20-4-504. Loan repayment assistance. (1) Loan repayment assistance may be provided on behalf of a quality educator who:

(a) is newly hired in an impacted school in a critical quality educator shortage area; and

(b) has an educational loan that is not in default and that has a minimum unpaid current balance of at least $1,000 at the time of application.

(2) A quality educator is eligible for state-funded loan repayment assistance for no more than 3 years and an additional 1 year of loan repayment assistance voluntarily funded by the impacted school or the district under which the impacted school is operated, with the maximum annual loan repayment assistance not to exceed:

(a) $3,000 of state-funded loan repayment assistance after the first complete year of teaching in an impacted school;

(b) $4,000 of state-funded loan repayment assistance after the second complete year of teaching in the same impacted school or another impacted school within the same school district;

(c) $5,000 of state-funded loan repayment assistance after the third complete year of teaching in the same impacted school or another impacted school within the same school district; and

(d) up to $5,000 of loan repayment assistance funded by the impacted school or the district under which the impacted school is operated after the fourth complete year of teaching in the same impacted school or another impacted school within the same school district.

(3) If the funding for state-funded loan repayment assistance in any year is less than the total amount for which Montana quality educators qualify, the superintendent of public instruction shall prorate repayment assistance amounts accordingly.