Report Title:
Hawaii Educator Loan Program
Description:
Allows recipients of awards from the Hawaii Educator Loan Program to attend any university or college with a State-approved teacher education program and allows them to teach at traditional public or charter schools as a way to repay the loan.
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
3039 |
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TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE HAWAII EDUCATOR LOAN PROGRAM.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 304A-701, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§304A-701 Hawaii educator loans;
eligibility; amounts; educator loan forgiveness program; repayment; collection.
(a) There is created the Hawaii educator loan program to be administered by
the University of Hawaii, in partnership with a financial institution whose
operations are principally conducted in Hawaii, to provide financial support to
students and teachers who complete [a] any state-approved teacher
education program recognized by the Hawaii teacher standards board and
who agree to teach as a full-time teacher for a period of [time to be
determined by the university prior to the award of a loan,] six
consecutive years from the loan recipient's original date of employment with
the department of education, or a Hawaii charter school, in[:
(1) The Hawaii public school system in a
hard-to-fill position including special education, regular education shortage
categories, or Title 1 schools, and in one of the following capacities:
(A) As an elementary school teacher
teaching in the field of elementary education who has met standards as set
forth by the Hawaii teacher standards board; or
(B) As a secondary school teacher
teaching in the subject area that is relevant to the loan recipient's academic
major as certified by the department of education who has met standards as set
forth by the Hawaii teacher standards board; or
(2) At a school located in a rural area in
the State, as determined by the superintendent of education.] shortage
and difficult to fill school-level instructional teaching positions as
determined by the superintendent of education or the executive director of the
charter school administrative office, and in one of the following capacities:
(1) As an elementary school teacher teaching in the field of education who has met standards as set forth by the Hawaii teacher standards board; or
(2) As a secondary school teacher teaching in the subject area that is relevant to the loan recipient's academic major as certified by the department of education who has met the standards as set forth by the Hawaii teacher standards board.
Eligibility shall be determined by the university on
a competitive basis. The amount to be loaned to [a student] an applicant
shall be determined by the board of regents and the financial institution
with whom the university partners to administer this program based on need
for financial aid and proof of acceptance into [a] any
state-approved teacher education program [at the university.] recognized
by the Hawaii teacher standards board. The maximum amount of loans that [a
student] an applicant may receive under this program shall be an
aggregate amount equivalent to tuition payments and costs of textbooks and
other instructional materials necessary to complete [a] the
state-approved teacher education program[.] chosen by the applicant.
(b) All loans made under this subpart shall
bear interest at five per cent simple interest. Repayment of principal and
interest charges shall commence one year after graduation or three months after
a loan recipient ceases to be enrolled in a state-approved teacher education
program and shall be paid in periodic installments within a [seven-year]
six-year period. The university may charge late fees and all other
reasonable costs for the collection of delinquent loans.
(c) The university shall adopt rules to implement the educator loan program. The rules shall be adopted pursuant to chapter 91, but shall be exempt from the public notice and public hearing requirements.
(d) Liability for repayment of a loan shall be canceled upon the death or permanent total disability of the borrower.
(e) Upon a showing of proof that the loan recipient has completed a state-approved teacher education program and for each year that the loan award recipient teaches in the Hawaii public school system including any Hawaii charter school pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or (2), loan forgiveness shall be provided to the recipient as follows:
(1) Ten per cent of the total amount of the loan award and interest shall be waived every year for the first five years of repayment; and
(2) [Twenty-five] Fifty per cent of the
total amount of the loan award and interest shall be waived [every year for
the sixth and seventh years of repayment.] in the sixth year.
(f) If a loan recipient who is a graduate of a
state-approved teacher education program subject to this section and teaching
pursuant to subsection (a) fails to teach in the Hawaii public school system
for the minimum [number of years, as determined by the university prior to
the loan, from the recipient's original date of employment with the department
of education, excluding temporary leaves of absence,] six-year
commitment, then the recipient shall repay any remaining loan balance at
the rate of ten per cent simple interest.
(g) In accordance with chapter 103D, the university may enter into written contracts with collection agencies for the purpose of collecting delinquent loans. All payments collected, exclusive of a collection agency's commissions, shall revert, and be credited, to the Hawaii educator loan program special fund. A collection agency that enters into a written contract with the university for the collection of delinquent loans pursuant to this section may collect a commission from the debtor in accordance with the terms of, and up to the amounts authorized in, the written contract."
SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
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BY REQUEST |