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| [ Introduced ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ Senate Amendment 002 ] |
91_HB0080eng HB0080 Engrossed LRB9100386NTsbA 1 AN ACT to amend the Higher Education Student Assistance 2 Act by changing Section 30. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act 6 is amended by changing Section 30 as follows: 7 (110 ILCS 947/30) 8 Sec. 30. Merit recognition scholarship program. 9 (a) As used in this Section: 10 "Eligible applicant" means a student from any 11 approved high school located in this State whose 7th 12 semester cumulative high school grade point average is at 13 or above the 90th95thpercentile of his or her high 14 school class, or a student from any non-recognized high 15 school whose cumulative score on the ACT is at least 5716 points above the statewide mean average cumulative ACT 17 score as determined by the State Board of Education, and 18 who by reason thereof is entitled to apply for 19 scholarships to be awarded under this Section. 20 "Qualified student" means a person: (i) of good 21 moral character who is a resident of this State and a 22 citizen or permanent resident of the United States, (ii) 23 who, as an eligible applicant, has made a timely 24 application for a merit recognition scholarship under 25 this Section, (iii) who has successfully completed the 26 program of instruction at any high school located in this 27 State, and (iv) who enrolls or is enrolled in a qualified 28 Illinois institution of higher learning or a Service 29 Academy as an undergraduate student or cadet and has not 30 received a baccalaureate degree. 31 "Merit recognition scholarship" means a $1,000 HB0080 Engrossed -2- LRB9100386NTsbA 1 academic scholarship awarded under this Section during an 2 academic year to a qualified student, without regard to 3 financial need, as a scholarship to any qualified 4 Illinois institution of higher learning or a Service 5 Academy in which that student is or will be enrolled as 6 an undergraduate student or cadet. 7 "Service Academy" means the U.S. Air Force Academy, 8 the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, 9 or the U.S. Naval Academy. 10 (b) In order to identify, encourage, promote, and reward 11 the distinguished academic achievement of students from every 12 high school located in this State, each qualified student 13 shall be awarded a merit recognition scholarship to any 14 qualified Illinois institution of higher learning or to any 15 Service Academy. 16 (c) No merit recognition scholarship provided for a 17 qualified student under this Section shall be considered in 18 evaluating the financial situation of that student, or be 19 deemed a financial resource of or a form of financial aid or 20 assistance to that student, for purposes of determining the 21 eligibility of the student for any scholarship, grant, or 22 monetary assistance awarded by the Commission, the State or 23 any agency thereof pursuant to the provisions of any other 24 Section of this Act or any other law of this State; nor shall 25 any merit recognition scholarship provided for a qualified 26 student under this Section reduce the amount of any 27 scholarship, grant, or monetary assistance which that student 28 is eligible to be awarded by the Commission, the State, or 29 any agency thereof in accordance with the provisions of any 30 other Section of this Act or any other law of this State. 31 (d) Each high school located in this State shall certify 32 to the Commission the names of its students who are eligible 33 applicants, specifying which of the students certified as 34 eligible applicants have completed the program of instruction HB0080 Engrossed -3- LRB9100386NTsbA 1 at that high school and the graduation date fixed for their 2 high school class, and specifying for each of the other 3 eligible applicants whose names appear on the certification 4 the semester of high school last completed by them. The 5 Commission shall promptly notify those eligible applicants so 6 certified who are reasonably assured of receiving a Merit 7 Recognition Scholarship in accordance with the annual funding 8 levels recommended in the Governor's Budget -- other than any 9 eligible applicant named on any such certification who, as an 10 eligible applicant, has previously made application to the 11 Commission for a merit recognition scholarship under this 12 Section -- of their eligibility to apply for a scholarship 13 under this Section. An otherwise eligible applicant who fails 14 to make a timely application (as determined by the 15 Commission) for a merit recognition scholarship under this 16 Section shall no longer be deemed an eligible applicant and 17 shall not qualify for the award of any merit recognition 18 scholarship. 19 (e) All applications for merit recognition scholarships 20 to be awarded under this Section shall be made to the 21 Commission on forms which the Commission shall provide for 22 eligible applicants. The form of applications and the 23 information required to be set forth therein shall be 24 determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall 25 require eligible applicants to submit with their applications 26 such supporting documents or recommendations as the 27 Commission deems necessary. 28 (f) Whenever an eligible applicant who has completed the 29 program of instruction at any high school located in this 30 State thereafter makes timely application to the Commission 31 for a merit recognition scholarship under this Section, the 32 Commission shall promptly determine whether that eligible 33 applicant is a qualified student as defined in subsection (a) 34 of this Section. Each such eligible applicant so determined HB0080 Engrossed -4- LRB9100386NTsbA 1 by the Commission to be a qualified student shall be 2 designated as such by the Commission and shall be awarded a 3 merit recognition scholarship in the amount of $1,000, 4 effective during the academic year following the qualified 5 student's high school graduation or, should the General 6 Assembly specifically so provide in an appropriation under 7 this Section, effective for a subsequent academic year. 8 (g) Subject to a separate appropriation for purposes of 9 this Section, payment of any merit recognition scholarship 10 awarded under this Section shall be determined by the 11 Commission. All scholarship funds distributed in accordance 12 with this subsection shall be paid to the qualified Illinois 13 institution of higher learning or Service Academy and used 14 only for payment of the educational expenses incurred by the 15 student in connection with his or her attendance as an 16 undergraduate student or cadet at that institution or Service 17 Academy, including but not limited to tuition and fees, room 18 and board, books and supplies, required Service Academy 19 uniforms, and travel and personal expenses related to the 20 student's attendance at that institution or Service Academy. 21 Any merit recognition scholarship awarded under this Section 22 shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3 quarters of 23 enrollment. Should a qualified student withdraw from 24 enrollment prior to completion of the first semester or 25 quarter for which the merit recognition scholarship is 26 applicable, the student shall refund to the Commission the 27 full amount of the merit recognition scholarship. 28 (h) The Commission shall administer the merit 29 recognition scholarship aid program established by this 30 Section and shall make all necessary and proper rules, not 31 inconsistent with this Section, for its effective 32 implementation. 33 (i) When an appropriation to the Commission for purposes 34 of this Section is insufficient to provide scholarships to HB0080 Engrossed -5- LRB9100386NTsbA 1 all qualified students, the Commission shall allocate the 2 appropriation in accordance with this subsection. If funds 3 are insufficient to provide all qualified students with a 4 scholarship as authorized by subsection (f), the Commission 5 shall allocate the scholarships to qualified students in 6 order of decreasing percentile as determined by the eligible 7 applicant's cumulative grade point average, except that the 8 percentile placement of qualified students from 9 non-recognized high schools shall be determined as follows: 10 those with a cumulative ACT score of 34 or above shall be in 11 the 99th percentile, those with a cumulative ACT score that 12 is at least 33 but less than 34 shall be in the 98th 13 percentile, those with a cumulative ACT score that is at 14 least 32 but less than 33 shall be in the 97th percentile, 15 those with a cumulative ACT score that is at least 31 but 16 less than 32 shall be in the 96th percentile,andthose with 17 a cumulative ACT score that is at least 30 but less than 31 18 shall be in the 95th percentile, those with a cumulative ACT 19 score that is at least 29 but less than 30 shall be in the 20 94th percentile, those with a cumulative ACT score that is at 21 least 28 but less than 29 shall be in the 92nd percentile, 22 and those with a cumulative ACT score that is at least 5 23 points above the statewide mean average cumulative ACT score 24 but less than 28 shall be in the 90th7 points above the25statewide average cumulative ACT score but less than 31 shall26be in the 95thpercentile. All merit recognition 27 scholarships shall be in the amount of $1,000. 28 (j) The Commission, in determining the number of 29 scholarships to be offered pursuant to subsection (i), shall 30 take into consideration past experience with the rate of 31 scholarship funds unclaimed by qualified students. To the 32 extent necessary to avoid an overcommitment of funds, the 33 Commission may allocate scholarship funds on the basis of the 34 date the Commission receives a complete application form. HB0080 Engrossed -6- LRB9100386NTsbA 1 (k) (Blank). 2 (Source: P.A. 90-372, eff. 7-1-98; 90-728, eff. 1-1-99.)