20 U.S.C. § 1078: Loan forgiveness for teachers

It is the purpose of this section to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession. in a school or location that qualifies under section 1087ee(a)(2)(A) of this title for loan cancellation for Perkins loan recipients who teach in such schools or locations; and if employed as an elementary school or secondary school teacher, is highly qualified as defined in section 9101 1 of the Elementary Secondary 1 See References in Text note below. 2 Education Act of 1965 [ 2 So in original. Probably should be preceded by “and”. 20 U.S.C. 7801 ], or meets the requirements of subsection (g)(3); and is not in default on a loan for which the borrower seeks forgiveness. The Secretary shall repay not more than $5,000 in the aggregate of the loan obligation on a loan made under section 1078 or 1078–8 of this title that is outstanding after the completion of the fifth complete school year of teaching described in subsection (b)(1). No borrower may receive a reduction of loan obligations under both this section and section 1087j of this title . A loan amount for a loan made under section 1078–3 of this title may be a qualified loan amount for the purposes of this subsection only to the extent that such loan amount was used to repay a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or a loan made under section 1078 or 1078–8 of this title for a borrower who meets the requirements of subsection (b), as determined in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. who meets the requirements of subsection (b); and whose qualifying employment for purposes of such subsection is teaching mathematics or science on a full-time basis; and who meets the requirements of subsection (b); whose qualifying employment for purposes of such subsection is as a special education teacher whose primary responsibility is to provide special education to children with disabilities (as those terms are defined in section 1401 of this title ); and who, as certified by the chief administrative officer of the public or non-profit private elementary school or secondary school in which the borrower is employed, or, in the case of a teacher who is employed by an educational service agency, as certified by the chief administrative officer of such agency, is teaching children with disabilities that correspond with the borrower’s special education training and has demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in the content areas of the elementary school or secondary school curriculum that the borrower is teaching. The Secretary is authorized to issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize any refunding of any repayment of a loan. If the list of schools in which a teacher may perform service pursuant to subsection (b) is not available before May 1 of any year, the Secretary may use the list for the year preceding the year for which the determination is made to make such service determination. meets the requirements of subsection (b)(1)(A) in any year during such service; and in a subsequent year fails to meet the requirements of such subsection, section 1078–11 of this title ; section 1087e(m) of this title ; or subtitle D of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 12601 et seq.). An individual who is employed as a teacher in a private school and is exempt from State certification requirements (unless otherwise applicable under State law), may, in lieu of the requirement of subsection (b)(1)(B), have such employment treated as qualifying employment under this section if such individual is permitted to and does satisfy rigorous subject knowledge and skills tests by taking competency tests in the applicable grade levels and subject areas. For such purposes, the competency tests taken by such a private school teacher shall be recognized by 5 or more States for the purpose of fulfilling the highly qualified teacher requirements under section 9101 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [ 20 U.S.C. 7801 ], and the score achieved by such teacher on each test shall equal or exceed the average passing score of those 5 States. For purposes of this section, the term “year”, where applied to service as a teacher, means an academic year as defined by the Secretary. The amendments made by paragraph (1) of this subsection to sections 428J(b)(1) and 460(b)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 [sections 1078–10(b)(1) and 1087j(b)(1)(A) of this title] shall not be applied to disqualify any individual who, before the date of enactment of this Act [ Oct. 30, 2004 ], commenced service that met and continues to meet the requirements of such sections as such sections were in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. Subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not apply for purposes of obtaining increased qualified loan amounts under sections 428J(c)(3) and 460(c)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 [sections 1078–10(c)(3) and 1087j(c)(3) of this title] as added by subsection (b) of this section.” notify local educational agencies eligible to participate in the Small Rural Achievement Program authorized under subpart 1 of part B of title VI [now V] of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [ 20 U.S.C. 7345 et seq.] of the benefits available under the amendments made by this section [amending this section and section 1087j of this title ]; and encourage such agencies to notify their teachers of such benefits.”