Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) Applicant
Eligibility. Notwithstanding §
23.288(a) of
this subchapter (relating to Applicant Eligibility), to be eligible to receive
loan repayment assistance funds, a teacher who first established eligibility
for the Program based on an application submitted prior to September 1, 2023,
must:
(1) submit a completed application,
including any requested documents, to the Coordinating Board by the established
deadline posted on the Program web page;
(3) have completed an undergraduate or
graduate program in mathematics or science;
(4) have earned a cumulative GPA of at least
3.0 on a four-point scale, or the equivalent, at the institution from which the
teacher graduated;
(5) be certified
under the Texas Education Code, chapter 21, subchapter B, to teach mathematics
or science in a Texas public school;
(6) have been employed as either:
(A) a full-time classroom teacher teaching
mathematics or science in a Title I school for one to eight consecutive service
periods, unless a break in service periods has occurred as a result of the
circumstances described in subsection (b) of this section; or
(B) a full-time classroom teacher teaching
math or science in a public school for one to four consecutive service periods
following, with no break in service periods, four or more consecutive service
periods of employment as a full-time classroom teacher teaching mathematics or
science in a Title I school, unless a break in service periods has occurred as
a result of the circumstances described in subsection (b) of this section; and
(7) enter into an
agreement or have an agreement on file with the Coordinating Board that
includes the following provisions:
(A) the
applicant will accept an offer of continued employment to teach mathematics or
science, as applicable based on the teacher's certification, for an average of
at least four hours each school day in a Title I school, for four consecutive
years, beginning with the previous school year at the time of the application
for enrollment in the Program;
(B)
the applicant may complete up to four additional consecutive school years
teaching mathematics or science, as applicable based on the teacher's
certification, for an average of at least four hours each school day in any
Texas public school, beginning with the school year immediately following the
last of the four consecutive school years described by paragraph (6)(A) of this
subsection; and
(C) the applicant
understands that loan repayment assistance grants are contingent on available
funding received, the Coordinating Board may make a financial commitment only
based on funds that have been appropriated for each two-year state budget
period, and the teacher will be released from the teaching obligation for any
year of employment for which funds are not available.
(b) Although funding limitations
may require the Coordinating Board to exercise the ranking priorities
established in §
23.289 of this title (relating to
Applicant Ranking Priorities) a teacher who established eligibility for the
Program based on an application submitted prior to September 1, 2023, shall not
lose Program eligibility due to failure to meet the consecutive years of
qualifying employment requirement if the break in employment service is a
result of the person's:
(1) full-time
enrollment in a course of study related to the field of teaching that is
approved by the State Board for Educator Certification and provided by a Texas
institution of higher education, as defined in Texas Education Code, §
61.003;
(2) service on active duty as a member of the
armed forces of the United States, including as a member of a reserve or
National Guard unit called for active duty;
(3) temporary total disability for a period
of not more than thirty-six months as established by the affidavit of a
qualified physician;
(4) inability
to secure employment as required in a Title I school for a period not to exceed
twelve months, because of care required by a disabled spouse or child; or
(5) inability, despite reasonable
efforts, to secure, for a single period not to exceed twelve months, employment
in a Title I school.
(c)
Limitation. A teacher who first established eligibility for the Program based
on an application submitted prior to September 1, 2023, who transfers to a
Texas public school that is not a Title I school after completing four
consecutive years of employment at a Title I school may qualify for no more
than 75 percent of the annual award amount established for the fiscal
year.
