2005 California Education Code Sections 69616-69617 Education (SNAPLE)

69616.  (a) The Legislature hereby recognizes the growing need for
new faculty members in the nursing field at California's colleges and
universities. This need will be fueled largely by the large number
of current faculty approaching retirement age who will need to be
replaced and the expected growth in enrollment demand in California.
Further, to increase the supply of nurses in California, there must
be an expansion of nursing educator opportunities in public colleges
and universities that will produce the necessary faculty to teach in
nursing programs in the state.
   (b) The Legislature finds that the rising costs of higher
education, coupled with a shift in available financial aid from
scholarships and grants to loans, make loan repayment options an
important consideration in a student's decision to pursue a graduate
degree in nursing education.
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Nursing
Assumption Program of Loans for Education (SNAPLE) be designed to
encourage persons to complete their graduate educations and serve as
nursing faculty at an accredited California college or university.
   (d) As used in this article, "commission" means the Student Aid
Commission.
69616.1.  (a) Program participants shall meet all of the following
eligibility criteria prior to selection into the program and shall
continue to meet these criteria, as appropriate, during the payment
periods:
   (1) The participant shall be a United States citizen or eligible
noncitizen.
   (2) The participant shall be a California resident attending an
eligible school or college.
   (3) The participant shall be making satisfactory academic
progress.
   (4) The participant shall have complied with United States
Selective Service requirements.
   (5) The participant shall not owe a refund on any state or federal
educational grant or have delinquent or defaulted student loans.
   (b) Any person enrolled in an institution of postsecondary
education and participating in the loan assumption program set forth
in this article may be eligible to receive a conditional warrant for
loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to this act upon becoming
employed as a full-time nursing faculty member at a California
college or university or the equivalent of full-time service as a
nursing faculty member employed part-time at two or more California
colleges or universities.
   (c) (1) The commission shall award loan assumption agreements to
students with demonstrated academic ability and financial need, as
determined by the commission pursuant to Article 1.5 (commencing with
Section 69503).
   (2) The applicant shall have completed a baccalaureate degree
program or be enrolled in an academic program leading to a
baccalaureate level or a graduate level degree.
   (3) The applicant shall be currently enrolled in or admitted to a
program in which he or she will be enrolled on at least a half-time
basis each academic term as defined by an eligible institution. The
applicant shall agree to maintain satisfactory academic progress.
   (4) The applicant shall have been judged by his or her
postsecondary institution to have outstanding ability on the basis of
criteria that may include, but need not be limited to, any of the
following:
   (A) Grade point average.
   (B) Test scores.
   (C) Faculty evaluations.
   (D) Interviews.
   (E) Other recommendations.
   (5) In order to meet the costs of obtaining a graduate degree, the
applicant shall have received, or be approved to receive, a loan
under one or more of the following designated loan programs:
   (A) The Federal Family Education Loan Program (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1071
et seq.).
   (B) The Federal Direct Loan Program.
   (C) Any loan program approved by the commission.
   (6) The applicant shall have agreed to teach nursing on a
full-time basis at one or more accredited California colleges or
universities for at least three consecutive years, or five part-time
academic years, immediately after obtaining a graduate degree.
   (7) An applicant who teaches on less than a full-time basis may
participate in the program, but is not eligible for loan repayment
until that person teaches for the equivalent of a full-time academic
year.
   (d) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section
shall not receive more than one loan assumption agreement.
69616.2.  The commission shall commence loan assumption payments
pursuant to this article upon verification that the applicant has
fulfilled all of the following:
   (a) The applicant has received a graduate degree from an
accredited, participating institution.
   (b) The applicant has provided the equivalent of full-time nursing
instruction at one or more regionally accredited California colleges
or universities for one academic year or the equivalent.
   (c) The applicant has met the requirements of the loan assumption
agreement and all other conditions of this article.
69616.3.  The terms of the loan assumptions granted under this
article shall be as follows, subject to the specific terms of each
loan assumption agreement:
   (a) After a program participant has completed one academic year,
or the equivalent of full-time teaching nursing studies, at one or
more regionally accredited, eligible California colleges or
universities, the commission shall assume up to eight thousand three
hundred thirty-three dollars ($8,333) of the outstanding liability of
the participant under one or more of the designated loan programs.
   (b) After the program participant has completed two consecutive
academic years, or the equivalent of full-time teaching, at one or
more regionally accredited California colleges or universities, the
commission shall assume up to an additional eight thousand three
hundred thirty-three dollars ($8,333) of the outstanding liability of
the participant under one or more of the designated loan programs,
for a total loan assumption of up to sixteen thousand six hundred
sixty-six dollars ($16,666).
   (c) After a program participant has completed three consecutive
academic years, or the equivalent of full-time teaching, at one or
more regionally accredited California colleges or universities, the
commission shall assume up to an additional eight thousand three
hundred thirty-three dollars ($8,333) of the outstanding liability of
the participant under one or more of the designated loan programs,
for a total loan assumption of up to twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000).
69616.4.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), if a program
participant fails to complete a minimum of three consecutive academic
years of teaching as required by this article under the terms of the
agreement pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (c) of Section
69616.1, the participant shall repay loan forgiveness benefits
previously provided through this program and resume responsibility
for any remaining loan obligations.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if a program participant
becomes unable to complete one of the three consecutive years of
teaching service due to a serious illness, pregnancy, or other
natural causes, the participant shall receive a deferral of the
resumption of full liability for the loan for a period not to exceed
one academic year.
69616.5.  (a) The commission shall accept nominations from
accredited colleges and universities made pursuant to this article.
   (b) The commission shall choose from among those nominations
deemed financially needy with outstanding student loans pursuant to
Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 69503) based upon criteria that
may include the following:
   (1) Grades at the undergraduate level in a subject field related
to nursing.
   (2) Grades in the undergraduate program.
   (3) Aptitude for graduate work in the field of nursing.
   (4) General aptitude for graduate study.
   (5) Critical human resource needs.
   (c) The commission may develop additional criteria for the
selection of award recipients consistent with the purposes of this
article.
69616.6.  The commission shall administer this article, and shall
adopt rules and regulations for that purpose.  The rules and
regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, provisions
regarding the period of time for which a warrant shall remain valid
and the development of projections for funding purposes. In
developing these rules and regulations, the commission shall solicit
the advice of representatives from postsecondary education
institutions, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development, and the nursing community.
69616.7.  The commission shall work to develop a streamlined
application process for participation in the program set forth in
this article.
69616.8.  The commission shall report annually to the Legislature on
this program. The report shall include, but not be limited to, all
of the following:
   (a) The total number of loan assumption agreements offered, by
education level and institution.
   (b) The number of loan assumption agreements paid out, by
education level and institution.
   (c) The number of loan assumption agreements that are redeemed, by
year of service (year one through year three).
   (d) The annual and cumulative attrition rate of participants, by
education level and institution.
69616.9.  Notwithstanding any other law, in any fiscal year, the
commission shall award no more than the number of warrants that are
authorized by the Governor and the Legislature in the annual Budget
Act for that year for the assumption of loans pursuant to this
article.
69617.  It is the intent of the Legislature that, commencing with
the 2006-07 fiscal year, funding necessary for the administration of
the student loan assumption program implemented pursuant to this
article shall be included within the annual budget of the commission.