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Public Act 91-0670
SB653 Re-enrolled LRB9104091NTsb
AN ACT concerning higher education, amending a named Act.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
is amended by changing Sections 37, 50, 52, 55, and 60 and
adding Section 113 as follows:
(110 ILCS 947/37)
Sec. 37. Higher education license plate grant program.
(a) Each year, the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission shall receive a separate appropriation for the
purpose of providing grant assistance to students enrolled at
Illinois private colleges and universities. Subject to a
separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
eligible for a grant to a degree-granting, not-for-profit
private college or university located in this State under
this Section when the institution Commission finds that the
applicant:
(1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
permanent resident of the United States; and
(2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
deterred by financial considerations from completing an
educational program at the qualified institution of his
or her choice.
(b) The private college or university shall award
renewals only upon the student's application and upon the
institution's finding that the applicant:
(1) has remained a student in good standing at a
degree-granting, not-for-profit private college or
university located in this State;
(2) remains a resident of this State; and
(3) is in a financial situation that continues to
warrant assistance.
(c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
necessary fee costs for 2 semesters or 3 quarters in an
academic year. Requests for summer term assistance must be
made separately and shall be considered on an individual
basis according to Commission policy. The institution shall
determine the grant amount for each full-time and part-time
student, which shall be the smallest of the following
amounts:
(1) $2,000 for 2 semesters or 3 quarters of
full-time undergraduate enrollment or $1,000 for 2
semesters or 3 quarters of part-time undergraduate
enrollment, or such lesser amount as the institution
Commission finds to be available; or
(2) the amount that equals the tuition and other
necessary fees for 2 semesters or 3 quarters required
generally by the institution of all full-time
undergraduate students, or in the case of part-time
students an amount of tuition and fees for 2 semesters or
3 quarters that does not exceed one-half the amount of
tuition and necessary fees generally charged to full-time
undergraduate students by the institution; or
(3) such amount as the institution finds to be
appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
resources.
"Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
includes the customary charge for instruction and use of
facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged
for specified purposes, which are required generally of
nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
grant applicant actually enrolls, but does not include fees
payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
deposits that are refundable in whole or in part. The
Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
tuition and other necessary fees.
(d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for grant
program consideration under this Section after receiving a
baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 10 semesters or 15
quarters of award payments. The institution shall determine
when award payments for part-time enrollment or interim or
summer terms shall be counted as a partial semester or
quarter of payment.
(e) The Commission shall ensure that in each school year
the total amount of grants awarded under this Section for
study at each degree-granting, not-for-profit private college
or university in this State shall be at least equal to the
total amount deposited into the University Grant Fund from
the issuance or renewal of license plates bearing the name of
that degree-granting, not-for-profit private college or
university during the calendar year preceding the calendar
year in which the school year begins.
The institution shall notify applicants that grant
assistance is contingent upon the availability of
appropriated funds.
(Source: P.A. 89-424, eff. 6-1-96; 90-278, eff. 7-31-97.)
(110 ILCS 947/50)
Sec. 50. Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship
program.
(a) As used in this Section:
"Eligible applicant" means a minority student who
has graduated from high school or has received a General
Educational Development Certification and has maintained
a cumulative grade point average at the postsecondary
level of no less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, and who by
reason thereof is entitled to apply for scholarships to
be awarded under this Section.
"Minority student" means a student who is either (i)
Black (a person having origins in any of the black racial
groups in Africa); (ii) Hispanic (a person of Spanish or
Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or
Central America, or the Caribbean islands, regardless of
race); (iii) Asian American (a person with origins in any
of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia,
the Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan, and the
Pacific Islands, including, among others, Hawaii,
Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia); or (iv) Native
American (a person who is a member of a federally or
state recognized Indian tribe, or whose parents or
grandparents have such membership) and to include the
native people of Alaska.
"Qualified student" means a person (i) who is a
resident of this State and a citizen or permanent
resident of the United States; (ii) who is a minority
student, as defined in this Section; (iii) who, as an
eligible applicant, has made a timely application for a
minority teaching scholarship under this Section; (iv)
who is enrolled on a full time basis at the sophomore
level or above until his or her last semester at a
qualified Illinois institution of higher learning as an
undergraduate student and has not received a
baccalaureate degree, except that last semester seniors
must enroll only for a minimum of 6 credit hours in order
to retain minority scholarship eligibility under this
Section; (v) who is enrolled in a course of study leading
to teacher certification; (vi) who maintains a grade
point average of no less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale while
enrolled at the postsecondary level; and (vii) who
continues to advance satisfactorily toward the attainment
of a degree.
(b) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois
minority students to pursue teaching careers at the
elementary or secondary school level, each qualified student
shall be awarded a minority teacher scholarship to any
qualified Illinois institution of higher learning.
(c) Each minority teacher scholarship awarded under this
Section shall be in an amount sufficient to pay the tuition
and fees and room and board costs of the qualified Illinois
institution of higher learning at which the recipient is
enrolled, up to an annual maximum of $5,000; except that in
the case of a recipient who does not reside on-campus at the
institution at which he or she is enrolled, the amount of the
scholarship shall be sufficient to pay tuition and fee
expenses and a commuter allowance, up to an annual maximum of
$5,000.
(d) The total amount of minority teacher scholarship
assistance awarded by the Commission under this Section to an
individual in any given fiscal year, when added to other
financial assistance awarded to that individual for that
year, shall not exceed the cost of attendance at the
institution at which the student is enrolled. If the amount
of minority teacher scholarship to be awarded to a qualified
student as provided in subsection (c) of this Section exceeds
the cost of attendance at the institution at which the
student is enrolled, the minority teacher scholarship shall
be reduced by an amount equal to the amount by which the
combined financial assistance available to the student
exceeds the cost of attendance.
(e) The maximum number of academic terms years for which
a qualified student can receive minority teacher scholarship
assistance shall be 8 semesters or 12 quarters 4 years of
undergraduate study.
(f) In any academic year for which an eligible applicant
under this Section accepts financial assistance through the
Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship Program, as authorized by
Section 551 et seq. of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the
applicant shall not be eligible for scholarship assistance
awarded under this Section.
(g) All applications for minority teacher scholarships
to be awarded under this Section shall be made to the
Commission on forms which the Commission shall provide for
eligible applicants. The form of applications and the
information required to be set forth therein shall be
determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall
require eligible applicants to submit with their applications
such supporting documents or recommendations as the
Commission deems necessary.
(h) Subject to a separate appropriation for such
purposes, payment of any minority teacher scholarship awarded
under this Section shall be determined by the Commission.
All scholarship funds distributed in accordance with this
subsection shall be paid to the institution and used only for
payment of the tuition and fee and room and board expenses
incurred by the student in connection with his or her
attendance as an undergraduate student at a qualified
Illinois institution of higher learning. Any minority
teacher scholarship awarded under this Section shall be
applicable to 2 semesters or 3 quarters of enrollment. If a
qualified student withdraws from enrollment prior to
completion of the first semester or quarter for which the
minority teacher scholarship is applicable, the school shall
refund to the Commission the full amount of the minority
teacher scholarship.
(i) The Commission shall administer the minority teacher
scholarship aid program established by this Section and shall
make all necessary and proper rules not inconsistent with
this Section for its effective implementation.
(j) When an appropriation to the Commission for a given
fiscal year is insufficient to provide scholarships to all
qualified students, the Commission shall allocate the
appropriation in accordance with this subsection. If funds
are insufficient to provide all qualified students with a
scholarship as authorized by this Section, the Commission
shall allocate the available scholarship funds for that
fiscal year on the basis of the date the Commission receives
a complete application form.
(k) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (j) or
any other provision of this Section, at least 30% of the
funds appropriated for scholarships awarded under this
Section in each fiscal year shall be reserved for qualified
male minority applicants.
(l) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any
academic year, each recipient of a minority teacher
scholarship awarded under this Section shall be required by
the Commission to sign an agreement under which the recipient
pledges that, within the 5 10 year period following the
termination of the undergraduate program for which the
recipient was awarded a minority teacher scholarship, the
recipient (i) shall teach for a period of not less than one
year for each year of scholarship assistance he or she was
awarded under this Section; and (ii) shall fulfill this
teaching obligation at a nonprofit Illinois public, private,
or parochial preschool, elementary school, or secondary
school at which no less than 30% of the enrolled students are
minority students in the year during which the recipient
begins teaching at the school; and (iii) shall, upon request
by the Commission, provide the Commission with evidence that
he or she is fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the
teaching agreement provided for in this subsection.
(m) If a recipient of a minority teacher scholarship
awarded under this Section fails to fulfill the teaching
obligation set forth in subsection (l) of this Section, the
Commission shall require the recipient to repay the amount of
the scholarships received, prorated according to the fraction
of the teaching obligation not completed, at a rate of
interest equal to 5% that defined under subpart E of Part 653
of the Code of Federal Regulations, and if applicable,
reasonable collection fees. The Commission is authorized to
establish rules relating to its collection activities for
repayment of scholarships under this Section. All repayments
collected under this Section shall be forwarded to the State
Comptroller for deposit into the State's General Revenue
Fund.
(n) A recipient of minority teacher scholarship shall
not be considered in violation of the agreement entered into
pursuant to subsection (l) if the recipient (i) enrolls on a
full time basis as a graduate student in a course of study
related to the field of teaching at a qualified Illinois
institution of higher learning; (ii) is serving, not in
excess of 3 years, as a member of the armed services of the
United States; (iii) is temporarily totally disabled for a
period of time not to exceed 3 years as established by sworn
affidavit of a qualified physician; (iv) is seeking and
unable to find full time employment as a teacher at an
Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool or
elementary or secondary school that satisfies the criteria
set forth in subsection (l) of this Section and is able to
provide evidence of that fact; or, (v) becomes permanently
totally disabled as established by sworn affidavit of a
qualified physician.
(o) Scholarship recipients under this Section who
withdraw from the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship
program but remain enrolled in school to continue their
postsecondary studies in another academic discipline shall
not be required to commence repayment of their Minority
Teachers of Illinois scholarship so long as they remain
enrolled in school on a full-time basis or if they can
document for the Commission special circumstances that
warrant extension of repayment.
(Source: P.A. 87-302; 87-920; 87-997; 87-1004; 88-45;
88-231.)
(110 ILCS 947/52)
Sec. 52. David A. DeBolt Teacher Shortage Scholarship
Program.
(a) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois
students, especially minority students, to pursue teaching
careers in teacher shortage disciplines, the Commission
shall, each year, receive and consider applications for
scholarship assistance under this Section. An applicant is
eligible for a scholarship under this Section when the
Commission finds that the applicant is:
(1) a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen;
(2) a resident of Illinois;
(3) a high school graduate or a person who has
received a General Educational Development Certificate;
(4) enrolled or accepted for enrollment, on at
least a half-time basis at the sophomore level or above,
at an Illinois institution of higher learning; and
(5) pursuing a postsecondary course of study
leading to initial certification in a teacher shortage
discipline or pursuing additional course work needed to
gain State Board of Education approval to teach in an
approved specialized area in which a teacher shortage
exists.
(b) Recipients shall be selected from among applicants
qualified pursuant to subsection (a) based on a combination
of the following criteria as set forth by the Commission: (1)
academic excellence; (2) status as a minority student as
defined in Section 50; and (3) financial need. Preference
may be given to previous recipients of assistance under this
Section, provided they continue to maintain eligibility and
maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by the
institution of higher learning at which they enroll.
(c) Each scholarship awarded under this Section shall be
in an amount sufficient to pay the tuition and fees and room
and board costs of the Illinois institution of higher
learning at which the recipient is enrolled, up to an annual
maximum of $5,000; except that in the case of a recipient who
does not reside on-campus at the institution of higher
learning at which he or she is enrolled, the amount of the
scholarship shall be sufficient to pay tuition and fee
expenses and a commuter allowance, up to an annual maximum of
$5,000.
(d) The total amount of scholarship assistance awarded
by the Commission under this Section to an individual in any
given fiscal year, when added to other financial assistance
awarded to that individual for that year, shall not exceed
the cost of attendance at the institution of higher learning
at which the student is enrolled.
(e) A recipient may receive up to 8 semesters or 12
quarters of scholarship assistance under this Section.
(f) All applications for scholarship assistance to be
awarded under this Section shall be made to the Commission in
a form as set forth by the Commission. The form of
application and the information required to be set forth
therein shall be determined by the Commission, and the
Commission shall require eligible applicants to submit with
their applications such supporting documents as the
Commission deems necessary.
(g) Subject to a separate appropriation made for such
purposes, payment of any scholarship awarded under this
Section shall be determined by the Commission. All
scholarship funds distributed in accordance with this Section
shall be paid to the institution on behalf of the recipients.
Scholarship funds are applicable toward 2 semesters or 3
quarters of enrollment within an academic year.
(h) The Commission shall administer the David A. DeBolt
Teacher Shortage Scholarship Program established by this
Section and shall make all necessary and proper rules not
inconsistent with this Section for its effective
implementation.
(i) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any
academic year, each recipient of a scholarship awarded under
this Section shall be required by the Commission to sign an
agreement under which the recipient pledges that, within the
5 year period following the termination of the academic
program for which the recipient was awarded a scholarship,
the recipient: (i) shall teach in a teacher shortage
discipline for a period of not less than one year for each
year of scholarship assistance awarded under this Section,
(ii) shall fulfill this teaching obligation at an Illinois
public, private, or parochial preschool or elementary or
secondary school, and (iii) shall, upon request of the
Commission, provide the Commission with evidence that he or
she is fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the teaching
agreement provided for in this subsection.
(j) If a recipient of a scholarship awarded under this
Section fails to fulfill the teaching obligation set forth in
subsection (i) of this Section, the Commission shall require
the recipient to repay the amount of the scholarships
received, prorated according to the fraction of the teaching
obligation not completed, plus interest at a rate no greater
than the highest rate applicable for educational loans made
pursuant to Title IV, Part B of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended, and if applicable, reasonable collection
fees. The Commission is authorized to establish rules
relating to its collection activities for repayment of
scholarships under this Section.
(k) A recipient of a scholarship awarded by the
Commission under this Section shall not be in violation of
the agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (i) if the
recipient (i) enrolls on a full-time basis as a graduate
student in a course of study related to the field of teaching
at an institution of higher learning; (ii) is serving as a
member of the armed services of the United States; (iii) is
temporarily totally disabled, as established by sworn
affidavit of a qualified physician; or (iv) is seeking and
unable to find full-time employment as a teacher at a school
that satisfies the criteria set forth in subsection (i) and
is able to provide evidence of that fact. Any such extension
of the period during which the teaching requirement must be
fulfilled shall be subject to limitations of duration as
established by the Commission.
(Source: P.A. 90-201, eff. 7-24-97.)
(110 ILCS 947/55)
Sec. 55. Police officer or fire officer survivor grant.
Grants shall be provided for any spouse, natural child,
legally adopted child, or child in the legal custody of
police officers and fire officers killed or permanently
disabled with 90% to 100% disability in the line of duty
while employed by, or in the voluntary service of, this State
or any local public entity in this State. Beneficiaries need
not be Illinois residents at the time of enrollment in order
to receive this grant. Beneficiaries are entitled to 8
semesters or 12 quarters of full payment of tuition and
mandatory fees at any State-sponsored Illinois institution of
higher learning for either full or part-time study, or the
equivalent of 8 semesters or 12 quarters of payment of
tuition and mandatory fees at the rate established by the
Commission for private institutions in the State of Illinois,
provided the recipient is maintaining satisfactory academic
progress. This benefit may be used for undergraduate or
graduate study. The benefits of this Section shall be
administered by and paid out of funds available to the
Commission and shall accrue to the bona fide applicant
without the requirement of demonstrating financial need to
qualify for those benefits.
(Source: P.A. 89-430, eff. 12-15-95.)
(110 ILCS 947/60)
Sec. 60. Grants for dependents of Department of
Corrections employees killed or permanently disabled in the
line of duty. Any spouse, natural child, legally adopted
child, or child in the legal custody of an employee of the
Department of Corrections who is assigned to a security
position with the Department with responsibility for inmates
of any correctional institution under the jurisdiction of the
Department and who is killed or permanently disabled with 90%
to 100% disability in the line of duty is entitled to 8
semesters or 12 quarters of full payment of tuition and
mandatory fees at any State-supported Illinois institution of
higher learning for either full or part-time study, or the
equivalent of 8 semesters or 12 quarters of payment of
tuition and mandatory fees at the rate established by the
Commission for private institutions in the State of Illinois,
provided the recipient is maintaining satisfactory academic
progress. This benefit may be used for undergraduate or
graduate study. Beneficiaries need not be Illinois residents
at the time of enrollment in order to receive this grant. The
benefits of this Section shall be administered by and paid
out of funds available to the Commission and shall accrue to
the bona fide applicant without the requirement of
demonstrating financial need to qualify for those benefits.
(Source: P.A. 89-430, eff. 12-15-95.)
(110 ILCS 947/113 new)
Sec. 113. Federal Student Loan Fund; Student Loan
Operating Fund; Federal Reserve Recall Fund. The Commission
shall create the Federal Student Loan Fund, the Student Loan
Operating Fund, and the Federal Reserve Recall Fund. At the
request of the Commission's Executive Director, the
Comptroller shall transfer funds, as necessary, from the
Student Assistance Commission Student Loan Fund into the
Federal Student Loan Fund, the Student Loan Operating Fund,
and the Federal Reserve Recall Fund. On or before August 31,
2000, the Commission's Executive Director shall request the
Comptroller to transfer all funds from the Student Assistance
Commission Student Loan Fund into any of the following funds:
the Federal Student Loan Fund, the Student Loan Operating
Fund, or the Federal Reserve Recall Fund. On September 1,
2000, the Student Assistance Commission Student Loan Fund is
abolished. Any future liabilities of this abolished fund
shall be assignable to the appropriate fund created as one of
its successors.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July
1, 1999.
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