H.B. No. 518
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to programs to provide student loan repayment assistance
  for certain correctional officers, for certain speech-language
  pathologists and audiologists, and for certain mathematics and
  science teachers.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter FF to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER FF. CORRECTIONAL OFFICER LOAN REPAYMENT
  ASSISTANCE PILOT PROGRAM
         Sec. 61.9781.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Correctional officer" means a correctional
  officer employed in a confinement facility operated by the Texas
  Department of Criminal Justice.
               (2)  "Trust fund" means the correctional officer loan
  repayment assistance trust fund.
         Sec. 61.9782.  REPAYMENT AUTHORIZED.  The board shall
  establish a pilot program to provide, using money in the trust fund
  and in accordance with this subchapter and rules of the board,
  assistance in the repayment of student loans for correctional
  officers who apply and qualify for the assistance.
         Sec. 61.9783.  ELIGIBILITY.  To be eligible to receive
  repayment assistance, a correctional officer must:
               (1)  have received a baccalaureate degree from Sam
  Houston State University or from another general academic teaching
  institution that is selected to participate in the program by the
  board under Section 61.9789(b) if the board expands the program to
  include an additional general academic teaching institution;
               (2)  establish to the board that:
                     (A)  the repayment assistance will be used to
  repay any part of a student loan received by the correctional
  officer to cover the officer's cost of attendance in connection
  with enrollment in junior-level or senior-level course work in the
  baccalaureate degree program at the institution;
                     (B)  during the period of the correctional
  officer's enrollment at the institution as described by Paragraph
  (A), the officer:
                           (i)  was employed full-time as a
  correctional officer in this state;
                           (ii)  was classified as a resident of this
  state under Subchapter B, Chapter 54;
                           (iii)  established financial need as
  determined by board rule; and
                           (iv)  maintained good academic standing at
  the institution as determined by board rule; and
                     (C)  the correctional officer has not committed an
  offense:
                           (i)  under Chapter 39, Penal Code;
                           (ii)  under Section 38.11 or 38.114, Penal
  Code;
                           (iii)  under any other provision of the
  Penal Code in which the victim was a person in the custody of the
  Texas Department of Criminal Justice at the time the offense
  occurred; or
                           (iv)  the elements of which are equivalent
  to a criminal offense under the law of another state, federal law,
  or the law of a foreign government;
               (3)  complete at least two full years of employment as a
  full-time correctional officer in this state not later than the
  second anniversary of the date of the person's graduation from the
  institution; and
               (4)  comply with any other requirements adopted by
  board rule under this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9784.  ELIGIBLE LOANS.  (a)  The board may provide
  repayment assistance for the repayment of any student loan received
  by an eligible correctional officer through any lender for the cost
  of attendance for enrollment at Sam Houston State University or at
  another general academic teaching institution that is selected by
  the board to participate in the program under Section 61.9789(b).
         (b)  The board may withhold repayment assistance for a
  student loan that is in default at the time of the correctional
  officer's application.
         (c)  Subject to Sections 61.9785 and 61.9788, in each state
  fiscal biennium the board shall attempt to allocate all funds
  available in the trust fund for the purpose of providing repayment
  assistance under this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9785.  REPAYMENT.  (a)  The board shall deliver any
  repayment under this subchapter in a lump sum:
               (1)  payable to both the lender or other holder of the
  loan and the correctional officer; or
               (2)  on the correctional officer's behalf directly to
  the lender or other holder of the loan.
         (b)  A repayment under this subchapter may be applied to any
  amount due in connection with the loan.
         (c)  The board may grant prior conditional approval to a
  correctional officer who completes each eligibility requirement
  under Section 61.9783 other than the requirement under Section
  61.9783(3) and may reserve money in the trust fund for disbursement
  under this subchapter on the officer's completion of that
  requirement.
         Sec. 61.9786. RULES.  (a)  The board shall adopt rules
  necessary to administer this subchapter.  The board may consult
  with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to assist the board in
  establishing priorities among eligible correctional officers for
  repayment assistance.
         (b)  The board shall distribute to Sam Houston State
  University, any other general academic teaching institution that is
  selected by the board to participate in the program under Section
  61.9789(b), each public junior college, and appropriate state
  agencies and professional associations copies of the rules adopted
  under this section and other pertinent information relating to this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9787.  AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE.  (a)  The loan
  repayment amount for one year of full-time employment as a
  correctional officer beginning two years after graduation from Sam
  Houston State University or from another general academic teaching
  institution that is selected by the board to participate in the
  program under Section 61.9789(b) may not exceed the cost of
  attendance for the officer to enroll in 30 semester credit hours of
  junior-level or senior-level course work at the institution, as
  applicable.
         (b)  The total amount of repayment assistance distributed by
  the board under this subchapter may not exceed the total amount of
  gifts and grants accepted by the board for repayment assistance,
  legislative appropriations for repayment assistance, and other
  funds available to the board for purposes of this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9788.  TRUST FUND.  (a)  The board shall award
  repayment assistance under this subchapter from the amount
  available in the trust fund. The trust fund is established outside
  the treasury but is held in trust by the comptroller. Money in the
  trust fund may be spent without appropriation and only to fund the
  pilot program. Interest and income from the assets of the trust
  fund shall be credited to and deposited in the trust fund. In each
  state fiscal year the board may spend from the trust fund to cover
  the costs of administering this subchapter an amount not to exceed
  2.5 percent of the total amount of money deposited into the trust
  fund in that fiscal year.
         (b)  The board may solicit and accept gifts and grants from
  any public or private source for the purposes of this subchapter and
  shall deposit a gift or grant to the credit of the trust fund.
         (c)  The legislature may appropriate money to the trust fund.
         Sec. 61.9789.  EVALUATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.  (a)  The board
  shall evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program established
  under this subchapter and report the results of the evaluation to
  the legislature not later than December 31 of each even-numbered
  year.
         (b)  If the board determines that expansion of the program
  would enhance the effectiveness of the program or improve the
  board's ability to evaluate the program, the board by rule may
  expand the program to include as eligible to receive repayment
  assistance under Section 61.9783 a correctional officer who:
               (1)  received a baccalaureate degree from a general
  academic teaching institution other than Sam Houston State
  University that is located near a confinement facility operated by
  the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and that is selected by the
  board to participate in the program; and
               (2)  meets all other eligibility requirements
  prescribed by or adopted under Section 61.9783.
         (c)  If the board by rule expands the program under
  Subsection (b) to include graduates of one or more other general
  academic teaching institutions, the board shall include in the
  report under Subsection (a) information regarding the
  effectiveness of the expansion and the name of each additional
  general academic teaching institution selected to participate in
  the program.
         Sec. 61.9790.  TERMINATION OF PILOT PROGRAM.  The board may
  not award repayment assistance under this subchapter to pay the
  costs of enrollment in an academic year after the 2015-2016
  academic year.  On January 1, 2019, the trust fund is abolished and
  any amount remaining in the trust fund shall be transferred to the
  general revenue fund.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter GG to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER GG.  REPAYMENT OF CERTAIN SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
  AND AUDIOLOGIST EDUCATION LOANS
         Sec. 61.9801.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Audiologist" means a person licensed as an
  audiologist under Chapter 401, Occupations Code.
               (2)  "Communicative disorders program" means a
  graduate degree program in audiology or speech-language pathology
  accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology
  and Speech-Language Pathology.
               (3)  "Public school" means a public preschool or
  primary or secondary school in this state.
               (4)  "Speech-language pathologist" means a person
  licensed as a speech-language pathologist under Chapter 401,
  Occupations Code.
         Sec. 61.9802.  REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The board
  shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board rules,
  assistance in the repayment of student loans for speech-language
  pathologists and audiologists who apply and qualify for assistance.
         Sec. 61.9803.  ELIGIBILITY. (a) To be eligible to receive
  repayment assistance, a speech-language pathologist or an
  audiologist must:
               (1)  apply to the board; and
               (2)  at the time the speech-language pathologist or
  audiologist applies for the assistance:
                     (A)  have been employed as a speech-language
  pathologist or as an audiologist, as applicable, for at least one
  year by, and be currently employed full-time in that capacity by, a
  public school; or
                     (B)  have been employed as a faculty member of a
  communicative disorders program at an institution of higher
  education for at least one year, and be currently employed
  full-time in that capacity at such an institution.
         (b)  The board by rule may provide for repayment assistance
  on a pro rata basis for speech-language pathologists and
  audiologists employed part-time by a public school or institution
  of higher education.
         Sec. 61.9804.  LIMITATION. (a)  On qualifying for the
  assistance, a speech-language pathologist or an audiologist may
  receive repayment assistance grants for each year of employment,
  not to exceed five years, by:
               (1)  a public school; or
               (2)  a communicative disorders program at an
  institution of higher education.
         (b)  The amount of repayment assistance grants that a
  speech-language pathologist or an audiologist may receive for each
  year of employment by a public school or a communicative disorders
  program at an institution of higher education may not exceed 20
  percent of the speech-language pathologist's or audiologist's total
  principal amount of student loans.
         (c)  The total amount of repayment assistance grants
  received by a speech-language pathologist or an audiologist under
  this subchapter may not exceed $30,000 for an eligible recipient
  who holds a master's degree but not a doctoral degree, or $45,000
  for an eligible recipient who holds a doctoral degree.
         Sec. 61.9805.  ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
  repayment assistance for the repayment of any student loan for
  education at an institution of higher education, including loans
  for undergraduate education, received by a speech-language
  pathologist or an audiologist through any lender.
         (b)  The board may not provide repayment assistance for a
  student loan that is in default at the time of the speech-language
  pathologist's or audiologist's application.
         (c)  Each state fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt to
  provide repayment assistance in amounts sufficient to use all the
  money appropriated to the board for that biennium for the purpose of
  providing repayment assistance under this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9806.  REPAYMENT. (a) The board shall deliver any
  repayment made under this subchapter in a lump sum payable to the
  lender and the speech-language pathologist or audiologist, in
  accordance with any applicable federal law.
         (b)  A repayment made under this subchapter may be applied
  only to the principal amount of the loan.
         Sec. 61.9807.  ADVISORY COMMITTEES. The board may appoint
  advisory committees to assist the board in administering this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9808.  ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS. The board may accept
  gifts, grants, and donations for the purposes of this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9809.  RULES. (a) The board shall adopt rules
  necessary for the administration of this subchapter.
         (b)  The board shall distribute a copy of the rules adopted
  under this section and pertinent information regarding this
  subchapter to:
               (1)  each institution of higher education;
               (2)  any appropriate state agency; and
               (3)  any appropriate professional association.
         SECTION 3.  Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter HH to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER HH. TEXAS TEACH CORPS STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE
  PROGRAM FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE CLASSROOM TEACHERS
         Sec. 61.9831.  LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The
  board shall provide, in accordance with this subchapter and board
  rules, assistance in the repayment of eligible student loans for
  eligible undergraduate students who agree to teach mathematics or
  science for a specified period in school districts in this state
  that are determined by the Texas Education Agency to have shortages
  of teachers in mathematics or science.
         Sec. 61.9832.  ELIGIBILITY; AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS.
  (a)  To be eligible to receive loan repayment assistance under this
  subchapter, a person must:
               (1)  apply for the loan repayment assistance in the
  manner prescribed by the board;
               (2)  have graduated from high school in this state;
               (3)  be currently enrolled in an educator preparation
  program accredited by the State Board for Educator Certification
  that is provided by an institution of higher education or by a
  private or independent institution of higher education in this
  state;
               (4)  have a cumulative grade point average of at least
  2.75 on a four-point scale or the equivalent;
               (5)  enter into an agreement with the board providing
  that:
                     (A)  the person will earn a baccalaureate degree
  through completion of an educator preparation program described by
  Subdivision (3);
                     (B)  the person will graduate with a cumulative
  grade point average of at least 2.75 on a four-point scale or the
  equivalent;
                     (C)  the person will obtain, within the period
  prescribed by board rule, appropriate certification under
  Subchapter B, Chapter 21, to teach mathematics or science in a
  public school in this state;
                     (D)  beginning with the first school year that
  begins after the date the person obtains the appropriate
  certification described by Paragraph (C), 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 school
  district in this state selected by the person from among districts
  determined by the Texas Education Agency to have shortages of
  teachers in that subject for that first school year for which the
  person is accepting employment;
                     (E)  the person will complete four consecutive
  years of employment as a full-time classroom teacher in a district
  described by Paragraph (D) whose primary duty is to teach
  mathematics or science, as applicable, based on the person's
  certification; and
                     (F)  the person acknowledges the conditional
  nature of the loan repayment assistance; and
               (6)  comply with any other requirement adopted by the
  board under this subchapter.
         (b)  Except as provided by Section 61.9833, for the first
  school year of employment and each following consecutive school
  year of employment, as described by Subsections (a)(5)(D) and (E),
  not to exceed a total of four years, the board may provide
  assistance for the repayment of a portion of an eligible person's
  eligible loans. Subject to the availability of funding under
  Section 61.9836 and except as otherwise provided by this
  subsection, the amount of an assistance payment provided under this
  subsection in any year to an eligible person is $5,000. The board
  shall increase that amount as necessary to adjust for inflation or,
  as determined by the board, on the basis of other relevant
  considerations. The board shall reduce the amount of a single
  assistance payment or refrain from making an assistance payment to
  an eligible person as necessary to avoid making total payments
  under this subsection to the person in an amount greater than the
  total amount of principal and interest due on the person's eligible
  loans.
         (c)  For purposes of this subchapter, whether a school
  district is determined to have a shortage of mathematics or science
  teachers for a school year is based on a determination made by the
  Texas Education Agency during the preceding school year. Not later
  than April 1 of each school year, the Texas Education Agency shall
  determine which school districts in this state have a shortage of
  mathematics or science teachers during that school year and shall
  provide that information to the board and to each educator
  preparation program in this state accredited by the State Board for
  Educator Certification.
         (d)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(5)(E), if a person is
  employed as a teacher in a school district determined to have a
  shortage of teachers in mathematics or science for the first year of
  employment, each subsequent year of continuous employment as a
  teacher in that district is considered to be employment in a
  district determined to have such a shortage of teachers in that
  subject in that subsequent year, regardless of whether the Texas
  Education Agency determined that the district had a shortage of
  teachers in that subject for that year.
         (e)  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.
         Sec. 61.9833.  EXCEPTION TO CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT
  REQUIREMENT. The board shall excuse an otherwise eligible person
  from the requirement imposed by Section 61.9832(a)(5)(E) that the
  employment be performed in consecutive years if the break in
  employment is a result of the person's:
               (1)  full-time enrollment in a course of study related
  to the field of teaching that is approved by the State Board for
  Educator Certification and provided by an institution of higher
  education or by a private or independent institution of higher
  education in this state;
               (2)  service on active duty as a member of the armed
  forces of the United States, including as a member of a reserve or
  National Guard unit called for active duty;
               (3)  temporary total disability for a period of not
  more than 36 months as established by the affidavit of a qualified
  physician;
               (4)  inability to secure employment as required by
  Section 61.9832 for a period not to exceed 12 months, because of
  care required by a disabled spouse or child;
               (5)  inability, despite reasonable efforts, to secure,
  for a single period not to exceed 12 months, employment as required
  by Section 61.9832; or
               (6)  satisfaction of the provisions of any other
  exception adopted by the board for purposes of this section.
         Sec. 61.9834.  ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a)  The board may provide
  under this subchapter repayment assistance for the repayment of any
  student loan that:
               (1)  is for education at a public or private
  institution of higher education; and
               (2)  is received by an eligible person through an
  eligible lender.
         (b)  If the loan is not a state or federal guaranteed student
  loan, the note or other writing governing the terms of the loan must
  require the loan proceeds to be used for expenses incurred by a
  person in attending a postsecondary educational institution.
         (c)  The board may not provide loan repayment assistance
  under this subchapter for a student loan that is in default at the
  time of the person's application for repayment assistance.
         Sec. 61.9835.  PAYMENT OF ASSISTANCE. (a)  The board shall
  pay any loan repayment assistance under this subchapter in a lump
  sum:
               (1)  payable to both the holder of the loan and the
  eligible person; or
               (2)  delivered on the eligible person's behalf directly
  to the holder of the loan.
         (b)  Loan repayment assistance provided under this
  subchapter may be applied to any amount due on the loan.
         (c)  Each fiscal biennium, the board shall attempt to
  allocate all money available to the board for the purpose of
  providing loan repayment assistance under this subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9836.  MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE TEACHER INVESTMENT
  FUND. (a)  In this section, "fund" means the mathematics and
  science teacher investment fund.
         (b)  The fund is a dedicated account in the general revenue
  fund and consists of:
               (1)  appropriations of money to the fund by the
  legislature;
               (2)  gifts, grants, and other donations received for
  the fund; and
               (3)  interest and other earnings from the investment of
  the fund.
         (c)  The fund may be used only to provide repayment
  assistance for the repayment of loans eligible under Section
  61.9834, including related administrative costs.
         (d)  The fund is exempt from the application of Sections
  403.095 and 404.071, Government Code.
         (e)  The board may solicit and accept grants, gifts, or
  donations from any public or private entity for the purposes of this
  subchapter. All money received under this subchapter shall be
  deposited in the fund.
         Sec. 61.9837.  AMOUNT OF LOAN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE.
  (a)  The total amount of loan repayment assistance paid by the
  board under this subchapter may not exceed the total amount of money
  available in the fund under Section 61.9836 and any other money that
  the board is legally authorized to use for purposes of this
  subchapter.
         (b)  Not more than 4,000 eligible persons may be provided
  loan repayment assistance in the amount authorized under this
  subchapter in any school year.
         (b-1)  This subsection expires January 1, 2016.
  Notwithstanding Subsection (b), not more than the following number
  of eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance in
  the amount authorized under this subchapter in the specified school
  year:
               (1)  in the 2012-2013 school year, not more than 1,000
  eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance;
               (2)  in the 2013-2014 school year, not more than 2,000
  eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance; and
               (3)  in the 2014-2015 school year, not more than 3,000
  eligible persons may be provided loan repayment assistance.
         (c)  If in any year the amount of money available for loan
  repayment assistance under this subchapter is insufficient to
  provide loan repayment assistance to each eligible applicant or if
  there are more eligible applicants than the number authorized by
  this section, the board shall establish criteria to determine which
  eligible applicants will be provided repayment assistance as the
  board determines appropriate to further the purposes of this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 61.9838.  RULES. The board shall:
               (1)  adopt rules necessary for the administration of
  this subchapter, including a rule providing for the manner in which
  a person may apply for loan repayment assistance; and
               (2)  distribute to each educator preparation program
  approved by the State Board for Educator Certification offered by
  an institution of higher education or by a private or independent
  institution of higher education in this state a copy of the rules
  adopted under this section.
         SECTION 4.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  shall adopt the rules for repayment assistance under Subchapter FF,
  Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later than
  December 1, 2009.
         SECTION 5.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  shall begin providing loan repayment assistance under Subchapter
  HH, Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act, for eligible
  persons teaching in the 2012-2013 school year.
         SECTION 6.  Subchapter HH, Chapter 61, Education Code, as
  added by this Act, does not make an appropriation. A provision in
  Subchapter HH, Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act,
  that creates a new governmental program, creates a new entitlement,
  or imposes a new duty on a governmental entity is not mandatory
  during a fiscal period for which the legislature has not made a
  specific appropriation to implement the provision.
         SECTION 7.  This Act does not make an appropriation.  A
  provision in this Act that creates a new governmental program,
  creates a new entitlement, or imposes a new duty on a governmental
  entity is not mandatory during a fiscal period for which the
  legislature has not made a specific appropriation to implement the
  provision.
         SECTION 8.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 518 was passed by the House on May 15,
  2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 137, Nays 4, 1 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 518 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 0, 1
  present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 518 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor