SB 1321 Summary

• Establishes the Arizona Teacher Student Loan Program administered by the Arizona Board of Regents to provide forgivable loans for tuition, fees, and materials to students pursuing teaching degrees or alternative teacher certification at qualifying private postsecondary institutions.

• Requires loan recipients to teach one full school year in an Arizona public school for each year of study; students must repay loans proportionally if they fail to fulfill their teaching obligation.

• Transfers authority and responsibilities of the Commission for Postsecondary Education to the Arizona Board of Regents, making the board the state higher education agency and state scholarship grant agency.

• Establishes the Arizona Leveraging Educational Assistance Program to provide need-based grants to eligible Arizona resident students attending accredited postsecondary institutions, with state matching funds contingent on institutional matching contributions.

• Repeals Title 15 Chapter 13 Article 11, Title 15 Chapter 14 Articles 4 and 5, and Section 41-3027.02; transfers all unexpended funds and assets from former education programs to the Arizona Board of Regents.