(a) Applications; demonstration of eligibility

(1) Filing required
The Secretary shall periodically set dates by which teacher candidates shall file applications for grants under this subpart. Each teacher candidate desiring a grant under this subpart for any year shall file an application containing such information and assurances as the Secretary may determine necessary to enable the Secretary to carry out the functions and responsibilities of this subpart.

(2) Demonstration of TEACH Grant eligibility
Each application submitted under paragraph (1) shall contain such information as is necessary to demonstrate that—

(A) if the applicant is an enrolled student—

(i) the student is an eligible student for purposes of section 1091 of this title;

(ii) the student—

(I) has a grade point average that is determined, under standards prescribed by the Secretary, to be comparable to a 3.25 average on a zero to 4.0 scale, except that, if the student is in the first year of a program of undergraduate education, such grade point average shall be determined on the basis of the student's cumulative secondary school grade point average; or

(II) displayed high academic aptitude by receiving a score above the 75th percentile on at least one of the batteries in an undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, or graduate school admissions test; and

(iii) the student is completing coursework and other requirements necessary to begin a career in teaching, or plans to complete such coursework and requirements prior to graduating; or

(B) if the applicant is a current or prospective teacher applying for a grant to obtain a graduate degree—

(i) the applicant is a teacher or a retiree from another occupation with expertise in a field in which there is a shortage of teachers, such as mathematics, science, special education, English language acquisition, or another high-need subject; or

(ii) the applicant is or was a teacher who is using high-quality alternative certification routes, such as Teach for America, to get certified.

(b) Agreements to serve
Each application under subsection (a) shall contain or be accompanied by an agreement by the applicant that—

(1) the applicant will—

(A) serve as a full-time teacher for a total of not less than 4 academic years within 8 years after completing the course of study for which the applicant received a TEACH Grant under this subpart;

(B) teach in a school described in section 1087ee(a)(2)(A) of this title;

(C) teach in any of the following fields—

(i) mathematics;

(ii) science;

(iii) a foreign language;

(iv) bilingual education;

(v) special education;

(vi) as a reading specialist; or

(vii) another field documented as high-need by the Federal Government, State government, or local educational agency, and approved by the Secretary;

(D) submit evidence of such employment in the form of a certification by the chief administrative officer of the school upon completion of each year of such service; and

(E) comply with the requirements for being a highly qualified teacher as defined in section 9101 ¹ of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 7801];

(2) in the event that the applicant is determined to have failed or refused to carry out such service obligation, the sum of the amounts of any TEACH Grants received by such applicant will be treated as a loan and collected from the applicant in accordance with subsection (c) and the regulations thereunder; and

(3) contains, or is accompanied by, a plain-language disclosure form developed by the Secretary that clearly describes the nature of the TEACH Grant award, the service obligation, and the loan repayment requirements that are the consequence of the failure to complete the service obligation.

(c) Repayment for failure to complete service
In the event that any recipient of a grant under this subpart fails or refuses to comply with the service obligation in the agreement under subsection (b), the sum of the amounts of any TEACH Grants received by such recipient shall, upon a determination of such a failure or refusal in such service obligation, be treated as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under part D, and shall be subject to repayment, together with interest thereon accruing from the date of the grant award, in accordance with terms and conditions specified by the Secretary in regulations under this subpart.

(d) Additional administrative provisions

(1) Change of high-need designation
If a recipient of an initial grant under this subpart has acquired an academic degree, or expertise, in a field that was, at the time of the recipient's application for that grant, designated as high need in accordance with subsection (b)(1)(C)(vii), but is no longer so designated, the grant recipient may fulfill the service obligation described in subsection (b)(1) by teaching in that field.

(2) Extenuating circumstances
The Secretary shall establish, by regulation, categories of extenuating circumstances under which a recipient of a grant under this subpart who is unable to fulfill all or part of the recipient's service obligation may be excused from fulfilling that portion of the service obligation.