Section 16-5-54.1
Individuals eligible for benefits; eligibility criteria.
(a) Beginning in the fall semester of 2021, the benefits outlined in subsection (a) of Section 16-5-54 shall apply to the following eligible individuals, pending authorization to teach in Alabama and subsequent employment in an Alabama public school:
(1) An individual who graduated from a regionally accredited college or university in Alabama or in another state who is certified to teach math, science, or computer science in another state, and who may or may not reside within Alabama.
(2) An individual who resides in another state and is a graduate of a State Board of Education approved program in math, science, or computer science, at the baccalaureate or master's level after the 2021 spring semester term from an approved Alabama institution and who holds an initial middle-level or secondary professional educator certificate endorsed in math, science, or computer science that was issued based upon completion of the approved program in math, science, or computer science. A teacher who only earns a passing score on the Praxis test in math, science, or computer science to add a certificate endorsement for math, science, or computer science and who has not completed an entire approved program, does not satisfy this requirement.
(b) The individuals listed in subsection (a) shall also satisfy all of the following criteria:
(1) Hold a valid Alabama professional educator certificate endorsed in middle-level or secondary math, science, or computer science, or any combination of the three.
(2) Teach a schedule in which at least three-fourths of the full-time teaching load is comprised of math, science, or computer science courses for which the teacher is properly certified in an Alabama public school system.
(3) Be citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States.
(4) Have outstanding federal student loans, subsidized or unsubsidized.
(5) Satisfy additional continuing eligibility criteria established by the commission.
(c) In order to receive an additional supplement pursuant to this article, in addition to the criteria listed in subsections (a) and (b), a recipient shall also teach math, science, or computer science courses, or any combination of the three, for which he or she is properly certified, in a school system within the state with an acute teacher shortage in math, science, or computer science, or any combination of the three, as identified by the commission in consultation with the State Department of Education or in a school that has been designated as a failing school, or any other term subsequently adopted to identify underperforming schools, by the State Board of Education or the Legislature.
(Act 2021-389, §2.)