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| Public Act 095-0939 |
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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 | ||||
amended by changing Section 52 as follows:
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(110 ILCS 947/52)
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Sec. 52. Illinois Future Teacher Corps Program.
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(a) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois | ||||
students,
especially minority students, to pursue teaching | ||||
careers, especially in
teacher shortage
disciplines
(which | ||||
shall be defined to include early childhood education) or at
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hard-to-staff schools (as defined by the Commission in | ||||
consultation with the
State Board of Education),
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:
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(1) a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen;
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(2) a resident of Illinois;
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(3) a high school graduate or a person who has received | ||||
a General
Educational Development Certificate;
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(4) enrolled or accepted for enrollment at or above the | ||||
junior level,
on at least a half-time basis, at an Illinois | ||||
institution of higher learning;
and
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(5) pursuing a postsecondary course of study leading to | ||
initial
certification or pursuing additional
course
work
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needed to gain State Board of Education approval to teach, | ||
including
alternative teacher certification.
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(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
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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.
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In each year, to support mentoring, guidance, and | ||
in-service support for teaching candidates in order to increase | ||
the likelihood that they will complete their full teaching | ||
commitments and elect to continue teaching in targeted | ||
disciplines and hard-to-staff schools, a minimum of 200 awards | ||
shall be allocated to participants in the Golden Apple Scholars | ||
of Illinois program. | ||
(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
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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.
For recipients | ||
who agree to teach in a teacher shortage discipline or at a
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hard-to-staff school under subsection (i) of this Section, the | ||
Commission
may, by rule and subject to appropriation, increase | ||
the annual
maximum amount to $10,000. If a recipient agrees to | ||
teach in both a
teacher shortage discipline and at a | ||
hard-to-staff school under
subsection (i) of this Section, the | ||
Commission may increase the amount of the
scholarship awarded
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by up to an additional $5,000.
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(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.
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(e) A recipient may receive up to 4 semesters or 6
quarters | ||
of scholarship
assistance under this Section.
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(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.
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(g) Subject to a separate appropriation made for such | ||
purposes, payment of
any
scholarship awarded under this Section | ||
shall be determined by the Commission.
There shall be a | ||
separate appropriation made for scholarships awarded
to | ||
recipients who agree to teach in a teacher shortage discipline | ||
or at a
hard-to-staff school under subsection (i) of this | ||
Section.
The Commission may use for scholarship assistance | ||
under this Section
(i) all funds appropriated for scholarships | ||
under this Section that were
formerly known as ITEACH Teacher | ||
Shortage Scholarships and (ii) all
funds appropriated for | ||
scholarships under Section 65.65 of this Act
(repealed by this | ||
amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly), formerly
known as | ||
Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarships.
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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.
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(h) The Commission shall administer the
scholarship | ||
program established by this Section and shall make all | ||
necessary
and
proper rules not inconsistent with this Section | ||
for its effective
implementation.
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(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 | ||
one-year period following the
termination
of the academic | ||
program for which the recipient was awarded a scholarship, the
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recipient: (i) shall begin teaching for a period of not
less | ||
than 5 years, (ii) shall fulfill this teaching obligation at a | ||
nonprofit
Illinois public,
private, or parochial
preschool or | ||
an Illinois public elementary or secondary school, and (iii)
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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
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subsection.
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(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 of 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.
Payments | ||
received by the Commission under this subsection (j)
shall be | ||
remitted to the State Comptroller for deposit into
the General | ||
Revenue Fund, except that that portion of a
recipient's | ||
repayment that equals the amount in expenses that
the | ||
Commission has reasonably incurred in attempting
collection | ||
from that recipient shall be remitted to the State
Comptroller | ||
for deposit into the Commission's Accounts
Receivable Fund. | ||
(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; (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; (v) is taking additional courses, on at least a | ||
half-time basis, needed to obtain certification as a teacher in | ||
Illinois; or (vi) 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. | ||
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.
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(Source: P.A. 93-21, eff. 7-1-03; 94-133, eff. 7-7-05.)
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