Definitions

The following definitions are to be used for Chapter 1640-01-32: (1) Academic year: Three (3) consecutive semesters beginning with a fall semester and including the spring and summer semesters immediately succeeding the fall semester. (2) Act: Chapter 381 of the Public Acts of 2023 and amended by Chapter 488 of the Public Acts of 2025, as set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-4-701. (3) Approved Educator Preparation Program (EPP): This term is defined in the Act. (4) Award amount: A scholarship amount provided to each student who meets the requirements of the Future Teacher Scholarship. For purposes of this Rule, “award amount” also refers to “loan” or “loan amount”, indicating the amount of funding required to be repaid if the qualified teaching service in a targeted setting is not completed. (5) Candidate: This term is defined as “eligible candidate” in the Act, and for purposes of this Rule, also refers to an eligible candidate who has received a scholarship award under this program. (6) Default: The failure of a candidate in repayment status to make a minimum of one (1) installment payment during a period of two hundred seventy (270) consecutive calendar days. (7) Deferment: A period of time in which the candidate’s payments may be postponed, pursuant to section .03(5) of this Rule. (8) FAFSA: This term is defined in T.C.A. § 49-4-902. (9) Full-time enrollment: The number of semester hours required for full-time enrollment in an Approved EPP as determined by the postsecondary institution attended. (10) Full-time teaching: A minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the candidate’s weekly workload is devoted to teaching, exclusive of administrative, teaching assistance, after-school programs, counseling, or other assigned duties. (11) Grace period: A period of up to one (1) year that begins on the date the candidate completes the Approved EPP. (12) IRP: Institutional Review Panel. (13) Promissory note: A signed statement certifying the candidate’s intent to become a teacher in a targeted setting for at least two (2) consecutive years and their obligation to repay the loan should they fail to complete the Approved EPP or fulfill the teaching requirements. TENNESSEE FUTURE TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM CHAPTER 1640-01-32 (14) Qualified teaching service: Full-time teaching in consecutive semesters, as determined by the school or local education agency where the teaching is performed. Candidates must teach at least ninety (90) days each semester and one hundred eighty (180) days for the academic year. Candidates are not required to teach one hundred eighty (180) days in an academic year in which the teaching service does not start at the beginning of the academic year. (15) Targeted setting: This term is defined in the Act. (16) TSAC: Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation.