1204 High Needs Educator Student Loan Payment Program

Delaware General Assembly : Delaware Regulations : Administrative Code : Title 14 : 1200

Authenticated PDF Version

1200 Higher Education - Scholarships

1204 High Needs Educator Student Loan Payment Program

1.0 Purpose

The purpose of this regulation is to provide eligibility criteria and to delineate the application process for the High Needs Educator Student Loan Payment Program, pursuant to 14 Del.C. Ch. 11A, §§1101A through 1111A.

2.0 Definitions

"Award" means the Department's decision to make a Loan Payment on an applicant's behalf.

"Department" means the Delaware Department of Education.

"Educator" means a person licensed and certified by the State to engage in the practice of instruction, administration or other related professional support services in Delaware public schools, including charter schools, pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the Standards Board and approved by the State Board of Education. For purposes of this regulation, Educator also includes teachers employed by the Delaware Division for the Visually Impaired who teach visually impaired students.

"English Learner" means a student with limited English proficiency and who meets the definition of English Leaner as defined by the Department's rules and regulations.

"High Needs Area" means:

(1) Any certification field the Department has identified as being difficult to staff or of critical need; or

(2) Any school either:

(a) In the top quartile in three or more of the following:

(1) Percentage of Low-Income Students;

(2) Percentage of English Learners;

(3) Percentage of Students with Disabilities; or

(4) Percentage of Minority Students; or

(b) Having 90% of its students classified as Low-Income, English Learners, or Minority; or

(c) Any facility operated by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families in which education programs are provided.

"Loan Payment" means a payment by the Department to a successful applicant's lending agency to retire a portion of the applicant's Qualified Educational Loan.

"Low Income Students" means students within the statewide metric determined by the Department of Education utilizing direct certification for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

"Minority Students" means students who are members of a racial or ethnic group other than the racial or ethnic group that represents the majority of the State of Delaware's population.

"Program" means the High Needs Educator Student Loan Payment Program.

"Qualified Educational Loan" means a government, commercial, or foundation loan for actual costs paid for tuition and reasonable educational expenses related to an Educator's undergraduate or graduate degree program.

"School" means a Delaware public school, including a vocational-technical school and a charter school, or a facility operated by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.

"Secretary" means the Delaware Secretary of Education.

"Students With Disabilities" means students who because of mental, physical, emotional, developmental, speech or learning disability problems, as defined by the Department of Education, require special education and related services in order to develop their own capabilities.

3.0 Eligibility

3.1 In order to qualify to participate in the Program all of the following must apply:

3.1.1 The applicant shall be an Educator;

3.1.2 The applicant shall have secured a Qualified Educational Loan prior to submitting an application;

3.1.3 The applicant shall have obtained a license and certificate through Delaware;

3.1.4 The applicant shall have received a rating of at least "effective" on the Delaware Performance Appraisal System II or an alternate state approved evaluation system in the most recent evaluation cycle;

3.1.5 The applicant shall instruct or provide educational support in an identified High Needs Area for one school year; and

3.1.6 The applicant shall not be in default of any federal or state education loan.

4.0 Application

4.1 The application to participate in the Program shall require the applicant to certify that he or she meets all eligibility requirements.

4.2 The applicant must submit for review and approval a new, completed application each year, along with any additional information the Department may request.

5.0 Award Decision and Disbursement