OH HB663

Establishes a teacher loan repayment program administered jointly by the Department of Education and Chancellor of Higher Education that pays up to $40,000 toward outstanding student loan debt for eligible teachers.

Eligible teachers must be Ohio residents with a bachelor's degree from an Ohio institution, hold a valid educator license for grades 7-12, be employed full-time for the first time as a classroom teacher, and have made timely student loan payments.

Eligible teachers must be employed by a "qualifying school" (school district, community school, STEM school, or college-preparatory boarding school) with persistently low performance ratings that has difficulty attracting and retaining STEM teachers for grades 7-12.

Teachers must work at the qualifying school for five consecutive school years in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics to receive a one-time award, with payments made directly to the teacher's lender.

The program receives an initial $25,000,000 transfer from the General Revenue Fund, ceases accepting new applications five years after enactment, and terminates entirely ten years after enactment.