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92_SB0516
LRB9204820NTsb
1 AN ACT concerning a youth service scholarship program.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Youth Service Scholarship Act.
6 Section 5. Intent. It is the intent of the General
7 Assembly to establish the Youth Service Scholarship Program
8 to accomplish all of the following goals:
9 (1) Provide this State's youth with opportunities to do
10 all of the following:
11 (A) Give back to their communities through service.
12 (B) Enhance their access to a college education.
13 (C) Develop, in "real life" situations, the skills
14 and understanding critical to their development as
15 students, workers, and community members.
16 (D) Develop a lifelong ethic of service and a
17 richer understanding of citizenship in a democratic
18 society.
19 (2) Deter juvenile delinquency by providing this State's
20 youth with after school and intersession alternatives that
21 promote public service.
22 (3) Form a partnership between schools and community
23 organizations dedicated to building responsibility and
24 broadening higher education opportunities for this State's
25 youth.
26 (4) Mobilize youth, an often neglected resource, in
27 service that meets the critical needs of their communities
28 by, for example, tutoring preschool children in reading,
29 assisting licensed providers' care for infants and toddlers,
30 helping with after school recreational programs and
31 nutritional programs for elementary school pupils, helping
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1 the frail and elderly to live independently, contributing to
2 neighborhood cleanup and housing rehabilitation projects, and
3 assisting their peers to become involved in community
4 service.
5 Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
6 "Commission" means the Illinois Commission on Community
7 Service.
8 "Program" means the Youth Service Scholarship Program.
9 Section 15. Establishment of Program; availability to
10 consortia.
11 (a) There is hereby established the Youth Service
12 Scholarship Program, a pilot program, to be administered by
13 the Commission. The Program shall be in effect for fiscal
14 years 2002 through 2006, and the Program shall be made
15 available to consortia that are comprised of one or more
16 school districts that operate schools with grades 9 through
17 12 and at least 3 community-based organizations. The
18 consortia shall be selected for participation in the program
19 on a competitive basis by the Commission.
20 (b) A pupil may be selected by a consortium to earn a
21 scholarship while the pupil is enrolled in any of grades 9
22 through 12 in a public school located in this State that is
23 involved in the consortium. The pupil must be a citizen or
24 permanent resident of the United States and must submit 2
25 letters of recommendation to the consortium, each from a
26 responsible adult, such as a person from academia or church
27 or a coach or community organization director. The pupil may
28 redeem the scholarship if the pupil enrolls in a private or
29 public postsecondary or vocational institution located in
30 this State by December 1 of the year the pupil graduates from
31 high school or receives a high school equivalency
32 certificate. A pupil may defer redeeming the scholarship for
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1 2 years. A pupil wishing to defer his or her scholarship
2 shall notify the Commission, in writing, by December 1 of
3 the year the pupil graduates from high school or receives a
4 high school equivalency certificate. A pupil may also defer
5 redeeming the scholarship for longer than 2 years if the
6 pupil enters service in AmeriCorps, another national service
7 program, or a branch of the United States Armed Services, in
8 which case the scholarship shall be redeemed upon completion
9 of the service. The Commission may grant a request to delay
10 redemption of a scholarship beyond 2 years for other reasons
11 on a case by case basis.
12 (c) In the event that the Commission ceases to exist,
13 the Program shall be administered by the Illinois Student
14 Assistance Commission.
15 Section 20. Award of scholarships. Upon completion of
16 120 hours of volunteer community service, as defined by the
17 Commission pursuant to Section 35 of this Act, performed
18 between September 1 of one year and August 31 of the next
19 year, a pupil shall earn a scholarship in the amount of
20 $1,000. The maximum amount of a scholarship is $4,000,
21 provided a pupil performs the required amount of community
22 service during each of grades 9 through 12. A scholarship
23 shall only be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and
24 living expenses. If possible, an equal number of scholarships
25 shall be awarded to pupils enrolled in each of grades 9
26 through 12.
27 Section 25. Service sites.
28 (a) The community service described in Section 20 of
29 this Act shall only be performed at service sites that are
30 approved by the consortium, based on guidelines developed by
31 the Commission, pursuant to Sections 30 and 35 of this Act.
32 (b) A service site may not provide any salary or stipend
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1 to the pupils performing community service in conjunction
2 with the Program.
3 (c) Any public or private not for profit organization,
4 including a school, located in this State is eligible to
5 participate as a service site if the service to be provided
6 by pupils seeking to earn scholarships meets the definition
7 of community service developed by the Commission pursuant to
8 Section 35 of this Act.
9 (d) The consortia shall give priority to service sites
10 that meet the needs of low-income youth or focus on reducing
11 juvenile delinquency, or both.
12 (e) The Commission shall ensure that consortia and
13 participating service sites comply with all applicable State
14 and federal child welfare laws.
15 Section 30. Selection of pupils and consortia;
16 application.
17 (a) The Commission shall develop guidelines to be used
18 by the consortia to select pupils to participate in the
19 Program. These guidelines shall give selection priority to
20 pupils who will participate in academically meaningful
21 community service.
22 (b) The Commission shall develop guidelines for
23 selecting consortia for participation in the Program. The
24 Commission shall give priority to consortia with a
25 participating school district that serves a high percentage
26 of students qualifying for a free lunch under the federal
27 Child Nutrition Act of 1966.
28 (c) The Commission shall attempt to include an equal
29 distribution of consortia serving urban, rural, and suburban
30 communities.
31 (d) The Commission shall develop an application form and
32 instructions for completion of the form to be used by
33 consortia when applying for participation in the program.
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1 The Commission shall notify all eligible school districts
2 about the Program and shall include a copy of the application
3 form and instructions with the notice.
4 Section 35. Community service defined. The Commission,
5 in consultation with the State Board of Education, shall
6 define eligible community service based on the definitions of
7 community service used in the federal work-study program and
8 the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended by
9 the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993.
10 Section 40. Administrative costs. Administrative costs
11 under this Act shall not exceed actual costs up to a maximum
12 of 10% in fiscal year 2001 and 6% thereafter. The Commission
13 shall reimburse a participating school district within a
14 consortium for administrative costs incurred in administering
15 the Program, in an amount that does not exceed 5% of the
16 amount of each scholarship administered by that school
17 district.
18 Section 45. Study. By July 1, 2005, the Commission
19 shall submit to the General Assembly a study of the efficacy
20 of the Program. The study shall include, but is not limited
21 to, all of the following:
22 (1) The demand for scholarships by grade level.
23 (2) The demand for pupil participants by service
24 sites.
25 (3) General background data on participating pupils
26 and consortia.
27 (4) Types of service performed by participating
28 pupils.
29 (5) An itemization of costs for administering the
30 Program.
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1 Section 50. Appropriation of funds. This Act shall be
2 implemented only to the extent that funds for that purpose
3 are appropriated.
4 Section 990. Repealer. This Act is repealed on January
5 1, 2007.
6 Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7 becoming law.