§18C-4A-1. Selection criteria and procedures for loan assistance; effective date.

(a) The Higher Education Student Financial Aid Advisory Board created by §18C-1-5 of this code shall select recipients to receive Teacher Education Loan Repayment Program awards.  The advisory board shall make decisions regarding loan repayment awards pursuant to §18C-4-1 of this code and rules of the commission.  

(b) To be eligible for a loan repayment award, an applicant shall currently be employed in a public school in this state as a teacher in a critical teacher shortage field or as a school counselor at the elementary, middle or secondary level in a school or geographic area of the state identified as an area of critical need for such field.

(c) In accordance with the rule promulgated pursuant to §18C-4-1 of this code, the Vice Chancellor for Administration shall develop additional eligibility criteria and procedures for the administration of the loan repayment program.

(d) The Vice Chancellor for Administration shall make available program application forms to public and private schools in the state via the website of the commission and the State Department of Education and in other locations convenient to potential applicants.

(e) The amendments to this article during the 2019 First Extraordinary Session of the Legislature shall be effective for school years beginning on or after July 1, 2020, and the provisions of this article existing immediately prior to the 2019 First Extraordinary Session of the Legislature remain in effect for school years beginning prior to July 1, 2020.