Mississippi Administrative Code
Title 10 - Education Institutions and Agencies
Part 681 - Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program (WRTR) Rules and Regulations
Chapter 1 - Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program (WRTR) Rules and Regulations
Rule 10-681-1.1 - Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program (WRTR) Rules and Regulations

A. The applicant must be a U.S. citizen.

B. The applicant must have graduated with a bachelor's degree from an institution of higher learning that is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) or a comparable accreditation body.

C. The applicant must have obtained a standard five-year educator's license from the State Board of Education.

D. First-time applicants must be first-year teachers, and renewal applicants must be second- or third-year teachers.

E. The applicant must teach full-time, as defined by the State Board of Education. Qualifying positions include teacher and school librarian; invalid positions include, but are not limited to, the following: assistant teacher, full-time substitute, high school counselor, curriculum specialist or administrator.

F. The applicant must teach full-time for a period of not less than one (1) academic year in grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12) in a Mississippi public school or public charter school.

G. The applicant must have outstanding qualifying educational loans, received while pursuing an undergraduate degree. Qualifying educational loans obtained while in undergraduate school include the principal, interest, and related expenses such as the required interest premium on the unpaid balances of government (federal, state or local) and commercial loans obtained by the recipient for undergraduate educational expenses. Perkins loans and loans attained for receiving a master's degree do not qualify for repayment under WRTR.

H. The applicant must not have received funds from the William Winter Teacher Forgivable Loan Program (WWTS), William Winter Alternate Route Forgivable Loan Program (WWAR), Critical Needs Teacher Forgivable Loan Program (CNTP), Critical Needs Alternate Route Teacher Forgivable Loan Program (CNAR), or Teacher Education Scholars Forgivable Loan Program (TES) as an undergraduate student.

I. The applicant must not presently be in default or delinquent on any federal, state, local or commercial qualifying educational loan.

A. First time applicants must:

B. Renewal applicants must:

A. Awards will be made to applicants with outstanding qualifying educational loans obtained while in undergraduate school. Qualifying educational loans obtained while in undergraduate school include the principal, interest, and related expenses such as the required interest premium on the unpaid balances of government (federal, state or local) and commercial loans obtained by the recipient for undergraduate educational expenses. Perkins loans and loans attained for receiving a master's degree do not qualify for repayment under WRTR.

B. Recipients shall be selected on a first-come, first-served basis of all eligible applicants and shall be limited to one hundred fifty (150) first-time, first-year recipients each year. After three years, the program will never award more than 450 recipients each year.

C. Among first-time, first-year teacher recipients, priority consideration shall be given to persons who are teaching in a public school district designated as a geographical critical teacher shortage area by the State Board of Education.

D. In the second and subsequent years of the program, priority consideration shall first be given to renewal applicants.

A. Awards for recipients who have signed a contract to teach in a public school district that is not designated as a geographical critical teacher shortage area by the State Board of Education shall be as follows:

B. Awards for recipients who have signed a contract to teach in a public school district that is designated as a geographical critical teacher shortage area by the State Board of Education shall be as follows (NOTE: Designation as a Title I school does not necessarily mean that the school qualifies as a geographical critical teacher shortage area):

C. Renewal applicants who move to another public school district shall be eligible to receive a renewal award based on the amount allowed under the program in the new district where the teacher is employed.

D. The annual award amount shall never exceed the outstanding balance of the qualifying undergraduate educational loan.

E. Awards shall be granted annually, and recipients shall have no obligation to seek a future award.

F. Awards shall be paid annually to the recipient's lender/loan servicer and applied to the outstanding balance. Monies paid on the recipient's behalf toward qualifying undergraduate educational loans prior to receiving a WRTR award will not be eligible for repayment through the WRTR program.

G. Funds are provided for the repayment of undergraduate loans only.

A. The recipient must maintain a standard five-year Mississippi educator's license while participating in the program.

B. The recipient must teach full-time for the full year in grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12) in the State of Mississippi in the public school district or public charter school where the applicant was initially awarded.

C. By May 31 at the conclusion of the recipient's contract year, the recipient must submit to the Board an annual Contract Completion Form. The form must be received for the Board to disburse the offered award amount to the loan servicer.

D. While receiving funds, the WRTR recipient must at all times keep the Board informed of the recipient's current, correct, and complete contact information. This information may be updated via the WRTR recipient's student MAAPP account online.