SB 443 - Under the provisions of this act, certain qualified graduates of Missouri public higher education institutions who are hired to teach in school districts classified as "provisionally accredited" or "unaccredited" may enter into an educational loan repayment agreement with the department of elementary and secondary education. The applicant must teach subject areas within schools where standardized testing indicates low performance by students in those areas at such schools. For each of the first four years that an applicant teaches in a qualifying district, one-fourth of the applicant's educational loans, not to exceed $5,000 per year, shall be repaid. At the conclusion of the fifth academic year that an applicant teaches in a qualifying district, an amount equal to $1,000 shall be granted to the applicant. The maximum amount of $5,000 and the stipend shall be adjusted annually based upon the Consumer Price Index.
The department shall promulgate rules to enforce the provisions of this act, including, but not be limited to: applicant eligibility, selection criteria, and the content of loan repayment contracts. The department shall create and maintain a coordinator position who shall be responsible for identifying, recruiting and selecting potential students for the program.
The act establishes the "Teach for Missouri" fund in the state treasury.
JIM ERTLE