(1) General. In order to be granted loan forgiveness in lieu of repayment, a borrower, for each repayment period for which forgiveness is sought, must:

(a) Be teaching in an eligible Washington public school.

(b) Be teaching qualifying mathematics/science courses equal to at least one-half of a full-time teaching assignment as defined by the employing school district.

(c) Complete and submit, in a timely manner, the documentation necessary to support the forgiveness request.

(2) Identification of qualifying mathematics and science courses:

Subordinate to specific regulations, determination of qualifying courses is the responsibility of the employing school district. The superintendent of schools of the employing district or his/her designee(s) is responsible for certifying qualifying courses.

(a) Supplementary criteria for qualifying courses will be issued as necessary by the higher education coordinating board after consultation with the mathematics/science loan advisory committee.

(b) At the secondary school level, courses which satisfy state graduation requirements in mathematics or science are eligible courses.

(c) At the middle school and junior high level, courses which have been traditionally viewed as science or mathematics foundation[s] courses are eligible.

(3) Calculating qualifying teacher service under the mathematics/science loan program:

The superintendent of schools of the employing district or his/her designee(s) is responsible for calculating qualifying teacher service.

(a) General. In order to obtain forgiveness of scheduled repayments, a borrower must, for the repayment period, be employed at least half-time as a teacher of qualifying mathematics or science courses.

A borrower may be employed in any status half-time or greater so long as the number of qualifying mathematics or science courses taught are themselves equal to a half-time assignment.

In calculating teaching days, paid sick leave covered under a teacher's contract are considered as teaching days.

(b) Calculation of eligibility. The following formula shall be used to determine teacher eligibility for forgiveness:

(i) Calculate the number of teaching days in the repayment quarter (x).

(ii) Determine the average number of hours per day required for full-time teaching status (y).

(iii) Multiply (x) time[s] (y) to establish a full teaching load for the repayment period; fifty percent of that total establishes the qualifying teaching load.

(iv) Calculate the number of class hours taught in the repayment period in qualifying mathematics or science courses. If it equals or exceeds the qualifying teaching load (iii) of this subsection), the borrower can be certified for forgiveness.

(c) Exceptions. In the case of schools that because of size or geography are restricted to limited course offerings that make it a practical impossibility for a borrower to obtain a teaching assignment that qualifies for forgiveness, an appeal process is available. The higher education coordinating board may grant forgiveness in those individual cases where the borrower is teaching a fair share of the available qualifying courses even if the total qualifying hours fall below the half-time standard.