Amends TCA Title 49.

This bill enacts the "Tennessee Future Teacher Scholarship Act of 2023," which, subject to available funding, requires the Tennessee student assistance corporation (TSAC) to administer a five-year pilot program to award a Tennessee Future Teacher scholarship ("scholarship") to future educators. The pilot program is to begin with the 2023-2024 academic year and terminate on July 1, 2028. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA This bill requires a candidate to meet the following criteria to be eligible for a scholarship: (1) Be a resident who graduated from an eligible high school or complete high school in a home school program; (2) Not be ineligible for a scholarship due to the student not being a Tennessee citizen; not complying with selective service requirements, if applicable; being in default on a federal Title IV educational loan or Tennessee educational loan; owing a refund on a federal Title IV student financial aid program or a Tennessee student aid financial program; not being in compliance with federal drug-free rules and laws for receiving financial assistance; or being currently incarcerated; (3) Achieve a final overall high school grade point average of at least 3.0 or have attained a composite ACT score of at least 21 on any single ACT test date or a concordant equivalent score on the SAT on any single SAT test date; (4) Be admitted and enrolled in an educator preparation program at an eligible public postsecondary institution, approved by the state board of education ("EPP"); (5) Complete the TSAC scholarship application upon the candidate's enrollment in an EPP; (6) Complete the FAFSA each academic year in which the candidate seeks to receive the scholarship; (7) Maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 in an EPP; and (8) Agree to teach in either a Tennessee public school located in a distressed or at-risk county, or an area for which there is a critical shortage of teachers, as determined by the department of education ("targeted setting") for at least four years after the candidate completes their EPP. SCHOLARSHIP PARAMETERS This bill provides the following concerning the scholarship: (1) If a student is awarded a scholarship, then the student may continue to receive the scholarship until the student has attained a degree through the EPP, or three years have elapsed since the student's enrollment in a term for which the student received the student's first scholarship, whichever occurs first; (2) A student who receives a scholarship may transfer from one eligible postsecondary institution to another without loss of the scholarship, so long as the student continues to meet all eligibility requirements for the scholarship; (3) If a student ceases to be eligible for the scholarship at any time, then the student is not eligible to regain the scholarship; (4) Subject to the amounts appropriated by the general assembly, the amount of a scholarship must not exceed the cost of tuition and mandatory fees charged to all students for coursework leading to completion of an EPP, minus all other gift aid, which must be credited to the student's tuition and mandatory fees before this scholarship is applied; and (5) If a student receives a scholarship and does not teach in a targeted setting for at least four years, then the student must reimburse TSAC for each year the student did not teach in a targeted setting in an amount equal to the total scholarship amount the student received divided by four. REPORTS This bill requires the office of research and education accountability (OREA), in the office of the comptroller of treasury, to review and study the pilot program and the scholarships awarded through the program to determine the effectiveness of the scholarships in increasing the number of licensed educators in this state. The study must be conducted in the third and fifth year of the program and four years after the program terminates. The OREA must report its findings and conclusions to the speakers of the senate and house of representatives and to the education committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 31 each year a report is prepared. RULEMAKING This bill authorizes TSAC to promulgate rules to effectuate this bill. ON APRIL 20, 2023, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 432, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 makes the following changes to this bill: (1) Adds that an "eligible candidate" must also be a citizen of the United States who has resided in this state for at least one year prior to the student's admission to the eligible postsecondary institution; (2) Revises the eligible requirements, to provide that an eligible candidate must be eligible for and receive a Tennessee HOPE scholarship; be admitted to and enrolled in an approved EPP; complete the scholarship application, as required by TSAC; maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average required by the approved EPP; and sign a promissory note agreeing to teach in an LEA or public charter school in this state for at least four consecutive years in a targeted setting; (3) Provides that the amount of a Tennessee Future Teacher scholarship is as follows: (A) At a public institution is the cost of tuition and mandatory fees charged to all students for coursework leading to completion of an approved undergraduate EPP at the public institution attended less all other gift aid. The gift aid must be credited first to tuition and mandatory fees before the Tennessee Future Teacher scholarship is applied; and (B) At a private institution must not exceed the average cost of tuition and mandatory fees charged to all students for coursework leading to completion of an approved undergraduate EPP at the state's public institutions less all other gift aid. The gift aid must be credited first to tuition and mandatory fees before the Tennessee Future Teacher scholarship is applied; and (4) Clarifies that if a student does not teach in targeted setting for at least four consecutive years, the reimbursement to TSAC is without interest.