093_HB2904
LRB093 06836 NHT 06982 b
1 AN ACT regarding higher education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
5 is amended by changing Section 52 as follows:
6 (110 ILCS 947/52)
7 Sec. 52. ITEACH Teacher Shortage Scholarship Program.
8 (a) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois
9 students, especially minority students, to pursue teaching
10 careers in teacher shortage disciplines, the Commission
11 shall, each year, receive and consider applications for
12 scholarship assistance under this Section. An applicant is
13 eligible for a scholarship under this Section when the
14 Commission finds that the applicant is:
15 (1) a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen;
16 (2) a resident of Illinois;
17 (3) a high school graduate or a person who has
18 received a General Educational Development Certificate;
19 (4) enrolled or accepted for enrollment, on at
20 least a half-time basis, at an Illinois institution of
21 higher learning; and
22 (5) pursuing a postsecondary course of study
23 leading to initial certification in a teacher shortage
24 discipline or pursuing additional course work needed to
25 gain State Board of Education approval to teach,
26 including alternative teacher certification, in an
27 approved specialized area in which a teacher shortage
28 exists.
29 (b) Recipients shall be selected from among applicants
30 qualified pursuant to subsection (a) based on a combination
31 of the following criteria as set forth by the Commission: (1)
-2- LRB093 06836 NHT 06982 b
1 academic excellence; (2) status as a minority student as
2 defined in Section 50; and (3) financial need. Preference
3 may be given to previous recipients of assistance under this
4 Section, provided they continue to maintain eligibility and
5 maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by the
6 institution of higher learning at which they enroll.
7 Preference may also be given to qualified applicants enrolled
8 at or above the junior level.
9 (c) Each scholarship awarded under this Section shall be
10 in an amount sufficient to pay the tuition and fees and room
11 and board costs of the Illinois institution of higher
12 learning at which the recipient is enrolled, up to an annual
13 maximum of $5,000; except that in the case of a recipient who
14 does not reside on-campus at the institution of higher
15 learning at which he or she is enrolled, the amount of the
16 scholarship shall be sufficient to pay tuition and fee
17 expenses and a commuter allowance, up to an annual maximum of
18 $5,000.
19 The annual maximum amount set forth in this subsection
20 (c) shall be increased to $10,000 if the recipient agrees to
21 teach in one of the following critical teacher shortage
22 disciplines:
23 (1) Mathematics.
24 (2) Science.
25 (3) Special education.
26 (4) Transitional bilingual education.
27 (d) The total amount of scholarship assistance awarded
28 by the Commission under this Section to an individual in any
29 given fiscal year, when added to other financial assistance
30 awarded to that individual for that year, shall not exceed
31 the cost of attendance at the institution of higher learning
32 at which the student is enrolled.
33 (e) A recipient may receive up to 8 semesters or 12
34 quarters of scholarship assistance under this Section.
-3- LRB093 06836 NHT 06982 b
1 (f) All applications for scholarship assistance to be
2 awarded under this Section shall be made to the Commission in
3 a form as set forth by the Commission. The form of
4 application and the information required to be set forth
5 therein shall be determined by the Commission, and the
6 Commission shall require eligible applicants to submit with
7 their applications such supporting documents as the
8 Commission deems necessary.
9 (g) Subject to a separate appropriation made for such
10 purposes, payment of any scholarship awarded under this
11 Section shall be determined by the Commission. All
12 scholarship funds distributed in accordance with this Section
13 shall be paid to the institution on behalf of the recipients.
14 Scholarship funds are applicable toward 2 semesters or 3
15 quarters of enrollment within an academic year.
16 (h) The Commission shall administer the ITEACH Teacher
17 Shortage Scholarship Program established by this Section and
18 shall make all necessary and proper rules not inconsistent
19 with this Section for its effective implementation.
20 (i) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any
21 academic year, each recipient of a scholarship awarded under
22 this Section shall be required by the Commission to sign an
23 agreement under which the recipient pledges that, within the
24 one-year period following the termination of the academic
25 program for which the recipient was awarded a scholarship,
26 the recipient: (i) shall begin teaching in a teacher shortage
27 discipline for a period of not less than one year for each
28 year of scholarship assistance awarded under this Section,
29 (ii) shall fulfill this teaching obligation at a nonprofit
30 Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool or
31 elementary or secondary school, and (iii) shall, upon request
32 of the Commission, provide the Commission with evidence that
33 he or she is fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the
34 teaching agreement provided for in this subsection.
-4- LRB093 06836 NHT 06982 b
1 (j) If a recipient of a scholarship awarded under this
2 Section fails to fulfill the teaching obligation set forth in
3 subsection (i) of this Section, the Commission shall require
4 the recipient to repay the amount of the scholarships
5 received, prorated according to the fraction of the teaching
6 obligation not completed, plus interest at a rate of 5% and
7 if applicable, reasonable collection fees. The Commission is
8 authorized to establish rules relating to its collection
9 activities for repayment of scholarships under this Section.
10 (k) A recipient of a scholarship awarded by the
11 Commission under this Section shall not be in violation of
12 the agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (i) if the
13 recipient (i) enrolls on a full-time basis as a graduate
14 student in a course of study related to the field of teaching
15 at an institution of higher learning; (ii) is serving as a
16 member of the armed services of the United States; (iii) is
17 temporarily totally disabled, as established by sworn
18 affidavit of a qualified physician; or (iv) is seeking and
19 unable to find full-time employment as a teacher at a school
20 that satisfies the criteria set forth in subsection (i) and
21 is able to provide evidence of that fact. Any such extension
22 of the period during which the teaching requirement must be
23 fulfilled shall be subject to limitations of duration as
24 established by the Commission.
25 (Source: P.A. 91-670, eff. 12-22-99; 92-845, eff. 1-1-03.)
26 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
27 July 1, 2003.