Sec. 61.9832. ELIGIBILITY; AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS. (a) To be eligible to receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person must:
(1) apply annually for the loan repayment assistance in the manner prescribed by the board;
(2) be a United States citizen;
(3) have completed an undergraduate or graduate program in mathematics or science;
(4) have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale or the equivalent;
(5) be:
(A) certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, to teach mathematics or science in a public school in this state; or
(B) teaching under a probationary teaching certificate;
(6) have been employed for at least one year as a teacher teaching mathematics or science at a public school;
(7) not be in default on any other education loan;
(8) not receive any other state or federal loan repayment assistance, including a Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant or teacher loan forgiveness;
(9) enter into an agreement with the board under Subsection (c); and
(10) comply with any other requirement adopted by the board under this subchapter.
(b) An initial application for loan repayment assistance under this subchapter must include a transcript of the applicant's postsecondary coursework.
(c) To receive loan repayment assistance under this subchapter, a person must enter into an agreement with the board that includes the following provisions:
(1) the person will accept an offer of full-time employment to teach mathematics or science, as applicable based on the person's certification, in a public school;
(2) the person will complete four consecutive years of employment in any public school as a full-time classroom teacher whose primary duty is to teach mathematics or science, as applicable, based on the person's certification;
(3) beginning with the school year immediately following the last of the four consecutive school years described by Subdivision (2), the person will complete an additional number of consecutive school years teaching in any public school in this state, as prescribed by board rule; and
(4) the person acknowledges the conditional nature of the loan repayment assistance.
(c-1) The rules adopted under Subsection (c)(3) may not require a person to complete more than four additional consecutive school years of teaching as described by that subdivision.
(d) To satisfy the teaching obligation prescribed by an agreement under this section, a person must teach mathematics or science courses for not less than an average of four hours each school day.
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1229 (S.B. 1720), Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 2013.
Amended by:
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 242 (S.B. 686), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2015.
Redesignated from Education Code, Subchapter II, Chapter 61 by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1236 (S.B. 1296), Sec. 21.001(16), eff. September 1, 2015.
Amended by:
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 950 (S.B. 1757), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2019.
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1069 (S.B. 532), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2023.