SB3026eng 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB3026 Engrossed LRB093 21120 NHT 47174 b

AN ACT concerning a youth service scholarship program.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Youth Service Scholarship Act.

Section 5. Intent. It is the intent of the General Assembly to establish the Youth Service Scholarship Program to accomplish all of the following goals:

(1) Provide this State's youth with opportunities to do all of the following:

(A) Give back to their communities through service.

(B) Enhance their access to a college education.

(C) Develop, in "real life" situations, the skills and understanding critical to their development as students, workers, and community members.

(D) Develop a lifelong ethic of service and a richer understanding of citizenship in a democratic society.

(2) Deter juvenile delinquency by providing this State's youth with after school and intersession alternatives that promote public service.

(3) Form a partnership between schools and community organizations dedicated to building responsibility and broadening higher education opportunities for this State's youth.

(4) Mobilize youth, an often neglected resource, in service that meets the critical needs of their communities by, for example, tutoring preschool children in reading, assisting licensed providers' care for infants and toddlers, helping with after school recreational programs and nutritional programs for elementary school pupils, helping the frail and elderly to live independently, contributing to neighborhood cleanup and housing rehabilitation projects, and assisting their peers to become involved in community service.

Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:

"Commission" means the Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.

"Program" means the Youth Service Scholarship Program.

Section 15. Establishment of Program; availability to consortia.

(a) There is hereby established the Youth Service Scholarship Program, a pilot program, to be administered by the Commission. The Program shall be in effect for fiscal years 2005 through 2009, and the Program shall be made available to consortia that are comprised of one or more school districts that operate schools with grades 9 through 12 and at least 3 community-based organizations. The consortia shall be selected for participation in the program on a competitive basis by the Commission.

(b) A pupil may be selected by a consortium to earn a scholarship while the pupil is enrolled in any of grades 9 through 12 in a public school located in this State that is involved in the consortium. The pupil may redeem the scholarship if the pupil enrolls in a private or public postsecondary or vocational institution located in this State by December 1 of the year the pupil graduates from high school or receives a high school equivalency certificate. A student may defer redeeming the scholarship for 2 years. A pupil wishing to defer his or her scholarship shall notify the Commission, in writing, by December 1 of the year the pupil graduates from high school or receives a high school equivalency certificate. A pupil may also defer redeeming the scholarship for longer than 2 years if the pupil enters service in AmeriCorps, another national service program, or a branch of the United States Armed Services, in which case the scholarship shall be redeemed upon completion of the service. The Commission may grant a request to delay redemption of a scholarship beyond 2 years for other reasons on a case by case basis.

(c) In the event that the Commission ceases to exist, the Program shall be administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

Section 20. Award of scholarships. Upon completion of 100 hours of volunteer community service, as defined by the Commission pursuant to Section 35 of this Act, performed between September 1 of one year and August 31 of the next year, a pupil shall earn a scholarship in the amount of $500. The maximum amount of a scholarship is $2,000, provided a pupil performs the required amount of community service during each of grades 9 through 12. A scholarship shall only be used for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and living expenses. If possible, an equal number of scholarships shall be awarded to pupils enrolled in each of grades 9 through 12.

Section 25. Service sites.

(a) The community service described in Section 20 of this Act shall only be performed at service sites that are approved by the consortium, based on guidelines developed by the Commission, pursuant to Sections 30 and 35 of this Act.

(b) A service site may not provide any salary or stipend to the pupils performing community service in conjunction with the Program.

(c) Any public or private not-for-profit-organization, including a school, located in this State is eligible to participate as a service site if the service to be provided by pupils seeking to earn scholarships meets the definition of community service developed by the Commission pursuant to Section 35 of this Act.

(d) The consortia shall give priority to service sites that meet the needs of low-income youth or focus on reducing juvenile delinquency, or both.

(e) The Commission shall ensure that consortia and participating service sites comply with all applicable State and federal child welfare laws.

Section 30. Selection of pupils and consortia; application.

(a) The Commission shall develop guidelines to be used by the consortia to select pupils to participate in the Program. These guidelines shall give selection priority to pupils who will participate in academically meaningful community service.

(b) The Commission shall develop guidelines for selecting consortia for participation in the Program. The Commission shall give priority to consortia with a participating school district that serves a high percentage of students qualifying for a free lunch under the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966.

(c) The Commission shall attempt to include an equal distribution of consortia serving urban, rural, and suburban communities.

(d) The Commission shall develop an application form and instructions for completion of the form to be used by consortia when applying for participation in the program. The Commission shall notify all eligible school districts about the Program and shall include a copy of the application form and instructions with the notice.

Section 35. Community service defined. The Commission, in consultation with the State Board of Education, shall define eligible community service based on the definitions of community service used in the federal work-study program and the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993.

Section 40. Administrative costs. Administrative costs under this Act shall not exceed actual costs up to a maximum of 10% in fiscal year 2005 and 6% thereafter. The Commission shall reimburse a participating school district within a consortium for administrative costs incurred in administering the Program, in an amount that does not exceed 5% of the amount of each scholarship administered by that school district.

Section 45. Study. By July 1, 2008 the Commission shall submit to the General Assembly a study of the efficacy of the Program. The study shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(1) The demand for scholarships by grade level.

(2) The demand for pupil participants by service sites.

(3) General background data on participating pupils and consortia.

(4) Types of service performed by participating pupils.

(5) An itemization of costs for administering the Program.

Section 50. Appropriation of funds. This Act shall be implemented only to the extent that funds for that purpose are appropriated.

Section 990. Repealer. This Act is repealed on January 1, 2010.

Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.