§3042.42.  Loans for students enrolled in colleges or universities to prepare to teach; Bienville Parish School Board; authority

A.  The Bienville Parish School Board, hereinafter referred to as "the board", may, with the use of board funds, make loans to a student who meets all of the following requirements:

(1)  Is a bona fide citizen and resident of the state and is domiciled in Bienville Parish.

(2)  Desires to become a teacher and has been accepted to enroll in a public college or university in this state.

(3)  Has a composite score on the American College Test or the Scholastic Aptitude Test which is, or is the equivalent to, a nineteen on the 1990 version of the American College Test, or an equivalent concordant value on any subsequent version of such test.

(4)  Meets such other qualifications as the board may prescribe by rule.

B.  The board may make a loan to a student who it deems to be qualified, upon such terms and conditions as the board may impose in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, provided the student intends to acquire a degree from a program approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education pursuant to R.S. 17:7.2 which leads to a degree in education or intends to pursue an alternative program which leads to regular certification as a teacher as provided by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.  Additionally, the student shall be pursuing certification in an area in which there is a shortage of qualified teachers as determined by the school board after conducting a duly advertised public hearing.

C.  Any student to whom the board has made a loan shall be required to maintain a cumulative college grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and to enter a program approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education pursuant to R.S. 17:7.2 which leads either to a degree in education or to regular certification as a teacher as soon as the student has earned sufficient credits to do so.

D.  It shall be the duty of the board to do all of the following:

(1)  Accept and review each application for such a loan.

(2)  Make careful and full investigation of the qualifications of each applicant.

(3)  Determine the eligibility of the applicant to become the recipient of such a loan and to continue to be eligible for such loan.

E.  The board may prescribe such rules and regulations as it deems necessary and proper to carry out the purposes of this Chapter which shall include and provide for an open and competitive process for determining loan recipients.

Acts 1997, No. 425, §1, eff. June 22, 1997.