SECTION 22.95. Repayment of Loans

(a) Repayment of any loan and interest authorized under the Act shall be made directly to the fund and shall be made monthly in an amount of not less than $15 or an amount to be approved by the commissioner and shall begin not later than nine months after the date the student ceases to carry at any higher educational institution at least one-half the full-time academic workload as determined by the institution and in no event later than five years from the date the first note evidencing a loan under the Act is executed. The commissioner may authorize a period longer than five years from the date the first note evidencing a loan under the Act is executed before beginning repayment of loans to medical, dental, and other students seeking professional or graduate degrees. The commissioner may extend the time for beginning repayment of a loan to any student due to unusual financial hardships, subject to approval by the attorney general. Student borrowers must file with the commissioner a written request for postponement of a loan due to unusual financial hardships. Such requests shall contain the student borrower's permanent address, his income during the postponement period, the length of time for which the postponement is requested, and a statement of the circumstances creating such financial hardship. Students will be notified as to the disposition of their request for postponement.

(b) Payout note. At such time as a student is no longer qualified to borrow from the fund or no longer expects to borrow from the fund, the participating institution shall cause the student borrower to execute a payout note. The principal amount of the payout note shall be the aggregate amount of the interim notes plus accrued interest and cost of insurance on the life of the student borrower. The repayment schedule of the principal amount of the payout note plus interest and cost of insurance, in monthly installments, shall be set forth on the instrument. The original executed payout note shall be forwarded by registered mail to the commissioner immediately.

(c) Failure to execute payout note. Failure to execute a payout note makes all interim notes due and payable immediately. All records, including transcripts or diplomas, will be withheld from a student until a payout note is executed.

(d) Postponement of the repayment of loans. The postponement of the repayment of a Texas opportunity plan loan may be made under the following conditions.

(1) Continuing education. A student borrower may petition the commissioner for a postponement on the repayment of a loan from the fund provided that he has filed with the commissioner a request for postponement of repayment of loan (Form 019) and a verification of his enrollment in an institution of higher education by the appropriate administrative official of the institution in which he is enrolled. Such verification shall be made by the appropriate administrative official of the institution at the beginning of each semester while the student borrower is enrolled in the institution of higher education. It is the responsibility of the student borrower to see that such verification is on file with the commissioner.

(2) Financial hardship. The repayment of a loan from the fund may be postponed for a reasonable period of time provided that the student borrower can provide the commissioner with evidence of financial hardship. All income and expense information submitted by the student borrower must be supported by a certified federal income tax return. The student borrower will be notified by the commissioner of the disposition of the student's request after the commissioner has caused the petition to be evaluated on its individual merits.

Source Note: The provisions of this §22.95 adopted to be effective January 1, 1976; transferred effective June 1, 2017, as published in the Texas Register May 19, 2017, 42 TexReg 2739