Montana legislation · 2025 Regular Session
Montana HB509: Revise the quality educator loan forgiveness program to expand eligibility
Status: Passed one chamber, May 5, 2025
What the bill says
An act generally revising the quality educator loan assistance program; expanding eligibility for the program to include all newly hired quality educators in montana public schools; providing that newly hired quality educators in impacted schools have priority for receiving loan assistance payments; providing a process to prorate loan assistance payments if the appropriation is insufficient to fully fund the loan assistance payment for all eligible quality educators; amending sections 20-4-503, 20-4-504, and 20-4-505, mca; and providing an effective date and an applicability date.
From the engrossed text:
AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING THE QUALITY EDUCATOR LOAN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; EXPANDING ELIGIBILITY FOR THE PROGRAM TO INCLUDE ALL NEWLY HIRED QUALITY EDUCATORS IN MONTANA PUBLIC SCHOOLS; PROVIDING THAT NEWLY HIRED QUALITY EDUCATORS IN IMPACTED SCHOOLS HAVE PRIORITY FOR RECEIVING LOAN ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS; PROVIDING A PROCESS TO PRORATE LOAN ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS IF THE APPROPRIATION IS INSUFFICIENT TO FULLY FUND THE LOAN ASSISTANCE PAYMENT FOR ALL ELIGIBLE QUALITY EDUCATORS; AMENDING SECTIONS 20-4-503, 20-4-504, AND 20-4-505, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND AN APPLICABILITY DATE. Section 1. Section 20-4-503, MCA, is amended to read: "20-4-503. Critical quality educator shortages -- impacted schools. (1) The board of public education, in consultation with the office of public instruction, shall maintain and make publicly available a current list of impacted schools. (2) A quality educator working at an impacted school is eligible for repayment of all or part of the quality educator's outstanding educational loans existing at the time of application in accordance with the eligibility and award criteria established under this part. If a quality educator is eligible for loan assistance and remains employed in the same impacted school or another impacted school within the same school district, the quality educator remains eligible for a lifetime total of up to 3 years of state-funded loan repayment assistance and an additional 1 year of loan …