Public Act 096-1415
 
SB3630 EnrolledLRB096 20415 MJR 36159 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 
any
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 be
permanently disabled from 
service-connected causes with 100% disability and
who (i) at 
the time of entering service was an Illinois resident, (ii) or 
was an
Illinois resident within 6 months after of entering such 
service, or (iii) 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. 93-825, eff. 7-28-04.)

 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 
2010.