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Public Act 102-1059
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| HB4126 Enrolled | LRB102 19189 HLH 27954 b |
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AN ACT concerning revenue.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Invest in Kids Act is amended by changing |
Section 40 as follows:
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(35 ILCS 40/40) |
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2025)
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Sec. 40. Scholarship granting organization |
responsibilities. |
(a) Before granting a scholarship for an academic year, |
all scholarship granting organizations shall assess and |
document each student's eligibility for the academic year.
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(b) A scholarship granting organization shall grant |
scholarships only to eligible students.
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(c) A scholarship granting organization shall allow an |
eligible student to attend any qualified school of the |
student's choosing, subject to the availability of funds.
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(d) In granting scholarships, beginning in the 2022-2023 |
school year and for each school year thereafter, a scholarship |
granting organization shall give priority to eligible students |
who received a scholarship from a scholarship granting |
organization during the previous school year. Second priority |
shall be given to the following priority groups: |
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(1) (blank); eligible students who received a |
scholarship from a scholarship granting organization |
during the previous school year;
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(2) eligible students who are members of a household |
whose previous year's total annual income does not exceed |
185% of the federal poverty level;
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(3) eligible students who reside within a focus |
district; and
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(4) eligible students who are siblings of students |
currently receiving a scholarship.
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(d-5) A scholarship granting organization shall begin |
granting scholarships no later than February 1 preceding the |
school year for which the scholarship is sought. Each The |
priority group groups identified in subsection (d) of this |
Section shall be eligible to receive scholarships on a |
first-come, first-served basis until the April 1 immediately |
preceding the school year for which the scholarship is sought |
starting with the first priority group identified in |
subsection (d) of this Section. Applications for scholarships |
for eligible students meeting the qualifications of one or |
more priority groups that are received before April 1 must be |
either approved or denied within 10 business days after |
receipt. Beginning April 1, all eligible students shall be |
eligible to receive scholarships without regard to the |
priority groups identified in subsection (d) of this Section. |
(e) Except as provided in subsection (e-5) of this |
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Section, scholarships shall not exceed the lesser of (i) the |
statewide average operational expense per
student among public |
schools or (ii) the necessary costs and fees for attendance at |
the qualified school. A qualified school may set a lower |
maximum scholarship amount for eligible students whose family |
income falls within paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection |
(e); that amount may not exceed the necessary costs and fees |
for attendance at the qualified school and is subject to the |
limitations on average scholarship amounts set forth in |
paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, as applicable. The |
qualified school shall notify the scholarship granting |
organization of its necessary costs and fees as well as any |
maximum scholarship amount set by the school.
Scholarships |
shall be prorated as follows: |
(1) for eligible students whose household income is |
less than 185% of the federal poverty level, the |
scholarship shall be 100% of the amount determined |
pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of |
this Section; |
(2) for eligible students whose household income is |
185% or more of the federal poverty level but less than |
250% of the federal poverty level, the average of |
scholarships shall be 75% of the amount determined |
pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of |
this Section; and |
(3) for eligible students whose household income is |
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250% or more of the federal poverty level, the average of |
scholarships shall be 50% of the amount determined |
pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of |
this Section. |
(e-5) The statewide average operational expense per |
student among public schools shall be multiplied by the |
following factors: |
(1) for students determined eligible to receive |
services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities |
Education Act, 2; |
(2) for students who are English learners, as defined |
in subsection (d) of Section 14C-2 of the School Code, |
1.2; and |
(3) for students who are gifted and talented children, |
as defined in Section 14A-20 of the School Code, 1.1. |
(f) A scholarship granting organization shall distribute |
scholarship payments to the participating school where the |
student is enrolled.
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(g) For the 2018-2019 school year through the 2021-2022 |
school year, each scholarship granting organization shall |
expend no less than 75% of the qualified contributions |
received during the calendar year in which the qualified |
contributions were received. No more than 25% of the
qualified |
contributions may be carried forward to the following calendar |
year.
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(h) For the 2022-2023 school year, each scholarship |
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granting organization shall expend all qualified contributions |
received during the calendar year in which the qualified |
contributions were
received. No qualified contributions may be |
carried forward to the following calendar year.
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(i) A scholarship granting organization shall allow an |
eligible student to transfer a scholarship during a school |
year to any other participating school of the custodian's |
choice. Such scholarships shall be prorated.
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(j) With the prior approval of the Department, a |
scholarship granting organization may transfer funds to |
another scholarship granting organization if additional funds |
are required to meet scholarship demands at the receiving |
scholarship granting organization. All transferred funds must |
be
deposited by the receiving scholarship granting |
organization into its scholarship accounts. All transferred |
amounts received by any scholarship granting organization must |
be separately
disclosed to the Department.
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(k) If the approval of a scholarship granting organization |
is revoked as provided in Section 20 of this Act or the |
scholarship granting organization is dissolved, all remaining |
qualified contributions of the scholarship granting |
organization shall be transferred to another scholarship |
granting organization. All transferred funds must be deposited |
by the receiving scholarship granting organization into its |
scholarship accounts. |
(l) Scholarship granting organizations shall make |