TESP Program Requirements

Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship, DeBolt Teacher Shortage Scholarship (DTSS), Illinois Future Teacher Corps (IFTC) Scholarship and Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Programs

ISAC monitors recipients’ fulfillment of each program’s teaching requirement. If the recipient fails to meet the teaching requirement, the scholarship converts to a loan. The entire teacher scholarship program award received must be repaid, prorated according to the fraction of the teaching requirement not completed, and may include any reasonable collection costs.

Teaching Requirements

Teaching requirements for each program are as follows:

• MTI - recipients must teach, on a full-time basis, one year at a nonprofit Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool, elementary, or secondary school at which no less than 30 percent of the enrolled students are minority students for each year of assistance received.
• DTSS – recipients must teach, on a full-time basis in a teacher shortage discipline, for one year at an Illinois public, private or parochial preschool, elementary, or secondary school for each year of assistance received.
• IFTC – recipients must teach, on a full-time basis, for not less than five years according to the commitment/agreement that was signed prior to receiving the program benefits, e.g., if the recipient made a commitment to teach in a teacher shortage discipline and/or at a hard-to-staff school, the five years of teaching must be fulfilled accordingly. The teaching agreement must be fulfilled at a nonprofit Illinois public, private or parochial preschool or an Illinois public elementary or secondary school and if the award was for teaching at a hard-to-staff school, the school must qualify for teacher loan cancellation.
• SETTW - recipients must begin teaching, on a full-time basis in the field of Special Education, within one year following graduation from or termination of enrollment in a teacher education program, at an Illinois nonprofit public, private or parochial preschool, elementary or secondary school and continue teaching for at least 2 of the 5 years immediately following. 

For promissory notes signed prior to the 2004-05 academic year, recipients must fulfill their teaching requirements within five years following the completion of the postsecondary education degree or certificate program for which the assistance was awarded.

The period to fulfill the teaching requirement may be extended if the recipient:

• serves, for not more than three years, as a member of the United States Armed Forces;
• is enrolled full-time in a graduate course of study related to the field of teaching at an institution of higher learning, and, for SETTW, seeking a postgraduate degree;
• is temporarily totally disabled, for not more than three years, as established by the sworn affidavit of a qualified physician;
• is actively seeking but unable to find full-time employment as a teacher at a school that satisfies the teaching criteria for the program for one continuous period not to exceed two years, and is able to provide evidence of that fact; or
• (for all programs except IFTC) is taking additional courses, on at least a half-time basis, needed to obtain certification as a teacher in Illinois, and, for DTSS, is taking additional coursework to gain Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) approval to teach in a specified teacher shortage discipline.

If the assistance received converts to a loan, the interest begins to accrue on the date the repayment obligation begins and may be capitalized (added to the principal balance of the loan and interest is charged on the new balance) if it is determined that repayment should have already begun.

Interest for each program is 5% except for DTSS recipients who did not sign a promissory note effective for the 2004-05 academic year. Their interest rate is variable and is no greater than the highest rate applicable to new student loans made under FFELP.

A recipient enters repayment status on the earliest of the following dates:

• the first day of the first calendar month after the recipient has ceased to pursue a course of study leading to applicable certification as a teacher at the preschool, elementary or secondary level, but not before six months have elapsed after the cessation of at least half-time enrollment in such a course of study;
• the date the recipient informs ISAC that s/he does not plan to fulfill the teaching obligation; or
• the day after the latest date upon which the recipient must have begun teaching after completing the postsecondary education for which the assistance was awarded.

If a recipient is required to repay any portion of the scholarship, the repayment period shall be completed within 10 years (5 years for SETTW) after the assistance converts to a loan. This period may be extended if the recipient:

• serves, for not more than three years, as a member of the United States Armed Forces; or
• is temporarily disabled, for not more than three years, as established by the sworn affidavit of a licensed physician; or
• is seeking and unable to find full-time employment, for one continuous period not to exceed two years, and is able to provide evidence of that fact; or
• for MTI, withdraws from a course of study leading to certification as a teacher but is enrolled full-time in another academic discipline; or is pursuing a graduate course of study and is enrolled on a full-time basis for one continuous period of time not to exceed 3 years;
• for DTSS and IFTC, withdraws from a course of study leading to certification/approval in a teacher shortage discipline, but is enrolled at least half-time as an undergraduate for one continuous period of time not to exceed three years; or
• for SETTW, withdraws from a course of study leading to teacher certification in Special Education but remains enrolled on at least a half-time basis in another academic discipline; or is pursuing a graduate or postgraduate degree and is enrolled on a full-time basis for one continuous period of time not to exceed three years.

During the time a recipient qualifies for any of the deferments listed above, s/he is not required to make payments and interest does not accrue.

To initiate an extension or deferment, the student must complete a Request for Extension of Teaching Requirements or Request for Deferment of Repayment form.

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