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Public Act 92-0445
SB1521 Enrolled LRB9208236WHpc
AN ACT relating to education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.545 as follows:
(30 ILCS 105/5.545 new)
Sec. 5.545. The Illinois Future Teacher Corps
Scholarship Fund.
Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
is amended by adding Section 65.65 as follows:
(110 ILCS 947/65.65 new)
Sec. 65.65. Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarships.
(a) In this Section:
"Fees" means matriculation, graduation, activity, term,
or incidental fees. "Fees" does not include any other
fees, including book rental, service, laboratory, supply,
and union building fees, hospital and medical insurance fees,
and any fees established for the operation and maintenance of
buildings the income of which is pledged to the payment of
interest and principal on bonds issued by the governing board
of an institution of higher learning.
"Shortage" means an unfilled teaching position or one
that is filled but is occupied by a person who is not fully
certified by the State for that teaching position at the
start of the school year.
"Scholarship" means an Illinois Future Teacher Corps
Scholarship.
"Tuition and other necessary fees" includes the
customary charge for instruction and use of facilities in
general and the additional fixed fees charged for specified
purposes that are required generally of non-scholarship
recipients for each academic term for which the recipient of
a scholarship under this Section actually enrolls. "Tuition
and other necessary fees" does not include fees payable only
once or breakage fees and other contingent deposits that are
refundable in whole or in part. "Tuition and other necessary
fees" does not include expenses for any sectarian or
denominational instruction, for the construction or
maintenance of sectarian or denominational facilities, or for
any other sectarian or denominational purposes or activity.
(b) A program is created to provide new teacher training
scholarships, to be known as Illinois Future Teacher Corps
Scholarships. The scholarships are for full-time
undergraduate and graduate students pursuing studies at
qualified institutions of higher learning leading to teacher
certification in this State. To receive a scholarship, a
graduate student must be seeking retraining, from another
field, to enter a teaching career. No more than half of the
scholarships shall be awarded to graduate students seeking
retraining.
(c) The Commission, in accordance with rules adopted for
the program created under this Section, shall provide
funding, determine the eligibility of applicants, and
designate each year's new recipients from among those
applicants who qualify for consideration by showing:
(1) that he or she is a resident of this State
and a citizen or a lawful permanent resident alien of the
United States;
(2) that he or she (i) has successfully completed
the program of instruction at an approved high
school or (ii) is a student in good standing at that
school and is enrolled in a program of instruction that
will be completed by the end of the school year and, in
either event, that his or her cumulative grade point
average was or is in the upper one-third of his or her
high school class;
(3) that he or she has a superior capacity to
profit by a higher education; and
(4) that he or she intends to teach in an
elementary or secondary school in this State.
(d) If for any academic year the number of qualified
applicants exceeds the number of scholarships to be
awarded, the Commission shall prioritize the awarding of
scholarships to applicants by considering (i) identified
teacher shortage areas established by the State Board of
Education and (ii) an applicant's cumulative class rank in
high school or, for graduate student applicants, total
undergraduate cumulative grade point average.
(e) Unless otherwise indicated, scholarships shall be
good for a period of up to 4 academic years while the
recipient is enrolled for full-time residence credit at a
qualified institution of higher learning. Each academic
year, the scholarship shall cover tuition and other necessary
fees for 2 semesters plus the summer session or 4 quarters;
however, the amount of a scholarship in a single academic
year may not exceed $5,000. For purposes of calculating
scholarship assistance for recipients attending private
institutions of higher learning, tuition and other necessary
fees for students at private institutions shall not exceed
the average tuition and other necessary fees for students at
State universities for the academic year in which the
scholarship is made.
(f) Before receiving scholarship assistance, a
scholarship recipient shall be required by the Commission to
sign an agreement under which the recipient pledges that,
within the 5-year period following the completion of the
academic program for which the recipient was awarded a
scholarship, the recipient (i) shall teach for a period of
not less than one year for each academic year of scholarship
assistance that he or she was awarded, (ii) shall fulfill
this teaching obligation at a public or nonprofit private
preschool, elementary school, or secondary school in this
State, 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 (f).
(g) If a scholarship recipient fails to fulfill the
teaching obligation set forth in subsection (f) of this
Section, the Commission shall require the recipient to repay
the amount of the scholarship assistance received, at a rate
of interest equal to 5%, and, if applicable, reasonable
collection fees. The Commission may establish rules relating
to its collection activities for the repayment of
scholarships. All repayments collected under this Section
shall be forwarded to the State Comptroller for deposit into
the General Revenue Fund.
A scholarship recipient shall not be considered in
violation of the agreement entered into pursuant to
subsection (f) of this Section 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
institution of higher learning, (ii) is serving as a member
of the armed services of the United States for a period of
time not to exceed 3 years, (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 a public or nonprofit private preschool,
elementary school, or secondary school that satisfies the
criteria set forth in subsection (f) 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. No claim for repayment
may be filed against the estate of a decedent or incompetent.
Each person applying for a scholarship shall be provided
with a copy of this subsection (g) at the time he or she
applies for the scholarship.
(h) The Commission may prescribe, by rule, detailed
provisions concerning the computation of tuition and other
necessary fees, which must not be inconsistent with this
Section.
(i) If an applicant for a scholarship under this Section
accepts another teacher preparation scholarship administered
by the Commission for the same academic year as the
scholarship under this Section, that applicant shall not be
eligible for a scholarship under this Section.
(j) To continue receiving scholarship assistance, a
scholarship recipient must remain a full-time student and
must maintain a cumulative grade point average at the
postsecondary level of no less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
(k) A scholarship shall not be awarded to or continued
for anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offense that
would disqualify that person from receiving teacher
certification in this State.
(l) If a scholarship recipient satisfies the president
of the institution of higher learning in which the recipient
is enrolled (or someone designated by the president) that the
recipient requires a leave of absence for the purpose of
earning funds to defray his or her expenses while enrolled
in the institution, for study abroad or internship study, or
on account of illness or military service, then leave may be
granted for a period of time not to exceed 6 years (with time
spent in the armed forces not included as part of this time
limit) without violating the agreement entered into pursuant
to subsection (f) of this Section.
(m) Scholarship amounts due to an institution of
higher learning shall be payable by the Comptroller to that
institution on vouchers approved by the Commission.
(n) The Commission shall administer the program created
under this Section and shall adopt all necessary and proper
rules not inconsistent with this Section for the program's
effective implementation. All applications for scholarship
assistance 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 in the application shall
be determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall
require applicants to submit with their applications any
supporting documents that the Commission deems necessary.
(o) If an appropriation to the Commission for a given
fiscal year is insufficient to provide scholarships to all
qualified applicants, then 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 from a qualified applicant.
Section 15. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by
adding Section 3-648 as follows:
(625 ILCS 5/3-648 new)
Sec. 3-648. Education license plates.
(a) The Secretary, upon receipt of an application made
in the form prescribed by the Secretary, may issue special
registration plates designated as Education license plates.
The special plates issued under this Section shall be affixed
only to passenger vehicles of the first division and motor
vehicles of the second division weighing not more than 8,000
pounds. Plates issued under this Section shall expire
according to the multi-year procedure established by Section
3-414.1 of this Code.
(b) The design and color of the plates shall be
determined by a contest that every elementary school pupil in
the State of Illinois is eligible to enter. The designs
submitted for the contest shall be judged on September 30,
2002, and the winning design shall be selected by a committee
composed of the Secretary, the Director of State Police, 2
members of the Senate, one member chosen by the President of
the Senate and one member chosen by the Senate Minority
Leader, and 2 members of the House of Representatives, one
member chosen by the Speaker of the House and one member
chosen by the House Minority Leader. The Secretary may allow
the plates to be issued as vanity or personalized plates
under Section 3-405.1 of the Code. The Secretary shall
prescribe stickers or decals as provided under Section 3-412
of this Code.
(c) An applicant for the special plate shall be charged
a $40 fee for original issuance, in addition to the
appropriate registration fee. Of this $40 additional original
issuance fee, $15 shall be deposited into the Secretary of
State Special License Plate Fund, to be used by the Secretary
to help defray the administrative processing costs, and $25
shall be deposited into the Illinois Future Teacher Corps
Scholarship Fund. For each registration renewal period, a
$40 fee, in addition to the appropriate registration fee,
shall be charged. Of this $40 additional renewal fee, $2
shall be deposited into the Secretary of State Special
License Plate Fund and $38 shall be deposited into the
Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund. Each fiscal
year, once deposits from the additional original issuance and
renewal fees into the Secretary of State Special License
Plate Fund have reached $500,000, all the amounts received
for the additional fees for the balance of the fiscal year
shall be deposited into the Illinois Future Teacher Corps
Scholarship Fund.
(d) The Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund
is created as a special fund in the State treasury.
Ninety-five percent of the moneys in the Illinois Future
Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund shall be appropriated to the
Illinois Student Assistance Commission for scholarships under
Section 65.65 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act,
and 5% of the moneys in the Illinois Future Teacher Corps
Scholarship Fund shall be appropriated to the State Board of
Education for grants to the Golden Apple Foundation for
Excellence in Teaching, a recognized charitable organization
that meets the requirements of Title 26, Section 501(c)(3) of
the United States Code.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
Passed in the General Assembly May 22, 2001.
Approved August 17, 2001.
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