Section 23-3.9-102 - Educator loan forgiveness program - administration - fund - eligibility(1)(a) The general assembly authorizes the commission to develop and maintain an educator loan forgiveness program for implementation beginning in the 2019-20 academic year for payment of all or part of the principal and interest of the qualified loans of an educator who is hired for a qualified position. Money in the educator loan forgiveness fund, created in subsection (1)(b) of this section, may be used only for repayment of qualified loans through the educator loan forgiveness program. The commission is authorized to seek, accept, and expend gifts, grants, and donations for the educator loan forgiveness program. The commission shall transmit all money received through gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the educator loan forgiveness fund, created in subsection (1)(b) of this section. The commission shall develop loan repayment policies that ensure that money in the educator loan forgiveness fund is used for the repayment of qualified loans of educators employed in qualified positions.(b) There is created the educator loan forgiveness fund, which consists of all money appropriated to the fund by the general assembly for the educator loan forgiveness program and any gifts, grants, and donations received for that purpose. Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department of higher education for the educator loan forgiveness program. At the end of any fiscal year, all unexpended and unencumbered money in the fund remains in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund or any other fund; except that on August 30, 2033, any unexpended and unencumbered money in the fund shall be transferred to the general fund.(c) Subject to available appropriations, the commission shall annually approve applications for the educator loan forgiveness program. If more new participants apply than can be approved based on the money available in the educator loan forgiveness fund, the commission shall:(I) First, approve applicants who have contracted for a qualified position in a rural school district or rural school and in a content shortage area;(II) Second, approve applicants who have contracted for a qualified position in a rural school district or rural school; and(III) Third, approve applicants who have contracted for a qualified position in a content shortage area.(d) In approving applications for each group of applicants identified in subsections (1)(c)(I), (1)(c)(II), and (1)(c)(III) of this section, the commission shall: (I) Consider first those applicants who hold educator licenses issued pursuant to article 60.5 of title 22 and prioritize the approval of those applications based on the length of time each applicant has been employed under the license, beginning with those who have been employed the longest; and(II) Consider second those applicants who do not hold educator licenses issued pursuant to article 60.5 of title 22 and prioritize the approval of those applications based on the length of time the applicant has been employed as an educator.(2) In addition to any qualifications specified by the commission, to qualify for the educator loan forgiveness program, an educator must: (a) Graduate from a program of preparation that leads to educator licensure pursuant to article 60.5 of title 22;(b) Meet licensure requirements pursuant to section 22-60.5-201(1)(b) or (1)(c), section 22-60.5-301(1)(a) or (1)(b), or section 22-60.5-210;(d) Contract for a qualified position, as defined in section 23-3.9-101, no earlier than June 2019 and no later than the end of the 2027-28 academic year; and(e) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2019.)(f) Be liable for an outstanding balance on a qualified loan.(3) An educator who qualifies pursuant to subsection (2) of this section may be eligible for up to five thousand dollars in loan forgiveness for each year of employment in a qualified position for up to a total of five years.(3.5) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2019.)(4) If an educator qualifies for the educator loan forgiveness program through employment in a qualified position and in a subsequent academic year the position is no longer identified as a qualified position pursuant to subsection (6) of this section, the educator may continue to participate in the educator loan forgiveness program if the educator continues in the same position in the same location or in a different position that is a qualified position.(5) If an educator qualifies for the educator loan forgiveness program and subsequently transfers to a nonqualifying position, the educator forfeits participant status pursuant to this section.(6)(a) For purposes of defining a "qualified position" pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, the department of education shall annually identify: (I) Rural school districts based on the geographic size of the district and the distance of the district from the nearest large, urbanized area;(II) Rural schools, which may include but are not limited to individual schools of a school district even though the school district as a whole is not identified as a rural school district if the department of education determines that, as a function of geographic characteristics, the school is experiencing educator shortages that are not experienced by other schools of the school district;(III) Content shortage areas, which may include those identified by the department of higher education and department of education in their November 2017 report, "Colorado's Teacher Shortages: Attracting and Retaining Excellent Educators", as well as other content shortage areas specific to Colorado that develop over the course of the educator loan forgiveness program. The department of education may identify content shortage areas generally and for specific geographic areas of the state.(IV) Hard-to-fill educator positions due to geography or content shortage area, or both.(b) As part of its annual identification of rural schools, school districts, and content shortage areas, the department of education shall consider education and community stakeholder feedback.Amended by 2021 Ch. 246,§22, eff. 9/7/2021.Amended by 2020 Ch. 198,§2, eff. 6/30/2020.Amended by 2019 Ch. 333,§3, eff. 5/29/2019.L. 2001: Entire article added, p. 1503, § 30, effective June 8. L. 2002: (2)(c)(II) amended, p. 1794, § 57, effective June 7. L. 2004: (1)(a) and (2)(d) amended, p. 443, § 1, effective April 13; (1)(a) amended, p. 574, § 30, effective July 1. L. 2005: (2)(c)(II) and (2)(d) amended and (2)(e), (2)(f), (4), (5), and (6) added, p. 534, §§ 2, 3, effective August 8. L. 2008: (1)(b) and (2)(d)(III) amended and (3.5) added, p. 1627, § 2, effective August 5. L. 2019: Entire section amended, (SB 19-003), ch. 3077, p. 3077, § 3, effective May 29. L. 2020: IP(1)(c), IP(2), and (2)(a) amended and (2)(c) repealed, (SB 20-158), ch. 968, p. 968, § 2, effective June 30. L. 2021: (1)(d) added, (SB 21-185), ch. 1339, p. 1339, § 22, effective September 7.Amendments to subsection (1)(a) by House Bill 04-1350 and House Bill 04-1039 were harmonized.
2021 Ch. 246, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).