Florida, like many others states, is experiencing a crucial teacher shortage in a variety of areas. As teacher salaries have decreased, so have the number of people deciding to pursue teaching as their career choice. The Florida Office of Student Financial Help and the government of the state of Florida have made a program where Florida will repay teacher student loans. This program is designed to encourage teachers to get their college education degrees in subjects that are experiencing vital shortages in the state of Florida.

According to the 2004-05 statutes, the program applies to both undergraduate and graduate students loans. The teacher must not be in default for any of their loans. The teacher must hold a Florida teaching certificate and be teaching full-time in a Florida public school. They must have taught at least ninety days to be eligible for the program in an academic year. The teacher also may not have expected other specific school scholarships or loans for their education.

The paperwork for the repayment of college loans is obtained from the Office of Student Financial Help in Florida. A teacher may file the paperwork at the completion of their first year. Their district superintendent must certify their employment, and the teacher must also submit their academic transcripts from all of the colleges they attended. The lender or loan holder of their student loan must also provide certification of the loan balances for the teacher.

The excellent news is that a teacher can receive up to $2500 a year for undergraduate loans, and up to $5000 a year for graduate loans. Each teacher may receive up to $10,000 from the program in total. The teacher receives a try out payable to the teacher and lender, and must endorse it before sending it to the lender.

There are a variety of subject matter areas that have vital shortages. The subject matter areas that are eligible for the program are:

Autism

Emotionally Handicapped

English for Speaking other Languages (ESOL degree)

Exceptional Student Education

Foreign Languages

Hearing Impaired

Industrial Arts-Technological Education

Mentally Handicapped

Middle and High School Mathematics

Middle and High School Knowledge

Physically Impaired

Reading

School Psychologists

Specific Learning Disabilities

Speech/Language Disabilities

Varying Exceptionalities

Visually Impaired

This is an brilliant program designed to alleviate the vital shortages of teachers by charitable them an incentive to become a teacher of one of the subjects listed higher than. For anyone interested in apt a teacher in Florida, it makes sense to consider apt a teacher in one of these subjects so that they can receive some help in repaying their student loans. Why not have Florida repay your teacher student loans? And who knows? If this facility in Florida, other states may stay on suit, as many states have similar educational shortages.