High Needs Educator Student Loan Payment Program

HS 1 for HB 346 as amended by HA2 creates the High Needs Educator Student Loan Payment Program, which would improve educational outcomes for students by working to retain educators of critical importance to students.  Under this program, educators who work in certification areas in which Delaware has a shortage and educators working in Delaware’s highest need schools are eligible for student loan repayments.

UPDATE for 2020-2021

In May 2020, the DDOE issued guidance to LEAs stating that educator evaluations would be suspended for the 2019-2020 school year due to school closures, so please see below for the evaluation portion of the application.

Teachers employed in an eligible Delaware school who would have received their evaluation for the first time in the 2019-2020 academic year are exempt from the requirement of an evaluation rating of at least “effective.”

For all other educators, the DDOE will use your most recent evaluation cycle and align the eligibility requirements for this program.

Eligibility: You are eligible if you have a qualified student loan and you teach in a high needs school and/or a high needs subject area:

High Needs Schools:

High Needs Subject Areas:

Funding: Educators are eligible for between $1,000 and $2,000 of student loan repayments annually, for up to five years. Loan repayment will be sent directly to the educators student loan provider.  Efforts will be made to try to ensure each applicant receives repayments, however if more applicants apply than can receive repayments, the Department will prioritize those teaching in both a high needs school and high needs subject are first.  Payments are subject to taxation, which will be amortized over the course of each applicant’s paycheck.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• What is the funding level for this program?

- For the 2020-2021 academic year there is $700,000 available for this year to make student loan payments on behalf of eligible teachers

• Is this program different from the Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness program?

- Yes, this program is separate from the Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness program

• Is there a minimum number of teaching years experience needed to apply for this program?

- You must have been employed for at least one school year in a high needs school and/or a high needs subject area and received a rating of at least "effective" on your most recent summative evaluation

• Am I eligible to apply if I teach on an emergency certificate?

-No, you must be teaching on a standard certificate to be eligible

Contact: If you have additional questions about the program, please contact the Delaware Higher Education Office at 302-735-4120 or dheo@doe.k12.de.us

Information that will be helpful to have before you begin the online application

• Your PHRST Employee ID number, this can be found on your paycheck
• Your Adjusted Gross Income from the most-recent tax year
• The total dollar amount of your outstanding student loans
• The name of your student loan lender (If you have multiple lenders, the name of the lender that you would be requesting payment be sent to)

APPLICATION:

The 2020-2021 application will open on October 1, 2020 and will close at 4:30 PM on October 31, 2020

APPLICATION

Timeline:

• October 1, 2020 – applications are live and can be accessed on this website
• 4:30 PM October 31, 2020 – application will close
• End of December 2020/early January 2021 – announcement of recipients
• End of February 2021 – loan payments initiated, it will take up to 6 weeks to process all 500 individual payments to student lenders