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91_SB0324
LRB9101870NTsb
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 who is engaged
12 in a program that in due course will be completed by the
13 end of the academic year and whose 7th semester
14 cumulative high school grade point average is at or above
15 the 95th percentile of his or her high school class after
16 completion of 80% of a high school program of instruction
17 , or a student from any non-recognized high school whose
18 cumulative score on the ACT is at least 7 points above
19 the statewide average cumulative ACT score as determined
20 by the State Board of Education, and who by reason
21 thereof is entitled to apply for scholarships to be
22 awarded under this Section.
23 "Qualified student" means a person: (i) of good
24 moral character who is a resident of this State and a
25 citizen or permanent resident of the United States, (ii)
26 who, as an eligible applicant, has made a timely
27 application for a merit recognition scholarship under
28 this Section, (iii) who has successfully completed the
29 program of instruction at any high school located in this
30 State, and (iv) who enrolls or is enrolled in a qualified
31 Illinois institution of higher learning or a Service
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1 Academy as an undergraduate student or cadet and has not
2 received a baccalaureate degree.
3 "Merit recognition scholarship" means a $1,000
4 academic scholarship awarded under this Section during an
5 academic year to a qualified student, without regard to
6 financial need, as a scholarship to any qualified
7 Illinois institution of higher learning or a Service
8 Academy in which that student is or will be enrolled as
9 an undergraduate student or cadet.
10 "Service Academy" means the U.S. Air Force Academy,
11 the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Military Academy,
12 or the U.S. Naval Academy.
13 (b) In order to identify, encourage, promote, and reward
14 the distinguished academic achievement of students from every
15 high school located in this State, each qualified student
16 shall be awarded a merit recognition scholarship to any
17 qualified Illinois institution of higher learning or to any
18 Service Academy.
19 (c) No merit recognition scholarship provided for a
20 qualified student under this Section shall be considered in
21 evaluating the financial situation of that student, or be
22 deemed a financial resource of or a form of financial aid or
23 assistance to that student, for purposes of determining the
24 eligibility of the student for any scholarship, grant, or
25 monetary assistance awarded by the Commission, the State or
26 any agency thereof pursuant to the provisions of any other
27 Section of this Act or any other law of this State; nor shall
28 any merit recognition scholarship provided for a qualified
29 student under this Section reduce the amount of any
30 scholarship, grant, or monetary assistance which that student
31 is eligible to be awarded by the Commission, the State, or
32 any agency thereof in accordance with the provisions of any
33 other Section of this Act or any other law of this State.
34 (d) Each high school located in this State shall certify
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1 to the Commission the names of its students who are eligible
2 applicants, specifying which of the students certified as
3 eligible applicants have completed the program of instruction
4 at that high school and the graduation date fixed for their
5 high school class, and specifying for each of the other
6 eligible applicants whose names appear on the certification
7 the semester of high school last completed by them. The
8 Commission shall promptly notify those eligible applicants so
9 certified who are reasonably assured of receiving a Merit
10 Recognition Scholarship in accordance with the annual funding
11 levels recommended in the Governor's Budget -- other than any
12 eligible applicant named on any such certification who, as an
13 eligible applicant, has previously made application to the
14 Commission for a merit recognition scholarship under this
15 Section -- of their eligibility to apply for a scholarship
16 under this Section. An otherwise eligible applicant who fails
17 to make a timely application (as determined by the
18 Commission) for a merit recognition scholarship under this
19 Section shall no longer be deemed an eligible applicant and
20 shall not qualify for the award of any merit recognition
21 scholarship.
22 (e) All applications for merit recognition scholarships
23 to be awarded under this Section shall be made to the
24 Commission on forms which the Commission shall provide for
25 eligible applicants. The form of applications and the
26 information required to be set forth therein shall be
27 determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall
28 require eligible applicants to submit with their applications
29 such supporting documents or recommendations as the
30 Commission deems necessary.
31 (f) Whenever an eligible applicant who has completed the
32 program of instruction at any high school located in this
33 State thereafter makes timely application to the Commission
34 for a merit recognition scholarship under this Section, the
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1 Commission shall promptly determine whether that eligible
2 applicant is a qualified student as defined in subsection (a)
3 of this Section. Each such eligible applicant so determined
4 by the Commission to be a qualified student shall be
5 designated as such by the Commission and shall be awarded a
6 merit recognition scholarship in the amount of $1,000,
7 effective during the academic year following the qualified
8 student's high school graduation or, should the General
9 Assembly specifically so provide in an appropriation under
10 this Section, effective for a subsequent academic year.
11 (g) Subject to a separate appropriation for purposes of
12 this Section, payment of any merit recognition scholarship
13 awarded under this Section shall be determined by the
14 Commission. All scholarship funds distributed in accordance
15 with this subsection shall be paid to the qualified Illinois
16 institution of higher learning or Service Academy and used
17 only for payment of the educational expenses incurred by the
18 student in connection with his or her attendance as an
19 undergraduate student or cadet at that institution or Service
20 Academy, including but not limited to tuition and fees, room
21 and board, books and supplies, required Service Academy
22 uniforms, and travel and personal expenses related to the
23 student's attendance at that institution or Service Academy.
24 Any merit recognition scholarship awarded under this Section
25 shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3 quarters of
26 enrollment. Should a qualified student withdraw from
27 enrollment prior to completion of the first semester or
28 quarter for which the merit recognition scholarship is
29 applicable, the student shall refund to the Commission the
30 full amount of the merit recognition scholarship.
31 (h) The Commission shall administer the merit
32 recognition scholarship aid program established by this
33 Section and shall make all necessary and proper rules, not
34 inconsistent with this Section, for its effective
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1 implementation.
2 (i) When an appropriation to the Commission for purposes
3 of this Section is insufficient to provide scholarships to
4 all qualified students, the Commission shall allocate the
5 appropriation in accordance with this subsection. If funds
6 are insufficient to provide all qualified students with a
7 scholarship as authorized by subsection (f), the Commission
8 shall allocate the scholarships to qualified students in
9 order of decreasing percentile as determined by the eligible
10 applicant's cumulative grade point average, except that the
11 percentile placement of qualified students from
12 non-recognized high schools shall be determined as follows:
13 those with a cumulative ACT score of 34 or above shall be in
14 the 99th percentile, those with a cumulative ACT score that
15 is at least 33 but less than 34 shall be in the 98th
16 percentile, those with a cumulative ACT score that is at
17 least 32 but less than 33 shall be in the 97th percentile,
18 those with a cumulative ACT score that is at least 31 but
19 less than 32 shall be in the 96th percentile, and those with
20 a cumulative ACT score that is at least 7 points above the
21 statewide average cumulative ACT score but less than 31 shall
22 be in the 95th percentile. All merit recognition
23 scholarships shall be in the amount of $1,000.
24 (j) The Commission, in determining the number of
25 scholarships to be offered pursuant to subsection (i), shall
26 take into consideration past experience with the rate of
27 scholarship funds unclaimed by qualified students. To the
28 extent necessary to avoid an overcommitment of funds, the
29 Commission may allocate scholarship funds on the basis of the
30 date the Commission receives a complete application form.
31 (k) (Blank).
32 (Source: P.A. 90-372, eff. 7-1-98; 90-728, eff. 1-1-99.)
33 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July
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1 1, 1999.