A. Loan repayment award criteria shall provide that:

(1) for high-priority applicants, award amounts shall be dependent upon a specific public school's need for the designated high-need teacher position, as determined by the public education department, the teacher's total teacher education indebtedness and available balances in the teacher loan repayment fund;

(2) award amounts for other teachers shall be based on the need for a teacher position that can be filled by the applicant, as determined by the public education department, the teacher's total teacher education indebtedness and available balances in the teacher loan repayment fund;

(3) preference in making awards shall be to teachers who have graduated from a New Mexico public post-secondary educational institution;

(4) award amounts shall not exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000) per year and may be modified based upon funding availability or other special circumstances; and

(5) the total amount of awards made to any one teacher shall not exceed the total teacher education indebtedness remaining for that teacher.

B. The following teacher education debts are not eligible for repayment pursuant to the Teacher Loan Repayment Act:

(1) amounts incurred as a result of participation in state loan-for-service programs or other state programs whose purpose states that service be provided in exchange for financial assistance;

(2) scholarships that have a service component or obligation;

(3) loans from a commercial lender;

(4) personal loans from friends or relatives; and

(5) loans that exceed individual standard school expense levels.

C. Every loan repayment award shall be evidenced by a contract between the teacher and the department acting on behalf of the state. The contract shall provide for the payment by the state of a stated sum each year to the teacher's federal government lender not to exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000) per year and shall state the obligations of the teacher under the program, including a minimum two-school-year period of service, quarterly reporting requirements and other obligations established by the department. Execution of contracts shall occur prior to the start of a school year and the two-school-year period of service starts at the execution of the contract.

D. The department shall make annual payments pursuant to contracts only after satisfactory completion of a full year of teaching as certified by the public education department. The contract of any teacher who does not complete a full year of teaching shall be voided, and the teacher shall forfeit any right to that year's payment pursuant to the contract.

E. Each contract shall be for an initial two-year period and may be extended for three additional two-year contracts. The department shall not enter into any contracts with a single teacher for more than eight years of repayment.

F. Loan repayment awards shall be in the form of payments from the teacher loan repayment fund directly to the federal government lender of a teacher who has received the award and shall be considered a payment on behalf of the teacher pursuant to the contract between the department and the teacher. A loan repayment award shall not obligate the state or the department to the teacher's federal government lender for any other payment and shall not be considered to create any privity of contract between the state or the department and the lender.

G. The department, after consulting with the public education department, shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of the Teacher Loan Repayment Act. The rules shall provide:

(1) a procedure for determining the amount of a loan that will be repaid for each year of service; and

(2) for the disbursement of loan repayment awards to a teacher's federal government lender in annual installments after completion of each qualifying full year of teaching.

History: Laws 2013, ch. 177, § 5; 2019, ch. 193, §4.

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, revised the loan repayment award criteria, placed a maximum limit on the amount of a loan repayment award, and revised provisions related to contracts between a teacher and the higher education department; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(1), added "for high-priority applicants", and after "designated", deleted "high-risk" and added "high-need", added new Paragraph A(2) and redesignated former Paragraph A(2) as Paragraph A(3), deleted former Paragraph A(3), in Paragraph A(4), after "amounts", added "shall not exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000) per year and", and in Paragraph A(5), after indebtedness", deleted "of" and added "remaining"; in Subsection C, after "stated sum", added "each year", after "federal government lender", added "not to exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000)", after "period of service", deleted "in a designated high-risk teacher position", and after "established by the department.", added "Execution of contracts shall occur prior to the start of a school year and the two-school-year period of service starts at the execution of the contract."; deleted former Subsections D and E and added new Subsections D and E; in Subsection G, after "rules", added "shall provide", in Paragraph G(1), deleted "shall provide", after "year of service", deleted "in a designated high-risk teacher position", and in Paragraph G(2), deleted "may provide", after "annual", deleted "or other periodic", and after "installments", added "after completion of each qualifying full year of teaching".