commitment letter

January 27, 2004
To:
Applicants for the
JHU and PGCPS Partnership for Beginning Special Educators
From: Peggy King-Sears, Ph.D. Jill Hildenbrand, M.S.Ed.
Professor, JHU
Regional Special Education Specialist, PGCPS
Project Director
Project Liaison
RE:
Federal guidelines for receiving scholarship and making a commitment of service
LETTER OF COMMITMENT
Federal guidelines require that individuals who are selected for this project and will be receiving
financial assistance must be prepared to make a service commitment in exchange for the
financial assistance. The purpose of this letter is to ensure that each applicant is informed of such
agreement in accordance with section 673(h)(1) of the PL 105-17 and the regulations in 34CFR
part 304.
The federal guidelines stipulate that graduate students who receive funding as part of a United
States Department of Education personnel preparation grant must work at least two years for
each year that they receive federal support. Although the period of time for the PGCPS and JHU
personnel preparation project is a two-year program, when translated per federal guidelines to a
full-time graduate program, the JHU program can be considered one year of full-time study.
Consequently, applicants who are selected to receive the scholarship must be prepared to commit
two years of service in PGCPS (that is, teach students with mild to moderate disabilities)
immediately following successful program completion. A four-year commitment (two years with
federal assistance and two years thereafter) in PGCPS is required. Failure to adhere to these
requirements, or complete the requirements in their entirety, requires JHU and/or PGCPS to seek
and acquire repayment of the funding provided to individuals for project purposes (i.e., to
continue as a special educator in PGCPS).
During the two-year period following your graduation, you will be required to notify the JHU
Project Director (Dr. Peggy King-Sears) and the PGCPS Project Liaison (Ms. Jill Hildenbrand)
of any changes in your address. Furthermore, for two years following your graduation, you will
be required to submit a statement, verified by your PGCPS employer, that you are working with
individuals with disabilities. Failure to comply with these regulations will require that you repay
all or part (see proportions noted below) of the Federal scholarship that you have received. This
regulation may be updated at a later date by the Federal government. Should further regulations
be issued, you will be contacted immediately upon receipt of these guidelines.
(please read and sign the Letter of Commitment)

Letter of Commitment: Service or Repay Proportion
If you receive up to one year of scholarship, but do not continue
with the project, then you
If you receive up to two years of scholarship, but do not continue
with the project and/or graduate, then you
If you graduate from the project and fulfill your service obligation
for less than one year, then you
If you graduate from the project and fulfill your service obligation
for one full year, then you
If you graduate from the project and fulfill your service obligation
for more than one but less than two years, then you
If you graduate from the project and fulfill the entire two years of
service as a PGCPS special educator, then you
must repay 100% of the scholarship you
received.
must repay 100% of the scholarship you
received.
must repay 70% of the scholarship you
received.
must repay 50% of the scholarship you
received.
must repay 35% of the scholarship you
received.
have successfully completed your service
obligation and do not need to repay any
amount of the scholarship.
Your signature below indicates that you have been notified of these service or repay obligations, understand the
implications, and agree to these provisions and the corresponding actions.
Letter of Commitment: Contract of Service or Repay Commitment
I, _____________________________________, have read the Service or Repay commitment and understand that if
I do not complete the entire graduate program, I am required to repay the entire portion of scholarship I receive.
Furthermore, if I do not complete the entire two-year service as a special educator in PGCPS following my
graduation from JHU, I understand that I will be required to repay a portion of my scholarship with the amount I
repay based on the number of years of service I have completed. I accept the financial responsibility for receiving
this scholarship, and I understand that if I accept the two-year scholarship assistance that I am obligating myself to a
two-year service in PGCPS as a special educator (total four years). If I accept the scholarship and do not complete
my service obligation, I agree to repay the portion of assistance as stipulated in the attached memo.
Failure to notify JHU and PGCPS of my fulfillment of service obligation by June of each of the two years following
my graduation will result in initiation of the repay commitment procedures. In order to prevent this, I obligate
myself to report to JHU and PGCPS with my employer's signature and verification that I am completing my service
obligation.
Signature of Applicant Selected:
Date:
Signature of Witness:
NOTE—WITNESS NOT REQUIRED AT THIS TIME
Date:
NOTE—WITNESS NOT REQUIRED AT
THIS TIME
NOTE: The commitment described in this letter is a two-part commitment in which the selected applicant must be
successful with both in order to fulfill this commitment. One part of the commitment is successful employment in
PGCPS as a special educator, and the other part of the commitment is success in progressing through JHU’s MMD
program (grades of B or higher). The commitment explicitly includes these two parts; a selected applicant who is
successful with only one part has not fulfilled the commitment and must repay at the amounts specified above.
PGCPS salary and employment may be impacted when a selected applicant is not successful with both JHU courses
and PGCPS teaching.