SC–Teacher Loans

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ The Education Oversight Committee wants legislators to put more money in a teacher loan program meant to encourage students to teach in South Carolina’s needy schools. The group also recommends changing how a needy school is defined, to at least 80 percent of students living in poverty, up from 70 percent. The loan program created in 1984 provides a maximum of $20,000 toward a student’s college degree. The amount is forgiven after five years of teaching in a needy school or a hard-to-fill subject. An annual report the committee approved Monday says the program doled out nearly $4.7 million in loans last school year to 1,114 students. More than 300 applicants were denied loans due to a lack of funding. An additional $1.3 million would have covered those eligible applicants.