Section 19D. There shall be a scholarship program to be administered by the board of higher education, which shall be known as the tomorrow's teachers program, for the purpose of encouraging outstanding high school students to teach in the public schools by providing qualified high school students with scholarships for tuition and fees for a four-year bachelor's degree program at a public institution of higher education in the commonwealth. The program shall be subject to appropriation.
The board of higher education shall promulgate guidelines governing the tomorrow's teachers program. The guidelines shall include the following provisions:
(1) Eligibility for the program shall be limited to students who graduated in the top quarter of their high school classes, who agree to complete a four-year bachelor's degree program in a public institution of higher education in the commonwealth and who commit to and actually teach for four years in a public school in the commonwealth upon successful completion of a bachelor's degree from the institution of higher education and the appropriate certification in accordance with said section 38G of said chapter 71.
(2) The program shall set forth an outreach plan to attract underrepresented populations to the teaching profession.
(3) Persons who participate in the program but do not complete their college education within six years of entering college or who fail to complete their four-year teaching commitment within six years following graduation from college shall be obligated to repay the commonwealth the tuition and fees advanced to them, with interest, as determined by the board of higher education.