TEACHER AND TEACHER’S AIDE PLACEMENT PROGRAM FOR SEPARATED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

SEC. 4441. TEACHER AND TEACHER’S AIDE PLACEMENT PROGRAM FOR SEPARATED MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. (a) Placement Program.— (1) Chapter 58 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “§ 1151. Assistance to separated members to obtain certification and employment as teachers or employment as teachers’ aides “(a) Placement Program.—The Secretary of Defense may establish a program— “(1) to assist eligible members of the armed forces after their separation from active duty to obtain— 106 STAT. 2726 “(A) certification or licensure as elementary or secondary school teachers; or “(B) the credentials necessary to serve as teachers’ aides; and “(2) to facilitate the employment of such members by local educational agencies identified under subsection (b)(2) as experiencing a shortage of teachers or teachers’ aides. “(b) States with Alternative Certification Requirements and Teacher and Teacher’s Aide Shortages.—Upon the establishment of the placement program authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall— “(1) conduct a survey of States to identify those States that have alternative certification or Licensure requirements for teachers, including those States that grant credit for service in the armed forces toward satisfying certification or licensure requirements for teachers; “(2) periodically request information from States identified under paragraph (1) to identify in these States those local educational agencies that— “(A) are receiving grants under chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) as a result of having within their jurisdictions concentrations of children from low-income families; and “(B) are also experiencing a shortage of qualified teachers, in particular a shortage of science, mathematics, or engineering teachers; and “(3) periodically request information from all States to identify local educational agencies that— “(A) are receiving grants under chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) as a result of having within their jurisdictions concentrations of children from low-income families; and “(B) are experiencing a shortage of teachers’ aides. “(c) Eligible Members.— (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a member shall be eligible for selection by the Secretary of Defense to participate in the placement program authorized by subsection (a) if the member— “(A) during the five-year period beginning on October 1, 1992, is discharged or released from active duty after six or more years of continuous active duty immediately before the discharge or release; “(B) has received— “(i) in the case of a member applying for assistance for placement as an elementary or secondary school teacher, a baccalaureate or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education; or “(ii) in the case of a member applying for assistance for placement as a teacher’s aide in an elementary or secondary school, an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education or a junior or community college; and “(C) satisfies such other criteria for selection as the Secretary may prescribe. 106 STAT. 2727 “(2) A member who is discharged or released from service under other than honorable conditions shall not be eligible to participate in the program. “(3) The Secretary may accept an application from a member who was discharged or released from active duty during the period beginning on October 1, 1990, and ending on October 1, 1992, if the member otherwise satisfies the eligibility criteria specified in paragraph (1). “(d) Information Regarding Placement Program.—The Secretary of Defense shall provide information regarding the placement program, and make applications for the program available, to members as part of preseparation counseling provided under section 1142 of this title. The information provided to members shall identify those States that have alternative certification or licensure requirements for teachers, including those States that grant credit for service in the armed forces toward satisfying such requirements, and indicate those local educational agencies identified under subsection (b)(2) as experiencing a shortage of qualified teachers or teachers’ aides. “(e) Selection of Participants.— (1) Selection of members to participate in the placement program authorized by subsection (a) shall ne made on the basis of applications submitted to the Secretary of Defense before the date of the discharge or release of the members from active duty. In the case of members referred to in subsection (c)(3), the Secretary shall establish a reasonable time period after the date of the enactment of this section for the submission of applications. An application shall be in such form and contain such information as the Secretary may require. “(2) In selecting participants to receive assistance for placement as elementary or secondary school teachers, the Secretary shall give priority to members who— “(A) have educational or military experience in science, mathematics, or engineering and agree to seek employment as science, mathematics, or engineering teachers in elementary or secondary schools; or “(B) have educational or military experience in another subject area identified by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, as important for national educational objectives and agree to seek employment in that subject area in elementary or secondary schools. “(3) The Secretary may not select a member to participate in the program unless the Secretary has sufficient appropriations for the placement program available at the time of the selection to satisfy the obligations to be incurred by the United States under subsections (g) and (h) with respect to that member. “(f) Agreement.—A member selected to participate in the placement program authorized by subsection (a) shall be required to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Defense in which the member agrees— “(1) to obtain, within such time as the Secretary may require, certification or licensure as an elementary or secondary school teacher or the necessary credentials to serve as a teach-er’s aide in an elementary or secondary school; and “(2) to accept— “(A) in the case of a member selected for assistance for placement as a teacher, an offer of full-time employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher for not less 106 STAT. 2728than two school years with a local educational agency identified under subsection (b)(2), to begin the school year after obtaining that certification or licensure; or “(B) in the case of a member selected for assistance for placement as a teacher’s aide, an offer of full-time employment as a teacher’s aide in an elementary or secondary school for not less than two school years with a local educational agency identified under subsection (b)(3), to begin the school year after obtaining the necessary credentials. “(g) Stipend for Participants.— (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense shall pay to each participant m the placement program a stipend in an amount equal to the lesser of— “(A) $5,000; or “(B) the total costs of the type described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (8), and (9) of section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 108711) incurred by the participant while obtaining teacher certification or licensure or the necessary credentials to serve as a teacher's aide and employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher or teacher aide. “(2) A member who is entitled to benefits under section 1174a or 1175 of this title or is given early retirement under section 4403 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 shall not be paid a stipend under paragraph (1). “(3) A stipend paid under paragraph (1) shall be taken into account in determining the eligibility of the participant for Federal student financial assistance provided under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.). “(h) Grants to Facilitate Placement.— (1) In the case of a participant in the placement program obtaining teacher certification or licensure, the Secretary of Defense shall offer to enter into an agreement under this subsection with the first local educational agency identified under subsection (b)(2) that employs the participant as a full-time elementary or secondary school teacher after the participant obtains teacher certification or licensure. “(2) In the case of a participant in the program obtaining credentials to serve as a teacher’s aide, the Secretary shall offer to enter into an agreement under this subsection with the first local educational agency identified under subsection (b)(3) that employs the participant as a full-time teacher’s aide. “(3) Under an agreement referred to in paragraph (1) or (2)— “(A) the local educational agency shall agree to employ the participant full time for not less than two consecutive school years (at a basic salary to be certified to the Secretary) in a school of the local educational agency serving a concentration of children from low-income families; and “(B) the Secretary shall agree to pay to the local educational agency an amount equal to the lesser of— “(i) the basic salary to be paid by the local educational agency to the participant during the two years; and “(ii) $50,000. “(4) Payments required under paragraph (2) may be made by the Secretary in such installments as the Secretary may deter-mine. “(5) If a participant leaves the employment of a local educational agency before the end of the two years of required service, the 106 STAT. 2729local educational agency shall reimburse the Secretary in an amount that bears the same ratio to the total amount already paid under the agreement as the unserved portion bears to the two years of required service. “(6) The Secretary may not make a grant under this subsection to a local educational agency if the Secretary determines that the agency terminated the employment of another employee in order to fill the vacancy so created with a participant. “(i) Reimbursement Under Certain Circumstances.— (1) If a participant in the placement program fails to obtain teacher certification or licensure or employment as an elementary or secondary school teacher or employment as a teacher’s aide as required under the agreement or voluntarily leaves, or is terminated for cause, from the employment during the two years of required service, the participant shall be required to reimburse the Secretary of Defense for any stipend paid to the participant under subsection (g)(1) in an amount that bears the same ratio to the amount of the stipend as the unserved portion of required service bears to the two years of required service. “(2) The obligation to reimburse the Secretary under this subsection is, for all purposes, a debt owing the United States. A discharge in bankruptcy under title 11 shall not release a participant from the obligation to reimburse the Secretary. Any amount owed by a participant under paragraph (1) shall bear interest at the rate equal to the highest rate being paid by the United States on the day on which the reimbursement is determined to be due for securities having maturities of ninety days or less and shall accrue from the day on which the participant is first notified of the amount due. “(j) Exceptions to Reimbursement Provisions.— (1) A participant in the placement, program shall not be considered to be in violation of an agreement entered into under subsection (f) during any period in which the participant— “(A) is pursuing a full-time course of study related to the field of teaching at an eligible institution; “(B) is serving on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces; “(C) is temporarily totally disabled for a period of time not to exceed three years as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; “(D) is unable to secure employment for a period not to exceed 12 months by reason of the care required by a spouse who is disabled; “(E) is seeking and unable to find full-time employment as a teacher or teacher’s aide in an elementary or secondary school for a single period not to exceed 27 months; or “(F) satisfies the provisions of additional reimbursement exceptions that may be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. “(2) A participant shall be excused from reimbursement under subsection (i) if the participant becomes permanently totally disabled as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician. The Secretary may also waive reimbursement in cases of extreme hardship to the participant, as determined by the Secretary. “(k) Definitions.—In this section; “(1) The term ‘State’ includes the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Commonwealth of 106 STAT. 2730the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Palau, and the Virgin Islands. “(2) The term ‘alternative certification or licensure requirements’ means State or local teacher certification or licensure requirements that permit a demonstrated competence in appropriate subject areas gained in careers outside of education to be substituted for traditional teacher training course work.”. (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item: “1151. Assistance to separated members to obtain certification and employment as teachers or employment as teachers’ aides.”. (b) Information Regarding Placement Program in Preseparation Counseling.—Section 1142(b)(4) of such title is amended by inserting before the period the following: “and information regarding the placement program established under section 1151 of this title to assist members obtain employment as elementary or secondary school teachers or teachers’ aides.”.