Teach Grant Program

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 created the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program that provides up to $4,000 per year ($16,000 total for four-year programs) in grants to students who intend to teach full-time in high-need subject areas for at least four years at schools that serve students from low-income families. Graduate students are also eligible for $ 4,000 per year ($ 8,000 total).

IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLETE THE FOUR-YEAR TEACHING OBLIGATION YOU WILL HAVE TO REPAY THE GRANT WITH INTEREST!!!

TEACH Grant award amounts:

12 credits or more - $ 2,000 per semester
8 credits – 11 credits - $ 1,500 per semester
6 credits – 8 credits - $ 1,000 per semester
1 credit – 5 credits - $ 500 per semester

Effective Dates

The first TEACH Grants will be awarded to eligible students for the 2008-09 school year. (Sept. 1, 2008 – Aug. 31, 2009)

Student Eligibility Requirements

To receive a TEACH Grant you must:

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), although you do not have to demonstrate financial need.
Be a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen.
Be enrolled in coursework that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such coursework. Coursework that will prepare a student to teach in a high-need area (e.g., math courses for a student who intends to be a math teacher) is acceptable.
Meet the following academic achievement requirements
- Score above the 75th percentile on one of the following college admissions test(s) - SAT, ACT or GRE, Or
- Graduate from High School with a Cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 AND maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 each semester you receive a TEACH Grant.
Complete TEACH Grant counseling
Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to serve each year (will be available electronically on a Department of Education web site).

Teach Grant Agreement to Serve

Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve that will be available electronically on a Department of Education Web site. The TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve specifies the conditions under which the grant will be awarded, the teaching service requirements, and includes an acknowledgment by you that you understand that if you do not meet the teaching service requirements you must repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were disbursed. Specifically, the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve will provide that –

Teaching Obligation

To avoid repaying the TEACH Grant with interest you must be a highly-qualified, full-time teacher in a high-need subject area for at least four years within eight years of finishing the program at a school serving low-income students. Specific definitions of these terms are included below.

Highly-Qualified Teacher

You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher. The term highly-qualified teacher is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or in section 602(10) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – online at: http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN0414.html.

Full-Time Teacher

You must meet the state’s definition of a full time teacher and spend the majority (at least 51 percent) of your time teaching a one of the high-need subject area. Elementary teachers who teach many subjects would not be able to fulfill their service agreement.

High Need Subject Areas

Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
Foreign Language
Mathematics
Reading Specialist
Science
Special Education
Other teacher shortage areas identified at the time you begin teaching. These are subject areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc.

Schools Serving Low-Income Students

Schools serving low-income students include any elementary or secondary school that is listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits at https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp.

For each TEACH Grant-eligible program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must:

Documentation

You must also provide documentation to the Department of Education that you completed your teaching obligation. TEACH Grant recipients must confirm to the Education Department in writing within 120 days of completing or otherwise ceasing enrollment in the program that they are fulfilling (or planning to fulfill) the terms and conditions of the service agreement.

Grant recipients must provide the Education Department with documentation of their teaching service certified by the chief administrative officer, upon completion of four academic years of teaching service. This documentation must show that the grant recipient was a full-time, highly-qualified teacher at a school serving low-income students, teaching a high-need subject for at least four years

IMPORTANT REMINDER

FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE TEACHING OBLIGATION OR PROPERLY DOCUMENT YOUR TEACHING SERVICE WILL CAUSE THE TEACH GRANT TO BE PERMANENTLY CONVERTED TO A LOAN WITH INTEREST.

ONCE A GRANT IS CONVERTED TO A LOAN IT CAN’T BE CONVERTED BACK TO GRANT!

Updated 03/03/08