New York S 484: Establishes the rural teacher education loan repayment program in the education department

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S00484 Summary:

BILL NOS00484 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSOROBERACKER

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COSPNSRBORRELLO, GALLIVAN, ROLISON

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MLTSPNSR

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Add §676-a, Ed L

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Establishes the rural teacher education loan repayment program in the education department which provides payment for the undergraduate and graduate education loans of teachers in rural school districts who agree to teach in rural areas for at least 5 years.

Go to top S00484 Actions:

BILL NOS00484 

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01/08/2025REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION

01/07/2026REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION

05/05/2026REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE

Go to topS00484 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS00484 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS00484 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 484

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 (Prefiled)

 January 8, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sens. OBERACKER, BORRELLO, GALLIVAN -- read twice and
 ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
 Higher Education

 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the rural
 teacher education loan repayment program

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 676-a
 2 to read as follows:
 3 § 676-a. Rural teacher education loan repayment program. 1. Defi-
 4 nitions. For the purposes of this section:
 5 a. "Rural school district" shall mean a school district providing
 6 services within a rural area.
 7 b. "Rural area" shall mean a county with a population of two hundred
 8 thousand or less; or a town with a population density of one hundred
 9 fifty or less per square mile.
 10 c. "Student loan expenses" shall mean the aggregate total of annual
 11 student loans for the cost of attendance at an undergraduate and/or
 12 graduate institution leading to teaching certification. Interest paid or
 13 due on such loans shall be deemed to be eligible for reimbursement
 14 pursuant to this section.
 15 2. Establishment. a. There shall be established within the department
 16 the rural teacher education loan repayment program. The department
 17 shall, in cooperation and coordination with the New York state center
 18 for rural schools, annually identify rural school districts which are
 19 having difficulty attracting and retaining teachers, and develop crite-
 20 ria upon which awards shall be made to teachers who become employed by
 21 such identified rural school districts who agree to provide teaching
 22 services within such rural area for not less than five years.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD01588-01-5

 S. 484 2

 1 b. The commissioner is authorized, within amounts made available for
 2 the purposes of this section, to make awards beginning January first,
 3 two thousand twenty-six, to a teacher who as determined by the commis-
 4 sioner to be taking employment in a rural area identified as being
 5 underserved, who is licensed to teach in this state and who agrees to
 6 for at least five years teach in such rural area. Such a teacher shall
 7 be eligible for a loan repayment award of up to twenty thousand dollars
 8 per year.
 9 3. Awards. Rural teacher education loan repayment awards shall be
 10 awarded annually. Such awards shall be allocated by the president in
 11 accordance with the criteria established pursuant to subdivision two of
 12 this section.
 13 4. Limit on awards. Loan repayment awards made to a teacher pursuant
 14 to subdivision two of this section shall not exceed the total qualifying
 15 outstanding debt of the teacher from student loans to cover tuition and
 16 other related educational expenses, made by or guaranteed by the federal
 17 or state government, or made by a lending or educational institution
 18 approved under title IV of the federal higher education act. Loan repay-
 19 ment awards shall be used solely to repay such outstanding debt.
 20 5. Default. Within such time as the commissioner shall by regulation
 21 provide, a recipient of an award shall have practiced as a teacher in a
 22 rural area in the state. If a recipient fail