Introduced Version
House Bill 2403 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2403
(By Delegates M. Poling, Perry, Moye,
Lawrence and Paxton)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18C-4-2 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to creating a separate category
within the Underwood-Smith Teacher Scholarship Program for
scholarships and loan repayment assistance for teaching in
high demand teaching fields; application of other provisions
of article; limitations on eligibility; definitions;
scholarship and grant agreements terms; application of other
benefits available; application for repayment assistance;
preferences for awards; residency requirements; program
promotion; and providing for listings of certain job postings
to be made available to recipients and appropriate job
placement offices.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18C-4-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. UNDERWOOD-SMITH TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM.
§18C-4-2. Selection criteria and procedures generally; high
demand teaching fields category; promotion of
programs.
(a) The Governor shall designate an existing scholarship
selection agency or panel to select the recipients of
Underwood-Smith teacher scholarships who meet the eligibility
criteria set forth in subsection (b) of this section. If no such
agency or panel exists, the Governor shall appoint a scholarship
selection panel for this purpose which shall consist of seven
persons representative of public school administrators, teachers,
including preschool teachers, and parents.
(b) Eligibility for an Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship
award shall be limited to West Virginia resident students who:
(1) Have graduated or are graduating from high school and rank
in the top ten percent of their graduating class or the top ten
percent statewide of those West Virginia students taking the
American College Test;
(2) Have a cumulative grade point average of at least three
and twenty-five one hundredths on a possible scale of four after
successfully completing two years of course work at an approved
institution of higher education;
(3) Are public school aides or paraprofessionals as defined in
section eight, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code and
who have a cumulative grade point average of at least three and twenty-five one hundredths on a possible scale of four after
successfully completing two years of course work at an approved
institution of higher education; or
(4) Are graduate students at the master's degree level who
have graduated or are graduating in the top ten percent of their
college graduating class.
(c) In accordance with the rules of the commission, the vice
chancellor for administration shall develop criteria and procedures
for the selection of scholarship recipients that reflect the
purposes of this article and the areas in which particular efforts
will be made in the selection of scholars as set forth in section
one of this article and which also may include, but not be limited
to, the grade point average of the applicant, involvement in
extracurricular activities, financial need, current academic
standing and an expression of interest in teaching as expressed in
an essay written by the applicant. Such criteria and procedures
further may require the applicant to furnish letters of
recommendation from teachers and others. It is the intent of the
Legislature that academic abilities be the primary criteria for
selecting scholarship recipients: Provided, That the qualified
applicants with the highest academic abilities who intend to pursue
teaching careers in areas of critical need and shortage as
determined by the State Board of Education shall be given priority.
(d) Within the Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship program, the vice chancellor for administration shall establish a separate
category of scholarships and loan repayment assistance grants for
teaching in high demand teaching fields in accordance with this
subsection. The vice chancellor shall reserve at least twenty-five
percent of the funds available for new awards each year for
priority use for awards within this separate category unless a
separate legislative appropriation is made for this purpose. All
other provisions of this article apply to this separate category
except as modified or extended by the following:
______________(1) The scholarships shall be limited to students, including
students enrolled in an alternative preparation program approved by
the State Board of Education, who are pursuing certification to
teach in high demand teaching fields;
______________(2) The Higher Education Policy Commission and the Board of
Education shall each year establish a priority listing of the high
demand teaching fields applicable for new scholarship and loan
repayment assistance grants awarded during that year's award cycle.
The list in effect for a recipient's initial award applies for
subsequent renewals and forgiveness or cancellation;
______________(3) For the purposes of this subsection, "loan repayment
assistance grant" means the use of funds from this separate
category to satisfy up to $5,000 per year, renewable annually, up
to a maximum of $20,000, of a recipient's outstanding federal
Stafford student financial aid obligations. When making an award of a loan repayment assistance grant, the vice chancellor shall
ensure that other Stafford loan repayment assistance or
cancellation benefits for which the recipient is eligible have been
taken first. A loan repayment assistance grant shall be payable to
the loan holder;
______________(4) The scholarship agreement and the loan repayment
assistance grant agreement shall require the recipient to teach
full-time under contract with a county board of education in this
state in a high demand teaching field for one year for each
scholarship or loan repayment assistance award of up to $5,000
accepted or to meet the other provisions for compliance provided
in this article;
______________(5) To qualify for loan repayment assistance, the applicant
must submit an application to the vice chancellor including a copy
of the applicant's current employment contract, most recent federal
Stafford loan statement, official transcript indicating education
degree and graduation date, and such other information as the vice
chancellor may require. For the purpose of making an initial
application by a person who is a prospective graduate at the end of
the current academic term and who is being employed for the next
school year pending graduation and certification, the application
shall include a certification by the employing county board of
education on a form approved by the vice chancellor attesting that
the applicant is expected to meet the qualifications by the end of the application period. A loan repayment assistance grant award
may not be made to any person unless that person submits evidence
of qualification prior to the close of the award cycle;
______________(6) Loan repayment assistance grants are restricted to
recipients who have begun or will begin qualified teaching duties
within one year of graduation from a teacher preparation or
alternative preparation program of a regionally accredited
institution of higher education in this state; who hold
certification to teach in a high demand teaching field established
in accordance with this subsection; and who are employed by a
county board of education to teach in a high demand teaching field
in the public schools of this state;
______________(7) Preference shall be granted for awards of loan repayment
assistance grants to applicants who are employed in schools
designated as low income schools for the purposes of the federal
Stafford and Perkins student loan forgiveness or cancellation
programs;
______________(8) West Virginia residency is not required at the time of
initial application for a loan repayment assistance grant, but is
required as a condition of receipt of an award and for any
subsequent renewals. Eligibility for a loan repayment assistance
grant may not include criteria except as specified in this
subsection;
______________(9) A person may not be a recipient of both an Underwood-Smith scholarship and loan repayment assistance grant.
______________(d) (e) In developing the selection criteria and procedures to
be used by the panel, the vice chancellor for administration shall
solicit the views of public and private education agencies and
institutions and other interested parties. These views: (1) Shall
be solicited by means of written and published selection criteria
and procedures in final form for implementation; and (2) may be
solicited by means of public hearings on the present and projected
teacher needs of the state or any other methods the vice chancellor
for administration may determine to be appropriate to gather the
information.
(e) (f) The vice chancellor for administration shall make
application forms for Underwood-Smith teacher scholarships
available to public and private high schools in the state and in
other locations convenient to applicants, parents and others, and
shall make an effort to attract students from low-income
backgrounds, ethnic or racial minority students, students with
disabilities, and women or minority students who show interest in
pursuing teaching careers in mathematics and science and who are
underrepresented in those fields.
(g) The vice chancellor shall provide information on the
Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship and loan repayment assistance
grant programs to county boards of education to promote the
programs as a tool to assist the boards with the recruitment of new teachers, particularly in high demand teaching fields. The
information shall include the annual priority listing of high
demand teaching fields for which new loan repayment assistance
grants will be available during the new award cycle. In addition,
the State Superintendent of Schools shall provide the vice
chancellor for administration with a listing on March 1 of each
year the current job postings by county for all teaching positions.
The job postings for which county boards of education are required
to continue to post a position until it is filled with a regularly
employed teacher pursuant to section three, article two, chapter
eighteen-a of this code and any other applicable provisions of law
shall be clearly indicated. The vice chancellor shall make the
listing available to Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship and loan
repayment assistance grant recipients and appropriate job placement
offices to facilitate the application of graduated and prospective
graduates for employment.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a separate
category of the Underwood-Smith teacher scholarship program for
students pursuing certification in high demand teaching fields and
for assistance with federal Stafford student loan repayment for
teacher education graduates who teach in high demand teaching
fields in the state. The programs include students and graduates
in alternative preparation programs. The bill requires the program
information to be disseminated to county boards of education for
use in assisting recruiting new graduates and for a listing of the
job postings to be made available to recipients and appropriate job
placement offices.
Strike-throughs indicate existing language that would be
removed, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.