093_SB1016
LRB093 03083 NHT 03100 b
1 AN ACT with regard to higher education student
2 assistance.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
6 is amended by changing Section 52 as follows:
7 (110 ILCS 947/52)
8 Sec. 52. ITEACH Teacher Shortage Scholarship Program.
9 (a) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois
10 students in this State, especially minority students, to
11 pursue teaching careers in teacher shortage disciplines, the
12 Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
13 applications for scholarship assistance under this Section.
14 An applicant is eligible for a scholarship under this Section
15 when the Commission finds that the applicant is:
16 (1) a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen;
17 (2) a resident of Illinois;
18 (3) a high school graduate or a person who has
19 received a General Educational Development Certificate;
20 (4) enrolled or accepted for enrollment, on at
21 least a half-time basis, at an Illinois institution of
22 higher learning; and
23 (5) pursuing a postsecondary course of study
24 leading to initial certification in a teacher shortage
25 discipline or pursuing additional course work needed to
26 gain State Board of Education approval to teach,
27 including alternative teacher certification, in an
28 approved specialized area in which a teacher shortage
29 exists.
30 (b) Recipients shall be selected from among applicants
31 qualified pursuant to subsection (a) based on a combination
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1 of the following criteria as set forth by the Commission: (1)
2 academic excellence; (2) status as a minority student as
3 defined in Section 50; and (3) financial need. Preference
4 may be given to previous recipients of assistance under this
5 Section, provided they continue to maintain eligibility and
6 maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by the
7 institution of higher learning at which they enroll.
8 Preference may also be given to qualified applicants enrolled
9 at or above the junior level.
10 (c) Each scholarship awarded under this Section shall be
11 in an amount sufficient to pay the tuition and fees and room
12 and board costs of the Illinois institution of higher
13 learning at which the recipient is enrolled, up to an annual
14 maximum of $5,000; except that in the case of a recipient who
15 does not reside on-campus at the institution of higher
16 learning at which he or she is enrolled, the amount of the
17 scholarship shall be sufficient to pay tuition and fee
18 expenses and a commuter allowance, up to an annual maximum of
19 $5,000.
20 (d) The total amount of scholarship assistance awarded
21 by the Commission under this Section to an individual in any
22 given fiscal year, when added to other financial assistance
23 awarded to that individual for that year, shall not exceed
24 the cost of attendance at the institution of higher learning
25 at which the student is enrolled.
26 (e) A recipient may receive up to 8 semesters or 12
27 quarters of scholarship assistance under this Section.
28 (f) All applications for scholarship assistance to be
29 awarded under this Section shall be made to the Commission in
30 a form as set forth by the Commission. The form of
31 application and the information required to be set forth
32 therein shall be determined by the Commission, and the
33 Commission shall require eligible applicants to submit with
34 their applications such supporting documents as the
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1 Commission deems necessary.
2 (g) Subject to a separate appropriation made for such
3 purposes, payment of any scholarship awarded under this
4 Section shall be determined by the Commission. All
5 scholarship funds distributed in accordance with this Section
6 shall be paid to the institution on behalf of the recipients.
7 Scholarship funds are applicable toward 2 semesters or 3
8 quarters of enrollment within an academic year.
9 (h) The Commission shall administer the ITEACH Teacher
10 Shortage Scholarship Program established by this Section and
11 shall make all necessary and proper rules not inconsistent
12 with this Section for its effective implementation.
13 (i) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any
14 academic year, each recipient of a scholarship awarded under
15 this Section shall be required by the Commission to sign an
16 agreement under which the recipient pledges that, within the
17 one-year period following the termination of the academic
18 program for which the recipient was awarded a scholarship,
19 the recipient: (i) shall begin teaching in a teacher shortage
20 discipline for a period of not less than one year for each
21 year of scholarship assistance awarded under this Section,
22 (ii) shall fulfill this teaching obligation at a nonprofit
23 Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool or
24 elementary or secondary school, and (iii) shall, upon request
25 of the Commission, provide the Commission with evidence that
26 he or she is fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the
27 teaching agreement provided for in this subsection.
28 (j) If a recipient of a scholarship awarded under this
29 Section fails to fulfill the teaching obligation set forth in
30 subsection (i) of this Section, the Commission shall require
31 the recipient to repay the amount of the scholarships
32 received, prorated according to the fraction of the teaching
33 obligation not completed, plus interest at a rate of 5% and
34 if applicable, reasonable collection fees. The Commission is
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1 authorized to establish rules relating to its collection
2 activities for repayment of scholarships under this Section.
3 (k) A recipient of a scholarship awarded by the
4 Commission under this Section shall not be in violation of
5 the agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (i) if the
6 recipient (i) enrolls on a full-time basis as a graduate
7 student in a course of study related to the field of teaching
8 at an institution of higher learning; (ii) is serving as a
9 member of the armed services of the United States; (iii) is
10 temporarily totally disabled, as established by sworn
11 affidavit of a qualified physician; or (iv) is seeking and
12 unable to find full-time employment as a teacher at a school
13 that satisfies the criteria set forth in subsection (i) and
14 is able to provide evidence of that fact. Any such extension
15 of the period during which the teaching requirement must be
16 fulfilled shall be subject to limitations of duration as
17 established by the Commission.
18 (Source: P.A. 91-670, eff. 12-22-99; 92-845, eff. 1-1-03.)