Consider Teachers Act
This bill revises the service obligation verification process for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant program.
For example, the bill provides a process for the Department of Education to reconsider and reverse the conversion of a TEACH grant to a loan.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3926 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3926
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve the
service obligation verification process for TEACH Grant recipients, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 23, 2019
Mr. Visclosky introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 in order to improve the
service obligation verification process for TEACH Grant recipients, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Consider Teachers Act''.
SEC. 2. TEACH GRANT.
(a) Agreements To Serve.--Section 420N(b) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g-2(b) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking ``upon completion''
and inserting ``by not later than October 31 after
completion''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``failed or refused to
carry out such service obligation'' and inserting ``not
completed the applicant's service obligation within the 8-year
period described in paragraph (1)(A) or the applicant withdraws
from such service obligation''.
(b) Repayment for Failure To Complete Service.--Section 420N(c) of
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g-2(c) is amended to
read as follows:
``(c) Repayment for Failure To Complete Service.--
``(1) In general.--In the event that the Secretary
determines that any recipient of a grant under this subpart has
not completed the recipient's service obligation under
subsection (b) or has withdrawn from such service obligation,
the sum of the amounts of any TEACH Grants received by such
recipient shall, upon such a determination, be treated as a
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D, and
shall be subject to repayment, together with interest thereon
accruing from the date of the grant award, in accordance with
terms and conditions specified by the Secretary in regulations
under this subpart.
``(2) Reconsideration of loan treatment.--
``(A) In general.--In the event that the Secretary
has made a determination under paragraph (1) with
respect to a recipient of a grant under this subpart
that results in such grant being treated as a Federal
Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D--
``(i) upon request of such recipient, the
Secretary shall reconsider the determination;
and
``(ii) such recipient may submit to the
Secretary additional information to demonstrate
that--
``(I) the recipient has completed
the service obligation within the 8-
year period described in subsection
(b)(1)(A); or
``(II) the 8-year period for
completion of such service obligation
has not yet expired.
``(B) Approval of reconsideration.--If, in
reconsidering a determination under subparagraph (A),
the Secretary determines that the recipient has, as of
the date of the reconsideration, demonstrated that the
recipient has completed the service obligation within
the 8-year period described in subsection (b)(1)(A), or
that the 8-year period for completion of such service
obligation has not yet expired, the Secretary shall--
``(i) cancel the amount of principal,
interest accrued, or any fees that are
outstanding on the Federal Direct Unsubsidized
Stafford Loan made to the recipient under this
subpart, reinstate the recipient's grant under
this subpart, and extend the 8-year service
period described in subsection (b)(1)(A) by an
amount equal to the period during which such
grant was treated as such loan;
``(ii) if the recipient has an outstanding
obligation on another loan made under part D,
apply any payments made on such Federal Direct
Unsubsidized Stafford Loan toward such other
loan, and in a case in which the recipient has
an outstanding obligation on multiple loans
made under part D, enable the borrower to
determine how such payments shall be applied
toward such loans;
``(iii) if the recipient does not have an
outstanding obligation on any other loan made
under part D, reimburse the recipient for any
amounts paid on such Federal Direct
Unsubsidized Stafford Loan; and
``(iv) count any period of service of the
recipient that meets the requirements of
subsection (b)(1) and that was completed while
the grant was being treated as such Federal
Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, toward the
recipient's service obligation under subsection
(b)(1).
``(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to mean that the service
obligation under this subpart is waived.''.
(c) Communication With Recipients.--Section 420N(d) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g-2(d) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(3) Communication with recipients.--Not later than
October 5 of each year, the Secretary shall notify each
recipient of a grant under this subpart of the following:
``(A) The terms and conditions the recipient must
continue to meet to satisfy their service obligation in
the agreement under subsection (b).
``(B) The requirement and means for the recipient
to provide evidence of qualified employment to the
Secretary described under subsection (b)(1)(D).
``(C) The amount of service the Secretary has
counted towards the recipients' service obligation in
the agreement under subsection (b).
``(D) The period remaining for the recipient to
complete the recipient's service obligation in the
agreement under subsection (b).
``(E) The conditions under which the Secretary will
treat a TEACH Grant as a loan under subsection (c)(1).
``(F) The amount of interest that may accrue and
that the recipient will be required to pay if such
grant is treated as a loan under subsection (c)(1).
``(G) The process under which the recipient may
contact the Secretary to request a reconsideration
under subsection (c)(2).
``(H) The process under which a recipient may
request to have a portion of the recipient's service
obligation excused pursuant to subsection (d)(2).
``(I) The process under which a recipient may
request to withdraw from the recipient's service
obligation under subsection (b).''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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