Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB3319
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Full Text of SB3319  99th General Assembly

SB3319ham001 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie

Filed: 5/11/2016

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 3319

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 3319 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Section 50 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 947/50)
7    Sec. 50. Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship
8program.
9    (a) As used in this Section:
10        "Eligible applicant" means a minority student who has
11    graduated from high school or has received a high school
12    equivalency certificate and and has maintained a
13    cumulative grade point average of no less than 2.5 on a 4.0
14    scale, and who by reason thereof is entitled to apply for
15    scholarships to be awarded under this Section.
16        "Minority student" means a student who is any of the

 

 

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1    following:
2            (1) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person
3        having origins in any of the original peoples of North
4        and South America, including Central America, and who
5        maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment).
6            (2) Asian (a person having origins in any of the
7        original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or
8        the Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited
9        to, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
10        Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and
11        Vietnam).
12            (3) Black or African American (a person having
13        origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa).
14        Terms such as "Haitian" or "Negro" can be used in
15        addition to "Black or African American".
16            (4) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban, Mexican,
17        Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other
18        Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race).
19            (5) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a
20        person having origins in any of the original peoples of
21        Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).
22        "Qualified student" means a person (i) who is a
23    resident of this State and a citizen or permanent resident
24    of the United States; (ii) who is a minority student, as
25    defined in this Section; (iii) who, as an eligible
26    applicant, has made a timely application for a minority

 

 

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1    teaching scholarship under this Section; (iv) who is
2    enrolled on at least a half-time basis at a qualified
3    Illinois institution of higher learning; (v) who is
4    enrolled in a course of study leading to teacher
5    certification, including alternative teacher
6    certification; (vi) who maintains a grade point average of
7    no less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale; and (vii) who continues to
8    advance satisfactorily toward the attainment of a degree.
9    (b) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois
10minority students to pursue teaching careers at the preschool
11or elementary or secondary school level, each qualified student
12shall be awarded a minority teacher scholarship to any
13qualified Illinois institution of higher learning. However,
14preference may be given to qualified applicants enrolled at or
15above the junior level.
16    (c) Each minority teacher scholarship awarded under this
17Section shall be in an amount sufficient to pay the tuition and
18fees and room and board costs of the qualified Illinois
19institution of higher learning at which the recipient is
20enrolled, up to an annual maximum of $5,000; except that in the
21case of a recipient who does not reside on-campus at the
22institution at which he or she is enrolled, the amount of the
23scholarship shall be sufficient to pay tuition and fee expenses
24and a commuter allowance, up to an annual maximum of $5,000.
25    (d) The total amount of minority teacher scholarship
26assistance awarded by the Commission under this Section to an

 

 

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1individual in any given fiscal year, when added to other
2financial assistance awarded to that individual for that year,
3shall not exceed the cost of attendance at the institution at
4which the student is enrolled. If the amount of minority
5teacher scholarship to be awarded to a qualified student as
6provided in subsection (c) of this Section exceeds the cost of
7attendance at the institution at which the student is enrolled,
8the minority teacher scholarship shall be reduced by an amount
9equal to the amount by which the combined financial assistance
10available to the student exceeds the cost of attendance.
11    (e) The maximum number of academic terms for which a
12qualified student can receive minority teacher scholarship
13assistance shall be 8 semesters or 12 quarters.
14    (f) In any academic year for which an eligible applicant
15under this Section accepts financial assistance through the
16Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship Program, as authorized by
17Section 551 et seq. of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the
18applicant shall not be eligible for scholarship assistance
19awarded under this Section.
20    (g) All applications for minority teacher scholarships to
21be awarded under this Section shall be made to the Commission
22on forms which the Commission shall provide for eligible
23applicants. The form of applications and the information
24required to be set forth therein shall be determined by the
25Commission, and the Commission shall require eligible
26applicants to submit with their applications such supporting

 

 

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1documents or recommendations as the Commission deems
2necessary.
3    (h) Subject to a separate appropriation for such purposes,
4payment of any minority teacher scholarship awarded under this
5Section shall be determined by the Commission. All scholarship
6funds distributed in accordance with this subsection shall be
7paid to the institution and used only for payment of the
8tuition and fee and room and board expenses incurred by the
9student in connection with his or her attendance as an
10undergraduate student at a qualified Illinois institution of
11higher learning. Any minority teacher scholarship awarded
12under this Section shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3
13quarters of enrollment. If a qualified student withdraws from
14enrollment prior to completion of the first semester or quarter
15for which the minority teacher scholarship is applicable, the
16school shall refund to the Commission the full amount of the
17minority teacher scholarship.
18    (i) The Commission shall administer the minority teacher
19scholarship aid program established by this Section and shall
20make all necessary and proper rules not inconsistent with this
21Section for its effective implementation.
22    (j) When an appropriation to the Commission for a given
23fiscal year is insufficient to provide scholarships to all
24qualified students, the Commission shall allocate the
25appropriation in accordance with this subsection. If funds are
26insufficient to provide all qualified students with a

 

 

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1scholarship as authorized by this Section, the Commission shall
2allocate the available scholarship funds for that fiscal year
3on the basis of the date the Commission receives a complete
4application form.
5    (k) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (j) or any
6other provision of this Section, at least 30% of the funds
7appropriated for scholarships awarded under this Section in
8each fiscal year shall be reserved for qualified male minority
9applicants. If the Commission does not receive enough
10applications from qualified male minorities on or before
11January 1 of each fiscal year to award 30% of the funds
12appropriated for these scholarships to qualified male minority
13applicants, then the Commission may award a portion of the
14reserved funds to qualified female minority applicants.
15    (l) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any
16academic year, each recipient of a minority teacher scholarship
17awarded under this Section shall be required by the Commission
18to sign an agreement under which the recipient pledges that,
19within the one-year period following the termination of the
20program for which the recipient was awarded a minority teacher
21scholarship, the recipient (i) shall begin teaching for a
22period of not less than one year for each year of scholarship
23assistance he or she was awarded under this Section; and (ii)
24shall fulfill this teaching obligation at a nonprofit Illinois
25public, private, or parochial preschool, elementary school, or
26secondary school at which no less than 30% of the enrolled

 

 

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1students are minority students in the year during which the
2recipient begins teaching at the school; and (iii) shall, upon
3request by the Commission, provide the Commission with evidence
4that he or she is fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the
5teaching agreement provided for in this subsection.
6    (m) If a recipient of a minority teacher scholarship
7awarded under this Section fails to fulfill the teaching
8obligation set forth in subsection (l) of this Section, the
9Commission shall require the recipient to repay the amount of
10the scholarships received, prorated according to the fraction
11of the teaching obligation not completed, at a rate of interest
12equal to 5%, and, if applicable, reasonable collection fees.
13The Commission is authorized to establish rules relating to its
14collection activities for repayment of scholarships under this
15Section. All repayments collected under this Section shall be
16forwarded to the State Comptroller for deposit into the State's
17General Revenue Fund.
18    (n) A recipient of minority teacher scholarship shall not
19be considered in violation of the agreement entered into
20pursuant to subsection (l) if the recipient (i) enrolls on a
21full time basis as a graduate student in a course of study
22related to the field of teaching at a qualified Illinois
23institution of higher learning; (ii) is serving, not in excess
24of 3 years, as a member of the armed services of the United
25States; (iii) is a person with a temporary total disability for
26a period of time not to exceed 3 years as established by sworn

 

 

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1affidavit of a qualified physician; (iv) is seeking and unable
2to find full time employment as a teacher at an Illinois
3public, private, or parochial preschool or elementary or
4secondary school that satisfies the criteria set forth in
5subsection (l) of this Section and is able to provide evidence
6of that fact; (v) becomes a person with a permanent total
7disability as established by sworn affidavit of a qualified
8physician; (vi) is taking additional courses, on at least a
9half-time basis, needed to obtain certification as a teacher in
10Illinois; or (vii) is fulfilling teaching requirements
11associated with other programs administered by the Commission
12and cannot concurrently fulfill them under this Section in a
13period of time equal to the length of the teaching obligation.
14    (o) Scholarship recipients under this Section who withdraw
15from a program of teacher education but remain enrolled in
16school to continue their postsecondary studies in another
17academic discipline shall not be required to commence repayment
18of their Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship so long as
19they remain enrolled in school on a full-time basis or if they
20can document for the Commission special circumstances that
21warrant extension of repayment.
22(Source: P.A. 98-718, eff. 1-1-15; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)".