[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5186 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.5186
One Hundred Eighth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four
An Act
To reduce certain special allowance payments and provide additional
teacher loan forgiveness on Federal student loans.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act of
2004''.
SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF SPECIAL ALLOWANCE PAYMENTS FOR LOANS FROM THE
PROCEEDS OF TAX EXEMPT ISSUES.
Section 438(b)(2)(B) (20 U.S.C. 1087-1(b)(2)(B)) is amended--
(1) in clause (i), by striking ``this division'' and inserting
``this clause'';
(2) in clause (ii), by striking ``division (i) of this
subparagraph'' and inserting ``clause (i) of this subparagraph'';
(3) in clause (iv), by inserting ``or refunded after September
30, 2004, and before January 1, 2006,'' after ``October 1, 1993,'';
and
(4) by adding at the end the following new clause:
``(v) Notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii), the quarterly rate
of the special allowance shall be the rate determined under
subparagraph (A), (E), (F), (G), (H), or (I) of this paragraph, or
paragraph (4), as the case may be, for a holder of loans that--
``(I) were made or purchased with funds--
``(aa) obtained from the issuance of obligations the
income from which is excluded from gross income under the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and which obligations were
originally issued before October 1, 1993; or
``(bb) obtained from collections or default
reimbursements on, or interest or other income pertaining
to, eligible loans made or purchased with funds described
in division (aa), or from income on the investment of such
funds; and
``(II) are--
``(aa) financed by such an obligation that, after
September 30, 2004, and before January 1, 2006, has matured
or been retired or defeased;
``(bb) refinanced after September 30, 2004, and before
January 1, 2006, with funds obtained from a source other
than funds described in subclause (I) of this clause; or
``(cc) sold or transferred to any other holder after
September 30, 2004, and before January 1, 2006.''.
SEC. 3. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACHERS.
(a) Implementing Highly Qualified Teacher Requirements.--
(1) Amendments.--
(A) FFEL loans.--Section 428J(b)(1) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10(b)(1)) is amended--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``and'' after the
semicolon; and
(ii) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) and
inserting the following:
``(B) if employed as an elementary school or secondary
school teacher, is highly qualified as defined in section 9101
of the Elementary Secondary Education Act of 1965; and''.
(B) Direct loans.--Section 460(b)(1)(A) of such Act (20
U.S.C. 1087j(b)(1)(A)) is amended--
(i) in clause (i), by inserting ``and'' after the
semicolon; and
(ii) by striking clauses (ii) and (iii) and inserting
the following:
``(ii) if employed as an elementary school or secondary
school teacher, is highly qualified as defined in section
9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
and''.
(2) Transition rule.--
(A) Rule.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) of this
subsection to sections 428J(b)(1) and 460(b)(1)(A) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 shall not be applied to disqualify
any individual who, before the date of enactment of this Act,
commenced service that met and continues to meet the
requirements of such sections as such sections were in effect
on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
(B) Rule not applicable to increased qualified loan
amounts.--Subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not apply
for purposes of obtaining increased qualified loan amounts
under sections 428J(c)(3) and 460(c)(3) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 as added by subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Additional Amounts Eligible to Be Repaid.--
(1) FFEL loans.--Section 428J(c) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-10(c)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(3) Additional amounts for teachers in mathematics, science,
or special education.--Notwithstanding the amount specified in
paragraph (1), the aggregate amount that the Secretary shall repay
under this section shall be not more than $17,500 in the case of--
``(A) a secondary school teacher--
``(i) who meets the requirements of subsection (b); and
``(ii) whose qualifying employment for purposes of such
subsection is teaching mathematics or science on a full-
time basis; and
``(B) an elementary school or secondary school teacher--
``(i) who meets the requirements of subsection (b);
``(ii) whose qualifying employment for purposes of such
subsection is as a special education teacher whose primary
responsibility is to provide special education to children
with disabilities (as those terms are defined in section
602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act);
and
``(iii) who, as certified by the chief administrative
officer of the public or non-profit private elementary
school or secondary school in which the borrower is
employed, is teaching children with disabilities that
correspond with the borrower's special education training
and has demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in the
content areas of the elementary school or secondary school
curriculum that the borrower is teaching.''.
(2) Direct loans.--Section 460(c) of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087j(c)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(3) Additional amounts for teachers in mathematics, science,
or special education.--Notwithstanding the amount specified in
paragraph (1), the aggregate amount that the Secretary shall cancel
under this section shall be not more than $17,500 in the case of--
``(A) a secondary school teacher--
``(i) who meets the requirements of subsection (b)(1);
and
``(ii) whose qualifying employment for purposes of such
subsection is teaching mathematics or science on a full-
time basis; and
``(B) an elementary school or secondary school teacher--
``(i) who meets the requirements of subsection (b)(1);
``(ii) whose qualifying employment for purposes of such
subsection is as a special education teacher whose primary
responsibility is to provide special education to children
with disabilities (as those terms are defined in section
602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act);
and
``(iii) who, as certified by the chief administrative
officer of the public or non-profit private elementary
school or secondary school in which the borrower is
employed, is teaching children with disabilities that
correspond with the borrower's special education training
and has demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in the
content areas of the elementary school or secondary school
curriculum that the borrower is teaching.''.
(3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection
shall apply only with respect to eligible individuals who are new
borrowers (as such term is defined in 103 of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) on or after October 1, 1998, and
before October 1, 2005.
(c) Information on Benefits to Rural School Districts.--The
Secretary shall--
(1) notify local educational agencies eligible to participate
in the Small Rural Achievement Program authorized under subpart 1
of part B of title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 of the benefits available under the amendments made by this
section; and
(2) encourage such agencies to notify their teachers of such
benefits.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.