Full Text of HB5122 100th General Assembly
HB5122enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning State government.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended | 5 | | by changing Section 8 as follows:
| 6 | | (20 ILCS 505/8) (from Ch. 23, par. 5008)
| 7 | | Sec. 8. Scholarships and fee waivers ; tuition waiver . | 8 | | (a) Each year the Department shall select a minimum of 53 | 9 | | students (at least 4 of whom shall be children of veterans) to | 10 | | receive scholarships and fee waivers which will enable them to | 11 | | attend and complete their post-secondary education at a | 12 | | community college, university, or college. Youth shall be | 13 | | selected from among the youth for whom the Department has | 14 | | court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who aged out of care | 15 | | at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care
who have been | 16 | | adopted or who have been placed in private guardianship. | 17 | | Recipients must have earned a high school diploma from an | 18 | | accredited institution or a high school equivalency | 19 | | certificate or diploma or have met the State criteria for high | 20 | | school graduation before the start of the school year for which | 21 | | they are applying for the scholarship and waiver. Scholarships | 22 | | and fee waivers shall be available to students for at least 5 | 23 | | years, provided they are continuing to work toward graduation. |
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| 1 | | Unused scholarship dollars and fee waivers shall be reallocated | 2 | | to new recipients. No later than January 1, 2015, the | 3 | | Department shall promulgate rules identifying the criteria for | 4 | | "continuing to work toward graduation" and for reallocating | 5 | | unused scholarships and fee waivers. Selection shall be made on | 6 | | the
basis of several factors, including, but not limited to, | 7 | | scholastic record, aptitude, and general interest in higher
| 8 | | education. The selection committee shall include at least 2 | 9 | | individuals formerly under the care of the Department who have | 10 | | completed their post-secondary education. In accordance with | 11 | | this Act, tuition scholarships and fee waivers
shall be | 12 | | available to such students at any university or college | 13 | | maintained by
the State of Illinois. The Department shall | 14 | | provide maintenance and school
expenses, except tuition and | 15 | | fees, during the academic years to supplement
the students' | 16 | | earnings or other resources so long as they consistently
| 17 | | maintain scholastic records which are acceptable to their | 18 | | schools and to
the Department. Students may attend other | 19 | | colleges and universities, if
scholarships are awarded them, | 20 | | and receive the same benefits for maintenance
and other | 21 | | expenses as those students attending any Illinois State | 22 | | community
college, university, or college under this Section. | 23 | | Beginning with recipients receiving scholarships and waivers | 24 | | in August 2014, the Department shall collect data and report | 25 | | annually to the General Assembly on measures of success, | 26 | | including (i) the number of youth applying for and receiving |
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| 1 | | scholarships or waivers , (ii) the percentage of scholarship or | 2 | | waiver recipients who complete their college or university | 3 | | degree within 5 years, (iii) the average length of time it | 4 | | takes for scholarship or waiver recipients to complete their | 5 | | college or university degree, (iv) the reasons that scholarship | 6 | | or waiver recipients are discharged or fail to complete their | 7 | | college or university degree, (v) when available, youths' | 8 | | outcomes 5 years and 10 years after being awarded the | 9 | | scholarships or waivers , and (vi) budget allocations for | 10 | | maintenance and school expenses incurred by the Department.
| 11 | | (b) Youth who are not selected to receive a scholarship or | 12 | | fee waiver under subsection (a) shall receive a tuition and fee | 13 | | waiver to assist them in attending and completing their | 14 | | post-secondary education at any community college, university, | 15 | | or college maintained by the State of Illinois if they are | 16 | | youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal | 17 | | responsibility, youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, | 18 | | or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the | 19 | | subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been | 20 | | placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a | 21 | | subsidized guardianship agreement. | 22 | | To receive a waiver under this subsection, an applicant | 23 | | must: | 24 | | (1) have earned a high school diploma from an
| 25 | | accredited institution or a high school equivalency
| 26 | | certificate or have met the State criteria for high school
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| 1 | | graduation before the start of the school year for which | 2 | | the applicant is applying for the waiver; | 3 | | (2) enroll in a
qualifying post-secondary education | 4 | | before the applicant reaches the age
of 26; and | 5 | | (3) apply for federal and State grant assistance by | 6 | | completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. | 7 | | The community college or public university
that an | 8 | | applicant attends must waive any tuition and fee amounts that | 9 | | exceed the amounts paid to the applicant under the federal Pell | 10 | | Grant Program or the State's Monetary Award Program. | 11 | | Tuition and fee waivers shall be available to a student for | 12 | | at least the first 5 years the student is enrolled in a | 13 | | community college, university, or college maintained by the | 14 | | State of Illinois so long as the student makes satisfactory | 15 | | progress toward completing his or her degree. The age | 16 | | requirement and 5-year cap on tuition and fee waivers under | 17 | | this subsection shall be waived and eligibility for tuition and | 18 | | fee waivers shall be extended for any applicant or student who | 19 | | the Department determines was unable to enroll in a qualifying | 20 | | post-secondary school or complete an academic term because the | 21 | | applicant or student: (i) was called into active duty with the | 22 | | United States Armed Forces; (ii) was deployed for service in | 23 | | the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; or | 24 | | (iii) volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The | 25 | | Department shall extend eligibility for a qualifying applicant | 26 | | or student by the total number of months or years during which |
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| 1 | | the applicant or student served on active duty with the United | 2 | | States Armed Forces, was deployed for service in the United | 3 | | States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, or | 4 | | volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The number of | 5 | | months an applicant or student served on active duty with the | 6 | | United States Armed Forces shall be rounded up to the next | 7 | | higher year to determine the maximum length of time to extend | 8 | | eligibility for the applicant or student. | 9 | | The Department may provide the student with a stipend to | 10 | | cover maintenance and school expenses, except tuition and fees, | 11 | | during the academic years to supplement the student's earnings | 12 | | or other resources so long as the student consistently | 13 | | maintains scholastic records which are acceptable to the | 14 | | student's school and to the Department. | 15 | | The Department shall develop outreach programs to ensure | 16 | | that youths who qualify for the tuition and fee waivers under | 17 | | this subsection who are high school students in grades 9 | 18 | | through 12 or who are enrolled in a high school equivalency | 19 | | testing program are aware of the availability of the tuition | 20 | | and fee waivers. | 21 | | (Source: P.A. 98-718, eff. 1-1-15; 98-805, eff. 1-1-15; 99-78, | 22 | | eff. 7-20-15.)
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