2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 115C-363.23A. Teaching Fellows Program established; administration.

§ 115C‑363.23A.  Teaching Fellows Program established; administration.

(a)       A Teaching Fellows Program shall be administered by the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission. The Teaching Fellows Program shall be used to provide a four‑year scholarship loan of six thousand five hundred dollars ($6,500) per year to North Carolina high school seniors interested in preparing to teach in the public schools of the State. The Commission shall adopt very stringent standards, including minimum grade point average and scholastic aptitude test scores, for awarding these scholarship loans to ensure that only the best high school seniors receive them.

(b)       The Commission shall administer the program in cooperation with teacher training institutions selected by the Commission. Teaching Fellows should be exposed to a range of extra‑curricular activities while in college. These activities should be geared to instilling a strong motivation not only to remain in teaching but to provide leadership for tomorrow's schools.

(c)       The Commission shall form regional review committees to assist it in identifying the best high school seniors for the program. The Commission and the review committees shall make an effort to identify and encourage minority students and students who may not otherwise consider a career in teaching to enter the program.

(d)       All scholarship loans shall be evidenced by notes made payable to the Commission that shall bear interest at the rate of ten percent (10%) per year beginning September 1 after completion of the program, or immediately after termination of the scholarship loan, whichever is earlier. The scholarship loan may be terminated by the recipient withdrawing from school or by the recipient not meeting the standards set by the Commission.

(e)       The Commission shall forgive the loan if, within seven years after graduation, the recipient teaches for four years at a North Carolina public school or at a school operated by the United States government in North Carolina. The Commission shall also forgive the loan if, within seven years after graduation, the recipient teaches for three consecutive years, unless the recipient takes an approved leave of absence, at a North Carolina public school in a local school administrative unit that, at the time the recipient accepts employment with the unit, is a low‑performing school system identified in accordance with Article 6A of this Chapter or is on warning status as defined by the State Board of Education. The Commission shall also forgive the loan if it finds that it is impossible for the recipient to teach for four years, within seven years after graduation, at a North Carolina public school or at a school operated by the United States government in North Carolina, because of the death or permanent disability of the recipient.

(f)        All funds appropriated to or otherwise received by the Teaching Fellows Program for scholarships, all funds received as repayment of scholarship loans, and all interest earned on these funds, shall be placed in a revolving fund. This revolving fund shall be used for scholarship loans granted under the Teaching Fellows Program. With the prior approval of the General Assembly in the Current Operations Appropriations Act, the revolving fund may also be used for campus and summer program support, and costs related to disbursement of awards and collection of loan repayments.

The Public School Forum, as administrator for the Teaching Fellows Program, may use up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) annually from the fund balance for costs associated with administration of the Teaching Fellows Program.

(g)       The State Education Assistance Authority is responsible for the collection of a loan awarded under this section if the loan repayment is outstanding for more than 30 days. (1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1014, s. 63(a); 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1066, s. 101(a), (b); 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 1030, s. 29; 1993, c. 330, s. 1; 1998‑212, s. 9.19(a); 1999‑237, s. 8.12; 2002‑126, ss. 9.2(c), (d).)