A2259

An Act concerning nursing education programs and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

"Approved course of study" means a nursing degree or diploma program at an approved institution of higher education, or a hospital or county vocational school nursing education program.

"Approved employment" means postgraduate, full-time employment as a licensed practical nurse or a registered professional nurse with an employer located in this State, and shall not include a paid student internship, paid fellowship, volunteer service or pre-graduation employment.

"Approved institution" means a two-year or four-year public or independent institution of higher education, a hospital school of nursing located in this State and offering an approved course of study, and a county vocational school that offers an approved course of study and has been approved by the authority as an institution in which students may enroll for the purposes of the program.

"Authority" means the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority established under N.J.S.18A:71A-3.

"Executive director" means the Executive Director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.

"Participant" means a person enrolled as a part-time or full-time student in an approved institution under the program.

"Program" means the Nursing Student Support Program established pursuant to this act.

2. a. There is established the Nursing Student Support Program in the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.

The program shall be designed to provide a financial incentive to persons considering or entering nursing education programs, as well as to practicing nurses to advance their training in the profession, in order to ensure that health care facilities and home and community-based care services have an adequate number of trained nurses to meet the demand for high-quality nursing care in the future.

The program shall provide loan forgiveness of a portion of eligible loans from the Federal Family Education Loan Program, known as FFELP, or the College Loans to Assist State Students Loan Program, known as NJCLASS, N.J.S.18A:71C-21 et seq., borrowed by eligible participants for each year of approved full-time employment as a licensed practical nurse or registered professional nurse in the State after completion of the nursing education program. The authority shall establish a list of approved courses of study for the program.

b. Eligible participants shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) a certified nurse aide, personal care assistant or homemaker-home health aide seeking to become a licensed practical nurse or registered professional nurse;

(2) a licensed practical nurse seeking to become a registered professional nurse;

(3) a registered professional nurse who graduated from a two-year degree program or a hospital school of nursing and is seeking to obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing; and

(4) a person not currently engaged in nursing activities and seeking to become a licensed practical nurse or a registered professional nurse.

c. To become an eligible participant, an applicant shall:

(1) be a State resident and maintain domicile in the State during participation in the program;

(2) be enrolled in an approved course of study;

(3) maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a scale of 4.0, or its equivalent, in an approved course of study; and

(4) enter into a written contract with the authority to become employed as a licensed practical nurse or a registered professional nurse, as applicable, in this State no later than one year after completing an approved course of study, which contract shall: specify the duration of the applicant's required service and the total amount of eligible student loans to be forgiven by the State in exchange for service; and require that a graduate be employed full-time as a licensed practical nurse or a registered professional nurse, as applicable, for a period of one year for each year that the graduate is provided with loan forgiveness under the program.

d. A student may apply to the authority for loan forgiveness in such manner as prescribed by the authority and shall include all information and documentation required by the authority.

(1) Within the limits of available appropriations, the authority shall provide loan forgiveness, not to exceed $10,000, to an eligible participant who graduated from a four-year institution of higher education, for each year of approved employment. The maximum loan forgiveness amount shall not exceed $40,000 for an eligible participant from a four-year institution.

(2) Within the limits of available appropriations, the authority shall provide loan forgiveness, not to exceed $10,000, to an eligible participant who graduated from a hospital school of nursing for each year of approved employment. The maximum loan forgiveness amount shall not exceed $30,000 for an eligible participant from a hospital school of nursing.

(3) Within the limits of available appropriations, the authority shall provide loan forgiveness, not to exceed $4,000, to an eligible participant who graduated from a two-year institution of higher education for each year of approved employment. The maximum loan forgiveness amount shall not exceed $8,000 for an eligible participant from a two-year institution.

(4) Within the limits of available appropriations, the authority shall provide loan forgiveness, not to exceed $3,000, to an eligible participant who graduated from a county vocational school for each year of approved employment. The maximum loan forgiveness amount shall not exceed $3,000 for an eligible participant from a county vocational school.

e. The authority may forgive a loan pursuant to this act pursuant to a contract between the participant and the authority.

f. The executive director shall annually report to the Governor and the Legislature on the activities of the program. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for the prior fiscal year:

(1) the total number of participants receiving loan forgiveness under the program;

(2) the number of participants: and

(3) the effectiveness of the program in attracting and retaining qualified nurses in the State.

3. The authority, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.

4. This act shall take effect immediately and be operative for the 2006-2007 academic year.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the Nursing Student Support Program in the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA).

This program would provide loan forgiveness of a portion of eligible loans from the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the College Loans to Assist State Students Loan Program (NJCLASS) that are borrowed by eligible participants, for each year of approved full-time employment as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or registered professional nurse (RN) in New Jersey after completing a nursing education program. The program would become operational in the 2006-2007 academic year.

Eligible participants would include, but not be limited to, a certified nurse aide, personal care assistant or homemaker-home health aide who seeks to become a LPN or RN, a LPN who seeks to become a RN, a RN who graduated from a two-year degree program or a hospital school of nursing and seeks to obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing, as well as a person not currently engaged in nursing and seeking to become a LPN or RN.

To be eligible to participate in the program, an applicant would be required to: be a State resident and maintain domicile in the State while participating in the program; be enrolled in an approved course of study; maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a scale of 4.0, or its equivalent, in an approved course of study; and enter into a written contract with the authority to become employed in this State as a LPN or RN, as applicable, no later than one year after completing an approved course of study.

A nursing graduate would be required to be employed as a LPN or RN, as applicable, for a period of one year for each year that the graduate is provided with loan redemption under the program.

The program may provide loan forgiveness to eligible participants as follows:

-- In the case of a four-year institution of higher education or hospital school of nursing, the loan forgiveness may be for up to $10,000 for each year of approved employment. The maximum loan forgiveness amount would not exceed $40,000 for a four-year program and $30,000 for a hospital school of nursing.

-- In the case of a two-year program, the loan forgiveness may be for up to $4,000 for each year of approved employment. The maximum loan forgiveness amount would not exceed $8,000.

-- In the case of a LPN program at a county vocational school, the loan forgiveness may be for up to $3,000 for each year of approved employment. The maximum loan forgiveness amount would not exceed $3,000.

Finally, the bill requires the executive director of the HESAA to annually report to the Governor and the Legislature on the Nursing Student Support Program.