Public Act 099-0826
 
SB2975 EnrolledLRB099 20370 MLM 44849 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended  by adding Section 
2-3.80b as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.80b new)
    Sec. 2-3.80b. Agriculture education teacher grant program.
    (a) As used in this Section:
    "New agriculture education program" means an agriculture 
education program approved by the State Board of Education in a 
school district that has not had an agriculture education 
program for a period of 10 years or more prior to the date of 
application for a grant under this Section.
    "Personal services cost" means the cost of a teacher 
providing 60 additional days, which shall mean 400 additional 
hours, outside the teacher's regularly scheduled teaching 
duties for the benefit of agriculture education. The 400 
additional hours shall be any activity that is to the benefit 
of agriculture education, as defined by the State Board of 
Education by rule, regardless of the time of year the activity 
occurs.
    (b) Subject to appropriation to the State Board of 
Education, there is created an agriculture education teacher 
grant program to fund personal services costs for agriculture 
education teachers in school districts. The grants shall be for 
the purpose of assisting school districts with paying for 
personal services costs of agriculture education teachers.
    (c) A school district may apply for a grant to fund an 
amount not to exceed 50% of the personal services cost for an 
agriculture education teacher under this Section. However, a 
school district that is creating a new agriculture education 
program may apply for a grant to fund an amount not to exceed 
100% of an agriculture teacher's personal services cost in the 
first and second year of the new agriculture education program 
and an amount not to exceed 80% of an agriculture teacher's 
personal services cost in the third and fourth years of the new 
agriculture education program. A school district may apply for 
a grant for more than one teacher under this Section.
    (d) A school district that applies for a grant under this 
Section or offers any extended contract for agriculture 
education shall base its personal services costs on the 
reasonably expected personal services cost for the teacher 
based on the cost of the teacher's regularly scheduled teaching 
duties.
    (e) The State Board of Education shall create a statewide 
system for an agriculture education teacher to track his or her 
additional hours completed pursuant to a grant under this 
Section.
    (f) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules as 
necessary to implement this Section. 
  
 
    Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is 
amended  by changing Section 65.25 as follows:
 



    (110 ILCS 947/65.25)



    Sec. 65.25. Teacher shortage scholarships. 

    (a) The Commission may annually award a number of 
scholarships
to persons preparing to teach in areas of 
identified staff shortages.  Such
scholarships shall be issued 
to individuals who make application to the
Commission and who 
agree to take courses at qualified institutions of
higher 
learning which will prepare them to teach in areas of 
identified staff
shortages.

    (b) Scholarships awarded under this Section shall be issued 
pursuant to
regulations promulgated by the Commission;

provided that no rule or regulation promulgated by the State 
Board of
Education prior to the effective date of this 
amendatory Act of 1993 pursuant
to the exercise of any right, 
power, duty, responsibility or matter of pending
business 
transferred from the State Board of Education to the Commission 
under
this Section shall be affected thereby, and all such 
rules and regulations
shall become the rules and regulations of 
the Commission until modified or
changed by the Commission in 
accordance with law.  The Commission
shall allocate the 
scholarships awarded between persons
initially preparing to 
teach, persons holding valid teaching
certificates issued 
under Articles 21 and 34 of the School Code, and persons

holding a bachelor's degree from any accredited college or 
university who
have been employed for a minimum of 10 years in 
a field other than teaching.

    (c) Each scholarship shall be utilized by its holder for 
the payment of
tuition and non-revenue bond fees at any 
qualified institution of higher
learning. Such tuition and fees 
shall be available only for courses that
will enable the 
individual to be certified to teach in areas of identified

staff shortages.  The Commission shall determine which
courses 
are eligible for tuition payments under this Section.

    (d) The Commission may make tuition payments directly to

the qualified institution of higher learning which the 
individual attends for
the courses prescribed or may make 
payments to the teacher.  Any teacher
who received payments and 
who fails to enroll in the courses prescribed
shall refund the 
payments to the Commission.

    (e) Following the completion of the program of study, 
persons who held
valid teaching certificates and persons 
holding a bachelor's degree from
any accredited college or 
university who have been employed for a minimum
of 10 years in 
a field other than teaching prior to
receiving a teacher 
shortage scholarship must accept employment within
2 years in a 
school in Illinois within 60 miles of the person's
residence to 
teach in an area of identified staff shortage for a period of

at least 3 years; provided, however that any such person 
instead may
elect to accept employment within such 2 year 
period to teach in an area
of identified staff shortage for a 
period of at least 3 years in a school
in Illinois which is 
more than 60 miles from such person's residence.
Persons 
initially preparing to teach prior to receiving a teacher 
shortage
scholarship must accept employment within 2 years in a 
school in Illinois
to teach in an area of identified staff 
shortage for a period of at least
3 years.  Individuals who fail 
to comply with this provision shall
refund all of the 
scholarships awarded to the Commission,
whether payments were 
made directly to the institutions of higher learning
or to the 
individuals, and this condition shall be agreed to in writing 
by
all scholarship recipients at the time the scholarship is 
awarded.  No
individual shall be required to refund tuition 
payments if his or her
failure to obtain employment as a 
teacher in a school is the result of
financial conditions 
within school districts.  The
rules and regulations promulgated 
as provided in this Section shall contain
provisions regarding 
the waiving and deferral of such
payments.

    (f) The Commission, with the cooperation of the State Board 
of Education,
shall assist individuals who have
participated in 
the scholarship program established by this Section in
finding 
employment in areas of identified staff shortages.

    (g) Beginning in September, 1994 and annually thereafter, 
the Commission,
using data annually supplied by the State Board 
of Education under procedures
developed by it to measure the 
level of shortage of qualified bilingual
personnel serving 
students with disabilities,
shall annually publish (i) the 
level of shortage of qualified
bilingual personnel serving 
students with disabilities, and (ii) allocations
of 
scholarships for personnel preparation training programs in 
the areas of
bilingual special education teacher training and 
bilingual school service
personnel.

    (h) Appropriations for the scholarships outlined in this 
Section shall
be made to the Commission from funds appropriated 
by the General
Assembly.

    (i) This Section is substantially the same as Section 30-4c 
of the School
Code, which Section is repealed by this 
amendatory Act of 1993, and shall be
construed as a 
continuation of the teacher shortage scholarship program

established under that prior law, and not as a new or different 
teacher
shortage scholarship program.  The State Board of 
Education shall transfer to
the Commission, as the
successor to 
the State Board of Education for all purposes of administering

and implementing the provisions of this Section, all books, 
accounts, records,
papers, documents, contracts, agreements, 
and pending business in any way
relating to the teacher 
shortage scholarship program continued under this
Section;
and 
all scholarships at any time awarded under that program
by, and 
all applications for any such scholarships
at any
time made to, 
the State Board of Education shall be unaffected by the 
transfer
to the Commission of all responsibility for the 
administration and
implementation of the teacher shortage 
scholarship program continued under this
Section.  The State 
Board of Education shall furnish to the Commission such
other 
information as the Commission may request to assist it in 
administering
this Section.

    (j) For the purposes of this Section:

    "Qualified institution of higher learning" means the 
University of
Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago 
State University, Eastern
Illinois University, Governors State 
University, Illinois State University,
Northeastern Illinois 
University, Northern Illinois University, Western
Illinois 
University, the public community colleges subject to the Public 
Community
College Act and any Illinois privately operated 
college, community college or
university offering degrees and 
instructional programs above the high
school level either in 
residence or by correspondence.  The Board of
Higher Education 
and the Commission, in consultation with the State Board of

Education, shall identify qualified
institutions to supply the 
demand for bilingual special education teachers
and bilingual 
school service personnel.  

    "Areas of identified staff shortages" means courses of 
study, including, but not limited to, agricultural education, 
in which the
number of teachers is insufficient to meet student 
or school district demand
for such instruction as determined by 
the State Board of Education.

(Source: P.A. 88-228; 89-4, eff. 1-1-96.)