WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor                   Ch. 246

which prevents the recipient from fulfilling the teaching
obligation required under § 18-1403 OF THIS SUBTITLE.

18-1405.

(a)  The State Superintendent of Schools shall project
annually the number of vacancies for employment expected in each
of the subsequent 5 years in areas of critical shortage and the
number of students expected to graduate from programs qualifying
them to teach in these fields during the same period. The State
Superintendent of Schools shall certify annually to the State
Scholarship Board ADMINISTRATION those programs that continue to
be areas of critical shortage as evidenced by projected
employment vacancies substantially exceeding projected qualified
graduates.

(b)  In any year in which a program area is determined by
the State Superintendent of Schools no longer to be an area of
critical shortage, the State Scholarship [Board] ADMINISTRATION
COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION shall discontinue making new awards in
that program.

(c)  Deletion of any academic field as an area of critical
shortage shall not:

(1)  Terminate the right of existing recipients to
renew awards under § 18-1403(e) OF THIS SUBTITLE; or

(2)  If the recipient continues to teach in a public
school in this State in that academic field, invoke the
provisions of § 18-1404(a) OF THIS SUBTITLE or disqualify the
recipient under the provisions of § 18-1404(b) OF THIS SUBTITLE.

18-1406.

(a)  "Area of extraordinary shortage" means a geographic
area of the State identified by the State Board of Education as
less able than others in the State to satisfy the need for public
school teachers in an academic field identified for at least 3
years as an area of critical shortage.

(b)  The State Board of Education shall identify areas of
extraordinary shortage by a procedure substantially similar to
that set forth in § 18-1405 of this subtitle.

(c)  The repayment of the tuition assistance award of a
recipient who is not yet required by the provisions of § 18-1404
OF THIS SUBTITLE to begin repayment of the award and who accepts
employment as a public school teacher in an area identified as an
area of extraordinary shortage in the recipient's academic field,
whether or not the area remains so identified, shall be forgiven,
for the purposes of § 18-1404 OF THIS SUBTITLE, at the rate of 1

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