D.  Hawaii Educator Loans



 



§304A-701  Hawaii educator loans;
eligibility; amounts; educator loan forgiveness program; repayment; collection. 
(a)  There is created the Hawaii educator loan program to be administered by
the University of Hawaii, in partnership with a financial institution whose
operations are principally conducted in Hawaii, to provide financial support to
students and teachers who complete a state-approved teacher education program
and who agree to teach as a full-time teacher for a period of time to be
determined by the university prior to the award of a loan, in:



(1)  The
Hawaii public school system in a hard-to-fill position including special
education, regular education shortage categories, or Title 1 schools, and in
one of the following capacities:



(A)  As an elementary school teacher teaching
in the field of elementary education who has met standards as set forth by the Hawaii teacher standards board; or



(B)  As a secondary school teacher teaching in
the subject area that is relevant to the loan recipient's academic major as
certified by the department of education who has met standards as set forth by
the Hawaii teacher standards board; or



(2)  At
a school located in a rural area in the State, as determined by the
superintendent of education.



Eligibility shall be determined by the university on
a competitive basis.  The amount to be loaned to a student shall be determined
by the board of regents based on need for financial aid and proof of acceptance
into a state-approved teacher education program at the university.  The maximum
amount of loans that a student may receive under this program shall be an
aggregate amount equivalent to tuition payments and costs of textbooks and
other instructional materials necessary to complete a state-approved teacher
education program.



(b)  All loans made under this subpart shall
bear interest at five per cent simple interest.  Repayment of principal and
interest charges shall commence one year after graduation or three months after
a loan recipient ceases to be enrolled in a state-approved teacher education
program and shall be paid in periodic installments within a seven-year period. 
The university may charge late fees and all other reasonable costs for the
collection of delinquent loans.



(c)  The university shall adopt rules to
implement the educator loan program.  The rules shall be adopted pursuant to
chapter 91, but shall be exempt from the public notice and public hearing
requirements.



(d)  Liability for repayment of a loan shall be
canceled upon the death or permanent total disability of the borrower.



(e)  Upon a showing of proof that the loan
recipient has completed a state-approved teacher education program and for each
year that the loan award recipient teaches in the Hawaii public school system
pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or (2), loan forgiveness shall be provided to the
recipient as follows:



(1)  Ten per cent of the total amount of the loan
award and interest shall be waived every year for the first five years of
repayment; and



(2)  Twenty-five per cent of the total amount of the
loan award and interest shall be waived every year for the sixth and seventh
years of repayment.



(f)  If a loan recipient who is a graduate of a
state-approved teacher education program subject to this section and teaching
pursuant to subsection (a) fails to teach in the Hawaii public school system
for the minimum number of years, as determined by the university prior to the
loan, from the recipient's original date of employment with the department of
education, excluding temporary leaves of absence, then the recipient shall
repay any remaining loan balance at the rate of ten per cent simple interest.



(g)  In accordance with chapter 103D, the university
may enter into written contracts with collection agencies for the purpose of
collecting delinquent loans.  All payments collected, exclusive of a collection
agency's commissions, shall revert, and be credited, to the Hawaii educator
loan program special fund.  A collection agency that enters into a written
contract with the university for the collection of delinquent loans pursuant to
this section may collect a commission from the debtor in accordance with the
terms of, and up to the amounts authorized in, the written contract. [L 2006, c
75, pt of §2; am L 2007, c 273, §2]