GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 1304

 
 
Short Title:	Teacher Loan Program.	()	
Sponsors:	Representatives Gibson, Morris, McLawhorn, Coates (Primary Sponsors);  Underhill and Wainwright.	
Referred to:	Education.	
April 12, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require THE STATE treasurer AND THE NORTH CAROLINA HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY to DEVELOP pilot programs to provide NEW TEACHERS WITH MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE TO ENCOURAGE THEM to stay in the classroom for a period of at least three years.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The State Treasurer, in conjunction with the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, shall develop a mortgage assistance pilot program for persons who are teaching in the public schools and have been for less than one year or who have been hired to teach in the public schools and are scheduled to begin teaching.  The purpose of the program is to encourage new teachers in the public schools to continue to teach for a period of at least three years by providing them with assistance in acquiring home mortgages in return for that commitment.
The pilot program shall be administered by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency in at least one low‑wealth school district, one urban district, and one rural district. In developing the program, the State Treasurer shall review similar programs in other states such as Connecticut, Mississippi, Oregon, and New Mexico. The State Treasurer shall consider providing new teachers with low‑interest loans for down payments and closing costs and arranging a method by which the loans will be forgiven or converted into interest‑free grants if the teachers commit to teach for three years and fulfill that commitment.
SECTION 2.  The State Treasurer shall report on the operations and effectiveness of the mortgage assistance pilot program to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee of the General Assembly on or before October 1, 2005.  If the pilot program is successful in keeping teachers in the classroom for a period of at least three years, the State Treasurer shall consider whether the program should be implemented statewide and make recommendations to the General Assembly accordingly.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.