If insufficient funds are available in a year to offer loan repayment assistance to all eligible applicants, then applications shall be ranked using priority determinations in the following order.

1. (1) The Coordinating Board may choose to post an application deadline, which will be posted on the program web page. In such a case, applications received prior to the application deadline will be given priority over applications received after the application deadline.
2. (2) Renewal applications shall be given priority over initial-year applications, unless a break in service period has occurred, in which case the application would be treated as an initial-year application for priority ranking.
3. (3) Applications from eligible nurses who are not telehealth providers, as defined in §23.301 of this subchapter (relating to Definitions), shall be given priority over applications from telehealth providers.
4. (4) Applications for those employed in rural counties shall be given priority over those who are not employed in rural counties. In the case of applicants serving at multiple sites, the Coordinating Board will use the address certified by the applicant's employer to determine whether the applicant is considered to be working in a rural county.
5. (5) Applications shall be ranked based on the Primary Care HPSA score for the address certified by the applicant's employer, including for applicants who work for agencies with satellite clinics or who conduct home visits. Applications with the highest Primary Care HPSA score shall be given priority over applications with the next highest Primary Care HPSA score, and so on.
6. (6) Applications from Registered Nurses shall be given priority over applications from Licensed Vocational Nurses, who shall be given priority over applications from Advanced Practice Nurses.
7. (7) Applications shall be ranked based on the date of application submission. Applications from the group with the earliest application submission date shall be given priority over applications from the next earliest application submission date, and so on.

Source Note:The provisions of this §23.303 adopted to be effective August 15, 2024, 49 TexReg 5991; amended to be effective May 13, 2026, 51 TexReg 3111.