“To provide for a wage differential program to support new nursing school faculty members.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section revises the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP)—which provides Federal capital to accredited schools of nursing to establish loan funds for students who agree to serve as nurse faculty for at least four years after graduation (with loans canceled in annual increments of 20% after year 1, 20% after year 2, and 60% after year 3)—by restructuring its subsections with redesignations and cross-reference updates, and expands it to authorize both loan fund agreements and new nurse faculty grants. The section establishes a Nurse Faculty Demonstration Program under which the Secretary awards grants to eligible schools of nursing, for up to three years, to supplement salaries of eligible nursing faculty members (i.e., the difference between the average salary of nurses in clinical practice and the greater of the individual faculty member's salary or the average salary for faculty with similar credentials and education). Grant eligibility requires an application demonstrating salary history or local clinical nurse salaries (over the prior three years, adjusted for inflation and broken down by credentials, experience, and education); average nursing faculty salaries (similarly broken down); current and projected five-year faculty vacancies; and plans for sustainable post-grant funding and retention. Awards must be used entirely for salary supplements and are conditioned on the school maintaining faculty salaries at the required baseline level each year. In awarding grants, the Secretary ensures equitable geographic distribution and prioritizes schools with greatest need (e.g., based on finances, faculty numbers, or student training capacity), those training vulnerable populations (e.g., in health professional shortage areas), and other specified factors.