115 STAT. 1652 PUBLIC LAW 107-110-^AN. 8, 2002 "(2) WAIVER. — The Secretary may waive the 3-year commitment described in paragraph (1)(B) for a participant if the Secretary determines such waiver to be appropriate. If the Secretary provides the waiver, the participant shall not be considered to be in violation of the agreement and shall not be required to provide reimbursement under subsection (f), for failure to meet the 3-year commitment. "(b) VIOLATION OF PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT; EXCEPTIONS.— A participant in the Program shall not be considered to be in violation of the participation agreement entered into under subsection (a) during any period in which the participant— "(1) is pursuing a full-time course of study related to the field of teaching at an institution of higher education; "(2) is serving on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces; "(3) is temporarily totally disabled for a period of time not to exceed 3 years as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; "(4) is unable to secure employment for a period not to exceed 12 months by reason of the care required by a spouse who is disabled; "(5) is a highly qualified teacher who is seeking and unable to find full-time employment as a teacher in an elementary school or secondary school or as a vocational or technical teacher for a single period not to exceed 27 months; or "(6) satisfies the provisions of additional reimbursement exceptions that may be prescribed by the Secretary. " (c) STIPEND FOR PARTICIPANTS.— " (1) STIPEND AUTHORIZED.—Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may pay to a participant in the Program selected under section 2303 a stipend in an amount of not more than $5,000. "(2) LIMITATION.— The total number of stipends that may be paid under paragraph (1) in any fiscal year may not exceed 5,000. "(d) BONUS FOR PARTICIPANTS.— "(1) BOJWS AUTHORIZED.— Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may, in lieu of paying a stipend under subsection (c), pay a bonus of $10,000 to a participant in the Program selected under section 2303 who agrees in the participation agreement under subsection (a) to become a highly qualified teacher and to accept full-time employment as an elementary school teacher, secondary school teacher, or vocational or technical teacher for not less than 3 school years in a high-need school. "(2) LIMITATION. —The total number of bonuses that may be paid under paragraph (1) in any fiscal year may not exceed 3,000. "(3) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term 'high-need school' means a public elementary school, public secondary school, or public charter school that meets one or more of the following criteria: "(A) LOW-INCOME CHILDREN. —At least 50 percent of the students enrolled in the school were from low-income families (as described in section 2302(b)(2)(A)(i)). "(B) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.—The school has a large percentage of students who qualify for assistance
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