Sec. 2201.21. The New York State Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program

(a) Definitions.

For purposes of this section and Education Law, section 679-j, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Award shall mean a New York State Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program award pursuant to section 679-j of the New York State Education Law.

(2) Corporation shall mean the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation.

(3) Department shall mean the New York State Education Department.

(4) Economically disadvantaged shall mean applicants whose household adjusted gross income is at or below 250 percent of the Federal poverty level for the most recent calendar year available.

(5) Elementary and secondary school shall mean pre-kindergarten through grade 12 in a public or private school recognized by the board of regents of the university of the State of New York, including charter schools authorized pursuant to article 56 of the Education Law and programs provided by Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) on behalf of such schools.

(6) Full time shall mean employment as a teacher in an elementary or secondary school in New York State for at least 10 continuous months, each school year, for a number of hours to be determined by either the school district, school board or school, the by-laws thereof, the labor contract between the teacher and employer, or if none of the above apply, the chief administrator of the school, except for an allowable interruption of full time employment.

(7) Interruption of full time employment shall mean an allowable temporary leave for a definitive length of time due to circumstances approved by the corporation, including, but not limited to, parental leave, medical leave, death of a family member, or military duty that exceeds 42 calendar days, excluding legal holidays, regardless of whether such absence or leave is paid or unpaid.

(8) Household adjusted gross income shall mean the Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for individuals or married couples filing jointly, or the aggregate AGI of married couples filing separately, reduced by a cost of living allowance, which shall be equal to the applicant’s eligible New York State standard deductions plus their eligible New York State dependent exemptions for personal income tax purposes.

(9) Outstanding student loan debt shall mean the total cumulative student loan balance required to be paid by the applicant at the time of selection for an award under this program, including the outstanding principal and any accrued interest covering the cost of attendance to obtain an undergraduate or graduate degree from a college or university. Such outstanding student loan debt may be reduced as provided in subparagraph (c)(3)(iii) of this section.

(10) Program shall mean the New York State Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program.

(11) School year shall mean the period commencing on the 1st day of July in each year and ending on the 30th day of June next following.

(12) Teacher shall mean a New York State certified teacher providing instruction in an elementary or secondary school including enrichment and supplemental instruction that may be offered to a subset of students as well as support services such as counseling, speech and occupational therapy services.

(b) Eligibility.

Applicants and recipients must:

(1) satisfy the requirements provided in section 679-j(2) of the Education Law. Recipients who continue to teach the same subject or in the same district, as the case may be, which qualified them for the award when they originally applied for this program remain eligible for subsequent award payments if the originally qualifying subject or district ceases to be designated as a subject shortage area or hard to staff district;

(2) be in a non-default status on a student loan made under any statutory New York State or Federal Education Loan Program or repayment of any award made pursuant to article 14 of the Education Law; and

(3) be in compliance with the terms of any service condition imposed by an award made pursuant to article 14 of the Education Law.

(c) Administration.

(1) An applicant for an award shall:

(i) apply for program eligibility on forms and in a manner prescribed by the corporation on or before the date prescribed by the corporation; and

(ii) submit additional documentation evidencing eligibility, as requested by the corporation.

(2) A recipient of an award shall:

(i) confirm employment as a certified teacher each year on forms or in a manner prescribed by the corporation;

(ii) apply for payment annually on forms prescribed by the corporation; and

(iii) receive no more than $5,000 per year for not more than 4 years in duration, and not to exceed the total amount of such recipient’s outstanding student loan debt as defined in paragraph (a)(9) of this section.

(3) The outstanding student loan debt shall:

(i) include New York State student loans, Federal government student loans, and private student loans for the purpose of financing undergraduate or graduate studies made by commercial entities subject to governmental examination;

(ii) exclude Federal parent PLUS loans; loans cancelled under any program; private loans given by family or personal acquaintances; student loan debt paid by credit card; loans paid in full, or in part, before, on, or after the first successful application for program eligibility under this program; loans for which documentation is not available; loans without a promissory note; or any other loan debt that cannot be verified by the corporation;

(iii) be reduced by any reductions to student loan debt that an applicant has received or shall receive including voluntary payments made which reduces the balance owed.

(d) Award selection.

All awards are contingent upon annual appropriations. Awards shall be distributed in accordance with Education Law, section 679-j(4). In the event there is insufficient funding to make awards within any given priority, recipients shall be chosen by lottery. In the event that a lottery is necessary, economically disadvantaged applicants and recipients who taught in a subject shortage area or hard to staff district during the prior school year but are not currently teaching in either a subject shortage area or a hard to staff district, will be given third priority.

(e) Revocation.

Upon prior notice to a recipient, an award may be revoked by the corporation if the corporation determines that the recipient has failed to comply with the requirements to maintain their award, as evidenced by:

(1) a failure to apply for payment or reimbursement;

(2) a failure to respond to requests to contact or communication with the corporation;

(3) a failure to respond to a request for information; or

(4) any other information known to the corporation reasonably evidencing an indication of failure to comply with program requirements by a program participant.