Full Text of SB0444 100th General Assembly
January 8,
2018
To
the Honorable Members of
The
Illinois Senate,
100th
General Assembly:
Today I
return Senate Bill 444 with specific recommendations for change.
In
August 2017, Illinois passed historic school funding reform into law in Senate
Bill 1947 with the intent of closing the unacceptable equity gap in education
funding and creating more opportunity for students across our state. Senate
Bill 444 was intended to correct for errors and unintended consequences stemming
from last year’s reform bill to effectuate the overall goals and improve the
functionality of the new law.
A
central component of the school funding reform law was the Invest in Kids Act
(“the Act”), which offers tax credit scholarships totaling up to $100 million
for low-income students to attend non-public schools. This program gives
families the opportunity to make the best possible educational choices for their
students, and ensures that all Illinoisans, regardless of socioeconomic status,
have equitable access to high-quality schooling options. However, the current drafting
of the law will stand in the way of effectively and fairly implementing the
very program it creates, and should be cleaned up along with the other fixes to
Senate Bill 1947.
As
written, the Act requires non-public schools to be “recognized” by the Illinois
State Board of Education (ISBE). This language creates an eligibility mandate
from what is otherwise a voluntary distinction for which schools may apply. Eligibility
should be expanded to also include schools that are registered with
ISBE, a necessary precursor to becoming “recognized.” While it is prudent
to require compliance with ISBE measures that protect the health, safety and
well-being of students, the current timelines to become recognized will exclude
at least 36 schools that are still in the process of registering for and moving
toward recognition; the ramifications of this initial exclusion could
potentially last for two years. The students attending or looking to attend these
schools deserve the same access to Invest in Kids scholarships as those in
already recognized schools. Their educational opportunities cannot wait for
years.
By
including those who have registered with ISBE as well as those already
recognized, the law will better maximize the number of schools and therefore
the number of children who can benefit from this promising new program.
Therefore,
pursuant to Section 9(e) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I
hereby return Senate Bill 444, entitled “AN ACT concerning education,” with the
following specific recommendations for change:
On
page 1, immediately after line 3, by inserting the following:
“Section 5. The Invest
in Kids Act is amended by changing Section 5 as follows:
(35
ILCS 40/5)
Sec.
5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Authorized contribution" means the
contribution amount that is listed on the contribution authorization
certificate issued to the taxpayer.
"Board" means the State Board of
Education.
"Contribution" means a donation made by the
taxpayer during the taxable year for providing scholarships as provided in
this Act.
"Custodian" means, with respect to eligible
students, an Illinois resident who is a parent or legal guardian of the
eligible student or students.
"Department" means the Department of
Revenue.
"Eligible student" means a child who:
(1) is a member of a
household whose federal adjusted
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gross
income the year before he or she initially receives a scholarship under
this program, as determined by the Department, does not exceed 300% of the
federal poverty level and, once the child receives a scholarship, does not
exceed 400% of the federal poverty level;
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(2)
is eligible to attend a public elementary school
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or
high school in Illinois in the semester immediately preceding the semester
for which he or she first receives a scholarship or is starting school in
Illinois for the first time when he or she first receives a scholarship;
and
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(3)
resides in Illinois while receiving a scholarship.
"Family member" means a parent, child, or
sibling, whether by whole blood, half blood, or adoption; spouse; or
stepchild.
"Focus district" means a school district
which has a school that is either (i) a school that has one or more subgroups
in which the average student performance is at or below the State average for
the lowest 10% of student performance in that subgroup or (ii) a school with
an average graduation rate of less than 60% and not identified for priority.
"Necessary costs and fees" includes the
customary charge for instruction and use of facilities in general and the
additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that are required
generally of non-scholarship recipients for each academic period for which
the scholarship applicant actually enrolls, including costs associated with
student assessments, but does not include fees payable only once and other
contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or in part. The Board may
prescribe, by rules consistent with this Act, detailed provisions concerning
the computation of necessary costs and fees.
"Scholarship granting organization" means
an entity that:
(1) is exempt from taxation
under Section 501(c)(3)
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of
the Internal Revenue Code;
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(2)
uses at least 95% of the qualified contributions
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received
during a taxable year for scholarships;
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(3)
provides scholarships to students according to
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the
guidelines of this Act;
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(4)
deposits and holds qualified contributions and
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any
income derived from qualified contributions in an account that is separate
from the organization's operating fund or other funds until such qualified
contributions or income are withdrawn for use; and
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(5)
is approved to issue certificates of receipt.
"Qualified contribution" means the
authorized contribution made by a taxpayer to a scholarship granting
organization for which the taxpayer has received a certificate of receipt
from such organization.
"Qualified school" means a non-public
school located in Illinois and that is registered on or before February
15, 2018, or recognized by the Board pursuant to Section 2-3.25o of the
School Code.
"Scholarship" means an educational
scholarship awarded to an eligible student to attend a qualified school of
their custodians' choice in an amount not exceeding the necessary costs and
fees to attend that school.
"Taxpayer" means any individual,
corporation, partnership, trust, or other entity subject to the Illinois
income tax. For the purposes of this Act, 2 individuals filing a joint return
shall be considered one taxpayer.”; and
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On page
1, by replacing lines 4 and 5 with “Section 10. The School Code is amended by
changing Section 18-8.15 as follows:”.
With
these changes, Senate Bill 444 will have my approval. I respectfully request
your concurrence.
Sincerely,
Bruce
Rauner
GOVERNOR
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