Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB1334
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Full Text of HB1334  95th General Assembly

HB1334enr 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
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1     AN ACT concerning 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 is
5 amended by changing Section 52 as follows:
 
6     (110 ILCS 947/52)
7     Sec. 52. Illinois Future Teacher Corps Program.
8     (a) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois
9 students, especially minority students, to pursue teaching
10 careers, especially in teacher shortage disciplines (which
11 shall be defined to include early childhood education) or at
12 hard-to-staff schools (as defined by the Commission in
13 consultation with the State Board of Education), the Commission
14 shall, each year, receive and consider applications for
15 scholarship assistance under this Section. An applicant is
16 eligible for a scholarship under this Section when the
17 Commission finds that the applicant is:
18         (1) a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen;
19         (2) a resident of Illinois;
20         (3) a high school graduate or a person who has received
21     a General Educational Development Certificate;
22         (4) enrolled or accepted for enrollment at or above the
23     junior level, on at least a half-time basis, at an Illinois

 

 

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1     institution of higher learning; and
2         (5) pursuing a postsecondary course of study leading to
3     initial certification or pursuing additional course work
4     needed to gain State Board of Education approval to teach,
5     including alternative teacher certification.
6     (b) Recipients shall be selected from among applicants
7 qualified pursuant to subsection (a) based on a combination of
8 the following criteria as set forth by the Commission: (1)
9 academic excellence; (2) status as a minority student as
10 defined in Section 50; and (3) financial need. Preference may
11 be given to previous recipients of assistance under this
12 Section, provided they continue to maintain eligibility and
13 maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by the
14 institution of higher learning at which they enroll.
15     In each year, to support mentoring, guidance, and
16 in-service support for teaching candidates in order to increase
17 the likelihood that they will complete their full teaching
18 commitments and elect to continue teaching in targeted
19 disciplines and hard-to-staff schools, a minimum of 200 awards
20 shall be allocated to participants in the Golden Apple Scholars
21 of Illinois program.
22     (c) Each scholarship awarded under this Section shall be in
23 an amount sufficient to pay the tuition and fees and room and
24 board costs of the Illinois institution of higher learning at
25 which the recipient is enrolled, up to an annual maximum of
26 $5,000; except that in the case of a recipient who does not

 

 

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1 reside on-campus at the institution of higher learning at which
2 he or she is enrolled, the amount of the scholarship shall be
3 sufficient to pay tuition and fee expenses and a commuter
4 allowance, up to an annual maximum of $5,000. For recipients
5 who agree to teach in a teacher shortage discipline or at a
6 hard-to-staff school under subsection (i) of this Section, the
7 Commission may, by rule and subject to appropriation, increase
8 the annual maximum amount to $10,000. If a recipient agrees to
9 teach in both a teacher shortage discipline and at a
10 hard-to-staff school under subsection (i) of this Section, the
11 Commission may increase the amount of the scholarship awarded
12 by up to an additional $5,000.
13     (d) The total amount of scholarship assistance awarded by
14 the Commission under this Section to an individual in any given
15 fiscal year, when added to other financial assistance awarded
16 to that individual for that year, shall not exceed the cost of
17 attendance at the institution of higher learning at which the
18 student is enrolled.
19     (e) A recipient may receive up to 4 semesters or 6 quarters
20 of scholarship assistance under this Section.
21     (f) All applications for scholarship assistance to be
22 awarded under this Section shall be made to the Commission in a
23 form as set forth by the Commission. The form of application
24 and the information required to be set forth therein shall be
25 determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall require
26 eligible applicants to submit with their applications such

 

 

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1 supporting documents as the Commission deems necessary.
2     (g) Subject to a separate appropriation made for such
3 purposes, payment of any scholarship awarded under this Section
4 shall be determined by the Commission. There shall be a
5 separate appropriation made for scholarships awarded to
6 recipients who agree to teach in a teacher shortage discipline
7 or at a hard-to-staff school under subsection (i) of this
8 Section. The Commission may use for scholarship assistance
9 under this Section (i) all funds appropriated for scholarships
10 under this Section that were formerly known as ITEACH Teacher
11 Shortage Scholarships and (ii) all funds appropriated for
12 scholarships under Section 65.65 of this Act (repealed by this
13 amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly), formerly known as
14 Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarships.
15     All scholarship funds distributed in accordance with this
16 Section shall be paid to the institution on behalf of the
17 recipients. Scholarship funds are applicable toward 2
18 semesters or 3 quarters of enrollment within an academic year.
19     (h) The Commission shall administer the scholarship
20 program established by this Section and shall make all
21 necessary and proper rules not inconsistent with this Section
22 for its effective implementation.
23     (i) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any
24 academic year, each recipient of a scholarship awarded under
25 this Section shall be required by the Commission to sign an
26 agreement under which the recipient pledges that, within the

 

 

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1 one-year period following the termination of the academic
2 program for which the recipient was awarded a scholarship, the
3 recipient: (i) shall begin teaching for a period of not less
4 than 5 years, (ii) shall fulfill this teaching obligation at a
5 nonprofit Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool or
6 an Illinois public elementary or secondary school, and (iii)
7 shall, upon request of the Commission, provide the Commission
8 with evidence that he or she is fulfilling or has fulfilled the
9 terms of the teaching agreement provided for in this
10 subsection.
11     (j) If a recipient of a scholarship awarded under this
12 Section fails to fulfill the teaching obligation set forth in
13 subsection (i) of this Section, the Commission shall require
14 the recipient to repay the amount of the scholarships received,
15 prorated according to the fraction of the teaching obligation
16 not completed, plus interest at a rate of 5% and if applicable,
17 reasonable collection fees. The Commission is authorized to
18 establish rules relating to its collection activities for
19 repayment of scholarships under this Section. Payments
20 received by the Commission under this subsection (j) shall be
21 remitted to the State Comptroller for deposit into the General
22 Revenue Fund, except that that portion of a recipient's
23 repayment that equals the amount in expenses that the
24 Commission has reasonably incurred in attempting collection
25 from that recipient shall be remitted to the State Comptroller
26 for deposit into the Commission's Accounts Receivable Fund.

 

 

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1     (k) A recipient of a scholarship awarded by the Commission
2 under this Section shall not be in violation of the agreement
3 entered into pursuant to subsection (i) if the recipient (i)
4 enrolls on a full-time basis as a graduate student in a course
5 of study related to the field of teaching at an institution of
6 higher learning; (ii) is serving as a member of the armed
7 services of the United States; (iii) is temporarily totally
8 disabled, as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified
9 physician; (iv) is seeking and unable to find full-time
10 employment as a teacher at a school that satisfies the criteria
11 set forth in subsection (i) and is able to provide evidence of
12 that fact; (v) is taking additional courses, on at least a
13 half-time basis, needed to obtain certification as a teacher in
14 Illinois; or (vi) is fulfilling teaching requirements
15 associated with other programs administered by the Commission
16 and cannot concurrently fulfill them under this Section in a
17 period of time equal to the length of the teaching obligation.
18 Any such extension of the period during which the teaching
19 requirement must be fulfilled shall be subject to limitations
20 of duration as established by the Commission.
21 (Source: P.A. 93-21, eff. 7-1-03; 94-133, eff. 7-7-05.)