HB4126 EnrolledLRB102 19189 HLH 27954 b

1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Invest in Kids Act is amended by changing
5Section 40 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 40/40)
7    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2025)
8    Sec. 40. Scholarship granting organization
9responsibilities.
10    (a) Before granting a scholarship for an academic year,
11all scholarship granting organizations shall assess and
12document each student's eligibility for the academic year.
13    (b) A scholarship granting organization shall grant
14scholarships only to eligible students.
15    (c) A scholarship granting organization shall allow an
16eligible student to attend any qualified school of the
17student's choosing, subject to the availability of funds.
18    (d) In granting scholarships, beginning in the 2022-2023
19school year and for each school year thereafter, a scholarship
20granting organization shall give priority to eligible students
21who received a scholarship from a scholarship granting
22organization during the previous school year. Second priority
23shall be given to the following priority groups:

 

 

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1        (1) (blank); eligible students who received a
2    scholarship from a scholarship granting organization
3    during the previous school year;
4        (2) eligible students who are members of a household
5    whose previous year's total annual income does not exceed
6    185% of the federal poverty level;
7        (3) eligible students who reside within a focus
8    district; and
9        (4) eligible students who are siblings of students
10    currently receiving a scholarship.
11    (d-5) A scholarship granting organization shall begin
12granting scholarships no later than February 1 preceding the
13school year for which the scholarship is sought. Each The
14priority group groups identified in subsection (d) of this
15Section shall be eligible to receive scholarships on a
16first-come, first-served basis until the April 1 immediately
17preceding the school year for which the scholarship is sought
18starting with the first priority group identified in
19subsection (d) of this Section. Applications for scholarships
20for eligible students meeting the qualifications of one or
21more priority groups that are received before April 1 must be
22either approved or denied within 10 business days after
23receipt. Beginning April 1, all eligible students shall be
24eligible to receive scholarships without regard to the
25priority groups identified in subsection (d) of this Section.
26    (e) Except as provided in subsection (e-5) of this

 

 

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1Section, scholarships shall not exceed the lesser of (i) the
2statewide average operational expense per student among public
3schools or (ii) the necessary costs and fees for attendance at
4the qualified school. A qualified school may set a lower
5maximum scholarship amount for eligible students whose family
6income falls within paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection
7(e); that amount may not exceed the necessary costs and fees
8for attendance at the qualified school and is subject to the
9limitations on average scholarship amounts set forth in
10paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, as applicable. The
11qualified school shall notify the scholarship granting
12organization of its necessary costs and fees as well as any
13maximum scholarship amount set by the school. Scholarships
14shall be prorated as follows:
15        (1) for eligible students whose household income is
16    less than 185% of the federal poverty level, the
17    scholarship shall be 100% of the amount determined
18    pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of
19    this Section;
20        (2) for eligible students whose household income is
21    185% or more of the federal poverty level but less than
22    250% of the federal poverty level, the average of
23    scholarships shall be 75% of the amount determined
24    pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of
25    this Section; and
26        (3) for eligible students whose household income is

 

 

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1    250% or more of the federal poverty level, the average of
2    scholarships shall be 50% of the amount determined
3    pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of
4    this Section.
5    (e-5) The statewide average operational expense per
6student among public schools shall be multiplied by the
7following factors:
8        (1) for students determined eligible to receive
9    services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities
10    Education Act, 2;
11        (2) for students who are English learners, as defined
12    in subsection (d) of Section 14C-2 of the School Code,
13    1.2; and
14        (3) for students who are gifted and talented children,
15    as defined in Section 14A-20 of the School Code, 1.1.
16    (f) A scholarship granting organization shall distribute
17scholarship payments to the participating school where the
18student is enrolled.
19    (g) For the 2018-2019 school year through the 2021-2022
20school year, each scholarship granting organization shall
21expend no less than 75% of the qualified contributions
22received during the calendar year in which the qualified
23contributions were received. No more than 25% of the qualified
24contributions may be carried forward to the following calendar
25year.
26    (h) For the 2022-2023 school year, each scholarship

 

 

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1granting organization shall expend all qualified contributions
2received during the calendar year in which the qualified
3contributions were received. No qualified contributions may be
4carried forward to the following calendar year.
5    (i) A scholarship granting organization shall allow an
6eligible student to transfer a scholarship during a school
7year to any other participating school of the custodian's
8choice. Such scholarships shall be prorated.
9    (j) With the prior approval of the Department, a
10scholarship granting organization may transfer funds to
11another scholarship granting organization if additional funds
12are required to meet scholarship demands at the receiving
13scholarship granting organization. All transferred funds must
14be deposited by the receiving scholarship granting
15organization into its scholarship accounts. All transferred
16amounts received by any scholarship granting organization must
17be separately disclosed to the Department.
18    (k) If the approval of a scholarship granting organization
19is revoked as provided in Section 20 of this Act or the
20scholarship granting organization is dissolved, all remaining
21qualified contributions of the scholarship granting
22organization shall be transferred to another scholarship
23granting organization. All transferred funds must be deposited
24by the receiving scholarship granting organization into its
25scholarship accounts.
26    (l) Scholarship granting organizations shall make

 

 

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1reasonable efforts to advertise the availability of
2scholarships to eligible students.
3(Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5becoming law.