88R13286 MM-D     By: King of Hemphill H.B. No. 3140       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to eligibility requirements for the Teach for Texas Loan   Repayment Assistance Program.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 56.352(a), Education Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (a)  The purpose of this subchapter is to attract to the:                (1)  teaching profession any persons who have expressed   interest in teaching and to support the employment of those persons   as classroom teachers by providing student loan repayment   assistance for service as a classroom teacher in the public schools   of this state; and                (2)  school mental health profession any persons who   have expressed interest in providing mental health services to   students enrolled in public schools and to support the employment   of those persons as school mental health professionals by providing   student loan repayment assistance for service as a mental health   provider in the public schools of this state.          SECTION 2.  Sections 56.353(a) and (c), Education Code, are   amended to read as follows:          (a)  Teach for Texas repayment assistance is available only   to a person who applies for the assistance and who:                (1)  is certified in a teaching field identified by the   commissioner of education as experiencing a critical shortage of   teachers in this state in the year in which the person receives the   assistance and has for at least one year taught full-time at, and is   currently teaching full-time at, the preschool, primary, or   secondary level in a public school in this state in that teaching   field; [or]                (2)  is a certified educator who has for at least one   year taught full-time at, and is currently teaching full-time at,   the preschool, primary, or secondary level in a public school in   this state in a community identified by the commissioner of   education as experiencing a critical shortage of teachers in the   year in which the person receives the assistance; or                (3)  is a mental health professional who:                      (A)  for at least one year has been employed   full-time at, and provided mental health services to students   enrolled in, a public school in this state; and                      (B)  is currently employed and providing mental   health services as described by Paragraph (A).          (c)  If the money available for loan repayment assistance in   a period for which assistance is awarded is insufficient to provide   assistance to all eligible applicants described by Subsection (b),   the coordinating board shall establish priorities for awarding   repayment assistance to address only the most critical teacher   shortages described by Subsection (a)(1) or (2) [(a)].          SECTION 3.  Section 56.355(a), Education Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (a)  The coordinating board may determine the manner in which   Teach for Texas loan repayment assistance is to be paid. The   coordinating board may provide for the payment of a portion of the   repayment assistance in one or more installments before the person   completes a full year of service as a teacher or a school mental   health professional, as applicable, and for the payment of the   remainder of the repayment assistance for that year after the   completion of the full year of service.          SECTION 4.  Section 56.3575(b), Education Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (b)  The coordinating board shall distribute a copy of the   rules adopted under this section and pertinent information relating   to this subchapter to each public or private institution of higher   education in this state that offers:                (1)  an educator certification program, including an   alternative educator certification program or another equivalent   program; or                (2)  an educational program that prepares students for   a school mental health profession.          SECTION 5.  The change in law made by this Act to Section   56.353, Education Code, applies only to a person who first   establishes eligibility for loan repayment assistance under   Subchapter O, Chapter 56, Education Code, as amended by this Act, on   the basis of an application submitted on or after September 1, 2023.   A person who first establishes eligibility on the basis of an   application submitted before September 1, 2023, is governed by the   law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the   former law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.