Summary of Senate Bill 137

• Establishes the Forgivable Education Loans for Service Program and Fund administered by the State Education Assistance Authority to provide forgivable loans to qualified North Carolina residents pursuing education in high-need professions, initially targeting teachers, nurses, and allied health professionals.

• Eligible institutions include UNC constituent institutions, community colleges, nonprofit postsecondary institutions, hospital-affiliated schools, and other approved public or nonprofit institutions offering programs unavailable elsewhere in North Carolina.

• Loans bear interest rates not exceeding 10%, with eligibility criteria including residency, attendance at eligible institutions, and satisfactory academic progress as established by the Authority.

• Loan forgiveness applies for employment in designated fields within North Carolina, with provisions for death, disability, hardship deferment, and cash repayment options with established monthly minimums and repayment timeframes.

• Consolidates eight existing scholarship loan programs (nursing, teachers, medical, dental, social workers, health/science/mathematics, and others) by repealing their enabling statutes and transferring all assets and liabilities to the new Forgivable Education Loans for Service Fund, effective July 1, 2012.