(a) To be eligible for a PROMISE teacher's scholarship, a student seeking a bachelor's degree in teacher education shall:

(1) Be admitted, enrolled, and classified as a full-time or part-time undergraduate student in a matriculated status at an eligible postsecondary institution maintaining satisfactory academic progress in accordance with the standards and practices used for federal Title IV programs by the institution at which the student is enrolled;

(2) For a student in the junior year or a student in the senior year, have earned a minimum overall cumulative 3.0 postsecondary grade average at the beginning of the first term for which scholarship aid is requested and be maintaining satisfactory academic progress in his or her course of study in accordance with the standards and practices used for federal Title IV programs by the postsecondary institution in which the student is enrolled;

(3) Be accepted for enrollment into an approved teacher education program in Georgia leading to initial certification; and

(4) Agree to teach in a public school in Georgia at the preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary level for one academic year for each $1,500.00 in PROMISE teacher scholarship funds awarded and sign a promissory note that stipulates the cash repayment obligation incurred if the teaching service is not fulfilled.

(b) A student who terminates enrollment at an eligible institution or who is otherwise dropped from enrollment by an eligible institution will not be eligible to continue receiving a PROMISE teacher's scholarship.

(c) Subject to the amounts appropriated by the General Assembly and provisions relating to the scholarship shortfall reserve subaccount in Code Section 50-27-13, a PROMISE teacher's scholarship shall not exceed a total of $6,000.00 for the junior and senior years.

(d) As used in this Code section and notwithstanding any provision of Code Section 20-3-519 to the contrary, the term:

(1) "Student in the junior year" means a student at a postsecondary institution who is classified as a junior by the postsecondary institution in which he or she is enrolled.

(2) "Student in the senior year" means a student at a postsecondary institution who is classified as a senior by the postsecondary institution in which he or she is enrolled.