Definitions

§ 1000. Definitions. For purposes of this article: 1. "Certifying employment" means either completing the employer sections of the public service loan forgiveness form or sharing data directly with the U.S. department of education that corresponds to the information required for the public service loan forgiveness form. 2. "Employee" means someone who works for a public service employer, regardless of whether the public service employer considers that work to be full-time or part-time, contingent, or contracted. 3. "Full-time" for the purpose of certifying employment only means working at least an average of thirty hours per week or at least an average of thirty hours per week throughout a contractual or employment period of at least eight months in a twelve-month period, such as elementary and secondary school teachers, provided, however, that should the U.S. department of education adopt a lower hourly standard, that standard shall apply. 4. "Public service employer" means any employer designated as a public service organization or employer by the U.S. department of education for the purpose of the public service loan forgiveness program. The term shall include any state, county, city or other local government employer, including any office, department, independent agency, school district, public college or university system, public library system, authority, or other body, including the legislature and the judiciary, as well as any employer that has received designation as a tax-exempt organization pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. For the purposes of this article, this term does not include a federal or tribal nation government organization, agency, or entity. 5. "Public service loan forgiveness form" means the form used by the U.S. department of education to certify an individual's employment at a public service organization and determine eligibility for the purposes of the public service loan forgiveness program. 6. "Public service loan forgiveness program" means the federal loan forgiveness program established pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 1087e(m) and administered pursuant to 34 C.F.R 685.219, as of the effective date of this article.