Public Act 101-0334
 
SB1467 EnrolledLRB101 08315 CPF 53384 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  



 
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 
30-14.2 as follows:
 



    (105 ILCS 5/30-14.2)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-14.2)



    Sec. 30-14.2. MIA/POW scholarships. 

    (a) Any spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or

step-child of an eligible veteran or serviceperson who 
possesses all necessary
entrance requirements shall, upon 
application and proper proof, be awarded
a MIA/POW Scholarship 
consisting of the equivalent of 4 calendar years of
full-time 
enrollment including summer terms, to the state supported

Illinois institution of higher learning of his choice, subject 
to the
restrictions listed below.

    "Eligible veteran or serviceperson" means any veteran or 
serviceperson, including an Illinois National Guard member who 
is on active duty or is active on a training assignment,
 who 
has been declared by the U.S. Department of Defense or the
U.S. 
Department of Veterans Affairs to be a prisoner of war, be 
missing
in action, have died as the result of a 
service-connected disability or have become a person with a 
permanent disability from service-connected causes with 100% 
disability and
who (i) at the time of entering service was an 
Illinois resident, (ii) was an
Illinois resident within 6 
months after entering such service, or (iii) is a resident of 
Illinois at the time of application for the Scholarship and, at 
some point after leaving such service, was a resident of 
Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years until July 1, 2014, 
became an Illinois resident within 6 months after leaving the 
service and can establish at least 30 years of continuous 
residency in the State of Illinois.

    Full-time enrollment means 12 or more semester hours of 
courses per semester,
or 12 or more quarter hours of courses 
per quarter, or the equivalent thereof
per term.  Scholarships 
utilized by dependents enrolled in less than full-time
study 
shall be computed in the proportion which the number of hours 
so carried
bears to full-time enrollment.

    Scholarships awarded under this Section may be used by a 
spouse or child
without regard to his or her age.  The holder of 
a Scholarship
awarded under this Section shall be subject to 
all examinations and academic
standards, including the 
maintenance of minimum grade levels, that are
applicable 
generally to other enrolled students at the Illinois 
institution of
higher learning where the Scholarship is being 
used.
If the surviving spouse
remarries or if there is a 
divorce between the veteran or serviceperson and
his or her 
spouse while the dependent is pursuing his or her course of

study, Scholarship benefits will be terminated at the end of 
the term for
which he or she is presently enrolled.  Such 
dependents shall also be
entitled, upon proper proof and 
application, to enroll in any extension
course offered by a 
State supported Illinois institution of higher learning

without payment of tuition and approved fees.

    The holder of a MIA/POW Scholarship authorized under this 
Section shall
not be required to pay any matriculation or 
application fees, tuition,
activities fees, graduation fees or 
other fees, except multipurpose
building fees or similar fees 
for supplies and materials.

    Any dependent who has been or shall be awarded a MIA/POW 
Scholarship shall
be reimbursed by the appropriate institution 
of higher learning for any
fees which he or she has paid and 
for which exemption is granted under this
Section if 
application for reimbursement is made within 2 months following

the end of the school term for which the fees were paid.

    (b) In lieu of the benefit provided in subsection (a), any 
spouse,
natural child, legally adopted child, or step-child of 
an eligible veteran
or serviceperson, which spouse or child has 
a physical, mental or
developmental disability, shall be 
entitled to receive, upon application and
proper proof, a 
benefit to be used for the purpose of defraying the cost of
the 
attendance or treatment of such spouse or child at one or more

appropriate therapeutic, rehabilitative or educational 
facilities.  The
application  and proof may be made by the parent 
or legal guardian of the
spouse or child on his or her behalf.

    The total benefit provided to any beneficiary under this 
subsection shall
not exceed the cost equivalent of 4 calendar 
years of full-time enrollment,
including summer terms, at the 
University of Illinois.  Whenever
practicable in the opinion of 
the Department of Veterans' Affairs, payment
of benefits under 
this subsection shall be made directly to the facility,
the 
cost of attendance or treatment at which is being defrayed, as 
such
costs accrue.

    (c) The benefits of this Section shall be administered by 
and paid for out
of funds made available to the Illinois 
Department of Veterans' Affairs.
The amounts that become due to 
any state supported Illinois institution of
higher learning 
shall be payable by the Comptroller to such institution on

vouchers approved by the Illinois Department of Veterans' 
Affairs.  The
amounts that become due under subsection (b) of 
this Section shall be
payable by warrant upon vouchers issued 
by the Illinois Department of
Veterans' Affairs and approved by 
the Comptroller.  The Illinois Department
of Veterans' Affairs 
shall determine the eligibility of the persons
who make 
application for the benefits provided for in this Section.

(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 
100-201, eff. 8-18-17.)

 
    Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is 
amended  by changing Section 40 as follows:
 



    (110 ILCS 947/40)



    Sec. 40. Illinois Veteran grant program. 
    (a)  As used in this Section:
    "Qualified applicant" means a person who served in the 
Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component of the 
Armed Forces, or the Illinois National Guard, excluding members 
of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps and those whose only 
service has been attendance at a service academy, and who meets 
all of the following qualifications of either paragraphs (1) 
through (4) or paragraphs (2), (3), and (5):
        (1)  At the time of entering federal active duty service 
    the person was one of the following:
            (A)  An Illinois resident.
            (B)  An Illinois resident within 6 months of 
        entering such service.
            (C)  Enrolled at a State-controlled university or 
        public community college in this State.
        (2)  The person meets one of the following requirements:
            (A)  He or she served at least one year of federal 
        active duty.
            (B)  He or she served less than one year of federal 
        active duty and received an honorable discharge for 
        medical reasons directly connected with such service.
            (C)  He or she served less than one year of federal 
        active duty and was discharged prior to August 11, 
        1967.
            (D)  He or she served less than one year of federal 
        active duty in a foreign country during a time of 
        hostilities in that foreign country.
        (3)  The person received an honorable discharge after 
    leaving each period of federal active duty service.
        (4)  The person returned to this State within 6 months 
    after leaving federal active duty service, or, if married 
    to a person in continued military service stationed outside 
    this State, returned to this State within 6 months after 
    his or her spouse left service or was stationed within this 
    State.
        (5) The person does not meet the requirements of 
    paragraph (1), but (i) is a resident of Illinois at the 
    time of application to the Commission and (ii) at some 
    point after leaving federal active duty service, was a 
    resident of Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years. 
    "Time of hostilities" means any action by the Armed Forces 
of the United States that is recognized by the issuance of a 
Presidential proclamation or a Presidential executive order 
and in which the Armed Forces expeditionary medal or other 
campaign service medals are awarded according to Presidential 
executive order.
    (b)  A person who otherwise qualifies under subsection (a) 
of this Section but has not left federal active duty service 
and has served at least one year of federal active duty or has 
served for less than one year of federal active duty in a 
foreign country during a time of hostilities in that foreign 
country and who can provide documentation demonstrating an 
honorable service record is eligible to receive assistance 
under this Section.
    (c)  A qualified applicant is not required to pay any 
tuition or mandatory fees while attending a State-controlled 
university or public community college in this State for a 
period that is equivalent to 4 years of full-time enrollment, 
including summer terms.
    A qualified applicant who has previously received benefits 
under this Section for a non-mandatory fee shall continue to 
receive benefits covering such fees while he or she is enrolled 
in a continuous program of study.  The qualified applicant shall 
no longer receive a grant covering non-mandatory fees if he or 
she fails to enroll during an academic term, unless he or she 
is serving federal active duty service.

    (d)  A qualified applicant who has been or is to be awarded 
assistance under this Section shall receive that assistance if 
the qualified applicant notifies his or her postsecondary 
institution of that fact by the end of the school term for 
which assistance is requested.
    (e)  Assistance under this Section is considered an 
entitlement that the State-controlled college or public 
community college in which the qualified applicant is enrolled 
shall honor without any condition other than the qualified 
applicant's maintenance of minimum grade levels and a 
satisfactory student loan repayment record pursuant to 
subsection (c) of Section 20 of this Act.
    (f)  The Commission shall administer the grant program 
established by this Section and shall make all necessary and 
proper rules not inconsistent with this Section for its 
effective implementation.
    (g)  All applications for assistance under this Section must 
be made to the Commission on forms that the Commission shall 
provide.  The Commission shall determine the form of application 
and the information required to be set forth in the 
application, and the Commission shall require qualified 
applicants to submit with their applications any supporting 
documents that the Commission deems necessary.  Upon request, 
the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall assist the Commission 
in determining the eligibility of applicants for assistance 
under this Section.
    (h)  Assistance under this Section is available as long as 
the federal government provides educational benefits to 
veterans. Assistance must not be paid under this Section after 
6 months following the termination of educational benefits to 
veterans by the federal government, except for persons who 
already have begun their education with assistance under this 
Section.  If the federal government terminates educational 
benefits to veterans and at a later time resumes those 
benefits, assistance under this Section shall resume.










(Source: P.A. 94-583, eff. 8-15-05.)

 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 
2019.