HB4491 Enrolled LRB093 18947 NHT 44682 b

1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5 30-14.2 as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/30-14.2)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-14.2)
7     Sec. 30-14.2. MIA/POW scholarships.
8     (a) Any spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or
9 any step-child of an eligible veteran or serviceperson who
10 possesses all necessary entrance requirements shall, upon
11 application and proper proof, be awarded a MIA/POW Scholarship
12 consisting of the equivalent of 4 calendar years of full-time
13 enrollment including summer terms, to the state supported
14 Illinois institution of higher learning of his choice, subject
15 to the restrictions listed below.
16     "Eligible veteran or serviceperson" means any veteran or
17 serviceperson, including an Illinois National Guard member who
18 is on active duty or is active on a training assignment, who
19 has been declared by the U. S. Department of Defense or the
20 U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs to be a prisoner of war,
21 be missing in action, have died as the result of a
22 service-connected disability or be permanently disabled from
23 service-connected causes with 100% disability and who at the
24 time of entering service was an Illinois resident or was an
25 Illinois resident within 6 months of entering such service.
26     Full-time enrollment means 12 or more semester hours of
27 courses per semester, or 12 or more quarter hours of courses
28 per quarter, or the equivalent thereof per term. Scholarships
29 utilized by dependents enrolled in less than full-time study
30 shall be computed in the proportion which the number of hours
31 so carried bears to full-time enrollment.
32     Scholarships awarded under this Section may be used by a

 

 

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1 spouse or child without regard to his or her age. The holder of
2 a Scholarship awarded under this Section shall be subject to
3 all examinations and academic standards, including the
4 maintenance of minimum grade levels, that are applicable
5 generally to other enrolled students at the Illinois
6 institution of higher learning where the Scholarship is being
7 used. If the surviving spouse remarries or if there is a
8 divorce between the veteran or serviceperson and his or her
9 spouse while the dependent is pursuing his or her course of
10 study, Scholarship benefits will be terminated at the end of
11 the term for which he or she is presently enrolled. Such
12 dependents shall also be entitled, upon proper proof and
13 application, to enroll in any extension course offered by a
14 State supported Illinois institution of higher learning
15 without payment of tuition and approved fees.
16     The holder of a MIA/POW Scholarship authorized under this
17 Section shall not be required to pay any matriculation or
18 application fees, tuition, activities fees, graduation fees or
19 other fees, except multipurpose building fees or similar fees
20 for supplies and materials.
21     Any dependent who has been or shall be awarded a MIA/POW
22 Scholarship shall be reimbursed by the appropriate institution
23 of higher learning for any fees which he or she has paid and
24 for which exemption is granted under this Section if
25 application for reimbursement is made within 2 months following
26 the end of the school term for which the fees were paid.
27     (b) In lieu of the benefit provided in subsection (a), any
28 spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or step-child of
29 an eligible veteran or serviceperson, which spouse or child has
30 a physical, mental or developmental disability, shall be
31 entitled to receive, upon application and proper proof, a
32 benefit to be used for the purpose of defraying the cost of the
33 attendance or treatment of such spouse or child at one or more
34 appropriate therapeutic, rehabilitative or educational
35 facilities. The application and proof may be made by the parent
36 or legal guardian of the spouse or child on his or her behalf.

 

 

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1     The total benefit provided to any beneficiary under this
2 subsection shall not exceed the cost equivalent of 4 calendar
3 years of full-time enrollment, including summer terms, at the
4 University of Illinois. Whenever practicable in the opinion of
5 the Department of Veterans' Affairs, payment of benefits under
6 this subsection shall be made directly to the facility, the
7 cost of attendance or treatment at which is being defrayed, as
8 such costs accrue.
9     (c) The benefits of this Section shall be administered by
10 and paid for out of funds made available to the Illinois
11 Department of Veterans' Affairs. The amounts that become due to
12 any state supported Illinois institution of higher learning
13 shall be payable by the Comptroller to such institution on
14 vouchers approved by the Illinois Department of Veterans'
15 Affairs. The amounts that become due under subsection (b) of
16 this Section shall be payable by warrant upon vouchers issued
17 by the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs and approved by
18 the Comptroller. The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs
19 shall determine the eligibility of the persons who make
20 application for the benefits provided for in this Section.
21 (Source: P.A. 89-267, eff. 1-1-96.)
 
22     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
23 becoming law.