Invigorating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (iSTEM) Teacher Preparation Grant Program.

Existing law establishes various programs that provide financial aid for qualifying students attending postsecondary educational institutions, including, among others, the Cal Grant T Program, which provides for the award of funds for tuition and student fees for attendance in a program of professional preparation. As a condition of receiving a Cal Grant T award, a recipient is required to teach for one year in a high-priority school, as defined. This bill would establish the Invigorating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (iSTEM) Teacher Preparation Grant Program, to be administered by the Student Aid Commission, to award grants to eligible applicants for tuition and student fees for programs of professional preparation to the extent that funds are appropriated for this purpose in the annual Budget Act. The bill would require an applicant to meet eligibility requirements, including, among others, obtaining a baccalaureate degree in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics field, as defined by the commission, and agreeing to teach in a high-priority school, as defined, for 2 years after the person obtains a teaching credential. The bill would require a recipient who fails to meet the requirements for receiving the grant to repay the commission the amount of the grant, and would authorize the commission to initiate a civil action against the recipient for repayment of the grant plus interest and costs incurred in recovering the funds.