Student financial aid: Assumption Program of Loans for Education.

Existing law establishes the Assumption Program of Loans for Education, administered by the Student Aid Commission, under which any person enrolled in an eligible institution of postsecondary education, or any person who agrees to participate in a teacher trainee or teacher internship program, is eligible to enter into an agreement for loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to a prescribed procedure upon becoming employed as a teacher in an eligible school, if the teacher satisfies certain conditions. The program provides for the assumption of loans for each consecutive year of teaching completed, up to 4 consecutive years. The program provides additional loan assumption benefits of $1,000 or $2,000 per year in assumed liability, as specified, to a person who holds a credential appropriate for teaching, and who teaches, mathematics, science, or special education in schools within certain percentiles of Academic Performance Index (API) rankings. This bill would repeal the additional loan assumption benefits that rely on API rankings, and instead, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, provide additional loan assumption benefits of an unspecified amount to a person who holds a credential appropriate for teaching, and who teaches, mathematics, science, special education, bilingual education, or career technical education in a school district that is determined to be in need of differentiated assistance, as specified. The bill would provide that if a program participant is unable to complete a school year of teaching, that year may still be counted as completed for purposes of the program in specified circumstances. The bill would express the intent of the Legislature to restore the funding for the Assumption Program of Loans for Education to its 2011–12 fiscal year level. Existing law limits the number of agreements for the assumption of student loans under the Assumption Program of Loans for Education to 6,500 per school year, except as specified in the annual Budget Act. This bill would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, require the commission to award 7,200 new warrants for the assumption of loans under the program in the 2020–21 fiscal year.