173.232. Urban flight and rural needs scholarship program established--eligible student defined--teaching requirements for recipients--fund established.
Urban flight and rural needs scholarship program established--eligiblestudent defined--teaching requirements for recipients--fundestablished.
173.232. 1. There is hereby established the "Urban Flight and RuralNeeds Scholarship Program", which shall be administered by the department ofelementary and secondary education. The program shall, upon appropriation,provide scholarships, subject to the eligibility criteria enumerated in thissection, for eligible students who enter a teacher education program and makea commitment to teach as a condition of receiving such scholarship.
2. Subject to appropriation, each year the department of elementary andsecondary education shall make available to eligible students up to onehundred four-year urban flight and rural needs scholarships in an amount thatencompasses one hundred percent of the total cost of eligible students'tuition and fees at a four-year college or university located in Missouri.Such amount shall be paid by funds appropriated to the department.
3. As used in this section, the term "eligible student" shall mean anindividual who:
(1) Is a United States citizen and a Missouri resident who attended aMissouri high school;
(2) Enters and makes a commitment to pursue a teacher education programapproved by the department of elementary and secondary education and offeredby a four-year college or university located in Missouri;
(3) Signs an agreement with the department of elementary and secondaryeducation in which the recipient agrees to teach in a Missouri public school,the population of which includes a higher-than-average "at-risk studentpopulation", as such term shall be defined by the department of elementary andsecondary education, for two years for every one year the recipient receivedthe urban flight and rural needs scholarship;
(4) Has graduated from high school with a cumulative grade point averageof at least two and one-half on a four-point scale or equivalent;
(5) Maintains a cumulative grade point average of at least two andone-half on a four-point scale or equivalent.
4. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of scholarships orrevenues available, the department of elementary and secondary education mayconsider the financial needs of the applicant.
5. The scholarships provided in this section shall be available tootherwise eligible students who either:
(1) Are currently enrolled in a community college and make a commitmentto pursue a teacher education program approved by the department of elementaryand secondary education and offered by a four-year college or universitylocated in Missouri; or
(2) Have completed their baccalaureate degree and agree to enter ateacher education program and make a commitment to pursue a teacher educationprogram approved by the department of elementary and secondary education andoffered by a four-year college or university located in Missouri.
6. Every eligible student receiving scholarships under this sectionshall teach in an elementary or secondary public school in Missouri asprovided in subdivision (3) of subsection 3 of this section. The studentshall teach for a period of two years for every one year he or she received anurban flight and rural needs scholarship; otherwise, the scholarship shall betreated as a loan to the eligible student, and interest at the rate of nineand one-half percent per year shall be charged on the unpaid balance of theamount received from the date the eligible student ceases to teach until theamount received is paid back to the state. In order to provide for theservicing of such loans, the department of elementary and secondary educationmay sell such loans to the higher education loan authority of the state ofMissouri created pursuant to sections 173.350 to 173.445. For each year thestudent teaches, up to eight years, one-eighth of the amount received pursuantto this section shall be applied against the total amount received and shallnot be subject to the repayment requirement of this section; provided thattwenty-five percent of such amount, not subject to repayment, shall be repaidby the local school district to the department. The department of elementaryand secondary education shall have the power to and shall defer interest andprincipal payments under certain circumstances, which shall include, but neednot be limited to, the enrollment in a graduate program or service in anybranch of the armed forces of the United States.
7. There is hereby established in the state treasury a fund to be knownas the "Urban Flight and Rural Needs Scholarship Program Fund", which shallconsist of all moneys that may be appropriated to it by the general assembly,and in addition may include any gifts, contributions, grants, or bequestsreceived from federal, state, private, or other sources. The fund shall beadministered by the department of elementary and secondary education.Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, to the contrary,moneys in the fund shall not be transferred to the credit of the generalrevenue fund at the end of the biennium. Interest and moneys earned on thefund shall be credited to the fund. Moneys in the fund shall be used solelyfor the purpose of awarding scholarships under the provisions of this section.
(L. 2006 S.B. 980)