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The 2024-2025 Application is OPEN
The Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program (LARP) is to provide State assistance in the repayment of educational loans to individuals providing public service in eligible employment fields, serving Maryland low income or underserved residents.
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Who May Apply?
Individuals employed in Maryland by state agency, nonprofit, or local government serving a specific population. Eligible employment fields are:
- Lawyers – judicial clerks in any courts and policy analyst are not eligible. The principal part of the position must provide legal services to low income residents in Maryland who cannot afford legal services.
- Nurses - school nurses are not eligible
- Nurse Faculty
- Licensed Clinical Counselors – must work in a high need geographic area of the state
- Physical and Occupational Therapists
- Social Workers
- Speech Pathologist
- Teachers at any level or subject field who are employed in a public school within the state (regardless of the area of certification), any teacher who works in a Federal Title I school or schools identified for improvement by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) in the following areas of certification are prioritized for the awarding over all other teacher applicants:
- The Nancy Grasmick Public School Professional - Provides loan repayment assistance to those teachers that have qualifying student loan debt and have taught in Maryland for the past 2 years.
- Mental health Professionals- Any mental health professional who is (1) a public school employee certificated under Title 6, Subtitle 4 of the Education Article and (2) employed in a local school system in the State to provide mental health services, including as a school psychologist, resource psychologist, psychologist coordinator, social worker, social worker supervisor, school counselor, or mental health coordinator. In addition to meeting the general Janet L Hoffman LARP requirements, applicants must also meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Teach in Science, technology, engineering, or math subjects; OR teach in a school in which at least 75% of the students are enrolled in the free meal program in the state for 2 years, AND
Have received the HIGHEST PERFORMANCE EVALUATION rating for the most recent year available in the county in which the teacher has taught.
URBAN TEACHER CENTER (UTC) APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS - You must be in your 2nd year of the program and possess a Maryland Resident-Teaching Certificate. You must submit a LARP General application and all required documents by the deadline specified in the "When to Apply" section. UTC applicants are not eligible to receive the lock-in award.
INCOME REQUIREMENTS
All LARP applicants excluding Nurse Faculty:
- If Single $75,000.00
- If Married $150,000.00
Nurse Faculty
- If Single $100,000
- If Married $185,000
How do I Apply? Complete an online LARP application through an MDCAPS (Maryland College Aid Processing System) account. If you do not have an MDCAPS account, you must create an account to submit the application.
Award Selection & Award Amount
Applicants will be grouped according to eligible employment field. Within employment fields, individuals will be ranked according to graduation date, then application complete date. If individuals have identical graduation dates and application complete dates, applicants with the lowest income will be awarded first. Priority is given to individuals who have graduated from an institution of higher education in the last three years. Priority employment fields established by law are legal services and nursing. Priority for awarding will also be given to applicants who are employed as nurse faculty members or applicants who teach in schools designated as federal Title I, schools Identified for Improvement by MSDE, or who teach in designated critical shortage subject fields.
AWARD AMOUNT
Awards will be determined by an applicant's overall reported educational debt at the time of application. Recipients will lock-in to an award level that contains set award amounts. Award funds are distributed annually over a three (3) year period as long as the recipient remains eligible and continues to submit the required annual employment, lender and tax documentation by February 21, 2025.
| Total Debt | Overall Award Limit | Yearly Payment |
| $75,001 - Over | $30,000 | $10,000 |
| $40,001 - $75,000 | $18,000 | $6,000 |
| $15,001 - $40,000 | $9,000 | $3,000 |
| $15,000 - Below | $4,500* | $1,500* |
*Payment amount cannot exceed total debt; amount will be adjusted
Renewal Requirements
Recipients of lock-in awards are required to submit annual employment, lender and tax documentation by the November 30 deadline for each year that they receive funding. Failure to submit required documentation by the deadline or failure to report changes in your employment status and/or salary level throughout the service/award years will make you ineligible for the award.
More information on the conditions of the award
Important Deadlines – Applicant must report employment status 3x per application cycle- When the application opens, the due dates for the documents below will be listed on the applicant portal in the MDCAPS account
- Initial application deadline
- Mid-Year Employment
- End of Year Employment
Employment Obligation- Applicants are required to remain in an eligible employment field throughout the application cycle. In the event the employment field changes, the applicant must contact MHEC immediately.
For more information concerning the Janet L Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program, click on the Frequently Asked Questions
