11 KAR 8:010. Teacher Loan Program.
RELATES TO: KRS 164.770
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 164.748(4),
164.770
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS
164.770 established the Teacher Loan Program to encourage academically talented
students to become teachers in the public schools of the Commonwealth. This
administrative regulation prescribes rules for the administration of the
Teacher Loan Program. 11 KAR 8:030 establishes a new program of teacher
scholarships pursuant to House Bill 799 (1990 RS), Part I, F., 46., p. 52 and
the corresponding budget memorandum. This amendment is necessary to rename the
program established pursuant to KRS 164.770 to avoid confusion.
Section 1. Definitions. (1) "Public
school" means a common school operated under the laws of the Commonwealth
of Kentucky.
(2) "Semester" means a period
of about eighteen (18) weeks, which usually makes up one-half (1/2) of a public
school year or one-half (1/2) of a participating institution's academic year.
(3) "Qualified teaching
service" means employment in a public school in a position requiring a
Kentucky Teacher's Certificate for a major portion of a school day for at least
seventy (70) days during a semester.
(4) "Participating institution"
means an institution of higher education located in Kentucky, which is approved
by the State Board of Education to offer teacher education programs, and which
has in force an agreement with the authority providing for administration of
this program.
Section 2. The Kentucky Higher Education
Assistance Authority (authority) shall, to the extent of appropriations for
such purpose, award teacher loans to persons enrolled or accepted for
enrollment on a full-time basis at participating institutions of higher
education, approved by the State Board of Education to offer teacher education
programs, who declare an intention to enter the teaching profession in the
public schools of the Commonwealth, and who meet the eligibility requirements
set forth herein.
Section 3. Eligibility Criteria.
Graduates of a high school, located in Kentucky, who rank academically in the
top ten (10) percent of their graduating class, or who score at or above the
80th percentile on a test required for admission to the Commonwealth's public
institutions of higher education, and who have not previously received a
baccalaureate degree, shall be eligible to apply for a teacher loan. An
individual who owes repayment of a grant or work-study award, or who is in
default in repayment of any loan owed to the authority, is not eligible to receive
a teacher loan until all such financial obligations to the authority are
satisfied, provided, however, that ineligibility for this reason may be waived,
at the recommendation of a designated staff review committee for cause.
Section 4. Selection Criteria. Recipient
selection will be made on the basis of the following weighted criteria: rank in
class (thirty (30) percent), grade point average (forty (40) percent),
percentile score on the test required for admission to the Commonwealth's
public institutions of higher education (thirty (30) percent). (Test scores of
applicants from minority population groups will be measured relative to the
scores of such minority population groups.) If funds are insufficient to award
all applicants, the loans shall first be awarded to those qualifying applicants
who previously received scholarships. If funds are insufficient to award all
prior recipients who are qualified applicants, then loans shall be prorated in
accordance with the cumulative amount previously received by such applicants.
If funds are sufficient to award new applicants, an award shall be made first
to the applicant with the highest score on the selection criteria and,
thereafter, in a descending order to persons having lower scores until all
available funds are awarded. Once all the criteria have been evaluated and two
(2) or more applicants are equally ranked, selection between the applicants
will be made on the basis of the date the application is received by the
authority.
Section 5. Renewal. Teacher loans shall
be renewed annually upon application for a maximum of three (3) years of
undergraduate study for those who maintain at least the equivalent of a 2.5
cumulative grade point average on a scale of 4.0 and provided that the
recipient, when first eligible, enrolls in a teacher education program and,
thereafter, continues to be enrolled on a full-time basis in such a program.
Awards for summer school attendance shall be made upon separate application.
Section 6. Award Maximums. The maximum
teacher loan award for a summer session shall be $1,250; for a semester shall
be $2,500; or, for an academic year (exclusive of a summer session) shall be
$5,000. The aggregate maximum of teacher loan awards shall not exceed $20,000
per individual. Awards shall not exceed the student's total cost of attendance
as determined by the participating institution.
Section 7. Disbursements. Disbursement of
teacher loans shall be made at the beginning of each semester or summer session
and each such disbursement shall be evidenced by a promissory note, prescribed
by the authority, in which the loan recipient shall agree to repay the loan
funds or render qualified teaching service in lieu thereof.
Section 8. Notifications. Recipients
shall notify the authority within thirty (30) days of:
(1) Change in enrollment status;
(2) Cessation of enrollment in a teacher
education program;
(3) Employment in a qualified teaching
service position; or,
(4) Change of address.
Section 9. Withdrawals. Loan recipients
who, prior to completion, cease to be enrolled on a full-time basis in a
teacher education program at a participating institution, shall immediately
become liable for the repayment to the authority of the sum of all teacher loan
funds received plus interest accrued thereon unless such recipient has an
approved deferment pursuant to 11 KAR 8:020.
Section 10. Repayment. Recipients who do
not begin employment in a qualified teaching service position within the six
(6) month period following completion of a teacher education program in a
participating institution (excluding periods of deferment pursuant to 11 KAR
8:020) shall immediately become liable to the authority for repayment of
principal and interest accrued, pursuant to the earliest promissory note then
outstanding. In each semester thereafter, during which a recipient does not
render qualified teaching service, repayment of an additional promissory note
shall become due, proceeding sequentially from the promissory note having the
earliest date to the most recent date.
Section 11. Repayment Schedule. Written
notification of demand for repayment shall be sent by the authority to the loan
recipient's last known address and shall be effective upon mailing. The
authority may agree, in its sole discretion, to accept repayment in
installments in accordance with a schedule established by the authority. In the
event that more than one (1) promissory note has come due for repayment and
remains unpaid, then payments shall first be applied to the earliest unpaid
promissory note. Payments shall be applied first to accrued interest and then
to principal.
Section 12. Cancellation. (1) In order to
receive cancellation of a promissory note and the interest accrued thereon, a
loan recipient must render qualified teaching service in a public school during
a semester. One (1) such promissory note shall be cancelled for each semester
during which qualified teaching service is verified to the authority. Such
cancellations of promissory notes shall be in sequential order beginning with
the earliest promissory note.
(2) In the event that a recipient has
received loans or scholarships from more than one (1) program administered by
the authority, which require a period of qualified teaching service for
repayment or cancellation, such teaching requirements shall not be fulfilled
concurrently. Unless the authority determines otherwise for cause, loans or
scholarships from more than one (1) program shall be repaid or cancelled by
qualified teaching service in the same order in which they were received.
(3) Verification of qualified teaching
service shall be submitted to the authority in writing, signed by the local
school district superintendent or building principal, within thirty (30) days
of the date a scholarship recipient completes such qualified teaching service.
Section 13. Interest. The interest rate
on loan funds shall be twelve (12) percent per annum simple interest. Interest
accruing on the unpaid principal of each promissory note shall be computed from
the date of disbursement of the respective promissory note, and such interest
shall continue to accrue until the promissory note is paid in full pursuant to
Section 11 of this administrative regulation or cancelled in full pursuant to
Section 12 of this administrative regulation. In the event that the loan is not
repaid or cancelled in accordance with the terms of the promissory note and
related repayment schedules, if any, and judgment is rendered on the debt, then
the annual interest rate shall, from the date of such judgment, not exceed four
(4) percent in excess of the discount rate on ninety (90) day commercial paper
in effect at the Federal Reserve Bank in the Federal Reserve District where the
transaction is consummated or nineteen (19) percent, provided that it shall not
be less than the face rate of the promissory note.
Section 14. Records. A participating
institution shall maintain complete and accurate records pertaining to the
eligibility, enrollment and progress of students receiving aid under this
program and the disbursement of funds and institutional charges as may be
necessary to audit the disposition of funds hereunder. Such records shall be
maintained for at least five (5) years after the student ceases to be enrolled
at the institution.
Section 15. Refunds. A participating
institution shall refund to the authority, within forty (40) days of a
recipient's last date of attendance, any amount attributable to this program
which is determined to be due under the institution's refund policy.
Section 16. Information Dissemination and
Recruitment. The authority shall disseminate information through high school
counselors and school superintendents about this program to potential
recipients. Participating institutions shall provide assurances that program
information will be disseminated to freshmen and sophomores enrolled at that
institution. Participating institutions shall actively recruit students from
minority population groups for participation in this program. (13 Ky.R. 94; Am.
503; eff. 8-12-86; 1613; 1853; eff. 4-14-87; 16 Ky.R. 2694; eff. 8-9-90.)