligibility for federal interest subsidy benefits as described in federal law.
  (4) Authorized deferments for FSL and FSLS loans shall extend the maximum repayment period.
  (5) Authorized deferments for HEAL and HELP loans shall not extend the maximum repayment period.
  (6) Deferments are available to any borrower whose account is not in default and who makes an adequate showing of entitlement. A borrower whose account is in default is not eligible for a deferment.
(e) Forbearance. The Commissioner may grant periods of forbearance for unusual financial hardship on any account that is held by the Board if the borrower presents the Commissioner or his designee with the reasons therefore, and the Commissioner or his designee determines that the borrower's account history justifies such action. Borrowers of federally insured loans may have rights to certain additional types of forbearances under the applicable program's statutes and rules.
(f) Late charges. A charge of five percent (5%) of the scheduled monthly payment or five dollars ($5.00), whichever is less, shall be assessed if the past due amount is not received within 20 days of the scheduled due date. These charges shall be collected for late payment of all sums due and payable under the Hinson-Hazlewood Loan Program.
(g) Collection charges. In the case of delinquent accounts, the Commissioner may authorize the assessment of charges necessary to collect the loan which may include court costs fees, attorney fees, skip-trace fees, and long-distance telephone charges.
(h) Application of payments. In accordance with the terms of the promissory note, the Commissioner shall determine the priority order in which payments shall be applied to interest, late charges, principal, collections costs and any other charges.

Source Note: The provisions of this §22.53 adopted to be effective May 22, 2003, 28 TexReg 3950; amended to be effective November 28, 2005, 30 TexReg 7855; amended to be effective May 16, 2006, 31 TexReg 3872; amended to be effective May 21, 2008, 33 TexReg 3939; transferred effective June 1, 2017, as published in the Texas Register May 19, 2017, 42 TexReg 2739; amended to be effective December 5, 2019, 44 TexReg 7381; amended to be effective August 15, 2021, 46 TexReg 4852