SB2975eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2975 Engrossed LRB099 20370 MLM 44849 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 adding Section 2-3.80b as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.80b new)

Sec. 2-3.80b. Agriculture education teacher grant program.

(a) As used in this Section:

"New agriculture education program" means an agriculture education program approved by the State Board of Education in a school district that has not had an agriculture education program for a period of 10 years or more prior to the date of application for a grant under this Section.

"Personal services cost" means the cost of a teacher providing 60 additional days, which shall mean 400 additional hours, outside the teacher's regularly scheduled teaching duties for the benefit of agriculture education. The 400 additional hours shall be any activity that is to the benefit of agriculture education, as defined by the State Board of Education by rule, regardless of the time of year the activity occurs.

(b) Subject to appropriation to the State Board of Education, there is created an agriculture education teacher grant program to fund personal services costs for agriculture education teachers in school districts. The grants shall be for the purpose of assisting school districts with paying for personal services costs of agriculture education teachers.

(c) A school district may apply for a grant to fund an amount not to exceed 50% of the personal services cost for an agriculture education teacher under this Section. However, a school district that is creating a new agriculture education program may apply for a grant to fund an amount not to exceed 100% of an agriculture teacher's personal services cost in the first and second year of the new agriculture education program and an amount not to exceed 80% of an agriculture teacher's personal services cost in the third and fourth years of the new agriculture education program. A school district may apply for a grant for more than one teacher under this Section.

(d) A school district that applies for a grant under this Section or offers any extended contract for agriculture education shall base its personal services costs on the reasonably expected personal services cost for the teacher based on the cost of the teacher's regularly scheduled teaching duties.

(e) The State Board of Education shall create a statewide system for an agriculture education teacher to track his or her additional hours completed pursuant to a grant under this Section.

(f) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this Section.

Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is amended by changing Section 65.25 as follows:

(110 ILCS 947/65.25)

Sec. 65.25. Teacher shortage scholarships.

(a) The Commission may annually award a number of scholarships to persons preparing to teach in areas of identified staff shortages. Such scholarships shall be issued to individuals who make application to the Commission and who agree to take courses at qualified institutions of higher learning which will prepare them to teach in areas of identified staff shortages.

(b) Scholarships awarded under this Section shall be issued pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Commission; provided that no rule or regulation promulgated by the State Board of Education prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993 pursuant to the exercise of any right, power, duty, responsibility or matter of pending business transferred from the State Board of Education to the Commission under this Section shall be affected thereby, and all such rules and regulations shall become the rules and regulations of the Commission until modified or changed by the Commission in accordance with law. The Commission shall allocate the scholarships awarded between persons initially preparing to teach, persons holding valid teaching certificates issued under Articles 21 and 34 of the School Code, and persons holding a bachelor's degree from any accredited college or university who have been employed for a minimum of 10 years in a field other than teaching.

(c) Each scholarship shall be utilized by its holder for the payment of tuition and non-revenue bond fees at any qualified institution of higher learning. Such tuition and fees shall be available only for courses that will enable the individual to be certified to teach in areas of identified staff shortages. The Commission shall determine which courses are eligible for tuition payments under this Section.

(d) The Commission may make tuition payments directly to the qualified institution of higher learning which the individual attends for the courses prescribed or may make payments to the teacher. Any teacher who received payments and who fails to enroll in the courses prescribed shall refund the payments to the Commission.

(e) Following the completion of the program of study, persons who held valid teaching certificates and persons holding a bachelor's degree from any accredited college or university who have been employed for a minimum of 10 years in a field other than teaching prior to receiving a teacher shortage scholarship must accept employment within 2 years in a school in Illinois within 60 miles of the person's residence to teach in an area of identified staff shortage for a period of at least 3 years; provided, however that any such person instead may elect to accept employment within such 2 year period to teach in an area of identified staff shortage for a period of at least 3 years in a school in Illinois which is more than 60 miles from such person's residence. Persons initially preparing to teach prior to receiving a teacher shortage scholarship must accept employment within 2 years in a school in Illinois to teach in an area of identified staff shortage for a period of at least 3 years. Individuals who fail to comply with this provision shall refund all of the scholarships awarded to the Commission, whether payments were made directly to the institutions of higher learning or to the individuals, and this condition shall be agreed to in writing by all scholarship recipients at the time the scholarship is awarded. No individual shall be required to refund tuition payments if his or her failure to obtain employment as a teacher in a school is the result of financial conditions within school districts. The rules and regulations promulgated as provided in this Section shall contain provisions regarding the waiving and deferral of such payments.

(f) The Commission, with the cooperation of the State Board of Education, shall assist individuals who have participated in the scholarship program established by this Section in finding employment in areas of identified staff shortages.

(g) Beginning in September, 1994 and annually thereafter, the Commission, using data annually supplied by the State Board of Education under procedures developed by it to measure the level of shortage of qualified bilingual personnel serving students with disabilities, shall annually publish (i) the level of shortage of qualified bilingual personnel serving students with disabilities, and (ii) allocations of scholarships for personnel preparation training programs in the areas of bilingual special education teacher training and bilingual school service personnel.

(h) Appropriations for the scholarships outlined in this Section shall be made to the Commission from funds appropriated by the General Assembly.

(i) This Section is substantially the same as Section 30-4c of the School Code, which Section is repealed by this amendatory Act of 1993, and shall be construed as a continuation of the teacher shortage scholarship program established under that prior law, and not as a new or different teacher shortage scholarship program. The State Board of Education shall transfer to the Commission, as the successor to the State Board of Education for all purposes of administering and implementing the provisions of this Section, all books, accounts, records, papers, documents, contracts, agreements, and pending business in any way relating to the teacher shortage scholarship program continued under this Section; and all scholarships at any time awarded under that program by, and all applications for any such scholarships at any time made to, the State Board of Education shall be unaffected by the transfer to the Commission of all responsibility for the administration and implementation of the teacher shortage scholarship program continued under this Section. The State Board of Education shall furnish to the Commission such other information as the Commission may request to assist it in administering this Section.

(j) For the purposes of this Section:

"Qualified institution of higher learning" means the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, the public community colleges subject to the Public Community College Act and any Illinois privately operated college, community college or university offering degrees and instructional programs above the high school level either in residence or by correspondence. The Board of Higher Education and the Commission, in consultation with the State Board of Education, shall identify qualified institutions to supply the demand for bilingual special education teachers and bilingual school service personnel.

"Areas of identified staff shortages" means courses of study, including, but not limited to, agricultural education, in which the number of teachers is insufficient to meet student or school district demand for such instruction as determined by the State Board of Education.

(Source: P.A. 88-228; 89-4, eff. 1-1-96.)