22.1-290.01 - Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program established; purpose; Board of Education to administer Program; eligibility requirements for scholarship and awards; collaboration and consulta
§ 22.1-290.01. Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program established;purpose; Board of Education to administer Program; eligibility requirementsfor scholarship and awards; collaboration and consultation with State Councilof Higher Education; repayment of scholarship required.
A. With such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose and any gifts,donations, grants, bequests, and other funds that may be received on behalfof the Program by the Board of Education, there is hereby established theVirginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program, hereinafter referred to as the"Program," to: (i) increase the number of teacher candidates pursuingcareers in critical teacher shortage areas as defined in the Board ofEducation's Regulations Governing the Determination of Critical TeacherShortage Areas; (ii) expand eligibility to teacher candidates, includinggraduate students and paraprofessionals from Virginia school divisions whoare enrolled full-time or part-time in an approved teacher education program;(iii) increase the diversity of persons pursuing careers in teaching,including male teacher candidates enrolled in an elementary or middle schooleducation program and minority teacher candidates enrolled in any teachingendorsement area; and (iv) increase the number of teacher candidates pursuingcareers in career and technical education.
B. The Board of Education shall establish, in regulation, criteria fordetermining critical teacher shortage areas for awarding scholarshipspursuant to this section. The criteria shall include such factors as theneeds in teaching endorsement areas among the several school divisions of theCommonwealth, teacher shortages at the elementary and secondary grade levels,and teacher shortages in rural and urban regions of the Commonwealth.
C. The Program shall be administered by the Board of Education. The Board maypromulgate such regulations as may be necessary for the implementation of theProgram. The Board shall consult with the State Council of Higher Educationin the implementation of the Program.
The Program shall consist of scholarships awarded annually to teachercandidates, including graduate students and paraprofessionals from Virginiaschool divisions at an accredited public or private four-year institution ofhigher education in the Commonwealth, who (i) are enrolled full-time orpart-time in an approved teacher education program or are participants inanother approved teacher education program; (ii) have maintained a cumulativegrade point average of at least 2.7 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent; and(iii) are nominated for such scholarship by the institution where they areenrolled. In addition, the candidates must meet one or more of the followingcriteria: (a) be enrolled in a program leading to an endorsement in acritical shortage area as established by the Board of Education; (b) be amale teacher candidate in an elementary or middle school education program;(c) be a minority teacher candidate enrolled in any teacher endorsement area;or (d) be a student in an approved teacher education program leading to anendorsement in career and technical education.
D. Before any teaching scholarship is awarded in accordance with theprovisions of this section, the scholarship recipient shall sign a promissorynote agreeing (i) to pursue an approved teacher education program full-timeor part-time at an accredited public or private four-year institution ofhigher education in Virginia or another approved teacher education programand (ii) upon graduation, to begin teaching in the public schools of theCommonwealth in a critical teaching shortage discipline or in a career andtechnical education discipline or, regardless of teaching discipline, in aschool with a high concentration of students eligible for free or reducedlunch or in a rural or urban region of the Commonwealth with a teachershortage.
Upon program completion, the scholarship recipient shall begin teaching inthe public schools of the Commonwealth in the first full academic year afterbecoming eligible for a teaching license, and shall fulfill the teachingobligation in accordance with the promissory note by teaching continuously inVirginia for the same number of years that he was the beneficiary of suchscholarship. Such scholarship recipient may fulfill the teaching obligationby accepting a teaching position (i) in one of the critical teacher shortagedisciplines as established by the Board of Education; or (ii) in a career andtechnical education discipline; or (iii) regardless of teaching discipline,in a school with a high concentration of students eligible for free orreduced lunch; or (iv) in any discipline or at any grade level within aschool division with a shortage of teachers, as defined in the Board ofEducation's Regulations Governing the Determination of Critical TeacherShortage Areas; or (v) in a rural or urban region of the state with a teachershortage.
E. The Board of Education may recover the total amount of funds awarded as ascholarship, or the appropriate proportion thereof, including any accruedinterest, if the scholarship recipient fails to honor the teaching obligation.
F. There is hereby created in the Department of the Treasury a specialnonreverting fund known as the Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Fund,hereinafter referred to as the "Fund." The Fund shall be established on thebooks of the Comptroller, and any moneys remaining in the Fund at the end ofthe biennium shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in theFund. The Fund shall consist of such moneys as may be appropriated for theVirginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program and such gifts, donations, grants,bequests, and other funds as may be received on its behalf by the Board ofEducation. The Fund shall be used solely to fund the Virginia TeachingScholarship Loan Program. Interest earned on such moneys shall remain in theFund and be credited to it. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely to awardscholarships pursuant to the Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program asprovided in this section. Disbursements from the Fund for such scholarshipsshall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptrollerupon written request of the President of the Board of Education.
G. The Board of Education and the State Council of Higher Education shallmake available to parents, students, teachers, high school guidancecounselors, and academic advisors and financial aid administrators at publicand private institutions of higher education information concerning theVirginia Teacher Scholarship Loan Program, eligibility for the loans, and theterms and conditions under which such loans are awarded, in order thatstudents interested in pursuing careers in the teaching profession may beadvised of the availability of such financial assistance.
(2001, c. 660; 2002, c. 889; 2007, c. 31; 2008, cc. 48, 141.)