Full Text of SB0437 95th General Assembly
SB0437enr 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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LRB095 10765 RAS 31007 b |
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | 5 |
| amended by changing Sections 25 and 31 as follows:
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| (110 ILCS 947/25)
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| Sec. 25. State scholar program.
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| (a) An applicant is eligible to be designated a State | 9 |
| Scholar when the
Commission finds the candidate:
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| (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or | 11 |
| permanent resident of the
United States;
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| (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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| college, or other advanced training subsequent to | 21 |
| graduation from high school;
and
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| (3) has superior capacity to profit by a higher | 23 |
| education.
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| (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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| (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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| 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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| (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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| obtaining or providing the examination results shall be paid by |
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| 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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| 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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| (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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| (f) Subject to appropriation, each State Scholar who | 13 |
| enrolls or is enrolled in an institution of higher learning in | 14 |
| this State shall also receive a one-time grant of $1,000 to be | 15 |
| applied to tuition and mandatory fees and paid directly to the | 16 |
| institution of higher learning. However, a student who has been | 17 |
| awarded a Merit Recognition Scholarship under Section 31 of | 18 |
| this Act may not be awarded a grant under this subsection (f), | 19 |
| although he or she may still be designated a State Scholar. | 20 |
| (g) The Commission shall adopt all necessary and proper | 21 |
| rules not inconsistent with this Section for its effective | 22 |
| implementation.
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| (Source: P.A. 87-997.)
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| (110 ILCS 947/31)
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| Sec. 31. Merit Recognition Scholarship program.
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| (a) As used in this Section:
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| "Eligible applicant" means a student from any high school | 3 |
| in this State,
either
approved by or not recognized by the | 4 |
| State Board of Education, who is engaged
in a
program of study | 5 |
| that in due course will be completed by the end of the
academic | 6 |
| year,
and (i) whose cumulative high school grade point average | 7 |
| is at or above the
95th
percentile of his or her high school | 8 |
| class after completion of the 6th semester
of a high
school
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| program of instruction or (ii) whose score on a
standardized
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| examination determined by the Commission, taken before or | 11 |
| during the 6th
semester of high school, is at or above the 95th | 12 |
| percentile of
students
in the State who take the standardized | 13 |
| college entrance examination.
These high school students are | 14 |
| all eligible
to receive a
scholarship to be awarded under this | 15 |
| Section.
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| "Qualified student" means a person:
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| (1) who is a resident of this State and a citizen or | 18 |
| permanent resident of
the United States;
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| (2) who, as an eligible applicant, is in good academic | 20 |
| standing at the
high
school in which he or she is enrolled | 21 |
| and has made a timely application for a
Merit Recognition | 22 |
| Scholarship under this Section;
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| (3) who has successfully completed the program of | 24 |
| instruction at any high
school located in this State; and
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| (4) who enrolls or is enrolled in a qualified Illinois | 26 |
| institution of
higher
learning or a Service Academy as an |
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| undergraduate student or cadet and has not
received a | 2 |
| baccalaureate degree.
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| "Merit Recognition Scholarship" means a $1,000 academic | 4 |
| scholarship
awarded under this Section during an academic year | 5 |
| to a qualified student,
without regard
to financial need, as a | 6 |
| scholarship to any qualified Illinois institution of
higher | 7 |
| learning or
a Service Academy in which the student is or will | 8 |
| be enrolled as an
undergraduate
student or cadet.
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| "Service Academy" means the U.S. Air Force Academy, the | 10 |
| U.S. Coast Guard
Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, or the | 11 |
| U.S. Naval Academy.
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| (b) In order to identify, encourage, promote, and reward | 13 |
| the distinguished
academic achievement of students from every | 14 |
| high school located in this State,
each
qualified student shall | 15 |
| be awarded a Merit Recognition Scholarship by the
Illinois
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| Student Assistance Commission to any qualified Illinois | 17 |
| institution of higher
learning or
to any Service Academy.
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| (b-5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, | 19 |
| a student who has received a grant under the State Scholar | 20 |
| program under Section 25 of this Act is ineligible to receive a | 21 |
| Merit Recognition Scholarship.
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| (c) No Merit Recognition Scholarship provided for a | 23 |
| qualified student
under this Section shall be considered in | 24 |
| evaluating the financial situation of
that student
or be deemed | 25 |
| a financial resource of or a form of financial aid or | 26 |
| assistance
to that
student, for purposes of determining the |
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| eligibility of the student for any
scholarship,
grant, or | 2 |
| monetary assistance awarded by the Commission, the State, or | 3 |
| any
agency
thereof pursuant to the provisions of any other | 4 |
| Section of this Act or any
other law of this
State; nor shall | 5 |
| any Merit Recognition Scholarship provided for a
qualified
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| student under
this Section reduce the amount of any | 7 |
| scholarship, grant, or monetary
assistance that that
student is | 8 |
| eligible to be awarded by the Commission, the State, or any | 9 |
| agency
thereof in
accordance with the provisions of any other | 10 |
| Section of this Act or any other
law of this
State.
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| (d) The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is | 12 |
| designated as
administrator of the Merit Recognition | 13 |
| Scholarship program. Each high
school
located in this State | 14 |
| shall certify to the Commission the names of its students
who | 15 |
| are
eligible applicants, specifying which of the students | 16 |
| certified as eligible
applicants have
completed the program of | 17 |
| instruction at that high school and the graduation
date fixed | 18 |
| for
their high school class and specifying for each of the | 19 |
| other eligible
applicants whose
names appear on the | 20 |
| certification the semester of high school last completed by
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| them.
The Commission shall promptly notify those eligible | 22 |
| applicants so certified who
are
reasonably assured of receiving | 23 |
| a Merit Recognition Scholarship in accordance
with
the annual | 24 |
| funding levels recommended in the Governor's budget of their
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| eligibility to
apply for a scholarship under this Section, | 26 |
| other than any eligible applicant
named on any
such |
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| certification who, as an eligible applicant, has previously | 2 |
| made
application to the
Commission for a Merit Recognition | 3 |
| Scholarship under this Section. An
otherwise
eligible | 4 |
| applicant who fails to make a timely application (as determined | 5 |
| by the
Commission) for a Merit Recognition Scholarship under | 6 |
| this Section shall
no longer
be deemed an eligible applicant | 7 |
| and shall not qualify for the award.
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| (e) All applications for Merit Recognition Scholarships to | 9 |
| be awarded
under
this Section shall be made to the Commission | 10 |
| on forms that the Commission shall
provide for eligible | 11 |
| applicants. The form of applications and the information
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| required to
be set forth therein shall be determined by the | 13 |
| Commission, and the Commission
shall
require eligible | 14 |
| applicants to submit with their applications such supporting
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| documents
as the Commission deems necessary.
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| (f) The names and addresses of Merit Recognition | 17 |
| Scholarship recipients
are a matter of public record.
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| (g) Whenever an eligible applicant who has completed the | 19 |
| program of
instruction at any high school located in this State | 20 |
| thereafter makes timely
application to
the Commission for a | 21 |
| Merit Recognition Scholarship under this Section, the
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| Commission shall promptly determine whether that eligible | 23 |
| applicant is a
qualified
student as defined in subsection (a) | 24 |
| of this Section. Each such eligible
applicant so
determined by | 25 |
| the Commission to be a qualified student shall be awarded
a | 26 |
| Merit Recognition Scholarship in the amount of $1,000, |
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| effective exclusively
during the
academic year following the | 2 |
| qualified student's high school graduation, subject
to | 3 |
| appropriation by the General Assembly.
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| (h) Subject to a separate appropriation for purposes of | 5 |
| this Section,
payment of
any Merit Recognition Scholarship | 6 |
| awarded under this Section shall be
determined
exclusively by | 7 |
| the Commission. All scholarship funds distributed in | 8 |
| accordance
with this
subsection (h) shall be paid to the | 9 |
| qualified Illinois
institution of higher
learning or Service | 10 |
| Academy and used only for payment of the educational
expenses
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| incurred by the student in connection with his or her | 12 |
| attendance as an
undergraduate
student or cadet at that | 13 |
| institution or Service Academy, including but not
limited to
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| tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, required | 15 |
| Service Academy
uniforms, and travel and personal expenses | 16 |
| related to the student's attendance
at that
institution or | 17 |
| Service Academy. Any Merit Recognition Scholarship awarded
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| under
this Section shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3 | 19 |
| quarters of enrollment.
Should a
qualified student withdraw | 20 |
| from enrollment prior to completion of the first
semester or
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| quarter for which the Merit Recognition Scholarship is | 22 |
| applicable, the
student shall
refund to the Commission the | 23 |
| amount of the scholarship received.
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| (i) The Commission shall administer the Merit Recognition | 25 |
| Scholarship
program established by this Section and shall make | 26 |
| all necessary and proper
rules, not
inconsistent with this |
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| Section, for its effective implementation.
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| (j) When an appropriation to the Commission for purposes of | 3 |
| this Section is
insufficient to provide scholarships to all | 4 |
| qualified students, the Commission
shall
allocate the | 5 |
| appropriation in accordance with this subsection (j). If funds
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| are insufficient to provide all qualified students with a | 7 |
| scholarship as
authorized by subsection (g) of this Section, | 8 |
| the Commission shall allocate the
scholarships to qualified | 9 |
| students in order of decreasing relative academic
rank, as | 10 |
| determined by the Commission using a formula based upon the | 11 |
| qualified
student's grade point average, score on the | 12 |
| appropriate statewide standardized
examination, or a | 13 |
| combination of grade point average and standardized test
score. | 14 |
| All Merit Recognition Scholarships awarded shall be in the | 15 |
| amount of
$1,000.
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| (k) The Commission, in determining the number of Merit | 17 |
| Recognition
Scholarships to be offered pursuant to subsection | 18 |
| (j) of this Section, shall
take into consideration past | 19 |
| experience with the rate of merit scholarship
funds unclaimed | 20 |
| by qualified students. To the extent necessary to avoid an
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| over-commitment of funds, the Commission may allocate | 22 |
| scholarship funds on
the basis of the date the Commission | 23 |
| receives a completed application form.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-128, eff. 7-1-00.)
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