HOUSE BILL 371
56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023
INTRODUCED BY
Elizabeth "Liz" Thomson and Tara Jaramillo and Kathleen Cates and Christine Trujillo and Joanne J. Ferrary
AN ACT
RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION; CHANGING THE SHORT TITLE OF CHAPTER 21, ARTICLE 22H NMSA 1978 TO THE "SCHOOL PERSONNEL LOAN REPAYMENT ACT"; INCLUDING INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDERS IN THE ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 21-22H-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2013, Chapter 177, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-22H-1. SHORT TITLE.--Chapter 21, Article 22H NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "[Teacher] School Personnel Loan Repayment Act"."
SECTION 2. Section 21-22H-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2013, Chapter 177, Section 2) is amended to read:
"21-22H-2. PURPOSE.--The purpose of the [Teacher] School Personnel Loan Repayment Act is to increase the number of teachers in designated [high-risk] high-need teacher positions and to increase the number of instructional support providers in public schools through an educational loan repayment program. The act provides for repayment of the principal and reasonable interest accrued on loans obtained from the federal government for teacher and instructional support provider education purposes."
SECTION 3. Section 21-22H-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2013, Chapter 177, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-22H-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the [Teacher] School Personnel Loan Repayment Act:
A. "department" means the higher education department;
B. "designated high-need teacher positions" means teacher positions in specific public schools 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) for teachers who are minorities; and
(5) in a public school that is low-performing or serves a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students; [and]
C. "instructional support provider" means a person who is employed to support the instructional program of a school district or charter school, including an educational assistant, school counselor, educational diagnostician, social worker, school nurse, speech-language pathologist, psychologist, physical therapist, physical therapy assistant, occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant, recreational therapist, behavior specialist, marriage and family therapist, interpreter for the deaf, rehabilitation counselor, behavioral therapist, alcohol, drug and substance abuse counselor, substance abuse associate and other practitioners designated by law or rule of the department;
[C.] D. "loan" means a grant of money to defray the costs incidental to a [teacher] teacher's or instructional support provider's education, under a contract between the federal government and a teacher or instructional support provider, requiring repayment of principal and interest; and
E. "school personnel" means teachers and instructional support providers."
SECTION 4. Section 21-22H-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2013, Chapter 177, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-22H-4. DEPARTMENT POWERS AND DUTIES--[TEACHER] SCHOOL PERSONNEL ELIGIBILITY--QUALIFICATIONS.--
A. The department may grant a loan repayment award to repay loans obtained [for the teacher] by school personnel for educational expenses [of a teacher] upon such terms and conditions as may be imposed by rules of the department.
B. Applicants shall be New Mexico licensed [New Mexico teachers] school personnel who are bona fide citizens and residents of the United States and of New Mexico and have taught or provided instructional support for at least three years in New Mexico. High priority shall be given to applicants who are teaching in designated high-need teacher positions or providing instructional support in instructional support provider positions in the state.
C. The department and the public education department shall jointly make a full and careful investigation of the ability and qualifications of each applicant and determine the fitness of [a teacher] the applicant to participate in the [teacher] school personnel loan repayment program."
SECTION 5. Section 21-22H-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2013, Chapter 177, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-22H-5. 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-need teacher position or instructional support provider position, as determined by the public education department, the [teacher's] applicant's total [teacher] applicable education indebtedness and available balances in the [teacher] school personnel loan repayment fund;
(2) award amounts for other [teachers] applicants shall be based on the need for a teacher or instructional support provider position that can be filled by the applicant, as determined by the public education department, the [teacher's] applicant's total [teacher] applicable education indebtedness and available balances in the [teacher] school personnel loan repayment fund;
(3) preference in making awards shall be to [teachers] applicants who have graduated from a New Mexico public post-secondary educational institution;
(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 or instructional support provider shall not exceed the total [teacher] applicable education indebtedness remaining for that teacher or instructional support provider.
B. The following [teacher] education debts are not eligible for repayment pursuant to the [Teacher] School Personnel 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 or instructional support provider and the department acting on behalf of the state. The contract shall provide for the payment by the state of a stated sum each year to the teacher's or instructional support provider's federal government lender not to exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000) per year and shall state the obligations of the teacher or instructional support provider under the program, including a minimum two-school-year period of service, quarterly reporting requirements and other obligations established by the department. Execution of 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.
D. The department shall make annual payments pursuant to contracts only after satisfactory completion of a full year of teaching or instructional support as certified by the public education department. The contract of any teacher or instructional support provider who does not complete a full year of teaching or instructional support shall be voided, and the teacher or instructional support provider shall forfeit any right to that year's payment pursuant to the contract.
E. Each contract shall be for an initial two-year period and may be extended for three additional two-year contracts. The department shall not enter into any contracts with a single teacher or instructional support provider for more than eight years of repayment.
F. Loan repayment awards shall be in the form of payments from the [teacher] school personnel loan repayment fund directly to the federal government lender of a teacher or instructional support provider who has received the award and shall be considered a payment on behalf of the teacher or instructional support provider pursuant to the contract between the department and the teacher or instructional support provider. A loan repayment award shall not obligate the state or the department to the teacher's or instructional support provider'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] School Personnel Loan Repayment Act. The rules shall provide:
(1) a procedure for determining the amount of a loan that will be repaid for each year of service; and
(2) for the disbursement of loan repayment awards to a teacher's or instructional support provider's federal government lender in annual installments after completion of each qualifying full year of teaching or instructional support."
SECTION 6. Section 21-22H-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2013, Chapter 177, Section 6) is amended to read:
"21-22H-6. CONTRACTS--ENFORCEMENT.--The general form of a contract required pursuant to the [Teacher] School Personnel Loan Repayment Act shall be prepared and approved by the attorney general, and each contract shall be signed by the teacher or instructional support provider and the designated representative of the department on behalf of the state. 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 or instructional support provider under any such contract."
SECTION 7. Section 21-22H-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2013, Chapter 177, Section 7, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-22H-7. [TEACHER] SCHOOL PERSONNEL LOAN REPAYMENT FUND CREATED--METHOD OF PAYMENT.--The "[teacher] school personnel loan repayment fund" is created in the state treasury. All money appropriated for the [teacher] school personnel 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 subject to appropriation by the legislature to the department for making loan repayment awards pursuant to the [Teacher] School Personnel Loan Repayment Act. 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."
SECTION 8. Section 21-22H-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2013, Chapter 177, Section 8) is amended to read:
"21-22H-8. CANCELLATION.--The department may cancel any contract made between it and a teacher or instructional support provider pursuant to the [Teacher] School Personnel Loan Repayment Act for any reasonable cause deemed sufficient by the department."
SECTION 9. Section 21-22H-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2013, Chapter 177, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-22H-9. 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] School Personnel Loan Repayment Act; the loan repayment awards granted; the names and addresses of [teachers] school personnel who received loan repayment awards; the names and locations of the positions filled by those [teachers] school personnel; the name of each teacher or instructional support provider who received a loan repayment award who is not serving in a designated high-need teacher position or instructional support provider position, the amount owed on each teacher's or instructional support provider's loan and the amount paid on each teacher's or instructional support provider's loan by loan repayment awards; and the number of [teachers] school personnel whose contracts were voided because they did not complete a full year of teaching or instructional support."
SECTION 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2023.
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