S. 1387 — what changed

Section 420N of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–2) is amended—

added “(D) submit a certification of employment by the chief administrative officer of the school in accordance with subsection (d)(5); and

added “(E) meet all State certification requirements for teaching (which may include meeting such requirements through a certification obtained through alternative routes to teaching);”

“(1) In general—In the event”

“(2) Reconsideration of conversion decisions

changed “(A) Request to reconsider—In any case where the Secretary has determined that a recipient of a grant under this subpart has failed or refused to comply with the service obligation in the agreement under subsection (b) and has converted the grant into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D in accordance with paragraph (1), the recipient may request that the Secretary reconsider the such initial determination and may submit additional information to demonstrate satisfaction of the service obligation.obligation. Upon receipt of such a request, the Secretary shall reconsider the determination in accordance with this paragraph not later than 90 days after the date that such request was received.

changed “(B) Reconsideration—If, in reconsidering a an initial determination under subparagraph (A), the Secretary determines that the reason for the initial such determination was the recipient's failure to timely submit an annual recertification a certification required under subsection (b)(1)(D), (b)(1)(D) (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Consider Teachers Act), an error or processing delay by the Secretary, a change to the fields considered eligible for fulfillment of the service obligation (as described in subsection (b)(1)(C)), a recipient having previously requested to have the TEACH Grant converted to a loan, or another valid reason determined by the Secretary, and that the recipient has, as of the date of the reconsideration, demonstrated that the recipient did meet, or is meeting the service obligation in the agreement under subsection (b), the Secretary shall—

“(i) discharge the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D, and reinstate the recipient's grant under this subpart;

“(ii) discharge any interest or fees that may have accumulated during the period that the grant was converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D;

“(iii) if the recipient has other loans under part D, apply any payments made for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D during such period to those other loans under part D;

changed “(iv) if the recipient does not have other loans under part D, reimburse the recipient for any amounts paid on the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D during such period; andperiod;

changed “(v) use the additional information provided under subparagraph (A) request that consumer reporting agencies remove any negative credit reporting due to determine the progress the recipient has made in meeting conversion of the service obligation.TEACH Grant to a loan; and

changed “(C) Extension of time to complete service obligation—In “(vi) use the case of a recipient whose grant additional information provided under this subpart was reinstated in accordance with subparagraph (B) prior to December 31, 2018, the Secretary may extend the time remaining for the recipient (A) to fulfill determine the service obligation for a period of time equal to progress the time that recipient had remaining to fulfill has made in meeting the service obligation at the time that grant was originally converted into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D of title IV in accordance with paragraph (1).obligation.

changed “(D) Rule “(C) Extension of construction—Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed time to mean that the complete service obligation under this subpart is waived.”obligation—In the case of a recipient whose TEACH Grant was reinstated in accordance with subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall, upon such reinstatement—

added “(i) extend the time remaining for the recipient to fulfill the service obligation described in subsection (b)(1) to a period of time equal to—

added “(I) 8 years; minus

added “(II) the number of full academic years of teaching that the recipient completed prior to the reconversion of the loan to a TEACH Grant under subparagraph (B), including any years of qualifying teaching completed during the period when the TEACH Grant was in loan status; and

added “(ii) treat any full academic years of teaching described in clause (i)(II) as years that count toward the individual’s service obligation (regardless of whether the TEACH Grant funds were in grant or loan status) if that time otherwise meets the requirements of this section.”

changed “(3) Communication with recipients—The Secretary shall ensure that each servicer for grants under this subpart notifies notify TEACH grant recipients by October 5 of each not less than once per calendar year regarding how to submit documentation regarding the grants employment certification under this subpart subsection (b)(1)(D) and the October 31 deadline established recommendations and requirements for submitting that certification under subsection (b)(1)(D).”(d)(5).

added “(4) Qualifying schools and high-need fields—The Secretary shall maintain and annually update a list of qualifying schools as described in subsection (b)(1)(B), and a list of high-need fields as described in subsection (b)(1)(C) and shall make such lists publicly available on the Department’s website in a sortable and searchable format.”