Public Act 100-0235
 
SB1739 EnrolledLRB100 09252 NHT 19408 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    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 Section 50 as follows:
 
    (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 high school 
    equivalency certificate
 and has
maintained a cumulative 
    grade point average 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 any of the 
    following:
            (1) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person 
        having origins in any of the original peoples of North 
        and South America, including Central America, and who 
        maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment).
            (2) Asian (a person having origins in any of the 
        original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or 
        the Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited 
        to, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, 
        Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and 
        Vietnam).
            (3) Black or African American (a person having 
        origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa). 
        Terms such as "Haitian" or "Negro" can be used in 
        addition to "Black or African American".
            (4) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban, Mexican, 
        Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other 
        Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race).
            (5) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a 
        person having origins in any of the original peoples of 
        Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).


        "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 at least a
half-time basis at a
qualified 
    Illinois institution of
higher learning; (v) who is 
    enrolled in a course of study leading to
teacher licensure 
    certification, including alternative teacher licensure, 
    or, if the student is already licensed to teach, in a 
    course of study leading to an additional teaching 
    endorsement or a master's degree in an academic field in 
    which he or she is teaching or plans to teach 
    certification; (vi)
who maintains a grade point average of 
    no
less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale;
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 preschool 
or elementary or
secondary
school
level, each qualified student 
shall be awarded a minority teacher
scholarship to any 
qualified Illinois institution of higher learning.
However, 
preference may be given to qualified applicants enrolled at or 
above
the
junior level.


    (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 for which a 
qualified
student
can receive minority teacher scholarship 
assistance shall be 8 semesters or
12 quarters.


    (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.
 If the Commission does not receive enough 
applications from qualified male
minorities on or before

January 1 of each fiscal year to award 30% of the funds 
appropriated for these
scholarships to qualified
male minority 
applicants, then the Commission may award a portion of the

reserved funds to qualified
female 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 one-year period following the
termination
of the 
program for which the recipient was awarded a minority
teacher 
scholarship, the recipient (i) shall begin teaching 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%, 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
a person with a temporary total disability 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; (v) becomes a person with a permanent total 
disability as
established by sworn affidavit of a qualified 
physician; (vi) is taking additional courses, on at least a 
half-time basis, needed to obtain licensure certification as a 
teacher in Illinois; or (vii) is fulfilling teaching 
requirements associated with other programs administered by 
the Commission and cannot concurrently fulfill them under this 
Section in a period of time equal to the length of the teaching 
obligation.


    (o) Scholarship recipients under this Section who withdraw 
from
a program of teacher education 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. 98-718, eff. 1-1-15; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)

 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect June 1, 
2018.