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| 1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | ||||||
| 5 | amended by adding Section 65.110 as follows: | ||||||
| 6 | (110 ILCS 947/65.110 new) | ||||||
| 7 | Sec. 65.110. School Social Work Shortage Loan Repayment | ||||||
| 8 | Program. | ||||||
| 9 | (a) To encourage Illinois students to work, and to | ||||||
| 10 | continue to work, as a school social worker in public school | ||||||
| 11 | districts in this State, the Commission shall, each year, | ||||||
| 12 | receive and consider applications for loan repayment | ||||||
| 13 | assistance under this Section. This program shall be known as | ||||||
| 14 | the School Social Work Shortage Loan Repayment Program. The | ||||||
| 15 | Commission shall administer the program and shall adopt all | ||||||
| 16 | necessary and proper rules to effectively implement the | ||||||
| 17 | program. | ||||||
| 18 | (b) Beginning July 1, 2022, subject to a separate | ||||||
| 19 | appropriation made for such purposes, the Commission shall | ||||||
| 20 | award a grant, up to a maximum of $6,500, to each qualified | ||||||
| 21 | applicant. The Commission may encourage the recipient of a | ||||||
| 22 | grant under this Section to use the grant award for repayment | ||||||
| 23 | of the recipient's educational loan. | ||||||
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| 1 | (c) A person is a qualified applicant under this Section | ||||||
| 2 | if he or she meets all of the following qualifications: | ||||||
| 3 | (1) The person is a United States citizen or eligible | ||||||
| 4 | noncitizen. | ||||||
| 5 | (2) The person is a resident of this State. | ||||||
| 6 | (3) The person is a borrower with an outstanding | ||||||
| 7 | balance due on an educational loan related to obtaining a | ||||||
| 8 | degree in social work. | ||||||
| 9 | (4) The person has been employed as a school social | ||||||
| 10 | worker by a public elementary school or secondary school | ||||||
| 11 | in this State for at least 12 consecutive months. | ||||||
| 12 | (5) The person is currently employed as a school | ||||||
| 13 | social worker by a public elementary school or secondary | ||||||
| 14 | school in this State. | ||||||
| 15 | (d) An applicant shall submit an application, in a form | ||||||
| 16 | determined by the Commission, for grant assistance under this | ||||||
| 17 | Section to the Commission. An applicant is required to submit, | ||||||
| 18 | with the application, supporting documentation as the | ||||||
| 19 | Commission may deem necessary. | ||||||
| 20 | (e) The Commission shall give priority to those applicants | ||||||
| 21 | who are members of a racial minority. In this subsection (e), | ||||||
| 22 | "racial minority" means a person who is a citizen of the United | ||||||
| 23 | States or a lawful permanent resident alien of the United | ||||||
| 24 | States and who is: | ||||||
| 25 | (1) Black (a person having origins in any of the black
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| 26 | racial groups in Africa); | ||||||
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| 1 | (2) Hispanic (a person of Spanish or Portuguese
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| 2 | culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America,
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| 3 | or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race); | ||||||
| 4 | (3) Asian American (a person having origins in any of
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| 5 | the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the
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| 6 | Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands); or | ||||||
| 7 | (4) American Indian or Alaskan Native (a person having
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| 8 | origins in any of the original peoples of North America).
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| 9 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, | ||||||
| 10 | 2022.
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