Teacher Recruitment and Retention - Education Commission of the States

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

Does statute define at least one statewide loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas?

October 2019

Overview: Nineteen states have a financial incentive program — such as loan forgiveness, loan repayment, loan cancellation or tuition reimbursement programs — in statute to recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas.

Additional Information: Loan forgiveness, loan repayment or loan cancellation programs are programs in which students take out loans that are subsequently forgiven — in full or in part — subject to meeting certain requirements. They are unlike forgivable loan, conditional loan or scholarship loan programs, in which the state provides the student with a loan that is forgiven — in full or in part — subject to meeting certain requirements. Similarly, tuition reimbursement programs require students to cover tuition costs, but the student is reimbursed — in full or in part — subject to the student meeting certain requirements.

Loan forgiveness programs are often subject to legislative appropriations. 50-State Comparisons on each data point are here.

STATE arrow_downward	Does statute define at least one statewide loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas?	Source
Wyoming	No.	N/A
Wisconsin	No.	N/A
West Virginia	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas.	W. Va. Code Ann. § 18C-4A-1 et seq.
Washington	No.	N/A
Virginia	No.	N/A
Vermont	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan cancellation program to help recruit teacher to shortage subject areas.	Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 16, § 2869
Utah	No.	N/A
Texas	Yes. Statute defines at least two loan repayment assistance programs to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas and another loan repayment assistance program to help recruit teachers to specific shortage subject areas.	Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 61.702 Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 61.9831 et seq. Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 56.351 et seq.
Tennessee	No.	N/A
South Dakota	No.	N/A
South Carolina	No.	N/A
Rhode Island	No.	N/A
Pennsylvania	Yes. Statute defines at least two loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools.	24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 5191 et seq. 24 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 26-2601-I et seq.
Oregon	No.	N/A
Oklahoma	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan repayment program to help recruite teachers to shortage subject areas.	Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 70, § 698.3
Ohio	No.	N/A
North Dakota	No.	N/A
North Carolina	No.	N/A
New York	No.	N/A
New Mexico	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan repayment program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas.	N.M. Stat. Ann. § 21-22H-1 et seq.
New Jersey	No.	N/A
New Hampshire	No.	N/A
Nevada	No. Statute does not define a statewide loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas. However, statute allows for tuition reimbursement for teachers who receive an endorsement in a specified shortage subject area.	Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § SB 313, § 2
Nebraska	No.	N/A
Montana	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan repayment program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject ares.	Mont. Code Ann. § 20-4-501
Missouri	No.	N/A
Mississippi	No.	N/A
Minnesota	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas.	Minn. Stat. Ann. § 136A.1791
Michigan	No.	N/A
Massachusetts	No. Statute does not define a statewide loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas. However, statute defines a loan repayment program in which the board of education may limit the program to apply to teachers in designated school districts.	Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 15A, § 19A
Maryland	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan assistance repayment program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools. In addition, statute defines a loan repayment program to help recruit teachers to a specific county in Maryland.	Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 18-1502 Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 18-3402
Maine	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan repayment program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools.	Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 20-A, § 12501 et seq.
Louisiana	No.	N/A
Kentucky	No.	N/A
Kansas	No.	N/A
Iowa	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to shortage subject areas. In addition, statute authorizes grants for schools that can be used towards professional development or tuition reimbursement for currently licensed teachers to obtain additional educational training required to become endorsed in computer science.	Iowa Code Ann. § 261.112 Iowa Code Ann. § 284.6A
Indiana	No.	N/A
Illinois	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan repayment program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools.	110 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 947/65.56
Idaho	No.	N/A
Hawaii	No.	N/A
Georgia	No.	N/A
Florida	No.	N/A
District of Columbia	No.	N/A
Delaware	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan repayment program to help recruit teachers to teachers to underserved schoolas and/or shortage subject areas.	Del. Code Ann. tit. 14, § 1101A et seq.
Connecticut	Yes. Statute defines at least one tuition reimbursement program to help recruit teachers to shortage subject areas.	Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 10a-19j
Colorado	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas.	C.R.S.A. § 23-3.9-100.2 et seq.
California	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan forgiveness program to help recruit teachers to shortage subject areas.	Cal. Educ. Code § 69612 et seq.
Arkansas	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan repayment program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools and/or shortage subject areas.	Ark. Code Ann. § 6-81-1601 et seq.
Arizona	No.	N/A
Alaska	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan repayment program to help recruit teachers to underserved schools.	Alaska Stat. Ann. § 14.43.600 et seq.
Alabama	Yes. Statute defines at least one loan repayment program to help recruit teachers to shortage subject areas.	Ala. Code § 16-5-50 et seq.