Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application (Page 2 of 4) in pdf

SECTION 4: GENERAL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession. Under this program, individuals who teach full time for five consecutive,

complete academic years at certain elementary and secondary schools or for certain educational service agencies that serve low-income families and meet other qualifications may be eligible for

forgiveness of up to a combined total of $17,500 in principal and interest on their Direct Loan and/or FFEL program loans. For complete terms and conditions, definitions, and eligibility requirements, see

Sections 5 through 8.

Before completing Section 2, carefully read Sections 5 through 8. Be sure to provide all requested information. Type or print using dark ink. Show dates as mm-dd-yyyy (for example, show “January 31,

2011” as “01-31-2011”).

The chief administrative officer of the school or educational service agency at or for which you performed your qualifying teaching service must complete Section 3. If you taught at more than one school

or for more than one educational service agency during the same academic year, the chief administrative officer from one of the schools or educational service agencies may complete Section 3. If you

taught at different schools or for different educational service agencies during different academic years, the chief administrative officers from all of the schools or educational service agencies must

certify your eligibility. If you need more than one chief administrative officer's certification, the additional certifications, containing the information in Section 3, may be provided on a separate piece of

paper and submitted with your completed form.

Return the completed form to the address shown in Section 9. If you are applying for forgiveness of loans that are held by different loan holders, you must submit a separate form to each loan

holder.

SECTION 5: TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• If you are determined to be eligible for loan forgiveness under this program, your loan holder will not refund any payments that you made or that were made on your behalf before the determination of

eligibility.

• You are not eligible to receive forgiveness for more than a combined total of $17,500 of principal and interest of your Direct Loan and/or FFEL program loan(s). You are responsible for repaying any

loan balance that remains after the forgiveness has been granted.

• Unless you instruct your loan holder otherwise, the forgiveness amount will be applied to your loans in the following order: (1) Direct Unsubsidized Loan(s) or unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan(s),

(2) Direct Subsidized Loan(s) or subsidized Federal Stafford Loan(s), and (3) Direct Unsubsidized Consolidation Loan, Direct Subsidized Consolidation Loan, or Federal Consolidation Loan.

• If you receive loan forgiveness based on any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements that you make on this form or on any accompanying documents, you may be subject to civil and criminal

penalties under applicable federal law.

SECTION 6: DEFINITIONS

• An academic year is:

One complete school year at the same school or for the same educational service agency, or

Two complete and consecutive half years at different schools or for different educational service agencies, or

Two complete and consecutive half years from different school years at either the same school or for the same educational service agency or at different schools or for different

educational service agencies.

Half years exclude summer sessions. Two half years generally fall within a 12-month period. For schools or educational service agencies that have a year-round program of instruction, a minimum of

nine months is considered an academic year.

• Capitalization is the addition of unpaid interest to the principal balance of a loan. This will increase the principal and total cost of the loan.

• The chief administrative officer is the official who has access to employment records that establish your eligibility for loan forgiveness in accordance with the requirements explained on this form,

and who is authorized to verify your qualifying employment at a school or by an educational service agency. Depending on your employer, the chief administrative officer may be a principal, assistant

principal, superintendent, or other school or educational service agency official.

• A child with a disability is a child who needs special education and related services because the child has mental retardation, a hearing impairment (including deafness), a speech or language

impairment, a visual impairment (including blindness), a serious emotional disturbance, an orthopedic impairment, autism, a traumatic brain injury, another health impairment, or a specific learning

disability. For a child age 3 through 9, the term a child with a disability may, at the discretion of the state and the local educational agency, include a child who needs special education and related

services because the child is experiencing developmental delays, as defined by the state and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following

areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development.

• An educational service agency is a regional public multiservice agency (not a private organization) authorized by state statute to develop, manage, and provide services or programs to local

educational agencies (such as public school districts), as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

• An elementary school is a public or nonprofit private school that provides elementary education as determined by state law or, if the school is not in a state, by the U.S. Department of Education.

• A forbearance is a temporary cessation of payments, an extension of time for making payments, or temporary acceptance of smaller payments than previously scheduled. You are responsible for

any interest that accrues on a loan during forbearance. If you do not pay the interest that accrues on the loan, the interest may be capitalized.

• Full time means the standard used by a state in defining full-time employment as a teacher. If you teach in more than one school or educational service agency, full time is based on the combination

of all of your qualifying employment.

• The holder of a Direct Loan Program loan is the U.S. Department of Education. The holder of a FFEL Program loan may be a lender, guaranty agency, secondary market, or the U.S. Department of

Education.

• Loans that are eligible for forgiveness are Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loans (Direct Subsidized Loans), Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loans (Direct Unsubsidized Loans), Federal

Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), and any portion of a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan or Federal Consolidation Loan that paid off an eligible Direct Subsidized Loan, Direct

Unsubsidized Loan, or Federal Stafford Loan.

• A secondary school is a public or nonprofit private school that provides secondary education as determined by state law or, if the school is not in a state, by the U.S. Department of Education.

• Special education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in

hospitals and institutions, and in other settings; and instruction in physical education. Physical education means the development of physical and motor fitness, fundamental motor skills and patterns,

and skills in aquatics, dance, and individual and group games and sports (including intramural and lifetime sports), and includes special physical education, adapted physical education, movement

education, and motor development.

• A teacher is a person who provides direct classroom teaching or classroom-type teaching in a non-classroom setting, including special education teachers. School librarians, guidance counselors,

and other administrative staff are not considered teachers for the purposes of this loan forgiveness program.

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