House Bill 765: Repealer Extension on Critical Teacher Shortage Act

March 20, 2024May 22, 2024 Bill Tracker

Latest Action

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On May 10, the Governor signed HB 765 into law.

Explanation of the Bill

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The conference report for HB 765 would accomplish the following:

• Extend the repealer on, and expand eligibility for, the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program;
• Extend the repealer on the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act of 1988;
• Allow retired teachers to be reemployed in geographical critical shortage areas while receiving PERS benefits; and
• Revise requirements related to transportation of students on vehicles other than school buses for school-related activities.
  

We describe individual provisions of the bill in greater detail below.

Expansion of the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program

As amended, HB 765 would expand eligibility for the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program to include teachers regardless of years of experience or pathway into the profession. HB 765 would also remove the cap on annual awards for the program, and it would extend the repealer on the program until July 1, 2028. The program is currently set to expire on July 1 of this year.

Winter-Reed was created in 2021 to attract and retain Mississippi teachers in districts across the state by offering loan repayment assistance in return for years of service, particularly in geographic critical shortage areas. Eligible teachers can receive up to $7,500 over three years if they teach in a non-critical shortage district or up to $15,000 over three years if they teach in a critical shortage district. Currently, eligibility for an initial award is limited to first-year teachers who earned a license via the traditional route (i.e., they studied education at the undergraduate level). Teachers must receive an initial award during their first year of teaching to be eligible for the additional two years of loan repayment assistance. The Office of Student Financial Aid (SFA), which administers the program, may only grant up to 150 first-year awards each year on a first-come, first-served basis—even when there are available funds for additional awards, as has been the case for the first three years of the program.

HB 765 would open eligibility to teachers regardless of years of experience, meaning that initial applicants would not have to be in their first year of teaching. Recipients would still be limited to three years of loan repayment assistance. Teachers who earned a license via the alternate route (i.e., teachers who earned their credentials after earning an undergraduate degree) would also be eligible under HB 765. Furthermore, HB 765 would allow SFA to utilize all funds appropriated for the Winter-Reed program to grant awards to as many eligible applicants as these funds allow.

These changes would increase the number of teachers receiving loan repayment assistance at a time when crushing student loan debt has become the reality for roughly half of Mississippi teachers. A survey of 6,496 teachers by Mississippi First found that teachers with student loan debt reported being much more likely to leave the classroom (58.0%) than teachers without student debt (48.8%). This increase in attrition risk for teachers with student loan debt is likely explained by an inability to pay off student debt balances that often surpass annual salaries for Mississippi teachers (for example, 23.5% of all teachers reported a student loan balance of at least $50,000, roughly in line with the average teacher salary in Mississippi). Offering student loan repayment assistance through a program like Winter-Reed creates a viable path to paying off this debt while incentivizing service in districts where teachers are most needed. Expanding Winter-Reed would serve to heighten its impact.

Reenactment of the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act of 1998

As introduced, House Bill 765 would reenact the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act of 1998, and it would extend the date of the Act’s repeal from July 1, 2024 to July 1, 2027. 

Provisions of the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act are outlined below. 

Moving Expense Reimbursement for New Hires

The Act directs the State Board of Education to create rules that allow certain teachers to be reimbursed for moving expenses, subject to appropriation. Teachers who accept positions in critical shortage areas that require them to relocate could be reimbursed for their moving expenses, up to $1,000. To be eligible for the reimbursement, the teacher must apply through the school district, and the school district must gain approval from the State Board of Education prior to the relocation. 

Mileage Reimbursement for Interviewees

The Act allows school boards of districts in critical shortage areas to reimburse teachers who interview within the district for mileage and other expenses that they may incur while attending the job interview. 

University Assisted Teacher Recruitment and Retention Grant Program

The Act established the University Assisted Teacher Recruitment and Retention Grant Program within the State Department of Education. This program is intended to provide scholarships to teachers in critical shortage areas who are working towards a Master of Education degree or Education Specialist degree. 

Mississippi Employer-Assisted Housing Teacher Program

The Act established the Mississippi Employer-Assisted Housing Teacher Program, a home loan program available to teachers in critical shortage areas. Recipients of loans under this program would be required to purchase a home within the area of the school district where they teach. Loans are capped at $6,000. One-third of each loan is converted to an interest-free grant for each year that a teacher remains in the district. 

Rental Housing Pilot Program 

The Act established a pilot program to construct rental housing units for teachers in the West Tallahatchie School District. 

Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Fund

The Act established the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Fund, with the purpose of implementing the programs described above. 
HB 765 has a companion bill in the Senate, SB 2682.

Reemployment of Retired Teachers

HB 765 would allow retired teachers to reenter the classroom and receive PERS benefits in addition to a salary. The section of the bill that accomplishes this is identical to the Senate Education committee substitute for SB 2685, which died in committee. 

Retired teachers who meet all of the following qualifications would be authorized to teach while receiving PERS benefits:

• At least 25 years of creditable service
• Employed as a public school teacher at the time of retirement
• Has been retired at least 90 days
• Receiving retirement allowance from PERS
• Holds a standard teaching license in Mississippi

A qualifying retired teacher would be authorized to teach for up to five years (consecutively or intermittently) in any district designated by the Mississippi Department of Education as a “geographic critical shortage area,” of which there are currently 103 for the 2023-2024 school year. A qualifying retired teacher could also teach a critical shortage subject (special education, math, foreign language, or science) in any school district in Mississippi.

A school district hiring a retired teacher could pay up to 125% of the salary the teacher would have earned, based on years of experience and license type, if they were not retired. 50% of this salary would be contributed as an employee contribution to PERS in order to “actuarially offset any pension liability created by this act” (the employee contribution for most PERS employees is 9%). The remaining 50% would be paid to the retired teacher, in addition to the full PERS benefit. The extent of the PERS benefit varies due to factors including years of creditable service as well as years of retirement, but participating teachers could potentially outearn their final pre-retirement salary (for example, a teacher retiring after 30 years would receive an annual PERS benefit of about $34,680; if they also earned 50% of 125% of their final pre-retirement salary of $58,400, they would receive a total of $71,180 in pre-tax compensation). These teachers would also be eligible for any local salary supplements offered by the district, as well as state supplements for being certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). 

HB 765 is intended to address Mississippi’s critical teacher shortage by expanding the pool of prospective teachers to include retired teachers.

Transportation of Students on Vehicles Other Than School Buses

HB 765 would make minor revisions to the law regarding school boards’ ability to permit the transportation of students on vehicles other than school buses. 

The current law states that school boards may allow students to be transported on such vehicles “for trips to and from school sites or agricultural education sites or for trips to and from agricultural education-related events or competitions.” HB 765 would revise this language to allow students to be transported on such vehicles for any school-related functions and activities. However, school buses would still be required for customary transportation between students’ residences and school sites. 

Under current law, any vehicle other than a school bus used to transport students must be designed to transport fewer than ten students. Under HB 765, this requirement would be revised to allow students to be transported in vehicles that are designed for fewer than sixteen students and that do not require a commercial driver’s license.