[ Back ] [ Bottom ]
91_HB4265
LRB9108848NTksD
1 AN ACT concerning career scholarships.
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 Illinois Career Scholarship Act.
6 Section 5. Purpose. The General Assembly finds and
7 declares that the State of Illinois and its citizens will
8 benefit greatly from a highly skilled workforce that will
9 meet the technological needs of the twenty-first century.
10 The need for skilled workers has been growing at an ever
11 increasing rate, resulting in shortages of skilled workers in
12 some occupations. The State of Illinois recognizes its
13 responsibility to ensure that all Illinois citizens can
14 pursue educational and training opportunities that will
15 enable them to benefit fully from the economic system of the
16 next century.
17 While the State of Illinois appropriately devotes many
18 resources each year toward degree seeking students enrolled
19 in higher education, it is similarly important that the State
20 encourage non-baccalaureate degree seeking students to
21 successfully graduate from high school and receive some form
22 of post-secondary education or training. Consequently, the
23 intention of this Act is to encourage high school students
24 not seeking a baccalaureate degree to nonetheless obtain
25 their high school diplomas and subsequently pursue additional
26 career training. The Illinois Career Scholarship program,
27 therefore, is designed to provide those high school students
28 not seeking a baccalaureate degree with a financial incentive
29 to pursue alternative post-secondary training opportunities.
30 Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
-2- LRB9108848NTksD
1 "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
2 Commission.
3 "Eligible program" means a program certified by the
4 Illinois Workforce Investment Board or an occupational or
5 vocational program certified by the Illinois Community
6 College Board, the State Board of Education, or the Board of
7 Higher Education.
8 "Eligible Tech Prep program" means a program of study,
9 developed by secondary schools, post-secondary institutions,
10 and private sector businesses, approved by the State Board of
11 Education, and implemented at the secondary school level and
12 continuing at a post-secondary institution, that consists of
13 a sequence of courses in one of the following career interest
14 areas: (i) agriculture and natural resources, (ii) arts and
15 communications, (iii) business and administrative services,
16 (iv) health care, (v) human and family services, or (vi)
17 industrial and engineering technology, leading to related
18 meaningful employment.
19 "Illinois Career Scholarship" means a non-renewable award
20 payable to a participating institution on behalf of the award
21 recipient, as provided under Section 20 of this Act.
22 "Jobs for Illinois Graduates program" means an in-school
23 program of study, affiliated with the federal Jobs for
24 America's Graduates, approved by the State Board of
25 Education, and implemented at the secondary school level,
26 that is designed to help Illinois' youth at risk of
27 underemployment and unemployment make the transition from
28 high school to work and that is required to adopt the model
29 program components and standards of employability skills,
30 career development skills, job attainment, job survival, and
31 basic competency skills to help ensure successful placement
32 upon high school graduation.
33 "Participating institution" means an institution that
34 operates an eligible program at which Illinois Career
-3- LRB9108848NTksD
1 Scholarship recipients are enrolled.
2 Section 15. Creation of the Illinois Career Scholarship
3 program. There is created an Illinois Career Scholarship
4 program to be administered by the Commission. The Commission
5 shall receive initial and subsequent State appropriations for
6 distribution to eligible Illinois Career Scholarship
7 applicants. The Commission also shall receive appropriate
8 annual State appropriations for program administration and
9 shall be responsible for developing and implementing any
10 rules necessary for the efficient administration of the
11 program.
12 Section 20. Awards. Illinois Career Scholarships are
13 $1,000 non-renewable awards, payable to a participating
14 institution on behalf of the award recipient in one
15 disbursement. The Commission shall ensure that these
16 scholarships are disbursed no later than the close of the
17 academic term during which the recipient is currently
18 enrolled in an approved course of study.
19 Section 25. Eligibility; insufficient appropriation.
20 (a) An eligible applicant for an Illinois Career
21 Scholarship shall be a resident of this State and a citizen
22 or permanent resident of the United States under the age of
23 21 years who (i) as an eligible applicant, has made a timely
24 application to the Commission for an Illinois Career
25 Scholarship, (ii) has successfully completed the program of
26 instruction at any high school either approved by or
27 registered with the State Board of Education and located in
28 this State, and (iii) enrolls or is enrolled, within 6 months
29 after the applicant's high school graduation, in an approved
30 program of career instruction at an educational institution
31 or other organization authorized to provide such instruction
-4- LRB9108848NTksD
1 under this Act.
2 Withdrawal by an award recipient from an approved program
3 that results in a full refund of the Illinois Career
4 Scholarship award shall not result in disqualification of
5 that student from future eligibility to receive an Illinois
6 Career Scholarship.
7 (b) In the event that an appropriation to the Commission
8 for the purposes of this Act is insufficient to provide
9 Illinois Career Scholarships to all eligible applicants, then
10 the Commission shall allocate the appropriation in accordance
11 with this Section. First preference for Illinois Career
12 Scholarship awards shall be provided to those applicants who
13 have completed the Jobs for Illinois Graduates program.
14 Second preference for Illinois Career Scholarship awards
15 shall be provided to those applicants who have participated
16 in an eligible Tech Prep program offered to Illinois high
17 school students. Third preference shall be accorded to all
18 other eligible applicants.
19 For the purposes of this Section, no later than July 1 of
20 each calendar year, the State Board of Education shall
21 provide to the Commission an approved list of eligible Jobs
22 for Illinois Graduates programs and Tech Prep programs
23 operating within the State during the previous academic year.
24 Section 25. Program management. The Commission is
25 responsible for administration of the Illinois Career
26 Scholarship program. Upon notification of the eligible
27 recipient's enrollment in an eligible program of study, the
28 Commission shall disburse the Illinois Career Scholarship
29 award directly to the participating institution on behalf of
30 the student, with the amount being credited to the student's
31 account for the purpose of paying for any approved
32 educational expense. An "approved educational expense" for
33 the purpose of this Act is any expense approved by Title IV
-5- LRB9108848NTksD
1 of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965. These expenses
2 shall be deemed approved regardless of whether or not the
3 Illinois Career Scholarship recipient is currently receiving
4 federal Title IV funds.
5 Illinois Career Scholarship awards shall be disbursed
6 subject to guidelines and processes established by the
7 Commission. These guidelines may include, without
8 limitation, timing of disbursements, proration for less than
9 full-time enrollment, and refunds due based upon a
10 recipient's withdrawal from an approved course of study.
11 Illinois Career Scholarship awards may be applied only
12 toward eligible programs. For the purposes of this Section,
13 no later than July 1 of each calendar year, the Illinois
14 Workforce Investment Board, the State Board of Education, the
15 Illinois Community College Board, and the Board of Higher
16 Education shall provide to the Commission an approved list of
17 eligible programs. The Illinois Workforce Investment Board,
18 the State Board of Education, the Illinois Community College
19 Board, and the Board of Higher Education shall notify the
20 Commission throughout the year if any such programs have been
21 de-certified during the course of the academic year and,
22 therefore, are no longer eligible to receive Illinois Career
23 Scholarship funds.
24 Participating institutions shall be subject to Commission
25 audit procedures regarding the receipt and distribution of
26 State funds.
27 Section 30. Program evaluation. An evaluation to
28 determine if the Illinois Career Scholarship program is
29 achieving the goals and objectives enumerated in Section 5 of
30 this Act shall be conducted by the Commission. This
31 evaluation shall reference the first 3 years experience with
32 the program and shall be completed no later than April 1,
33 2004. When conducting this evaluation, the Commission shall
-6- LRB9108848NTksD
1 solicit official commentary from the State Board of
2 Education, the Illinois Workforce Investment Board, the
3 Illinois Community College Board, and the Board of Higher
4 Education as part of this evaluation. The Commission shall
5 present this program evaluation to the Governor, the
6 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
7 Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the
8 Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the State
9 Superintendent of Education, the Executive Director of the
10 Board of Higher Education, and the Executive Director of the
11 Illinois Community College Board.
12 Section 35. Other scholarships, grants, or monetary
13 assistance. Receipt of an Illinois Career Scholarship
14 authorized by this Act shall not in any way preclude the
15 recipient from receiving other scholarship, grant, or
16 monetary assistance awarded by the Commission.
17 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
18 July 1, 2000.
[ Top ]