Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez
Filed: 4/19/2007
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2201
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2201 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | ||||||
5 | amended by adding Section 65.85 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (110 ILCS 947/65.85 new) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 65.85. Bilingual education teacher scholarship. | ||||||
8 | (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider | ||||||
9 | applications
for scholarship assistance under this Section. An | ||||||
10 | applicant is eligible for a
scholarship under this Section if | ||||||
11 | the Commission finds that the applicant is:
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12 | (1) a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen;
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13 | (2) a resident of Illinois;
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14 | (3) a high school graduate or a person who has received | ||||||
15 | a General
Educational Development Certificate;
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16 | (4) enrolled or accepted for enrollment,
on at least a |
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1 | half-time basis, at an Illinois institution of higher | ||||||
2 | learning;
and
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3 | (5) pursuing a postsecondary course of study leading to | ||||||
4 | initial
certification or pursuing additional
course
work
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5 | needed to gain State Board of Education approval to teach | ||||||
6 | bilingual education, including
alternative teacher | ||||||
7 | certification.
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8 | (b) Each scholarship awarded under this Section shall be in | ||||||
9 | an amount
sufficient to pay the tuition and fees of the | ||||||
10 | institution of higher learning at which the recipient is | ||||||
11 | enrolled.
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12 | (c) The total amount of scholarship assistance awarded by | ||||||
13 | the Commission
under this Section to an individual in any given | ||||||
14 | fiscal year, when added to
other financial assistance awarded | ||||||
15 | to that individual for that year, shall not
exceed the cost of | ||||||
16 | attendance at the institution of higher learning at which
the | ||||||
17 | student is enrolled.
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18 | (d) A recipient may receive up to 8 semesters or 12
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19 | quarters of scholarship
assistance under this Section.
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20 | (e) All applications for scholarship assistance to be | ||||||
21 | awarded under this
Section shall be made to the Commission in a | ||||||
22 | form as set forth by the
Commission. The form of application | ||||||
23 | and the information required to be set
forth therein shall be | ||||||
24 | determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall
require | ||||||
25 | eligible applicants to submit with their applications such | ||||||
26 | supporting
documents as the Commission deems necessary.
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1 | (f) Subject to a separate appropriation made for such | ||||||
2 | purposes, payment of
any
scholarship awarded under this Section | ||||||
3 | shall be determined by the Commission.
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4 | All scholarship funds distributed in accordance with this | ||||||
5 | Section shall be
paid
to the institution on behalf of the | ||||||
6 | recipients. Scholarship funds are
applicable toward 2 | ||||||
7 | semesters or 3 quarters of enrollment within an academic
year.
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8 | (g) The Commission shall administer the
scholarship | ||||||
9 | program established by this Section and shall make all | ||||||
10 | necessary
and
proper rules not inconsistent with this Section | ||||||
11 | for its effective
implementation.
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12 | (h) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any | ||||||
13 | academic year, each
recipient of a scholarship awarded under | ||||||
14 | this
Section shall be required by the Commission to sign an | ||||||
15 | agreement under which
the
recipient pledges that, within the | ||||||
16 | one-year period following the
termination
of the academic | ||||||
17 | program for which the recipient was awarded a scholarship, the
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18 | recipient (i) shall begin teaching bilingual education for a | ||||||
19 | period of not
less than the total number of years of | ||||||
20 | scholarship assistance received under this Section, (ii) shall | ||||||
21 | fulfill this teaching obligation at an Illinois public | ||||||
22 | elementary or secondary school, and (iii)
shall, upon request | ||||||
23 | of
the
Commission, provide the Commission with evidence that he | ||||||
24 | or she is fulfilling
or has fulfilled the terms of the teaching | ||||||
25 | agreement provided for in this
subsection.
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26 | (i) If a recipient of a scholarship awarded under this |
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1 | Section fails to
fulfill the teaching obligation set forth in | ||||||
2 | subsection (h) of this Section,
the Commission shall require | ||||||
3 | the recipient to repay the amount of the
scholarships received, | ||||||
4 | prorated according to the fraction of the teaching
obligation | ||||||
5 | not completed, plus interest at a rate of 5% and, if | ||||||
6 | applicable, reasonable
collection fees. The Commission is | ||||||
7 | authorized to establish rules relating to
its collection | ||||||
8 | activities for repayment
of scholarships under this Section.
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9 | Payments received by the Commission under this subsection (i)
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10 | shall be remitted to the State Comptroller for deposit into
the | ||||||
11 | General Revenue Fund, except that that portion of a
recipient's | ||||||
12 | repayment that equals the amount in expenses that
the | ||||||
13 | Commission has reasonably incurred in attempting
collection | ||||||
14 | from that recipient shall be remitted to the State
Comptroller | ||||||
15 | for deposit into the Commission's Accounts
Receivable Fund.
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16 | (j) A recipient of a scholarship awarded by the Commission | ||||||
17 | under this
Section shall not be in violation of the agreement | ||||||
18 | entered into pursuant to
subsection (h) of this Section if the | ||||||
19 | recipient (i) enrolls on a full-time basis as a graduate
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20 | student in a course of study related to the field of teaching | ||||||
21 | at an institution
of higher learning; (ii) is serving as a | ||||||
22 | member of the armed services of the
United States; (iii) is | ||||||
23 | temporarily totally disabled, as established by sworn
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24 | affidavit of a qualified physician; (iv) is seeking and unable | ||||||
25 | to find
full-time employment as a bilingual education teacher | ||||||
26 | at a school that satisfies the criteria set
forth
in subsection |
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1 | (h) of this Section and is able to provide evidence of that | ||||||
2 | fact; (v) is taking additional courses, on at least a half-time | ||||||
3 | basis, needed to obtain certification as a teacher in Illinois; | ||||||
4 | or (vi) is fulfilling teaching requirements associated with | ||||||
5 | other programs administered by the Commission and cannot | ||||||
6 | concurrently fulfill them under this Section in a period of | ||||||
7 | time equal to the length of the teaching obligation. Any such
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8 | extension of the period during which the teaching requirement | ||||||
9 | must be fulfilled
shall be subject to limitations of duration | ||||||
10 | as established by the Commission. ".
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