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AB1223: Bill Text
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2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-4477/1
JAM/ARG:cdc
2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 1223
March 19, 2026 - Introduced by Representatives
Sheehan
,
McGuire
,
Anderson
,
Brown
,
Emerson
,
McCarville
,
Palmeri
,
Sinicki
,
Stubbs
,
Subeck
and
Prado
, cosponsored by Senators
Pfaff
and
Dassler-Alfheim
. Referred to Committee on State Affairs.
AB1223,1,4
1
An Act
to create
20.235 (1) (cs) and 39.396 of the statutes;
relating to:
a
2
tuition program for higher education students seeking careers in teaching,
3
firefighting, or law enforcement, granting rule-making authority, and making
4
an appropriation.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill creates a forgivable loan program administered by the Higher Educational Aids Board to pay tuition and fees of University of Wisconsin System and technical college students committed to completing at least 10 years in a teaching, firefighting, or law enforcement career in this state. A student is generally eligible to receive a loan under the program if the student 1) is a resident of this state enrolled in a UW System institution or technical college and has made satisfactory academic progress, and 2) commits to pursuing a career in teaching, firefighting, or law enforcement in this state in a full-time capacity for the 10 years after finishing his or her training or program. HEAB’s loans to eligible students are limited to eight semesters for a baccalaureate program or four semesters for a program or firefighting training component in a technical college. HEAB must evenly allocate the funding for loans made under the loan forgiveness program to individuals seeking a career in, respectively, teaching, firefighting, and law enforcement. HEAB must defer repayment of loans awarded under the program while the loan recipient is enrolled as an eligible student and in each year after finishing the training or program if the recipient lives in this state and is employed in teaching, firefighting, or law enforcement in this state. If a loan recipient has lived in this state and been employed full-time in teaching, firefighting, or law enforcement for seven years after finishing his or her training or program, HEAB must forgive 50 percent of the loan. HEAB must forgive 100 percent of the loan if these requirements are satisfied for 10 years. Generally a loan recipient that does not satisfy these requirements must repay the loan at an annual interest rate of 5 percent. HEAB may promulgate rules to implement and administer the loan forgiveness program.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
AB1223,1
1
Section
1
.
20.005 (3) (schedule) of the statutes: at the appropriate place,
2
insert the following amounts for the purposes indicated:
-
See PDF for table
AB1223,2
9
Section
2
.
20.235 (1) (cs) of the statutes is created to read:
AB1223,2,12
10
20.235
(1)
(cs)
Teacher, firefighter, and law enforcement tuition loan program.
11
The amounts in the schedule for the teacher, firefighter, and law enforcement
12
tuition loan program under s. 39.396.
AB1223,3
13
Section
3
.
39.396 of the statutes is created to read:
AB1223,2,15
14
39.396
Teacher, firefighter, and law enforcement tuition loan
15
program.
(1)
Definitions.
In this section:
AB1223,3,3
1
(a) “Institution of higher education” means an institution or college campus
2
within the University of Wisconsin System or a technical college within the
3
technical college system.
AB1223,3,8
4
(b) “Tuition,” when referring to the University of Wisconsin System, means
5
academic fees and segregated fees; and when referring to the technical college
6
system, means program fees and additional fees as described in s. 38.24 (1m) and
7
(1s) and any amount charged to a resident student for activity, incidental, and
8
vocational-adult seminar and workshop fees under s. 38.14 (9).
AB1223,3,11
9
(2)
Program.
The board shall establish and administer a tuition loan
10
program for students committed to completing at least 10 years in a teaching,
11
firefighting, or law enforcement career in this state.
AB1223,3,16
12
(3)
Loans.
(a) Under the program established and administered under sub.
13
(2), the board shall provide a loan to an eligible student in the amount of the
14
student’s total tuition for the semester at the institution of higher education in
15
which the student is enrolled. Subject to par. (b), an eligible student may be
16
awarded loans under this program as follows:
AB1223,3,21
17
1. If the eligible student is enrolled in a baccalaureate degree-granting
18
program, the eligible student may be awarded loans for not more than 4 years
19
consisting of 8 consecutive semesters. Summer terms are not included in the
20
consecutive semester count, and the program funding may not be applied to
21
students’ summer tuition.
AB1223,4,2
22
2. If the eligible student is enrolled in a program or firefighting training
23
component in a technical college in the technical college system, the eligible student
1
may be awarded loans for not more than 2 years consisting of 4 consecutive
2
semesters.
AB1223,4,4
3
(b) 1. No individual may be awarded a loan under this program for more than
4
8 semesters across any institution of higher education.
AB1223,4,6
5
2. No individual may be awarded a loan under this section and also under s.
6
39.398, 39.399, or 39.40.
AB1223,4,8
7
(4)
Eligibility.
A student is eligible to receive loans under the program if all
8
of the following apply:
AB1223,4,10
9
(a) The student is a resident of this state enrolled in an institution of higher
10
education.
AB1223,4,12
11
(b) The student has made satisfactory academic progress, as determined by
12
the institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled.
AB1223,4,16
13
(c) The student commits to pursuing a career in any of the following
14
professions in this state in a full-time capacity for the 10 years immediately
15
following his or her finishing the training or program at an institution of higher
16
education:
AB1223,4,17
17
1. Teaching in an elementary school, middle school, or high school.
AB1223,4,18
18
2. Firefighting.
AB1223,4,19
19
3. Law enforcement.
AB1223,5,2
20
(d) The student has not already received an undergraduate degree. This
21
paragraph does not apply to a student seeking a loan under this program to apply
22
towards a semester in which the student is enrolled at a technical college within the
1
technical college system for the primary purpose of taking firefighting training or
2
earning a firefighting credential.
AB1223,5,4
3
(e) The student applies to receive a loan under the program established under
4
this section in each academic year in which the student seeks a loan.
AB1223,5,11
5
(5)
Loan administration.
(a) Loans awarded under sub. (3) shall be made
6
from the appropriation under s. 20.235 (1) (cs). In each fiscal year, from the amount
7
appropriated under s. 20.235 (1) (cs), the board shall allocate one-third of the
8
amount for loans awarded to individuals seeking a career in teaching, one-third of
9
the amount for loans awarded to individuals seeking a career in firefighting, and
10
one-third of the amount for loans awarded to individuals seeking a career in law
11
enforcement.
AB1223,5,15
12
(b) Upon the board’s determination that the applicant is eligible to receive a
13
loan, the board shall make payment of the loan, on behalf of the student, to the
14
financial aid office of the institution of higher education in which the student is
15
enrolled in the amount determined under sub. (3).
AB1223,5,19
16
(c) If the amount appropriated under s. 20.235 (1) (cs) is insufficient to fully
17
fund loans to all eligible students who apply, the board shall award to eligible
18
students as the loan amount the full tuition until the amount appropriated under s.
19
20.235 (1) (cs) is depleted, subject to the allocation requirements under par. (a).
AB1223,5,23
20
(d) Except as provided in par. (e), loans under sub. (3) shall be repaid at an
21
annual interest rate of 5 percent. The board shall deposit in the general fund as
22
general purpose revenue-earned all repayment of loans made and interest on the
23
loans.
AB1223,6,5
1
(e) 1. The board shall defer repayment of principal and interest on the loans
2
awarded under this section while the recipient is enrolled as an eligible student and
3
in each year after finishing the training or program for which he or she was
4
awarded a loan under sub. (3) if the loan recipient is living in this state and is
5
employed in teaching, firefighting, or law enforcement in this state.
AB1223,6,10
6
2. The board shall forgive 50 percent of the principal and interest on the loans
7
awarded under this section if the loan recipient has lived in this state, and is
8
employed full-time in any combination of the professions described in sub. (4) (c) 1.
9
to 3., for the 7 years immediately following his or her finishing the training or
10
program for which he or she was awarded a loan under sub. (3).
AB1223,6,15
11
3. The board shall forgive 100 percent of the principal and interest on the
12
loans awarded under this section if the loan recipient has lived in this state, and is
13
employed full-time in any combination of the professions described in sub. (4) (c) 1.
14
to 3., for the 10 years immediately following his or her finishing the training or
15
program for which he or she was awarded a loan under sub. (3).
AB1223,6,18
16
4. The board may in its discretion provide exceptions to the requirements
17
under this paragraph in order to accommodate certain unforeseen circumstances
18
faced by a loan recipient.
AB1223,6,20
19
(6)
Rule making.
The board may promulgate rules to implement and
20
administer this program.
AB1223,4
21
Section
4
. Effective date.
AB1223,6,22
22
(
1
)
This act takes effect on the first day of the 6th month after publication.
AB1223,6,23
23
(end)
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