HF 4016

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; establishing a no interest loan 
  1.3             program for students training to become teachers; 
  1.4             providing for rulemaking; appropriating money; 
  1.5             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.6             chapter 122A. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [122A.655] [TEACHER TRAINING NO INTEREST LOAN 
  1.9   PROGRAM.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [PROGRAM ESTABLISHED; ACCOUNT CREATED.] A 
  1.11  teacher training no interest loan program is established to 
  1.12  assist students enrolled in approved teacher preparation 
  1.13  programs with their program tuition and costs.  A teacher 
  1.14  training no interest loan program account is created in the 
  1.15  state treasury.  The account consists of money appropriated by 
  1.16  the legislature and repayments and penalties collected under 
  1.17  subdivisions 4 and 5.  All money in this account is annually 
  1.18  appropriated to the commissioner and must be used to make loans 
  1.19  to qualified students according to subdivision 2. 
  1.20     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY; APPLICATION; RULEMAKING.] (a) To 
  1.21  participate in this program, a person must: 
  1.22     (1) be a resident of Minnesota; 
  1.23     (2) be enrolled in and attending or enrolled to attend 
  1.24  within six months of the date of the loan application an 
  1.25  approved Minnesota teacher preparation program; 
  1.26     (3) be pursuing an undergraduate degree at an approved 
  2.1   Minnesota teacher preparation program; and 
  2.2      (4) agree to be employed as a teacher in a school district 
  2.3   in Minnesota during the first .... years of the loan repayment 
  2.4   period. 
  2.5      (b) To be eligible to participate in this program, a person 
  2.6   must submit an application to the commissioner in the form and 
  2.7   manner the commissioner prescribes. 
  2.8      (c) The commissioner shall select applicants that qualify 
  2.9   for this program, notify eligible people about the program, 
  2.10  develop and disseminate application materials, and carry out 
  2.11  other activities needed to implement this section. 
  2.12     (d) The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement the 
  2.13  teacher training no interest loan program. 
  2.14     Subd. 3.  [NO INTEREST LOANS.] (a) The commissioner may 
  2.15  loan money upon the terms and conditions as the commissioner 
  2.16  prescribes.  The principal amount of a loan to a student in an 
  2.17  approved Minnesota teacher preparation program shall not exceed 
  2.18  $.......  The aggregate principal amount of all loans made under 
  2.19  this section to a student shall not exceed $........ 
  2.20     (b) Loans made under this section to an individual eligible 
  2.21  student may be made for a maximum of ..... academic years or its 
  2.22  equivalent. 
  2.23     (c) There shall be no interest charged on the loans. 
  2.24     Subd. 4.  [LOAN REPAYMENT.] (a) The commissioner shall 
  2.25  establish repayment procedures for loans made under this 
  2.26  section, but in no event shall the period of permitted repayment 
  2.27  exceed ten years from the eligible student's termination of the 
  2.28  student's teacher preparation program, or 15 years from the date 
  2.29  of the student's first loan under this section, whichever is 
  2.30  less. 
  2.31     (b) The commissioner may establish variable loan repayment 
  2.32  schedules consistent with the need and anticipated income stream 
  2.33  of loan recipients. 
  2.34     (c) The commissioner shall develop an appeals process for 
  2.35  recipients of loans made under this section who believe there is 
  2.36  an unresolved error in the servicing of the loan.  The 
  3.1   commissioner shall provide recipients with a description of the 
  3.2   loan process. 
  3.3      Subd. 5.  [PENALTY.] If a recipient of a loan under this 
  3.4   section does not fulfill the required ..... year length of 
  3.5   service in a Minnesota school district, then the commissioner 
  3.6   must collect from the loan recipient the amount paid under this 
  3.7   no interest loan program plus interest.  The commissioner shall 
  3.8   determine the rate of interest to be charged on loans made under 
  3.9   this section.  The rate of interest on these loans shall not be 
  3.10  subject to any provision of state law limiting the rate of 
  3.11  interest to be charged for a loan of money.  The commissioner 
  3.12  may grant a waiver for all or part of the money owed as a result 
  3.13  of a penalty if according to criteria established by the 
  3.14  commissioner emergency circumstances prevent the loan recipient 
  3.15  from fulfilling the commitment to teach under subdivision 2, 
  3.16  paragraph (a), clause (4). 
  3.17     Subd. 6.  [PAYMENTS TO LOAN ACCOUNT.] The commissioner 
  3.18  shall deposit money collected under this section in the teacher 
  3.19  training no interest loan account under subdivision 1. 
  3.20     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.21     $10,000,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2001 from the 
  3.22  general fund to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  3.23  learning for the teacher training no interest loan program under 
  3.24  section 1.