[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
| [ Introduced ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] | [ Senate Amendment 002 ] |
91_HB1722eng HB1722 Engrossed LRB9104093NTsb 1 AN ACT to amend the Higher Education Student Assistance 2 Act by changing Sections 65.15 and 65.40. 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 Sections 65.15 and 65.40 as follows: 7 (110 ILCS 947/65.15) 8 Sec. 65.15. Special education teacherTeachers9 scholarships. 10 (a) There shall be awarded annuallyat the end of each11school year250 scholarships to persons qualifying as members 12 of either of the following groups: 13 (1) Students who are otherwise qualified to receive 14 a scholarship as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of 15 this Section and who make application to the Commission 16 for such scholarship and agree to take courses that will 17 prepare the student for the teaching of children 18 described in Section 14-1 of the School Code. 19 (2) Persons holding a valid certificate issued 20 under the laws relating to the certification of teachers 21 and who make application to the Commission for such 22 scholarship and agree to take courses that will prepare 23 them for the teaching of children described in Section 24 14-1 of the School Code. 25 Scholarships awarded under this Section shall be issued 26 pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Commission; 27 provided that no rule or regulation promulgated by the State 28 Board of Education prior to the effective date of this 29 amendatory Act of 1993 pursuant to the exercise of any right, 30 power, duty, responsibility or matter of pending business 31 transferred from the State Board of Education to the HB1722 Engrossed -2- LRB9104093NTsb 1 Commission under this Section shall be affected thereby, and 2 all such rules and regulations shall become the rules and 3 regulations of the Commission until modified or changed by 4 the Commission in accordance with law. 5 For the purposes of this Section scholarships awarded 6 each school year shall be deemed to be issued on July 1 of 7 the year prior toin whichthe start of the postsecondary 8 school termendsand all calculations for use of the 9 scholarship shall be based on such date. Each scholarship 10 shall entitle its holder to exemption from fees as provided 11 in subsection (a) of Section 65.40 while enrolled in a 12 special education program of teacher education, for a period 13 of not more than 4 calendar years and shall be available for 14 use at any time during such period of study except as 15 provided in subsection (b) of Section 65.40. 16 Scholarships issued to holders of a valid certificate 17 issued under the laws relating to the certification of 18 teachers as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection may 19 also entitle the holder thereof to a program of teacher 20 education that will prepare the student for the teaching of 21 children described in Section 14-1 of the School Code at the 22 graduate level. 23 (b)On or before March 1 inEach year, the principal, 24 or his or her designee, of each recognized public, private 25 and parochial high school maintaining the twelfth grade shall 26 certify to the Commissionregional superintendent of schools27of the county in which such high school is locatedthe names 28 and addresses ofallstudents who are completing an 29 application with the intent to prepare to teach in any 30 recognized public, private, or parochial school of Illinois 31 and ranked scholastically in the upper one-half of their 32 graduating class or, for those not yetand whograduated, 33 whosefrom such school during the preceding school year in34the order of theirscholastic rank in the 4-year high school HB1722 Engrossed -3- LRB9104093NTsb 1 course of study at the end of the seventh semester is in the 2 upper one-half of their class.The name of no student shall3be so certified unless the student signifies in a letter4presented to the principal the student's intention to prepare5to teach in the public schools of Illinois.6 (c)The regional superintendent of schools shall on or7before May 15 of each year certify the names and addresses of8students certified to him or her for that year under9subsection (b) to the Commission, which shall issue to each10student whose rank, as shown on the list of names and11addresses submitted entitled the student to a certificate of12scholarship which shall be accepted by any of the13universities designated in subsection (a) of Section 65-40 in14lieu of any entrance examination.Each holder of a 15 scholarship must furnish proof to the Commission, in such 16 form and at such intervals as the Commission prescribes, of 17 the holder's continued enrollment in a teacher education 18 program qualifying the holder for the scholarship. Any 19 holder of a scholarship who fails to register in a special 20 education program of teacher education at the university 21 within 10 days after the commencement of the term, quarter or 22 semester immediately following the receipt of the scholarship 23 or who, having registered, withdraws from the university or 24 transfers out of teacher education, shall thereupon forfeit 25 the right to use it and it may be granted to the person 26 having the next highestscholasticrank as shown on the list 27 held bysubmitted tothe Commission. If the person having 28 the next highestscholasticrank, within 10 days after 29 notification thereof by the Commission, fails to register at 30 any such university in a special education program of teacher 31 education, or who, having registered, withdraws from the 32 university or transfers out of teacher education, the 33 scholarship may then be granted to the person shown on the 34 list as having thescholasticrank next below such person. HB1722 Engrossed -4- LRB9104093NTsb 1If the principal of any recognized public, private and2parochial high school maintaining the twelfth grade fails to3certify to the regional superintendent of schools on or4before May 1 of any year in accordance with subsection (b)5the names of a sufficient number of students to fill the6scholarship or scholarships provided for in subsection (a),7the scholarship or scholarships available to high schools for8which no names are certified shall become available to any9eligible student from any other recognized public, private10and parochial high school maintaining the twelfth grade in11the region and the scholarships available for which no names12are certified, shall become available to any eligible13student. In order to fill any such scholarship, the regional14superintendent of schools shall certify on or before May 1515of each year the name and address of any student certified to16him or her by the principal of any other school in the region17under subsection (b) to the Commission, which shall issue to18such student a certificate of scholarship as provided in this19Section.20Any scholarship that has become or becomes available to21any eligible student in the region and is not issued before22June 30 following the date it was available shall be23transferred to a State pool under the Commission and may be24issued to a student in a region that has used all25scholarships available to that region. In order to obtain a26scholarship in the State pool the regional superintendent of27schools shall certify to the Commission that all scholarships28available to his or her region have been filled and the name29and address of any student certified to him or her by the30principal of any school in the region under subsection (b).31Upon such certification the Commission shall issue a32certificate of scholarship from any available scholarship in33the State pool.34 (d) Any person who has accepted a scholarship under the HB1722 Engrossed -5- LRB9104093NTsb 1 preceding subsections of this Section must, after graduation 2 from or termination of enrollment in a teacher education 3 program, teach in any recognized public, private or parochial 4 school in this State for at least 2 of the 5 years 5 immediately following that graduation or termination, 6 excluding, however, from the computation of that 5 year 7 period (i) any time up to 34years spent in the military 8 service, whether such service occurs before or after the 9 person graduates; (ii), and excluding from the computation of10that 5 year periodany time that person is enrolled full-time 11 in an academic program related to the field of teaching 12 leading to a graduate or postgraduate degree; (iii) the time 13 that person is temporarily totally disabled for a period of 14 time not to exceed 3 years, as established by the sworn 15 affidavit of a qualified physician; (iv) the time that person 16 is seeking and unable to find full time employment as a 17 teacher at an Illinois public, private, or parochial school; 18 or (v) the time that person is taking additional courses, on 19 at least a half-time basis, needed to obtain certification as 20 a teacher in Illinois. 21 A person who has accepted a scholarship under the 22 preceding subsections of this Section and who has been unable 23 to fulfill the teaching requirements of this Section may 24 receive a deferment from the obligation of repayment under 25 this subsection (d) under guidelines established by the 26 Commission; provided that no guideline established for any 27 such purpose by the State Board of Education prior to the 28 effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993 shall be 29 affected by the transfer to the Commission of the 30 responsibility for administering and implementing the 31 provisions of this Section, and all guidelines so established 32 shall become the guidelines of the Commission until modified 33 or changed by the Commission. 34 Any such person who fails to fulfill this teaching HB1722 Engrossed -6- LRB9104093NTsb 1 requirement shall pay to the Commission the amount of tuition 2 waived by virtue of his or her acceptance of the scholarship, 3 together with interest at 5% per year on that amount. 4 However, this obligation to repay the amount of tuition 5 waived plus interest does not apply when the failure to 6 fulfill the teaching requirement results from the death or 7 adjudication as a person under legal disability of the person 8 holding the scholarship, and no claim for repayment may be 9 filed against the estate of such a decedent or person under 10 legal disability. Payments received by the Commission under 11 this subsection (d) shall be remitted to the State Treasurer 12 for deposit in the general revenue fund. Each person 13 receivingapplying for sucha scholarship shall be provided 14 with a description of the provisionscopyof this subsection 15 (d) at the time he or she qualifiesappliesfor the benefits 16 of such a scholarship. 17 (e) This Section is basicallysubstantiallythe same as 18 Sections 30-1, 30-2, 30-3, and 30-4a of the School Code, 19 which are repealed by this amendatory Act of 1993, and shall 20 be construed as a continuation of the teacher scholarship 21 program established by that prior law, and not as a new or 22 different teacher scholarship program. The State Board of 23 Education shall transfer to the Commission, as the successor 24 to the State Board of Education for all purposes of 25 administering and implementing the provisions of this 26 Section, all books, accounts, records, papers, documents, 27 contracts, agreements, and pending business in any way 28 relating to the teacher scholarship program continued under 29 this Section; and all scholarships at any time awarded under 30 that program by, and all applications for any such 31 scholarships at any time made to, the State Board of 32 Education shall be unaffected by the transfer to the 33 Commission of all responsibility for the administration and 34 implementation of the teacher scholarship program continued HB1722 Engrossed -7- LRB9104093NTsb 1 under this Section. The State Board of Education shall 2 furnish to the Commission such other information as the 3 Commission may request to assist it in administering this 4 Section. 5 (Source: P.A. 88-228; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94.) 6 (110 ILCS 947/65.40) 7 Sec. 65.40. General provisions; leaves of absence. 8 (a) The scholarships issued under SectionSections65.15 9through 65.35may be used at the University of Illinois, 10 Southern Illinois University, Chicago State University, 11 Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, 12 Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, 13 Northern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University 14as provided in those Sections. Unless otherwise indicated, 15 thethesescholarshipsshall be good for a period of not more16than 4 years while enrolled for residence credit andshall 17 exempt the holder from the payment of tuition and other 18 necessary fees as defined in Section 35 of this Act, or any19matriculation, graduation, activity, term or incidental fee,20except any portion of a multipurpose fee which is used for a21purpose for which exemption is not granted under this22Section. Exemption shall not be granted from any other fees,23including book rental, service, laboratory, supply, union24building, hospital and medical insurance fees and any fees25established for the operation and maintenance of buildings,26the income of which is pledged to the payment of interest and27principal on bonds issued by the governing board of any28university or community college. 29 Any student who has been or shall be awarded a 30 scholarship shall be reimbursed by the appropriate university 31 or community college for any chargesfeeswhich he or she has 32 paid and for which exemption is granted under this Section, 33 if application for such reimbursement is made within 2 months HB1722 Engrossed -8- LRB9104093NTsb 1 following the school term for which the chargesfeeswere 2 paid. 3 The holder of a scholarship shall be subject to all 4 examinations, rules and requirements of the university or 5 community college in which he or she is enrolled except as 6 herein directed. 7 This Section does not prohibit the Board of Trustees of 8 the University of Illinois, the Board of Trustees of Southern 9 Illinois University, the Board of Trustees of Chicago State 10 University, the Board of Trustees of Eastern Illinois 11 University, the Board of Trustees of Governors State 12 University, the Board of Trustees of Illinois State 13 University, the Board of Trustees of Northeastern Illinois 14 University, the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois 15 University, and the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois 16 University for the institutions under their respective 17 jurisdictions from granting other scholarships. 18 (b) Any student enrolled in a university to which he or 19 she is holding a scholarship issued under SectionSections20 65.15through 65.35who satisfies the president of the 21 university or someone designated by the president that the 22 student requires leave of absence for the purpose of earning 23 funds to defray his or her expenses while in attendance or on 24 account of illness or military service may be granted such 25 leave and allowed a period of not to exceed 6 years in which 26 to complete his or her course at the university. Time spent 27 in the armed forces shall not be part of the 6 years. 28 (Source: P.A. 88-228; 89-4, eff. 1-1-96.) 29 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 30 1, 1999.