1.A teach Iowa scholar program is established to provide teach Iowa scholar grants to
selected high-caliber teachers.
2.An Iowa resident or nonresident applicant shall be eligible for a teach Iowa scholar
grant if the applicant meets all of the criteria specified under, or established in accordance
with, subsection 3. Priority shall be given to applicants who are residents of Iowa. A person
is ineligible for this program if the person receives a forgivable loan under section 256.219 or
loan forgiveness under section 256.220.
3.Criteria for eligibility shall be established by the commission and shall include but are
not limited to the following:
a.The applicant was in the top twenty-five percent academically of students exiting
a teacher preparation program approved by the state board p
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1. A teach Iowa scholar program is established to provide teach Iowa scholar grants to
selected high-caliber teachers.
2. An Iowa resident or nonresident applicant shall be eligible for a teach Iowa scholar
grant if the applicant meets all of the criteria specified under, or established in accordance
with, subsection 3. Priority shall be given to applicants who are residents of Iowa. A person
is ineligible for this program if the person receives a forgivable loan under section 256.219 or
loan forgiveness under section 256.220.
3. Criteria for eligibility shall be established by the commission and shall include but are
not limited to the following:
a. The applicant was in the top twenty-five percent academically of students exiting
a teacher preparation program approved by the state board pursuant to section 256.7,
subsection 3, or a similar teacher preparation program in another state, or had earned other
comparable academic credentials.
b. The applicant is preparing to teach in fields including but not limited to science,
technology, engineering, or mathematics; English as a second language or special education
instruction; or is preparing to teach in a hard-to-staff subject as identified by the department.
The department shall take into account the varying regional needs in the state for teachers
in these subject areas when applying the criterion of this paragraph. The department shall
annually identify and designate hard-to-staff subjects for the purpose of this paragraph. The
eligibility of an applicant who receives a teach Iowa scholar grant and who is preparing
to teach in a hard-to-staff subject as identified by the department shall not be affected
in subsequent years if the department does not continue to identify that subject as a
hard-to-staff subject.
c. The applicant met all of the eligibility requirements of this section on or after January 1,
2013. A person who met the program eligibility requirements of this section prior to January
1, 2013, is ineligible for this program.
4. A selected applicant who meets all of the eligibility requirements of this section shall be
eligibleforateachIowascholargrantforeachyearoffull-timeemploymentcompletedinthis
state as a teacher for a school district, charter school, area education agency, or accredited
nonpublic school. A teach Iowa scholar grant shall not exceed four thousand dollars per
year per recipient. Grants awarded under this section shall not exceed a total of twenty
thousand dollars per recipient over a five-year period. If a selected applicant has received a
federally guaranteed Stafford loan under the federal family education loan program or the
federal direct loan program, a federal direct plus loan, or a federal Perkins loan, the selected
applicant may elect to have the commission make payment under the program directly to the
selected applicant’s student loan holder.
5. The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this section.
The rules shall include but shall not be limited to a process for use by the commission to
determine which eligible applicants will receive teach Iowa scholar grants.
6. A teach Iowa scholar fund is established in the state treasury. The fund shall be
administered by the commission and shall consist of moneys appropriated by the general
assembly and any other moneys received by the commission for deposit in the fund,
including payments collected by the commission pursuant to section 256.219, subsection
7. The moneys in the fund are appropriated to the commission for the teach Iowa scholar
program. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year
shall not revert to the general fund of the state but shall remain available for expenditure for
the teach Iowa scholar program for subsequent fiscal years. Notwithstanding section 12C.7,
subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund and
are appropriated to the college student aid commission for purposes of administering any
program described in this subchapter VII, part 4.