(a) There is established a Connecticut minority teacher incentive program administered by the Office of Higher Education.

(b) Within available appropriations, the program shall provide grants to minority students (1) in teacher education programs for their junior or senior year, or both such years, at any four-year institution of higher education, (2) completing the requirements of such a teacher education program as a graduate student, provided such student received a grant pursuant to this section for one year at the undergraduate level, or (3) enrolled in the alternate route to certification program administered through the Office of Higher Education. No student shall receive a grant under the program for more than two years. Maximum grants shall not exceed five thousand dollars per year. The office shall ensure that at least ten per cent of the grant recipients are minority students who transfer from a Connecticut regional community-technical college.

(c) A minority student who received grants under subsection (b) of this section, and who teaches in a Connecticut public school upon graduation, shall be eligible for reimbursement of federal or state educational loans up to a maximum of two thousand five hundred dollars per year for up to four years of teaching service.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the combined dollar value of grants and loan reimbursements shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars per student.

(P.A. 98-168, S. 13, 26; 98-252, S. 65, 80; P.A. 00-220, S. 37, 43; P.A. 01-173, S. 37, 67; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 8, 54; P.A. 11-48, S. 268; 11-61, S. 109; P.A. 12-156, S. 56.)

History: P.A. 98-168 effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 98-252 removed the limitation on the program to students in “public” institutions of higher education, effective June 8, 1998; P.A. 00-220 amended Subsec. (b) to remove a cap on the number of students who may receive grants, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (e) to extend the use of funds to the fiscal years ending June 30, 2001, and June 30, 2002, and to reduce percentage from 5% to 2%, effective July 6, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 amended Subsec. (b) to designate portions of existing provisions as Subdivs. (1) and (3), to add Subdiv. (2) re graduate students and to make technical changes, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsecs. (a), (b) and (e) to replace “Department of Higher Education” and “department” with “Office of Financial and Academic Affairs for Higher Education” and “office”, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-61 deleted former Subsec. (e) re use of up to 2% of appropriated funds for program administration, effective July 1, 2011; pursuant to P.A. 12-156, “Office of Financial and Academic Affairs for Higher Education” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Office of Higher Education” in Subsecs. (a) and (b), effective June 15, 2012.