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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | ||||||
5 | amended by changing Section 25 as follows:
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6 | (110 ILCS 947/25)
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7 | Sec. 25. State scholar program.
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8 | (a) An applicant is eligible to be designated a State | ||||||
9 | Scholar when the
Commission finds the candidate:
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10 | (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or | ||||||
11 | permanent resident of the
United States;
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12 | (2) has successfully completed the program of | ||||||
13 | instruction at an
approved high school, or is a student in | ||||||
14 | good standing at such a school and
is engaged in a program | ||||||
15 | which in due course will be completed by the end of
the | ||||||
16 | academic year, and in either event that the candidate's | ||||||
17 | academic
standing is above the class median; and that the | ||||||
18 | candidate has not had any
university, college, normal | ||||||
19 | school, private junior college or public community
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20 | college, or other advanced training subsequent to | ||||||
21 | graduation from high school;
and
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22 | (3) has superior capacity to profit by a higher | ||||||
23 | education.
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1 | (b) In determining an applicant's superior capacity to | ||||||
2 | profit by a
higher education, the Commission shall consider the | ||||||
3 | candidate's
scholastic record in high school and the results of | ||||||
4 | the examination conducted
under the provisions of this Act. The | ||||||
5 | Commission shall establish by rule the
minimum conditions of | ||||||
6 | eligibility in terms of the foregoing factors, and the
relative | ||||||
7 | weight to be accorded to those factors.
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8 | (c) The Commission shall base its State Scholar | ||||||
9 | designations upon the
eligibility formula prescribed in its | ||||||
10 | rules, except that notwithstanding
those rules or any other | ||||||
11 | provision of this Section, a student nominated by
his or her | ||||||
12 | school shall be designated a State Scholar if that student
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13 | achieves an Illinois Standard Test Score at or above the 95th | ||||||
14 | percentile
among students taking the designated examinations | ||||||
15 | in Illinois that year, as
determined by the Commission.
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16 | (d) The Commission shall obtain the results of a | ||||||
17 | competitive examination
from the applicants this Act . The | ||||||
18 | examination shall provide a measure of each
candidate's ability | ||||||
19 | to perform college work and shall have demonstrated utility
in | ||||||
20 | such a selection program. The Commission shall select, and | ||||||
21 | designate by
rule, the specific examinations to be used in | ||||||
22 | determining the applicant's
superior capacity to profit from a | ||||||
23 | higher education. Candidates may be asked by
the Commission to | ||||||
24 | take those steps necessary to provide results of the
designated | ||||||
25 | examination as part of their applications. Any nominal cost of
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26 | obtaining or providing the examination results shall be paid by |
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1 | the candidate
to the agency designated by the Commission to | ||||||
2 | provide the examination service.
In the event that a candidate | ||||||
3 | or candidates are unable to participate in the
examination for | ||||||
4 | financial reasons, the Commission may choose to pay the
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5 | examination fee on the candidate's or candidates' behalf. Any | ||||||
6 | notary fee which
may also be required as part of the total | ||||||
7 | application shall be paid by the
applicant.
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8 | (e) The Commission shall award to each State Scholar a | ||||||
9 | certificate or other
suitable form of recognition. The decision | ||||||
10 | to attend a non-qualified
institution of higher learning shall | ||||||
11 | not disqualify applicants who are
otherwise fully qualified.
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12 | (f) The Commission shall conduct a study detailing all of | ||||||
13 | the following information: | ||||||
14 | (1) The number of students designated State Scholars in | ||||||
15 | 2008 and 2009. | ||||||
16 | (2) The number of State Scholars who applied to State | ||||||
17 | universities in 2008 and 2009. | ||||||
18 | (3) The number of State Scholars who were denied | ||||||
19 | admittance into the State universities to which they | ||||||
20 | applied in 2008 and 2009. | ||||||
21 | All data collected from a State university in regards to | ||||||
22 | the study conducted under this subsection (f) must be verified | ||||||
23 | by that university. | ||||||
24 | On or before January 1, 2010, the Commission must submit a | ||||||
25 | report to the General Assembly that contains the findings of | ||||||
26 | the study conducted under this subsection (f) and the |
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1 | Commission's recommendations on how to make State universities | ||||||
2 | more accessible to State Scholars. | ||||||
3 | (Source: P.A. 87-997.)
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4 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
5 | becoming law.
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