Skip to main content

Letter to Chief State School Officers Regarding Designation of State Teacher Shortage Areas


OMB No.: 1840-0595
Expires: 12/31/2016

August 17, 2016

Dear Chief State School Officer:

This letter gives notice of the closing date for receipt of State-proposed teacher shortage areas for designation by the U. S. Department of Education (Department) for the 2017-2018 school year. You must submit your 2017-2018 proposed teacher shortage areas by Friday, December 9, 2016. A copy of the Teacher Shortage Areas Nationwide Listing 1990-1991 through 2016-2017, when published, may be found at the following Web site:

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.html

There are Federal program benefits available for those who may teach in shortage areas proposed by your State under the following regulations:

  • Targeted teacher deferment for borrowers under the Family Federal Education Loan (FFEL) and Federal Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) programs (34 CFR 682.210(q));

  • Full-time teaching in fields of expertise, cancellation of up to 100 percent of their debt under the Federal Perkins Loan Program (34 CFR 674.53(c)); and

  • Teaching obligation fulfillment for recipients under the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program (34 CFR 686).

Links to the PDF files of the following three final regulations, as published in the Federal Register, are included in this letter:

  • The December 18, 1992 (34 CFR Part 682), regulations regarding the targeted teacher deferment for borrowers under the FFEL and Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) programs;

  • The November 30, 1994 (34 CFR Part 674), regulations regarding the cancellations for full-time teaching in fields of expertise for borrowers under the Federal Perkins Loan Program; and

  • The June 23, 2008 (34 CFR Part 686), regulations regarding the obligations for full-time teaching in a high-need field, at a low-income elementary or secondary school for grant recipients under the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program.

Please refer to these three regulations, in addition to the enclosed checklist, for assistance in preparing your State's teacher shortage area proposal.

If your State does not submit the required written documentation proposing teacher shortage areas, FFEL/SLS and Federal Perkins Loan borrowers and TEACH Grant recipients who teach in your State may not receive Federal program benefits to which they may be entitled.

We are also enclosing a Proposed Teacher Shortage Area Designation Submission Checklist that itemizes the information you must submit to the Department. To expedite processing of your proposal, please ensure that each item on the checklist is addressed and that all assurances are clearly stated. If your State chooses not to propose Teacher Shortage Areas, please reply in a letter noting the applicable school years for which areas are not being proposed.

Proposals sent by regular U.S. mail, special delivery, or FEDEX services should be addressed to:

Freddie Cross, Ph.D., Senior Statistician
Office of Postsecondary Education
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Room 6W241
Washington, DC 20202

Hand delivered proposals will be accepted at the above address between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. daily (Eastern Standard Time), except Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays.

The time required to complete this collection of information is estimated to average 80 hours per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather and maintain the data needed, and complete the review of the collection of information. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this data collection, please write to: Director of the Privacy and Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., LBJ, Mailstop L-OM-2-2E319, Washington, DC 20202, or e-mail ICDocketMgr@ed.gov and reference the OMB Control Number 1840-0595.

If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission or other questions, write directly to the Program Officer at the address above. If you prefer, Freddie Cross can also be reached by phone at (202) 453-7224 or via e-mail at Freddie Cross. Thank you for submitting a timely proposal. We look forward to receiving your proposal of designated teacher shortage areas in your State no later than December 9, 2016.

Sincerely,

Freddie Cross
Senior Statistician
Policy and Forecasting Group
Public Policy Initiatives

Enclosures

  1. Proposed Teacher Shortage Area Designation Submission Checklist
  2. Final Regulations published in the Federal Register on December 18, 1992 (34 CFR Part 682): PDF (834K)
  3. Final Rule published in the Federal Register on November 30, 1994 (34 CFR Part 674): PDF (463K)
  4. Final Regulations published in the Federal Register on June 23, 2008 (34 CFR Part 686): PDF (446K)

Top

Annual publication of the
Teacher Shortage Areas (TSA) Nationwide Listing for 1990-1991 through 2016-2017
published August 2016
MS Word (1.1MB) | PDF (1.1MB)

Teacher Shortage Areas page | OPE Policy Initiatives

Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE)
Page Last Reviewed:
December 9, 2020