Adjunct professor incentives.

WORKING DRAFT

ORIGINAL HOUSE
BILL

NO.
0163

ENROLLED ACT NO. 88, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2013 GENERAL SESSION

AN ACT relating
teachers; establishing a loan repayment program;
enabling teachers to provide concurrent enrollment instruction;
specifying eligibility criteria; prescribing procedures and
providing for
repayment of loans; providing for program administration by the Wyoming
community college commission; granting rulemaking authority
;
sunsetting the program;
providing an appropriation;
and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.
W.S.
21
‑
7
‑
701 is created to read:

ARTICLE 7
WYOMING ADJUNCT PROFESSOR LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM

21
‑
7
‑
701.

Wyoming adjunct professor loan repayment program; eligibility criteria; procedures; program reporting.

(a)

The Wyoming adjunct professor loan repayment program is created to
provide assistance to public school teachers in attaining necessary qualifications to provide instruction in concurrent enrollment programs. This program shall
be administered by the Wyoming community college commission established under W.S. 21
‑
18
‑
201.
The commission shall promulgate rules and regulation
s
to govern the loan program. Application shall be on a form and in a manner prescribed by the commission.
Applicants shall have a Wyoming residence, as defined in W.S. 22
‑
1
‑
102(a)(xxx), and may apply for loans from the program in accordance with this section.

(b)

To qualify for a loan under this section, the applicant

shall first:

(i)

Be employed by a Wyoming school district as a teacher, as defined by
W.S. 21
‑
7
‑
102;

(ii)

Be certified by and in good standing with the professional teaching standards board, as required by W.S. 21
‑
7-303;

(iii
)

Be nominated by the employing Wyoming school district for consideration by the commis
sion.
The nomination shall include a copy of the agreement
reached between the teacher,
the
employing
school district
and one
(1)
of the seven (7) Wyoming community colleges or the University of Wyoming
that will be a party to the agreement under W.S. 21
‑
20
‑
201 upon the completion of the program
;

(iv)

The agreement
required by paragraph (iii) of this subsection
shall include the following:

(
A
)

Identification of
the
classes approved under W.S. 21
‑
20
‑
201
that will be taught upon
successful
completion of the program
;

(
B
)

Identification of the appropriate accredited college-level educational
program
, including a list of the specific classes,
that will enable the teacher to provide instruction in the agreed upon courses at the high school and college level upon completion
;

(
C
)

An estimate of the cost of tuition and fees required to complete the program
;

(D)

The terms of repayment of the loan, which shall include successful completion of the educational program and teaching of the agreed upon c
lasses
for two (2) years in a Wyoming school district
.

(c)

Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this program, loans under this section may be granted to qualified applicants to pay
t
he
cost of tuition and fees as certified by the accredited educational program for the classes listed in the agreement required under paragraph (b)(iv)
of this
section
.

(d)

The employing school district shall certify
to the community college commission
the amount required to pay tuition and fees in accordance with the agreement reached under paragraph (b)(iv)
of this
section

upon completion of
the teacher's coursework
. The certification shall include documentation of successful completion of prior coursework paid for by the community college commission under this
section
.

(
e
)

A
ny
teacher who fails t
o complete the academic program for which the loan was provided
or
who
fails t
o
maintain employment in accordance with the terms of the agreement required under paragraph (b)(iii)

of this
section
shall commence cash repayment of the loan within forty-five (45) days.

(
f
)

Loan repayment options under this section may be deferred for a period not to exceed five (5) years while
a loan recipient is serving
full

time
on
active duty with any branch of the military services of the United States.

(
g
)

The Wyoming community college commission shall have the
authority
specified under W.S. 21
‑
18
‑
202(c) to implement this section and shall establish terms and conditions of loans issued under this section, including:

(i)

Interest rates and loan terms;

(ii)

The form and process for loan application, review and award;

(iii)

Criteria under which students may be relieved from having to repay loans and interest thereon, in whole or in part, where the requirement to r
epay would cause undue hardship.

(
h
)

Funding of the loan program established under this section shall be by appropriation of the legislature.

(
j
)

Cash repayment of loans and interest thereon shall be credited to the school foundation program account.

(
k
)

The community college commission shall annually review the loan program established under this section and report to the governor and the legislature in accordance with W.S. 9
‑
2
‑
1014, regarding program results, funds received and loans issued during the preceding academic year, together with the status of all outstanding loan commitments and repayments under the program. The report required under this subsection shall include information regarding the impact of the program on
courses approved under W.S. 21
‑
20
‑
201
.

(
m
)

The loan repayment
program created by this section shall expire effective June 30, 20
20
.

(
n
)

Notwithstanding subsection (
m
) of this section:

(i)

Any person who receives a loan under this section shall continue to receive funding for the program as the person remains eligible as required by this section;

(ii)

Repayment of loans
awarded
under this section shall continue as specified by this section until all loan obligations have been satisfied.

Section 2.

(a)

For the period beginning July 1, 2013, and ending June 30, 2014,
one hundred thousand dollars ($1
00,000.00) is appropriated from the school foundation account to the Wyoming community college commission to implement this act.
This appropriation shall only be expended for the loan program as provided for under this act. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this appropriation shall not be transferred or expended for any other purpose.
No funds appropriated under this section shall
be used by the Wyoming community college commission for administration of the program, including expenses of the authority and loan administration.

(b)

The Wyoming community college commission shall promulgate rules and regulation
s
required under this act in sufficient time to enable implementation of this act in the 2013-2014 academic year.

Section 3.

This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution
.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.

Chief Clerk

1