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91_HB0080enr
HB0080 Enrolled LRB9100386NTsbA
1 AN ACT to amend the Higher Education Student Assistance
2 Act by adding Section 31 and repealing Sections 25 and 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 adding Section 31 as follows:
7 (110 ILCS 947/31 new)
8 Sec. 31. Merit Recognition Scholarship program.
9 (a) As used in this Section:
10 "Eligible applicant" means a student from any high school
11 in this State, either approved by or not recognized by the
12 State Board of Education, who is engaged in a program of
13 study that in due course will be completed by the end of the
14 academic year, and (i) whose cumulative high school grade
15 point average is at or above the 95th percentile of his or
16 her high school class after completion of the 6th semester of
17 a high school program of instruction or (ii) whose score on a
18 standardized examination determined by the Commission, taken
19 before or during the 6th semester of high school, is at or
20 above the 95th percentile of students in the State who take
21 the standardized college entrance examination. These high
22 school students are all eligible to receive a scholarship to
23 be awarded under this Section.
24 "Qualified student" means a person:
25 (1) who is a resident of this State and a citizen
26 or permanent resident of the United States;
27 (2) who, as an eligible applicant, is in good
28 academic standing at the high school in which he or she
29 is enrolled and has made a timely application for a Merit
30 Recognition Scholarship under this Section;
31 (3) who has successfully completed the program of
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1 instruction at any high school located in this State; and
2 (4) who enrolls or is enrolled in a qualified
3 Illinois institution of higher learning or a Service
4 Academy as an undergraduate student or cadet and has not
5 received a baccalaureate degree.
6 "Merit Recognition Scholarship" means a $1,000 academic
7 scholarship awarded under this Section during an academic
8 year to a qualified student, without regard to financial
9 need, as a scholarship to any qualified Illinois institution
10 of higher learning or a Service Academy in which the student
11 is or will be enrolled as an undergraduate student or cadet.
12 "Service Academy" means the U.S. Air Force Academy, the
13 U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, or the
14 U.S. Naval Academy.
15 (b) In order to identify, encourage, promote, and reward
16 the distinguished academic achievement of students from every
17 high school located in this State, each qualified student
18 shall be awarded a Merit Recognition Scholarship by the
19 Illinois Student Assistance Commission to any qualified
20 Illinois institution of higher learning or to any Service
21 Academy.
22 (c) No Merit Recognition Scholarship provided for a
23 qualified student under this Section shall be considered in
24 evaluating the financial situation of that student or be
25 deemed a financial resource of or a form of financial aid or
26 assistance to that student, for purposes of determining the
27 eligibility of the student for any scholarship, grant, or
28 monetary assistance awarded by the Commission, the State, or
29 any agency thereof pursuant to the provisions of any other
30 Section of this Act or any other law of this State; nor shall
31 any Merit Recognition Scholarship provided for a qualified
32 student under this Section reduce the amount of any
33 scholarship, grant, or monetary assistance that that student
34 is eligible to be awarded by the Commission, the State, or
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1 any agency thereof in accordance with the provisions of any
2 other Section of this Act or any other law of this State.
3 (d) The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is
4 designated as administrator of the Merit Recognition
5 Scholarship program. Each high school located in this State
6 shall certify to the Commission the names of its students who
7 are eligible applicants, specifying which of the students
8 certified as eligible applicants have completed the program
9 of instruction at that high school and the graduation date
10 fixed for their high school class and specifying for each of
11 the other eligible applicants whose names appear on the
12 certification the semester of high school last completed by
13 them. The Commission shall promptly notify those eligible
14 applicants so certified who are reasonably assured of
15 receiving a Merit Recognition Scholarship in accordance with
16 the annual funding levels recommended in the Governor's
17 budget of their eligibility to apply for a scholarship under
18 this Section, other than any eligible applicant named on any
19 such certification who, as an eligible applicant, has
20 previously made application to the Commission for a Merit
21 Recognition Scholarship under this Section. An otherwise
22 eligible applicant who fails to make a timely application (as
23 determined by the Commission) for a Merit Recognition
24 Scholarship under this Section shall no longer be deemed an
25 eligible applicant and shall not qualify for the award.
26 (e) All applications for Merit Recognition Scholarships
27 to be awarded under this Section shall be made to the
28 Commission on forms that the Commission shall provide for
29 eligible applicants. The form of applications and the
30 information required to be set forth therein shall be
31 determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall
32 require eligible applicants to submit with their applications
33 such supporting documents as the Commission deems necessary.
34 (f) The names and addresses of Merit Recognition
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1 Scholarship recipients are a matter of public record.
2 (g) Whenever an eligible applicant who has completed the
3 program of instruction at any high school located in this
4 State thereafter makes timely application to the Commission
5 for a Merit Recognition Scholarship under this Section, the
6 Commission shall promptly determine whether that eligible
7 applicant is a qualified student as defined in subsection (a)
8 of this Section. Each such eligible applicant so determined
9 by the Commission to be a qualified student shall be awarded
10 a Merit Recognition Scholarship in the amount of $1,000,
11 effective exclusively during the academic year following the
12 qualified student's high school graduation, subject to
13 appropriation by the General Assembly.
14 (h) Subject to a separate appropriation for purposes of
15 this Section, payment of any Merit Recognition Scholarship
16 awarded under this Section shall be determined exclusively by
17 the Commission. All scholarship funds distributed in
18 accordance with this subsection (h) shall be paid to the
19 qualified Illinois institution of higher learning or Service
20 Academy and used only for payment of the educational expenses
21 incurred by the student in connection with his or her
22 attendance as an undergraduate student or cadet at that
23 institution or Service Academy, including but not limited to
24 tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies,
25 required Service Academy uniforms, and travel and personal
26 expenses related to the student's attendance at that
27 institution or Service Academy. Any Merit Recognition
28 Scholarship awarded under this Section shall be applicable to
29 2 semesters or 3 quarters of enrollment. Should a qualified
30 student withdraw from enrollment prior to completion of the
31 first semester or quarter for which the Merit Recognition
32 Scholarship is applicable, the student shall refund to the
33 Commission the amount of the scholarship received.
34 (i) The Commission shall administer the Merit
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1 Recognition Scholarship program established by this Section
2 and shall make all necessary and proper rules, not
3 inconsistent with this Section, for its effective
4 implementation.
5 (j) When an appropriation to the Commission for purposes
6 of this Section is insufficient to provide scholarships to
7 all qualified students, the Commission shall allocate the
8 appropriation in accordance with this subsection (j). If
9 funds are insufficient to provide all qualified students with
10 a scholarship as authorized by subsection (g) of this
11 Section, the Commission shall allocate the scholarships to
12 qualified students in order of decreasing relative academic
13 rank, as determined by the Commission using a formula based
14 upon the qualified student's grade point average, score on
15 the appropriate statewide standardized examination, or a
16 combination of grade point average and standardized test
17 score. All Merit Recognition Scholarships awarded shall be
18 in the amount of $1,000.
19 (k) The Commission, in determining the number of Merit
20 Recognition Scholarships to be offered pursuant to subsection
21 (j) of this Section, shall take into consideration past
22 experience with the rate of merit scholarship funds unclaimed
23 by qualified students. To the extent necessary to avoid an
24 over-commitment of funds, the Commission may allocate
25 scholarship funds on the basis of the date the Commission
26 receives a completed application form.
27 (110 ILCS 947/30 rep.)
28 Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
29 is amended by repealing Section 30.
30 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July
31 1, 2000.
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