173.232.  State scholarship program established — maximum number and amount — definitions — teaching requirements for recipients — fund established. — 1.  There is hereby established the "Teacher Recruitment and Retention State Scholarship Program", which shall be administered by the department of elementary and secondary education.  The program shall, upon appropriation, provide scholarships, subject to the eligibility criteria enumerated in this section, for eligible students who enter a teacher education program and make a commitment to teach as a condition of receiving such scholarship.

  2.  Subject to appropriation, each year the department of elementary and secondary education shall make available to eligible students scholarships for up to two years in an amount that encompasses up to one hundred percent of the total cost of eligible students' tuition costs related to teacher preparation at a four-year college or university located in Missouri, except that no amount granted for tuition shall exceed the amount of tuition charged a Missouri resident at the University of Missouri-Columbia for attendance.  Such amount shall be paid by funds appropriated to the department.  The maximum number of scholarships made available or the maximum amount awarded annually under this section shall be as follows:

  (1)  For academic years ending before July 1, 2025, two hundred scholarships or a maximum awarded amount of one million two hundred thousand dollars;

  (2)  For the 2025-26 academic year, four hundred scholarships or a maximum awarded amount of two million four hundred thousand dollars;

  (3)  For the 2026-27 academic year, four hundred forty scholarships or a maximum awarded amount of two million six hundred thousand dollars;

  (4)  For the 2027-28 academic year, four hundred eighty scholarships or a maximum awarded amount of two million eight hundred thousand dollars;

  (5)  For the 2028-29 academic year, five hundred twenty scholarships or a maximum awarded amount of three million dollars;

  (6)  For the 2029-30 academic year, five hundred sixty scholarships or a maximum awarded amount of three million two hundred thousand dollars; and

  (7)  For the 2030-31 academic year and all subsequent academic years, six hundred scholarships or a maximum awarded amount of three million four hundred thousand dollars.

  3.  As used in this section, the following terms mean:

  (1)  "Eligible student", an individual who:

  (a)  Is a United States citizen and a Missouri resident;

  (b)  Enters and makes a commitment to pursue a teacher education program approved by the department of elementary and secondary education and offered by a four-year college or university located in Missouri;

  (c)  Signs an agreement with the department of elementary and secondary education in which the recipient agrees to teach in a Missouri public school that is a hard-to-staff school or to teach at least one hard-to-staff subject area in a Missouri public school that offers classes in hard-to-staff subject areas, or both, for two years for every one year the recipient received the scholarship;

  (d)  Maintains a cumulative grade point average of at least two and one-half on a four-point scale or equivalent; and

  (e)  For scholarships awarded for any academic year beginning after June 30, 2025, has made a good faith effort to first secure all available federal sources of grant funding that could be applied to the total cost of such student's eligible tuition and fees as described in subsection 2 of this section;

  (2)  "Hard-to-staff schools", attendance centers where the percentage of certificated positions in the attendance center that were left vacant or were filled with a teacher not fully qualified in the prior academic year exceeds ten percent as reported to the department of elementary and secondary education;

  (3)  "Hard-to-staff subject areas", content areas for which positions were left vacant or were filled with a teacher not fully qualified in the prior academic year as reported to the department of elementary and secondary education.

  4.  If the number of applicants exceeds the number of scholarships or revenues available, the department of elementary and secondary education may consider the financial needs of the applicant.

  5.  The scholarships provided in this section shall be available to eligible students who meet at least one of the following:

  (1)  Have successfully completed two years at a community college with a minimum of forty-eight credit hours and a grade point average of at least two and one-half on a four-point scale or the equivalent;

  (2)  Have been awarded an associate degree or the equivalent;

  (3)  Have successfully completed five semesters at a four-year college or university with a minimum of sixty credit hours and a grade point average of at least two and one-half on a four-point scale or the equivalent; or

  (4)  Have completed their baccalaureate degree.

  6.  (1)  Every eligible student receiving scholarships under this section shall teach in an elementary or secondary public school in Missouri as provided in paragraph (c) of subdivision (1) of subsection 3 of this section.  The student shall teach for a period of two years for every one year such student received a scholarship under this section; otherwise, the scholarship shall be treated as a loan to the eligible student.  Interest shall be charged on the unpaid balance of the amount received from the date the eligible student ceases to teach until the amount received is paid back to the state.  The interest rate shall be adjusted annually and shall be equal to one percentage point over the prevailing United States prime rate in effect on January first of such year.

  (2)  In order to provide for the servicing of such loans, the department of elementary and secondary education may sell such loans to the higher education loan authority of the state of Missouri created pursuant to sections 173.350 to 173.445.  For each year the student teaches, up to eight years, one-eighth of the amount received pursuant to this section shall be applied against the total amount received and shall not be subject to the repayment requirement of this section; provided that twenty-five percent of such amount, not subject to repayment, shall be repaid by the local school district to the department.

  (3)  The department of elementary and secondary education shall have the power to and shall defer interest and principal payments under certain circumstances, which shall include, but need not be limited to, the enrollment in a graduate program or service in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States.

  7.  There is hereby established in the state treasury a fund to be known as the "Teacher Recruitment and Retention State Scholarship Program Fund", which shall consist of all moneys that may be appropriated to it by the general assembly, and in addition may include any gifts, contributions, grants, or bequests received from federal, state, private, or other sources.  The fund shall be administered by the department of elementary and secondary education.  Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, moneys in the fund shall not be transferred to the credit of the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium.  Interest and moneys earned on the fund shall be credited to the fund.  Moneys in the fund shall be used solely for the purpose of awarding scholarships under the provisions of this section.

  8.  An individual who has qualified as an eligible student under this section shall continue to qualify as an eligible student for purposes of paragraph (c) of subdivision (1) of subsection 3 of this section as long as such individual remains employed by the school district in which such individual agrees to teach regardless of whether such individual's employing school no longer qualifies as a hard-to-staff school, such class taught by such individual no longer qualifies as a hard-to-staff subject area, or such individual's position within the school district changes.