Bill > A1612

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the New Jersey College Loans to Assist State Students (NJCLASS) Teacher Loan Redemption Program in the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. The program would allow a person to redeem a portion of his NJCLASS loan amounts for service as a teacher of science or mathematics in a public school in New Jersey. Under the bill, in order to participate in the loan redemption program, a person must have been an undergraduate student borrower in the NJCLASS Loan Program. A participant must also be a resident of the State and a certified teacher who obtained initial employment in a public school as a science or mathematics teacher after the effective date of this bill. In order to participate in the loan redemption program a person must execute a contract with the authority. The contract would be for a specified number of periods of service and would specify the total amount of debt, up to 100%, to be redeemed by the State in return for the service. For teachers in districts that received preschool expansion aid or education opportunity aid in the 2007-2008 school year (former Abbott districts), the redemption of loans under the loan redemption program would amount to 45% of principal and interest of a program participant's NJCLASS loan amounts upon the completion of the first three full years of service as a teacher of science or mathematics and 15% of principal and interest for each additional year of service thereafter. For teachers of science and mathematics in other school districts in the State, the redemption would amount to 30% of principal and interest of the NJCLASS loan amounts upon completion of the first three full years of service and 10% of principal and interest for each additional year of service thereafter.

Committee Categories

Pam Lampitt (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee (on 01/14/2020)