(a) To be eligible to receive repayment assistance for classroom teachers, a person must apply to the board and must:
(1) have completed at least one year of employment as a full-time classroom teacher at the preschool, primary, or secondary level in a public school in this state in an area or field of acute teacher shortage as designated by the commissioner of education; and
(2) be employed as a full-time classroom teacher at the preschool, primary, or secondary level in a public school in this state in an area or field described by Subdivision (1).
(b) A person is not eligible for repayment assistance for classroom teachers under this subchapter if the person has received a Teach for Texas grant or other financial assistance under Subchapter O, Chapter 56, or under former Section 56.309.
(c) The board shall give priority in granting repayment assistance for classroom teachers to a person who received repayment assistance for classroom teachers for the preceding school year. The priority terminates if the person does not apply for or is not eligible for that assistance. In extraordinary circumstances, the board may allow a person to maintain the priority after one or more years in which the person is unable to teach as a classroom teacher.