Amended in Assembly February 1, 2016

Amended in Senate June 2, 2015

Amended in Senate April 7, 2015

Amended in Senate March 18, 2015

Senate Bill No. 62

Introduced by Senators Pavley, Block, and Huff

(Coauthors: Senators begin insert Allen, end insert Hancock, Hertzberg, Vidak, and Wieckowski)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chu, Dodd, Cristina Garcia, Olsen, and Rodriguez)

December 30, 2014

An act to amend Sections 69612, 69612.5, 69613, 69613.1, and 69615.4 of, to add Section 69615.9 to, to repeal Section 69613.8 of, and to repeal and add begin delete Sections end delete begin insert Section end insert 69613.7 begin delete and 69615.8 end delete of, the Education Code, relating to student financial aid.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 62, as amended, Pavley. Student financial aid: Assumption Program of Loans for Education: Governor’s Teaching Fellowships Program.

Existing law establishes the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, administered by the Student Aid Commission, under which any person enrolled in a participating institution of postsecondary education, or any person who agrees to participate in a teacher trainee or teacher internship program, is eligible to enter into an agreement for loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to a prescribed procedure upon becoming employed as a teacher if he or she satisfies certain conditions. begin delete Existing law prohibits the commission from awarding more than the number of loan assumption agreements that are authorized by the Governor and the Legislature in the annual Budget Act, as provided. end delete

This bill would, among other things, require a program participant to teach in a teaching field with a critical shortage of teachers and to demonstrate financial need, revise the information that the Superintendent is required to furnish to the commission annually regarding the program, and make conforming changes. The bill would require the program to continue to be implemented as it read on January 1, 2015, for specified purposes relating to loan assumption agreements entered into before that begin delete date, and would make further implementation of the program contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another measure. To the extent that funding is provided, the bill would require that not more than 1,000 loan assumption agreements be awarded in any academic year. end delete begin insert date. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 69612 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

69612.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) The growing shortage of high-quality teachers is most serious
in particular subject areas, partly due to the shortage of students
in these fields who enter the teaching profession.

(2) Many school districts have difficulty recruiting and retaining
high-quality teachers for pupils with special needs, for schools
serving rural areas or large populations of pupils from low-income
and linguistic minority families, and for schools with a high
percentage of teachers holding emergency-type permits.

(3) The rising costs of higher education, coupled with a shift in
available financial aid from scholarships and grants to loans, make
the availability of financial aid and loan repayment assistance
options an important consideration in a student’s decision to pursue
a postsecondary education.

(b) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature that the
Assumption Program of Loans for Education be designed to
provide outstanding postsecondary students, particularly
economically disadvantaged students, with the assurance of
financial assistance to encourage them to complete postsecondary
education programs leading to teaching credentials, and to seek
employment as teachers in designated subject-matter shortage
areas and self-contained classrooms or in schools serving a large
population of pupils from low-income families or schools with a
high percentage of teachers holding emergency-type permits.

SEC. 2.  

Section 69612.5 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69612.5.  

For purposes of this article, the following terms have
the following definitions:

(a) “Eligible institution” means a postsecondary institution that
is determined by the Student Aid Commission to meet both of the
following requirements:

(1) The institution is eligible to participate in state and federal
financial aid programs.

(2) The institution maintains a program of professional
preparation that has been approved by the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing.

(b) “Eligible school” means a school that meets any of the
following criteria:

(1) It serves a percentage of unduplicated pupils, as defined in
Section 42238.02, as determined by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.

(2) The institution has 20 percent or more teachers holding
emergency-type permits including, but not limited to, any of the
following:

(A) Provisional internships.

(B) Short-term staff permits.

(C) Credential waivers.

(D) Substitute permits.

(3) It is a school that serves a rural area.

SEC. 3.  

Section 69613 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69613.  

(a) Program participants shall meet all of the following
eligibility criteria prior to selection in the program and shall
continue to meet these criteria, as appropriate, during the payment
periods:

(1) The applicant has completed at least 60 semester units, or
the equivalent, and is enrolled in an academic program leading to
a baccalaureate degree at an eligible institution, has agreed to
participate in a teacher internship program, or has been admitted
to a program of professional preparation that has been approved
by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

(2) The applicant is currently enrolled in, or has been admitted
to, a program in which he or she will be enrolled on at least a
half-time basis, as determined by the participating institution. The
applicant shall agree to maintain satisfactory academic progress
and a minimum of half-time enrollment, as defined by the
participating eligible institution.

(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), if a person
participating in the program fails to maintain at least half-time
enrollment, as required by this article, under the terms of the
agreement pursuant to paragraph (2), the loan assumption
agreement shall be invalidated and the participant shall retain full
liability for all student loan obligations. This subparagraph shall
not apply if the participant is in his or her final semester or quarter
in school and has no additional coursework required to obtain his
or her teaching credential.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if a program participant
is unable to maintain at least half-time enrollment due to serious
illness, pregnancy, or other natural causes, or is called to active
military duty status, the participant is not required to retain full
liability for the student loan obligation for a period not to exceed
one calendar year, unless approved by the commission for a longer
period.

(C) If a natural disaster prevents a program participant from
maintaining at least half-time enrollment due to the interruption
of instruction at the eligible institution, the term of the loan
assumption agreement shall be extended for a period not to exceed
one calendar year, unless approved by the commission for a longer
period.

(3) The applicant has been judged by his or her postsecondary
institution, school district, or county office of education to have
outstanding ability on the basis of criteria that may include, but
need not be limited to, any of the following:

(A) Grade point average.

(B) Test scores.

(C) Faculty evaluations.

(D) Interviews.

(E) Other recommendations.

(4) The applicant has received, or is approved to receive, an
educational loan from a program approved by the Student Aid
Commission.

(5) The applicant has agreed to teach full time for at least four
consecutive academic years, or on a part-time basis for the
equivalent of four full-time academic years, after obtaining a
teaching credential in a public elementary or secondary school in
this state, in a subject area that is designated as a current or
projected shortage area by the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
or, on the date the teacher is hired, at an eligible school.

(6) The applicant has demonstrated financial need.

(b) An agreement shall remain valid even if the subject area
under which an applicant becomes eligible to enter into an
agreement ceases to be a designated shortage field by the time the
applicant becomes a teacher.

(c) For the purposes of calculating eligible years of teaching for
the redemption of an award, the inclusion by the Superintendent
of Public Instruction of a school on a list prepared pursuant to
Section 69613.1 shall apply retroactively from the date the school
first opened.

(d) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section
shall not enter into more than one agreement.

(e) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section
shall not owe a refund on any state or federal educational grant or
have defaulted on any student loan.

SEC. 4.  

Section 69613.1 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69613.1.  

On or before January 1 of each year, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall furnish the commission
with all of the following:

(a) A list of teaching fields that have the most critical shortage
of teachers. The Superintendent shall review this list annually and
revise the list as he or she deems necessary. The list of shortage
areas furnished pursuant to this subdivision shall include the state
special schools as a category separate from special education.

(b) A list of schools that serve a large population of pupils from
low-income families, as determined by eligibility for supplemental
funding under the local control funding formula or according to
standards the Superintendent deems appropriate.

(c) A list of schools with a high percentage of teachers holding
emergency-type permits. The list shall be established according
to criteria determined by the Superintendent.

(d) A list of schools serving rural areas. The list shall be
established according to standards deemed appropriate by the
Superintendent.

SEC. 5.  

Section 69613.7 of the Education Code is repealed.

SEC. 6.  

Section 69613.7 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

69613.7.  

In addition to the amounts set forth in subdivision (a)
of Section 69613.4, for each of the four years of classroom
instruction referenced in that subdivision, loan assumption benefits
shall be granted as follows:

(a) One thousand dollars ($1,000) of additional liability per year
shall be assumed for a person who holds a credential appropriate
for teaching, and who teaches mathematics, science, or special
education.

(b) One thousand dollars ($1,000) of additional liability per year
shall be assumed for a person who teaches in a school in the lowest
two deciles on the Academic Performance Index rankings.
Eligibility for the benefit set forth in this subdivision shall be
limited to a person who holds a credential appropriate for teaching,
and who teaches mathematics, science, or special education.

(c) Not more than a total of five million dollars ($5,000,000)
shall be expended in any academic year for purposes of this section.

(d) The commission shall award benefits payable under this
section upon receipt of all documentation necessary to establish
eligibility for the additional loan assumption benefits. Payments
shall be made to applicants in the order that full documentation is
received until the five million dollars ($5,000,000) authorized by
subdivision (c) has been expended.

SEC. 7.  

Section 69613.8 of the Education Code is repealed.

SEC. 8.  

Section 69615.4 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

69615.4.  

The commission shall report annually to the
Legislature regarding all of the following, on the basis of sex, age,
and ethnicity:

(a) The total number of program participants.

(b) The number of agreements entered into with juniors, seniors,
students enrolled in teacher training programs, and persons who
agree to enroll in teacher internship programs.

(c) The number of participants who agree to teach in a subject
matter shortage area.

(d) The number of participants who agree to teach in schools
serving rural areas.

(e) The number of participants who agree to teach in schools
with a high percentage of teachers holding provisional internship
permits.

(f) The number of participants who receive a loan assumption
benefit, classified by payment year.

(g) The number of out-of-state teachers who enter into
agreements.

(h) The number of participants who have participated in teacher
internship programs, classified by school district or county office
of education.

begin delete

SEC. 9.  

Section 69615.8 of the Education Code is repealed.

end delete

begin delete

SEC. 10.  

Section 69615.8 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

69615.8.  

This article shall be implemented upon an
appropriation specifically for its purposes in the annual Budget
Act or another measure. To the extent that funding is provided,
not more than 1,000 loan assumption agreements shall be awarded
in any academic year for purposes of this article.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 11. end delete
begin insert SEC. 9. end insert   

Section 69615.9 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

69615.9.  

The commission shall continue to implement the
program as it read on January 1, 2015, for the allocation of funds
for loan assumption agreements made before January 1, 2015, and
collecting payments from former program participants required to
repay program costs as of January 1, 2016, for failing to satisfy
the program’s requirements.