(a) Subject to moneys appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of this section, the Student Aid Commission shall administer the Golden State Teacher Grant Program. Under the program, the Student Aid Commission shall provide one-time grant funds of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) to each student enrolled on or after January 1, 2020, in a professional preparation program leading to a preliminary teaching credential, approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, if the student commits to working in a high-need field at a priority school for four years after the student receives the teaching credential.

(b) The total number of one-time grant awards issued pursuant to this section shall not exceed 4,487.

(c) (1) A grant recipient shall agree to teach in a high-need field at a priority school for four years and shall have five years, upon completion of the recipient’s preparation program, to meet that obligation. Except as provided in paragraph (4), a grant recipient shall agree to repay the state five thousand dollars ($5,000) annually, up to full repayment of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), for each year the recipient fails to do one or more of the following:

(A) Be enrolled in or have successfully completed a teacher preparation program approved by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

(B) While enrolled in the teacher preparation program, maintain good academic standing.

(C) Upon completion of the teacher preparation program, satisfy the state basic skills proficiency test requirement pursuant to Sections 44252 and 44252.5.

(D) Complete the required teaching service following completion of the recipient’s teacher preparation program.

(2) Nonperformance of the commitment to teach in a high-need field at a priority school for four years shall be certified by the State Department of Education.

(3) Nonperformance of the commitment to earn a preliminary teaching credential in a high-need field shall be certified by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to the Student Aid Commission.

(4) Any exceptions to the requirement for repayment shall be defined by the Student Aid Commission, and may include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, counting a school year towards the required four-year teaching requirement if a grant recipient is unable to complete the school year when any of the following occur:

(A) The grant recipient has completed at least one-half of the school year.

(B) The employer deems the grant recipient to have fulfilled the grant recipient’s contractual requirements for the school year for the purposes of salary increases, probationary or permanent status, and retirement.

(C) The grant recipient was not able to teach due to the financial circumstances of the school district, including a decision to not reelect the employee for the next succeeding school year.

(D) The grant recipient has a condition covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.) or similar state law.

(E) The grant recipient was called or ordered to active duty status for more than 30 days as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.

(d) The Student Aid Commission may use up to 1.5 percent of funding appropriated for purposes of this section for outreach and administration.

(e) For purposes of this section, “high-need field” means any of the following:

(1) Bilingual education.

(2) Mathematics or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including career technical education in STEM areas.

(3) Science.

(4) Special education.

(5) Multiple subject instruction.

(6) Other subjects as designated annually by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing based on an analysis of the availability of teachers in California pursuant to Section 44225.6.

(f) (1) A “priority school” means a school with a high percentage, as determined by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing in consultation with the State Department of Education, of teachers holding emergency-type permits, based on the most recent data available to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the State Department of Education. By January 1, 2020, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing shall publish a list of priority schools.

(2) For purposes of this section, “emergency-type permits” include, but not are limited to, any of the following:

(A) Provisional internships.

(B) Short-term staff permits.

(C) Credential waivers.

(D) Substitute permits.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 413, Sec. 10. (AB 114) Effective October 2, 2019.)