(GENERAL-24-02) State Program - Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship: Uncollectible Guidance

Author
Federal Student Aid
Electronic Announcement ID
GENERAL-24-02
Subject
State Program - Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship: Uncollectible Guidance

This announcement provides clarification for state agencies administering the Douglas Scholarship for instances when recipients did not fulfill their service obligation and did not repay the awarded scholarship in accordance with the program’s established requirements. This program was authorized under Title V Part C, Subpart 1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1104 through 1104K) and administered under 34 CFR Part 653. Both the program statute and regulations have long since been repealed.

Brief History

The Douglas Scholarship was funded to encourage outstanding high school graduates and recent GED certificate recipients to pursue teaching careers at the preschool, elementary, or secondary school levels. Students applied for the Douglas Scholarship through the designated state agency in their state of residence.

Douglas Scholarship recipients completed a service agreement with their state agency agreeing to two years of service for each year of scholarship assistance received for teaching. The two years of service per year of scholarship assistance was reduced by half if the recipient taught full-time in a Secretary-designated teacher shortage area.

For more information on how the Douglas Scholarship was awarded and administered, please see the archived State Grant Program information.

Repayment of Scholarship

When Douglas Scholarship recipients did not fulfill their service obligation or were no longer pursuing a course of study leading to certification as a teacher, the recipient was required to repay the scholarship received including simple, annual interest on the outstanding principal balance as well as reasonable collection costs determined by the state agency as outlined in the Douglas Scholarship agreement.

Reporting requirements for the Douglas Scholarship ended in 2017 when the Department of Education informed state agencies that interest rates for recipients with Douglas Scholarship repayment obligations would no longer be provided. All administration of the existing debt obligations remained with the state agencies.

Uncollectible Douglas Scholarship Debt

While administering the Douglas Scholarship, all state agencies were required to turn over uncollectible debts according to their state’s collection or write-off policies and procedures. This responsibility remains. These uncollectible debts were never to be assigned to the Department.

Contact Information

If you have questions regarding the specific contents of this announcement, please contact Ashley Norwood-Struppa at ashley.norwood-strup@ed.gov.