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2000 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 22.1-212.2:1 and 23-38.10:1 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 22.1-212.2:1. Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program established; purpose; Board of Education to administer Program; eligibility requirements for scholarship and awards; collaboration and consultation with State Council of Higher Education; repayment of scholarship required.
A. With such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose and any gifts,
donations, grants, bequests, and other funds that may be received on behalf of the
Program by the Board of Education, there is hereby established the Virginia
Teaching Scholarship Loan Program, hereinafter referred to as the "Program,"
to: (i) increase the number of students pursuing careers in teaching; (ii)
increase the number of teachers in the critical teacher shortage disciplines, including special
education, as established by the Board; to (iii) assist paraprofessionals in
the classroom in becoming enrolled as full-time or part-time students in an
approved teacher education program in completing the program to become fully
licensed teachers; (iv) expand eligibility to sophomores, and to students
enrolled full-time or part-time in an approved teacher education program; and
(v) to increase the diversity of persons pursuing careers in teaching.
The Program shall consist of three five components: (i) awards to students
pursuing teaching degrees teacher licensure; (ii) awards to students pursuing
teacher licensure in critical teacher shortage areas disciplines; (ii) (iii)
awards to assist paraprofessionals in becoming completing an approved
teacher education program to become fully licensed teachers; and (iii) (iv)
awards to at-risk sophomores and full-time and part-time students
enrolled in an approved teacher education program; and (v) awards to students of
diverse backgrounds, pursuant to subsection B.
B. In addition, there is hereby established, within the Virginia Teaching
Scholarship Loan Program, a program component focused solely on increasing
diversity among teachers by providing incentives for at-risk students of
diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in teaching, which shall be known as the
Diversity in Teaching Program Initiative. The Diversity in Teaching Program
Initiative shall provide scholarships to at-risk students of diverse
backgrounds enrolled in approved undergraduate and graduate teacher education
programs and shall be funded with such moneys as may be appropriated for this
purpose, and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds as may be
received on its behalf by the Board of Education and deposited in the Diversity
in Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Fund pursuant to subsection G. The Board
shall establish a procedure and criteria, in consultation with the Office of
the Attorney General, for awarding the Diversity in Teaching Initiative
scholarships.
C. The Board of Education shall establish, in regulation, criteria for
determining, biennially, critical teacher shortage areas for awarding scholarships
pursuant to this section, and for defining "high concentrations" of at-risk
students. The criteria shall include such factors as the needs in teacher
endorsement areas and among the several school divisions of the Commonwealth,
teacher shortages at the elementary and secondary grade levels, underserved and
teacher shortages in geographical rural and urban regions of the Commonwealth,
and school divisions with high concentrations of at-risk students. The Program
shall be administered by the Board of Education, which shall promulgate such
regulations as may be necessary for the implementation of the Program. The
Board shall, before implementing the Program, document in writing the basis for
any preferences for at-risk students in any component of the Program, or in the
regulations and policies governing such Program, and, upon making awards, that
scholarships have been awarded in accordance with constitutional principles.
The Board shall consult with the State Council of Higher Education in the
development and implementation of the Program.
D. The Program shall consist of scholarships awarded annually to undergraduate
students in the sophomore, junior, or senior year of college, and to graduate
students at an accredited public or private four-year institution of higher
education in the Commonwealth, who (i) are enrolled full time or part time in
an approved teacher education program, or in a critical teacher shortage area
discipline, as may be determined by the Board of Education biennially; (ii) are
employed as paraprofessionals and are enrolled full time or part time to complete an
approved teacher education program to become fully licensed teachers; (iii)
have and maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.7 on a 4.0
scale or its equivalent; and (iii) (iv) are nominated for such scholarship by
the institution where they are enrolled.
At-risk Students enrolled in any area of an approved teacher education program
who are seeking endorsements in elementary or middle school education who
meet the program requirements may be eligible for such award. Paraprofessionals
who are enrolled or accepted as part-time or full-time undergraduate students
in an accredited institution of higher education shall be eligible to compete
for and receive such awards.
E. Before any teaching scholarship is awarded in accordance with the provisions of this section, the scholarship recipient shall sign a promissory note under which he agrees (i) to pursue an approved teacher education or graduate education program full time or part time at an accredited public or private four-year institution of higher education in Virginia until his graduation and (ii) upon graduation, to begin teaching in the public schools of the Commonwealth in a critical teaching shortage discipline or, regardless of teaching discipline, in a school with a high concentration of students eligible for free or reduced lunch or in a rural or urban region of the Commonwealth with a teacher shortage.
An eligible paraprofessional shall sign a promissory note under which he agrees
to pursue an approved teacher education program either part time or full time.
Upon graduation, the scholarship recipient shall begin teaching in the
public schools of the Commonwealth in the first full academic year after
graduating from college and becoming eligible for a teaching license, and shall
thereafter teach continuously in Virginia for the same number of years that he
was the beneficiary of such scholarship. Such scholarship recipient may fulfill
the teaching obligation by accepting a teaching position (i) in one of the
critical teacher shortage areas disciplines as determined by the Board of
Education; or (ii) regardless of teaching discipline, in a school division with
a high concentrations concentration of at-risk students eligible for free or
reduced lunch; or (iii) at grade levels with a shortage of teachers; or (iv) in
a geographical rural or urban region of the state where teachers who have been
at-risk students are under-represented with a teacher shortage. The Board of
Education may recover the total amount of funds awarded as a scholarship, or the appropriate
proportion thereof, including any accrued interest, if the scholarship recipient fails to honor
the teaching obligation.
F. To ensure a more diverse representation among classroom teachers,
particularly especially at the elementary and middle grade level levels,
the Program Diversity in Teaching Initiative shall consist of no more than five
pilot projects, geographically distributed across the Commonwealth, and shall
be designed to attract and encourage elementary and secondary school students,
particularly at-risk students of diverse backgrounds, to pursue an approved
teacher education program a career in teaching. The Program pilot projects
shall be developed in accordance with the provisions of the appropriation act governing the administration of
the Better Information Project within the Pre-Collegiate Program under the
Virginia Plan for Equal Educational Opportunity in Higher Education. The
Program pilot projects may include outreach activities such as
student-teacher mentorship programs, linkages between public schools and
institutions of higher education, and other programs and activities designed to
generate interest in the teaching profession. The Board may provide for shall
require the evaluation of each pilot programs project before statewide
implementation implementing this component of the Diversity in Teaching
Initiative statewide.
G. There is hereby created in the Department of the Treasury a special
nonreverting fund known as the Diversity in Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan
Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "Fund." The Fund shall be
established on the books of the Comptroller, and any moneys remaining in the
Fund at the end of the biennium shall not revert to the general fund but shall
remain in the Fund. The Fund shall consist of such moneys as may be
appropriated for the Diversity in Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program
and such gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds as may be received on its behalf by the Board of
Education. The Fund shall be used solely to fund the Diversity in Virginia
Teaching Scholarship Loan Program for the purpose of increasing diversity
in teaching by providing incentives for at-risk students to pursue careers as
teachers. Interest earned on such moneys shall remain in the Fund and be
credited to it. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely to award scholarships
pursuant to the Diversity in Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program as
provided in this section. Disbursements from the Fund for such scholarships shall be made by the State Treasurer
on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request of the President of the
Board of Education. The State Treasurer shall ensure that any moneys
appropriated or provided to the Fund for the Diversity in Teaching Initiative
through appropriations, gifts, donations, grants, and bequests shall be
accounted for separately and distributed only for scholarships awarded pursuant
to the Diversity in Teaching Initiative.
H. For the purposes of this section, "paraprofessional" means a full-time member of a school staff whose primary responsibility is to support instructional programs under the direction of licensed instructional personnel.
For the purposes of this section, "at-risk students" means students having
socioeconomic or cultural risk factors which research indicates may negatively
influence educational success.
§ 23-38.10:1. Traineeships for education of special education personnel; collaboration and consultation with Board of Education in the development and implementation of the Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program.
A. There are hereby established traineeships which shall be awarded to persons who are interested in working in programs for the education of handicapped children for either part-time or full-time study in programs designed to qualify them as special education personnel in the public schools. Applicants for such traineeships shall be graduates of a recognized college or university.
The award of such traineeships shall be made by the State Board of Education and the number of awards during any one year shall depend upon the amounts appropriated by the General Assembly for this purpose. The amount of each traineeship shall be $450 for a minimum of six semester hours of course work in areas relating to special education to be taken by the applicant during a single semester or summer session.
This program shall be administered by the State Department of Education under rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education.
B. To increase the number of students pursuing careers in teaching and to
ensure a more diverse representation among classroom teachers, particularly at the
elementary and middle school grade level levels, the State Council of Higher
Education shall work collaboratively with the Board of Education in the development
and implementation of the Minorities in Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan
Program, pursuant to § 22.1-212.2:1. The Diversity in Teaching Initiative
component of the Program shall be developed in accordance with the provisions
of the appropriation act governing the administration of the Better Information
Project within the Pre-Collegiate Program under the Virginia Plan for Equal
Educational Opportunity in Higher Education, and shall be designed to attract
and encourage elementary and secondary school students, particularly minority
students of diverse backgrounds, to pursue an approved teacher education
program careers in teaching. The Program pilot projects of the Diversity in
Teaching Initiative may include outreach activities such as student-teacher
mentorship programs, linkages between public schools and institutions of higher education,
and other programs and activities designed to generate interest in the teaching profession.
2. That funds appropriated to support the Virginia Teaching Scholarship Loan Program pursuant to the appropriation act shall be deemed to include funding for the Diversity in Teaching Initiative and Fund.
3. That the Board of Education shall, regardless of the amount of funding or whether any appropriation is increased, promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this act to be effective within 280 days of its enactment.