Sec. 10a-170t. Loan repayment. Loan forgiveness provisions. Interest charges. Loan deferments. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 10a-170t. Loan repayment. Loan forgiveness provisions. Interest charges. Loan deferments. (a) Loan repayment and interest charges shall commence twelve months after the academic scholarship graduate student loan recipient has terminated full-time student status or two years after the initial receipt of a loan under this program whichever occurs first. (1) A recipient who renders services as a certified teacher in a Connecticut public school on at least a half-time basis as certified by the local superintendent of schools shall have his loan forgiven as follows: (A) Thirty per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of one year of teaching; (B) sixty per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of two years of teaching; (C) one hundred per cent forgiveness upon completion of three years of teaching. If a loan recipient is teaching less than full-time, said superintendent shall certify to the Department of Higher Education that a full-time position was not available. (2) Recipients who teach in a priority school district as designated by the state Department of Education pursuant to section 10-266p of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to 1991, shall have their loans forgiven as follows: (A) Forty per cent forgiveness of the total amount borrowed upon the completion of one year of teaching; (B) one hundred per cent forgiveness upon the completion of two years of teaching. If a recipient has taught in a priority school district and in a nonpriority school district, the Department of Higher Education shall formulate an appropriate forgiveness schedule.

      (b) A fixed-rate interest charge on the loan balance shall be set at a rate one per cent above the prevailing prime interest rate as listed in the first federal reserve bulletin published for the calendar year in which awards are to be made.

      (c) The Commissioner of Higher Education may grant loan deferments to a recipient when the recipient is teaching or when it is determined by the commissioner that loan repayment would present an unjust hardship to the recipient. Interest charges will not accrue to the recipient during deferment periods approved by the commissioner. The commissioner may forgive loans if the commissioner determines that such action is required as a result of the death or disability of the recipient.

      (d) A recipient meeting the forgiveness or deferment provisions of this section shall apply for loan forgiveness or deferment to the Commissioner of Higher Education. Requests for loan deferments shall be submitted prior to the period for which a deferment is requested. An application for loan forgiveness shall be received by the commissioner within one year of the last day of the period for which the recipient is applying for loan forgiveness. Forgiveness shall not be granted for teaching services performed prior to or during the loan award period. Recipients who enter into the loan repayment period will be required to make a minimum monthly payment of fifty dollars, unless exception is granted by the Department of Higher Education. A recipient shall have five years in which to repay loans granted pursuant to the provisions of this section. Deferment periods shall not be included in the five-year repayment period.

      (e) The Commissioner of Higher Education may designate a staff member to perform the duties imposed under subsections (c) and (d) of this section.

      (May Sp. Sess. P.A. 86-1, S. 37, 58; P.A. 92-262, S. 36, 42; P.A. 94-245, S. 14, 46.)

      History: P.A. 92-262 made a technical change in Subsec. (a); P.A. 94-245 reorganized Subdivs. and Subparas. in Subsec. (a), effective June 2, 1994.