Teacher Recruitment Act Offers Loan Forgiveness

Teacher Recruitment Act Offers Loan Forgiveness
By Charles Dervarics

The full House has approved legislation to restructure and improve federal teacher education programs, offering more aid to those who agree to teach in high-poverty and high-need schools.

The Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act would more than triple the amount of loan forgiveness for teacher education graduates who work in high-need areas. The amount of loan forgiveness would increase from $5,000 to $17,500 under the bill, H.R. 438.

The bill is “simple in its purpose and structure, but monumental in its potential to improve the lives of the nation’s students,” says Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, chairman of the House education committee. Among those targeted under the initiative are teachers with specialties in math, science and special education.

A separate bill approved by the House, H.R. 2211, would make other improvements in teacher education programs, holding them more accountable for following provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. For more information, visit the Web site at ­.