34 C.F.R. § 682.215 Teacher loan forgiveness program.
Title 34 - Education
Link to an amendment published at 71 FR 45702, Aug. 9, 2006. (a) General. The teacher loan forgiveness program is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession. For new borrowers, the Secretary repays up to a combined total of $5,000 of subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans, Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and in certain cases, Federal Consolidation Loans or Direct Consolidation Loans. The forgiveness program is only available to a borrower who has no outstanding loan balance under the FFEL Program or the Direct Loan Program on October 1, 1998 or who has no outstanding loan balance on the date he or she obtains a loan after October 1, 1998. In addition, the borrower must have been employed as a full-time teacher for five consecutive complete academic years, at least one of which was after the 1997–1998 academic year, in certain eligible elementary or secondary schools that serve low-income families. The loan for which forgiveness is sought must have been made prior to the end of the borrower's fifth year of qualifying teaching service. (b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this section: Academic year means one complete school year at the same school, or two complete and consecutive half years at different schools, or two complete and consecutive half years from different school years at either the same school or different schools. Half years exclude summer sessions and generally fall within a twelve-month period. For schools that have a year-round program of instruction, a minimum of nine months is considered an academic year. Elementary school means a public or nonprofit private school that provides elementary education as determined by State law or the Secretary if that school is not in a State. Full-time means the standard used by a State in defining full-time employment as a teacher. For a borrower teaching in more than one school, the determination of full-time is based on the combination of all qualifying employment. Secondary school means a public or nonprofit private school that provides secondary education as determined by State law or the Secretary if the school is not in a State. Teacher means a person who provides direct classroom teaching or classroom-type teaching in a non-classroom setting, including Special Education teachers. (c) Borrower eligibility. (1) A borrower may obtain loan forgiveness under this program if he or she has been employed as a full-time teacher for five consecutive complete academic years, at least one of which was after the 1997–1998 academic year, in an elementary or secondary school that— (i) Is in a school district that qualifies for funds under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended; (ii) Has been selected by the Secretary based on a determination that more than 30 percent of the school's total enrollment is made up of children who qualify for services provided under title I; and (iii) Is listed in the Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits. If this directory is not available before May 1 of any year, the previous year's directory may be used. (2) If the school at which the borrower is employed meets the requirements specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section for at least one year of the borrower's five consecutive complete academic years of teaching and the school fails to meet those requirements in subsequent years, those subsequent years of teaching qualify for purposes of this section for that borrower. (3) A borrower who is employed as an elementary school teacher must demonstrate knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the elementary school curriculum, as certified by the chief administrative officer of the school in which the borrower was employed. (4) A borrower who is employed as a secondary school teacher must teach in a subject area that is relevant to the borrower's academic major as certified by the chief administrative officer of the school in which the borrower was employed. (5) The academic year may be counted as one of the borrower's five consecutive complete academic years if the borrower completes at least one-half of the academic year and the borrower's employer considers the borrower to have fulfilled his or her contract requirements for the academic year for the purposes of salary increases, tenure, and retirement if the borrower is unable to complete an academic year due to— (i) A return to postsecondary education, on at least a half-time basis, that is directly related to the performance of the service described in this section; (ii) A condition that is covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) (19 U.S.C. 2654); or (iii) A call or order to active duty status for more than 30 days as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces named in section 10101 of title 10, United States Code. (6) A borrower's period of postsecondary education, qualifying FMLA condition, or military active duty as described in paragraph (c)(5) of this section, including the time necessary for the borrower to resume qualifying teaching no later than the beginning of the next regularly scheduled academic year, does not constitute a break in the required five consecutive years of qualifying teaching service. (7) A borrower who taught in more than one qualifying school during an academic year and demonstrates that the combined teaching was the equivalent of full-time, as supported by the certification of one or more of the chief administrative officers of the schools involved, is considered to have completed one academic year of qualifying teaching. (8) A borrower is not eligible for teacher loan forgiveness on a defaulted loan unless the borrower has made satisfactory repayment arrangements to re-establish title IV eligibility, as defined in §682.200. (9) A borrower may not receive loan forgiveness for qualifying teaching service under this section if the borrower receives a benefit for the same teaching service under subtitle D of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990. (d) Forgiveness amount. (1) A qualified borrower is eligible for forgiveness of up to $5,000 of the aggregate amount of a borrower's subsidized or unsubsidized Federal Stafford or Federal Consolidation Loan obligation that is outstanding after the borrower completes his or her fifth consecutive complete academic year of teaching as described in paragraph (c) of this section. Only the outstanding portion of the consolidation loan that was used to repay an eligible subsidized or unsubsidized Federal Stafford loan, an eligible Direct Subsidized Loan, or an eligible Direct Unsubsidized Loan qualifies for loan forgiveness under this section. (2) A borrower may not receive more than a total of $5,000 in loan forgiveness for outstanding principal and accrued interest under both this section and under section 34 CFR 685.217. (3) The holder does not refund payments that were received from or on behalf of a borrower who qualifies for loan forgiveness under this section. (e) Authorized forbearance during qualifying teaching service and discharge processing. (1) A holder grants a forbearance— (i) Under §682.211(h)(2)(ii)(C) and (h)(3)(iii), in annual increments for each of the years of qualifying teaching service, if the holder believes, at the time of the borrower's annual request, that the expected cancellation amount will satisfy the anticipated remaining outstanding balance on the loan at the time of the expected cancellation; (ii) For a period not to exceed 60 days while the holder is awaiting a completed teacher loan forgiveness application from the borrower; and (iii) For the period beginning on the date the holder receives a completed loan forgiveness application to the date the holder receives either a denial of the request or the loan discharge amount from the guaranty agency, in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section. (2) At the conclusion of a forbearance authorized under paragraph (e)(1) of this section, the holder must resume collection activities and may capitalize any interest accrued and not paid during the forbearance period in accordance with §682.202(b). (3) Nothing in paragraph (e) of this section restricts holders from offering other forbearance options to borrowers who do not meet the requirements of paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section. (f) Application and processing. (1) A borrower, after completing the qualifying teaching service, requests loan forgiveness from the holder of the loan on a form approved by the Secretary. (2)(i) The holder must file a request for payment with the guaranty agency on a teacher forgiveness discharge no later than 60 days after the receipt, from the borrower, of a completed teacher loan forgiveness application. (ii) When filing a request for payment on a teacher forgiveness discharge, the holder must provide the guaranty agency with the completed loan forgiveness application submitted by the borrower and any required supporting documentation. (iii) If the holder files a request for payment later than 60 days after the receipt of the completed teacher loan forgiveness application form, interest that accrued on the discharged amount after the expiration of the 60-day filing period is ineligible for reimbursement by the Secretary, and the holder must repay all interest and special allowance received on the discharged amount for periods after the expiration of the 60-day filing period. The holder cannot collect from the borrower any interest that is not paid by the Secretary under this paragraph. (3)(i) Within 45 days of receiving the holder's request for payment, the guaranty agency must determine if the borrower meets the eligibility requirements for loan forgiveness under this section and must notify the holder of its determination of the borrower's eligibility for loan forgiveness under this section. (ii) If the guaranty agency approves the discharge, it must, within the same 45-day period, pay the holder the amount of the discharge, up to $5,000, subject to paragraphs (c)(9), (d)(1), (d)(2) and (f)(2)(iii) of this section. (4) After being notified by the guaranty agency of its determination of the eligibility of the borrower for the discharge, the holder must, within 30 days, inform the borrower of the determination. If the discharge is approved, the holder must also provide the borrower with information regarding any new repayment terms of remaining loan balances. (5) Unless otherwise instructed by the borrower, the holder must apply the proceeds of the teacher forgiveness discharge first to any outstanding unsubsidized Federal Stafford loan balances, next to any outstanding subsidized Federal Stafford loan balances, then to any eligible outstanding Federal Consolidation loan balances. (g) Claims for reimbursement from the Secretary on loans held by guaranty agencies. In the case of a teacher loan forgiveness discharge applied to a defaulted loan held by the guaranty agency, the Secretary pays the guaranty agency a percentage of the amount discharged that is equal to the complement of the reinsurance percentage paid on the loan. The payment of up to $5,000 may also include interest that accrues on the discharged amount during the period from the date on which the guaranty agency received payment from the Secretary on a default claim to the date on which the guaranty agency determines that the borrower is eligible for the teacher loan forgiveness discharge. (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1078–10) [65 FR 65627, Nov. 1, 2000, as amended by 66 FR 34763, June 29, 2001]
Title 34: Education
PART 682—FEDERAL FAMILY EDUCATION LOAN (FFEL) PROGRAM
Subpart B—General Provisions
§ 682.215 Teacher loan forgiveness program.
