H1084 - Bob Jordan Teaching Fellows Restoration Act

• Establishes the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program to provide forgivable loans to students preparing to teach STEM or special education in North Carolina public schools, administered by the UNC System Office in conjunction with the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Commission and the State Education Assistance Authority.

• Specifies forgivable loan amounts of up to $4,125 per semester for high school seniors (8 semesters), transfer students (6 semesters), bachelor's degree holders (4 semesters), and current college students changing majors (4 semesters), which can be used for tuition, fees, books, and licensure expenses.

• Authorizes 17 participating institutions including UNC schools (Chapel Hill, Asheville, Greensboro, Pembroke, Wilmington, Charlotte), North Carolina State University, East Carolina University, and private colleges (Meredith, Campbell, Elon, Lenoir-Rhyne, Queens University of Charlotte) to offer educator preparation programs.

• Requires loan forgiveness for recipients who teach in STEM or special education for every year they received the loan within 10 years of graduation—one year at low-performing schools or two years at non-low-performing schools—with interest rates capped at 10% annually.

• Appropriates $2,987,500 in recurring funds for fiscal year 2020-2021 and intends to appropriate the same amount annually through 2023-2024 to create 2,000 total forgivable loan slots by the 2024-2025 academic year.