BILL NUMBER: SB 155 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wright
FEBRUARY 12, 2009
An act to amend Sections 69612, 69613, 69613.2, 69613.4, 69613.6,
and 69615 of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 155, as introduced, Wright. Student financial aid: Assumption
Program of Loans for Education: school nurses.
Existing law provides for a program for the assumption of certain
student loans of students who agree to enter into the teaching
profession, known as the Assumption Program of Loans for Education
(APLE), in designated subject matter shortage areas and in schools
serving large populations of pupils from low-income families, schools
serving rural areas, schools with a high percentage of teachers
holding emergency permits, or schools with other specified
characteristics.
This bill would expand the APLE to additionally provide for the
assumption of student loans of students who agree to be employed as a
school nurse in a school or school district that meets prescribed
requirements. The bill would make conforming changes to the
provisions governing the APLE.
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 schools ranked in decile 1 or 2 on the
Academic Performance Index, 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
veteran teachers and 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 training or
coursework necessary to be employed as a school nurse , and to
seek employment as teachers a school nurse or
a teacher in designated subject-matter shortage areas or in
schools serving a large population of pupils from low-income
families, schools with a high percentage of teachers holding
emergency-type permits, or schools ranked in the lowest two deciles
on the Academic Performance Index.
SEC. 2. 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 meets
one of the following requirements:
(A) 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.
(B) The applicant is enrolled in a program to complete training or
coursework in order to be employed as a school nurse and agrees to
work as a school nurse in an eligible school.
(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 assume 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 or appropriate nursing 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 assume 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
calender 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, a loan
under one or more of the following designated loan programs:
(A) The Federal Family Education Loan Program (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1071
et seq.).
(B) Any educational loan program approved by the Student Aid
Commission.
(5) The applicant meets one of the following requirements:
(A) 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.
(B) The applicant has agreed to be employed full time for at least
four consecutive academic years after obtaining an appropriate
nursing credential, in a public elementary or secondary school in
this state, that, at the time that the school nurse is hired, is an
eligible school, or in a public elementary or secondary school
district in this state that has within it at least one school, that
is in the nurse's service territory, that at the time the nurse is
hired, is an eligible school.
(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 designation by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction of a newly opened school pursuant to Section
52056 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
defaulted on any student loan.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
credentialed teacher teaching in a public school ranked in the lowest
two deciles on the Academic Performance Index pursuant to Section
52052, possesses a clear multiple subject or single subject teaching
credential or level II education specialist credential and who has
not otherwise participated in the program established by this
article, is eligible to enter into an agreement for loan assumption
pursuant to this article. The number of loan assumption agreements
provided pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed 400 per year.
The commission shall develop and adopt regulations for the
implementation of this subdivision by January 1, 2010.
SEC. 3. Section 69613.2 of the Education Code is amended to read:
69613.2. The commission shall commence loan assumption payments,
as specified in Section 69613.4, upon verification that the applicant
has fulfilled all of the following:
(a) The applicant has received a California preliminary or
professional clear credential, or an equivalent credential from
another state, authorizing service for kindergarten or any of grades
1 to 12, inclusive.
(b) The applicant has provided full-time classroom instruction
or employment as a school nurse , or the equivalent on a
part-time basis, in a public elementary or secondary school for the
equivalent of one school year.
(c) The applicant has met the requirements of the agreement and
all other pertinent conditions of this article.
SEC. 4. Section 69613.4 of the Education Code is amended to read:
69613.4. (a) The terms of a loan assumption granted under this
article shall be as follows, subject to the specific terms of each
agreement:
(1) After a program participant has completed one school year of
classroom instruction or employment as a school nurse
pursuant to Section 69613.2, the commission shall assume up to two
thousand dollars ($2,000) of the participant's outstanding liability
under one or more of the designated educational loan programs.
(2) After a program participant has completed two consecutive
school years of instruction or employment as a school nurse
, the commission shall assume up to an additional three
thousand dollars ($3,000) of the participant's outstanding liability
under one or more of the designated educational loan programs, for a
total loan assumption of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(3) After a program participant has completed three consecutive
school years of teaching service or employment as a school nurse
, the commission shall assume up to a maximum of an additional
three thousand dollars ($3,000) of the participant's outstanding
liability under one or more of the designated educational loan
programs, for a total loan assumption of up to eight thousand dollars
($8,000).
(4) After a program participant has completed four consecutive
school years of teaching service or employment as a school nurse
, the commission shall assume up to a maximum of an additional
three thousand dollars ($3,000) of the participant's outstanding
liability under one or more of the designated educational loan
programs, for a total loan assumption of up to eleven thousand
dollars ($11,000).
(b) For purposes of this section, "school year" means at least 175
school days or its equivalent.
(c) An applicant who teaches is employed
on less than a full-time basis may participate in the program,
but shall not be eligible for loan repayment until that person
teaches completes teaching service or
employment as a school nurse for the equivalent of a full-time
academic year.
SEC. 5. Section 69613.6 of the Education Code is amended to read:
69613.6. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), if a program
participant fails to complete a minimum of four consecutive school
years of classroom instruction or employment as a school nurse
on a full-time basis or the equivalent on a part-time basis as
required by this article, under the terms of the agreement pursuant
to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 69613, the participant
shall assume full liability for all student loan obligations
remaining after the commission's assumption of loan liability for the
last year of qualifying teaching service pursuant to Section 69613.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if a program participant
becomes unable to complete one of the four consecutive years of
teaching service or employment as a school nurse on a
full-time basis or the equivalent on a part-time basis due to serious
illness, pregnancy, or other natural causes, or is called to active
military duty status, the participant shall receive a deferral of the
resumption of full liability for the loan for a period not to exceed
one calendar year, unless approved by the commission for a longer
period. The commission shall make no further payments under the loan
assumption agreement until the applicable teaching requirements
specified in Section 69613.2 have been specified.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a program participant
shall receive a deferral of the resumption of full liability for the
loan for a period not to exceed one calendar year, unless approved by
the commission for a longer period, if the participant becomes
unable to complete one of the four consecutive years of teaching
service or employment as a school nurse due to being laid
off, reassigned, or other reasons beyond the control of the
participant, as determined by the commission.
(2) The commission shall make no further payments under the loan
assumption agreement until the applicable teaching
requirements specified in Section 69613.2 have been satisfied.
(d) If a program participant fails to redeem an agreement for
student loan assumption within 10 years of the agreement's issuance,
the participant shall assume full liability for all student loan
obligations.
SEC. 6. Section 69615 of the Education Code is amended to read:
69615. (a) The commission shall administer this article, and
shall adopt rules and regulations for that purpose. The rules and
regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, provisions
regarding the period of time during which an agreement shall remain
valid, the reallocation of resources in light of agreements that are
not utilized by program participants, the failure, for any reason, of
a program participant to complete a minimum of four consecutive
years of classroom instruction or employment as a school nurse
, and the development of projections for funding purposes.
(b) The commission shall solicit the advice of representatives
from postsecondary education institutions, the State Department of
Education, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, school districts,
and county offices of education regarding proposed rules and
regulations.