This
is an amendment to 5.7.5 NMAC, Sections 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14,
effective 7/30/2019.
5.7.5.2 SCOPE: Provisions
for 5.7.5 NMAC apply to certain [education professionals] teachers
that are selected to participate in the loan repayment program described in
this rule.
[5.7.5.2 NMAC - N, 10/31/2013; A,
7/30/2019]
5.7.5.6 OBJECTIVE: The objective and purpose of 5.7.5 NMAC
is to increase the number of teachers in [designated] public schools
and the number of teachers in [high-risk] high-need [teacher]
positions in public schools through an educational loan repayment program. The program provides for repayment of the
principal and reasonable interest accrued on loans obtained from the federal
government for teacher education purposes.
[5.7.5.6 NMAC - N, 10/31/2013; A,
7/30/2019]
5.7.5.7 DEFINITIONS:
A. “Department” means the New Mexico
higher education department.
[B. “Designated high-risk teacher positions”
means teacher positions in specific public schools that:
(1) have
been designated by the public education department as schools with a high
percentage of students who are not meeting acceptable academic proficiency
levels; and
(2) are
located in geographic areas with a high rate of poverty;]
[C] B. “Loan” means a grant of funds to defray
the educational expenses incidental to a teacher education, under a contract
between the federal government and a teacher, requiring repayment of principal
and interest.
[5.7.5.7 NMAC - N, 10/31/2013; A,
7/30/2019]
5.7.5.9 TEACHER ELIGIBILITY:
A. [Applicants
shall be] To be considered for the program, an applicant must:
(1) be a licensed
New Mexico [teachers and shall be bona fide citizens; and] teacher;
(2) [shall be
bona fide citizens and residents] be a bona fide citizen and resident
of the United States and New Mexico; and
(3) have taught at
least three school-years in New Mexico.
B. [Applicants
shall declare their intent to practice as teachers in designated high-risk
teacher positions in the state].
To
be considered a high-priority applicant for a loan repayment award the applicant
shall be a teacher in a designated high-need position in the state. High-need positions include positions that
are:
(1) for teachers who are endorsed and
teach bilingual education;
(2) for teachers who are endorsed and
teach early childhood education or special education;
(3) for teachers who
are endorsed and teach science, technology, engineering, mathematics or career technical
education courses; or
(4) in a public school that is low
performing or serves a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students.
C. Teachers that
are not in a designated high-need teacher position may also be considered for
loan repayment awards.
[5.7.5.9 NMAC - N, 10/31/2013; A, 7/30/2019]
5.7.5.10 LOAN REPAYMENT AWARD CRITERIA;
CONTRACT TERMS; PAYMENT:
A. Loan repayment
award criteria shall provide that:
(1) for
high-priority applicants, award amounts shall be dependent upon a specific
public school's need for the designated [high-risk]
high-need teacher
position, as determined by the public education department, the teacher's total
teacher education indebtedness and available balances in the teacher loan
repayment fund;
(2) award
amounts for other teachers shall be based on the need for a teacher position
that can be filled by the applicant, as determined by the public education
department, the teacher's total teacher education indebtedness and available
balances in the teacher loan repayment fund;
[(2)] (3) preference in making awards shall be to
teachers who are historically underrepresented minorities in New Mexico’s
teaching profession or teachers who have graduated from a New Mexico public
postsecondary educational institution;
[(3) awards shall be made to eligible
teachers who fill a designated high-risk teacher position;]
(4) award
amounts shall not exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000) per year and may
be modified based upon funding availability or other special circumstances; and
(5) the
total amount of awards made to any one teacher shall not exceed the total
teacher education indebtedness [of] remaining for that teacher.
B. The
following teacher education debts are not eligible for repayment pursuant to
the Teacher Loan Repayment Act:
(1) amounts incurred as a result of
participation in state loan-for-service programs or other state programs whose
purpose states that service be provided in exchange for financial assistance;
(2) scholarships that have a service
component or obligation;
(3) loans
from a commercial lender;
(4) personal loans from friends or
relatives; and
(5) loans that exceed individual standard
school expense levels.
C. Every loan
repayment award shall be evidenced by a contract between the teacher and the
department acting on behalf of the state. The contract shall provide for the annual
payment by the state of a stated sum to the teacher's federal government lender
and shall state the obligations of the teacher under the program, including a
minimum two-school year period of service in a designated [high-risk] high-need
teacher position, quarterly employment reporting requirements and other
obligations established by the department.
D. [Teachers
who serve a complete school year in a designated high-risk teacher position
shall receive credit for one year for the purpose of calculating any loan
repayment award amounts. The minimum
loan repayment award amount to be paid for each school year completed shall be
established by the department.] Execution of the contracts shall occur
prior to the start of a school year and the two school year period of service
starts at the execution of the contract. Each contract shall be for an initial two
school year period. Following completion
of the contract a teacher may reapply for consideration of an additional
contract. Teachers may receive a maximum
of three additional two-year contracts. Contracts
between a teacher and the department shall not provide for more than a total of
eight years of repayment.
E. [The
contract between a teacher and the department shall provide that, if the
teacher does not comply with the terms of the contract, the teacher shall
reimburse the department for all loan payments made on the teacher's behalf,
plus reasonable interest at a rate to be determined by the department, unless
the department finds acceptable extenuating circumstances for why the teacher
cannot serve or comply with the terms of the contract.] The department
shall make an annual payment pursuant to the contract only after the teacher
provides verification of satisfactory completion of a full year of teaching as
certified by the public education department. If a teacher does not complete the first full
year of teaching, the teacher shall forfeit any right to that year’s payment
under the contract.
F. Loan
repayment awards shall be in the form of payments from the teacher loan
repayment fund directly to the federal government lender of a teacher who has
received the award and shall be considered a payment on behalf of the teacher
pursuant to the contract between the department and the teacher. A loan repayment award shall not obligate the
state or the department to the teacher's federal government lender for any
other payment and shall not be considered to create any privity of contract
between the state or the department and the lender.
[G. The department, after consulting with the public education
department, shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of the Teacher Loan
Repayment Act. The rules:
(1) shall provide a procedure for
determining the amount of a loan that will be repaid for each year of service
in a designated high-risk teacher position; and
(2) may provide for the disbursement of
loan repayment awards to a teacher's federal government lender in annual or
other periodic installments.]
[5.7.5.10 NMAC - N, 10/31/2013; A,
7/30/2019]
5.7.5.11 CONTRACTS [AND ENFORCEMENT]:
[A.] The
general form of a contract required pursuant to the Teacher Loan Repayment Act shall
be prepared and approved by the attorney general, and each contract shall be
signed by the teacher and the designated representative of the department on
behalf of the state.
[B. The
department is vested with full and complete authority and power to sue in its
own name for any balance due the state from a teacher under any such contract.]
[5.7.5.11 NMAC - N, 10/31/2013; A,
7/30/2019]
5.7.5.12 TEACHER
LOAN REPAYMENT FUND CREATED AND METHOD OF PAYMENT:
A. The
"teacher loan repayment fund" is created in the state
treasury. All money appropriated for the
teacher loan repayment program shall be credited to
the fund [, and any repayment of
awards and interest received by the department shall be credited to the fund]. Income from the fund shall be credited to the
fund, and balances in the fund shall not revert to any other fund. Money in the fund is [appropriated] subject
to appropriation by the legislature to the department for making loan
repayment awards pursuant to the Teacher Loan Repayment Act.
B. All
payments for loan repayment awards shall be made upon vouchers signed by the
designated representative of the department and upon a warrant issued by the
secretary of finance and administration.
[5.7.5.12 NMAC - N, 10/31/2013; A,
7/30/2019]
5.7.5.14 REPORTS: Prior to each regular session of the
legislature, the department shall make annual reports to the governor and the
legislature of the department's activities pertaining to the Teacher Loan
Repayment Act; the loan repayment awards granted; the names and addresses of
teachers who received loan repayment awards; the names and locations of the
positions filled by those teachers; [and] the name of each teacher who
received a loan repayment award who is not serving in a designated [high-risk]
high-need teacher position[, the reason the teacher is not serving in
a designated high-risk teacher position,]; the amount owed on [the] each
teacher's loan and the amount paid on [the] each teacher's loan
by [any] loan repayment awards; and the number of teachers who did
not complete a full year of teaching.
[5.7.5.14 NMAC - N, 10/31/2013; A,
7/30/2019]