03/19/1998 03:05 PM House HES

HB 407 - TEACHER SCHOLARSHIP LOANS                                             
                                                                               
Number 1415                                                                    
                                                                               
CHAIRMAN BUNDE announced the next order of business would be HB
, "An Act relating to repayment of teacher scholarship loans."              
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE GARY DAVIS, sponsor, came before the committee.  He             
informed the committee HB 407 addresses a problem that was brought             
to his attention and the wording of the legislation speaks right to            
the problem.                                                                   
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS explained the Teacher Scholarship Loan Program            
provides incentive to Alaskans who want to teach in the rural areas            
of the state.  It gives them a scholarship to attend college and               
when they graduate, when they teach in rural areas, there's a                  
process of forgiving the loan.  There are stipulations that require            
you to teach in rural areas to qualify for forgiveness.                        
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS told the committee there was an instance when             
a medical problem arose with one of the students that graduated and            
due to medical procedures required that she be within the Anchorage            
area to receive treatment.  He indicated the student is able to                
teach, she doesn't want to claim a full disability because she is              
not fully disabled.                                                            
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS said they attempted to write language that                
gave the department discretion in some of these situations, but he             
doesn't blame the department.  He thinks it wasn't specifically                
said that they do not want the discretion, but they didn't pursue              
that and they wrote the legislation to address this specific                   
problem.  He further explained HB 407 addresses an additional                  
condition that the loans can be forgiven.                                      
                                                                               
Number 1565                                                                    
                                                                               
GARY REED, testified via teleconference from Kenai.  He briefed the            
committee that he is the father of the person the bill was drafted             
for.  He said the reason the bill was drafted was that his daughter            
graduated from high school in 1991, and had a 3.87 grade point                 
average (GPA).  After high school she attended college in Anchorage            
to pursue the career of becoming a teacher.  Her goal was to become            
a teacher and teach in rural Alaska.  He advised the committee in              
January, 1996, she was diagnosed with a degenerative disease which             
there is no cure for, but it can be greatly reduced in its                     
progression by medical treatment.  The treatment is continuous and             
has to be quite regular.  The disease prevented his daughter from              
going to the Bush and has also affected her mentally.  Mr. Reed                
said her rheumatologist wanted her to take disability, but she                 
refused.  She is capable of teaching at this time, but in five to              
ten years from now, that might change.  He continued by stating his            
daughter is devastated because she is unable to teach in the Bush              
and has a loan she anticipated would be forgiven by fulfilling the             
obligations under the program.                                                 
                                                                               
MR. REED informed the committee he wrote a letter to Commissioner              
Holloway of the Department of Education.  Commissioner Holloway                
told him the current legislation allows only for people who are                
claiming total disability.  There is no option for any partial                 
disability.  Mr. Reed said HB 407 would give the commissioner                  
another option to consider and another tool to take into                       
consideration special circumstances.  Mr. Reed urged the committee             
members to take this situation into consideration and pass the                 
legislation.                                                                   
                                                                               
Number 1738                                                                    
                                                                               
MARCIA REED was next to come before the committee to testify.  She             
stated she is the mother of the daughter who finished college and              
wanted to teach in the Bush, but now has been diagnosed with a                 
medical condition that doesn't enable her to do that.  Ms. Reed                
said her daughter is not totally disabled and wants to work.  She              
encouraged the committee members to support and pass HB 407 so that            
her daughter's scholarship funds may be forgiven.                              
                                                                               
Number 1788                                                                    
                                                                               
CHAIRMAN BUNDE said this is the first time the committee has heard             
HB 407, and normally bills are not passed out of committee at the              
first hearing because it will give the members a chance to address             
concerns they might have.  Chairman Bunde told Representative Davis            
he is looking for wording in the legislation which says "diagnosed"            
or "required by"; some certification by a medical professional that            
would require that they stay in an urban area.                                 
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE DAVIS responded that they haven't gotten into that              
detail in the legislation.  He said he would assume that statutes              
and regulations written on the legislation would protect the                   
Department of Education to assure them that that is the condition.             
He pointed out they could rephrase the bill and put it in statute.             
                                                                               
CHAIRMAN BUNDE recommended Representative Davis check with the                 
Department of Education and see if they can take care of that in               
regulation.                                                                    
                                                                               
Number 1867                                                                    
                                                                               
MIKE MAHER, Director, Student Financial Aid, Postsecondary                     
Education Commission, Department of Education, came before the                 
committee to testify.  He stated the department would promulgate               
regulations similar to the medical write-off that would require two            
doctors' opinions that this individual would have to stay in an                
urban area of the state to receive their medical treatment which               
would be sufficient for the department.                                        
                                                                               
Number 1900                                                                    
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked Mr. Maher if sees this type of a                    
condition very often.                                                          
                                                                               
MR. MAHER replied very seldom; two or three times.  He indicated               
the regulations would fill in a loophole for individuals that have             
good intentions and go off to school and get a degree, come back               
and want to work in the rural areas, and through nothing they have             
done, they are prohibited to do that.  As long as they teach in an             
urban area, they would receive the same yearly forgiveness benefits            
as an individual going to the Bush.                                            
                                                                               
Number 1969                                                                    
                                                                               
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER commented that this is a narrow exception and            
no other facts are needed to make a decision.  Therefore,                      
Representative Porter made a motion to move HB 407 out of committee            
with individual recommendations and the attached fiscal note.                  
There being no objection, HB 407 moved from the House Health,                  
Education and Social Services Standing Committee.