Full Text of SB2040 103rd General Assembly
SB2040sam001 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. Cristina H. Pacione-Zayas Filed: 3/3/2023
| | 10300SB2040sam001 | | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2040
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2040 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Section 50 as follows: | 6 | | (110 ILCS 947/50)
| 7 | | Sec. 50. Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship | 8 | | program.
| 9 | | (a) As used in this Section:
| 10 | | "Eligible applicant" means a minority student who has | 11 | | graduated
from high school or has received a State of | 12 | | Illinois High School Diploma
and has
maintained a | 13 | | cumulative grade point average of
no
less than 2.5 on a 4.0 | 14 | | scale, and who by reason thereof is entitled to
apply for | 15 | | scholarships to be awarded under this Section.
| 16 | | "Minority student" means a student who is any of the |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 2 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | following: | 2 | | (1) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person | 3 | | having origins in any of the original peoples of North | 4 | | and South America, including Central America, and who | 5 | | maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment). | 6 | | (2) Asian (a person having origins in any of the | 7 | | original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or | 8 | | the Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited | 9 | | to, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, | 10 | | Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and | 11 | | Vietnam). | 12 | | (3) Black or African American (a person having | 13 | | origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa). | 14 | | (4) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban, | 15 | | Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or | 16 | | other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race). | 17 | | (5) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a | 18 | | person having origins in any of the original peoples | 19 | | of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).
| 20 | | "Qualified bilingual minority applicant" means a | 21 | | qualified student who demonstrates proficiency in a | 22 | | language other than English by (i) receiving a State Seal | 23 | | of Biliteracy from the State Board of Education or (ii) | 24 | | receiving a passing score on an educator licensure target | 25 | | language proficiency test. | 26 | | "Qualified student" means a person (i) who is a |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 3 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | resident of this State
and a citizen or permanent resident | 2 | | of the United States; (ii) who is a
minority student, as | 3 | | defined in this Section; (iii) who, as an eligible
| 4 | | applicant, has made a timely application for a minority | 5 | | teaching
scholarship under this Section; (iv) who is | 6 | | enrolled on at least a
half-time basis at a
qualified | 7 | | Illinois institution of
higher learning; (v) who is | 8 | | enrolled in a course of study leading to
teacher | 9 | | licensure, including alternative teacher licensure, or, if | 10 | | the student is already licensed to teach, in a course of | 11 | | study leading to an additional teaching endorsement or a | 12 | | master's degree in an academic field in which he or she is | 13 | | teaching or plans to teach or who has received one or more | 14 | | College and Career Pathway Endorsements pursuant to | 15 | | Section 80 of the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness | 16 | | Act and commits to enrolling in a course of study leading | 17 | | to teacher licensure, including alternative teacher | 18 | | licensure; (vi)
who maintains a grade point average of no
| 19 | | less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale;
and (vii) who continues to | 20 | | advance satisfactorily toward the attainment
of a degree.
| 21 | | (b) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois | 22 | | minority
students to pursue teaching careers at the preschool | 23 | | or elementary or
secondary
school
level and to address and | 24 | | alleviate the teacher shortage crisis in this State described | 25 | | under the provisions of the Transitions in Education Act, each | 26 | | qualified student shall be awarded a minority teacher
|
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 4 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | scholarship to any qualified Illinois institution of higher | 2 | | learning.
However, preference may be given to qualified | 3 | | applicants enrolled at or above
the
junior level.
| 4 | | (c) Each minority teacher scholarship awarded under this | 5 | | Section shall
be in an amount sufficient to pay the tuition and | 6 | | fees and room and board
costs of the qualified Illinois | 7 | | institution of higher learning at which the
recipient is | 8 | | enrolled, up to an annual maximum of $5,000;
except that
in
the | 9 | | case of a recipient who does not reside on-campus at the | 10 | | institution at
which he or she is enrolled, the amount of the | 11 | | scholarship shall be
sufficient to pay tuition and fee | 12 | | expenses and a commuter allowance, up to
an annual maximum of | 13 | | $5,000.
However, if at least $2,850,000 is appropriated in a | 14 | | given fiscal year for the Minority Teachers of Illinois | 15 | | scholarship program, then, in each fiscal year thereafter, | 16 | | each scholarship awarded under this Section shall
be in an | 17 | | amount sufficient to pay the tuition and fees and room and | 18 | | board
costs of the qualified Illinois institution of higher | 19 | | learning at which the
recipient is enrolled, up to an annual | 20 | | maximum of $7,500;
except that
in
the case of a recipient who | 21 | | does not reside on-campus at the institution at
which he or she | 22 | | is enrolled, the amount of the scholarship shall be
sufficient | 23 | | to pay tuition and fee expenses and a commuter allowance, up to
| 24 | | an annual maximum of $7,500.
| 25 | | (d) The total amount of minority teacher scholarship | 26 | | assistance awarded by
the Commission under this Section to an |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 5 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | individual in any given fiscal
year, when added to other | 2 | | financial assistance awarded to that individual
for that year, | 3 | | shall not exceed the cost of attendance at the institution
at | 4 | | which the student is enrolled. If the amount of minority | 5 | | teacher
scholarship to be awarded to a qualified student as | 6 | | provided in
subsection (c) of this Section exceeds the cost of | 7 | | attendance at the
institution at which the student is | 8 | | enrolled, the minority teacher
scholarship shall be reduced by | 9 | | an amount equal to the amount by which the
combined financial | 10 | | assistance available to the student exceeds the cost
of | 11 | | attendance.
| 12 | | (e) The maximum number of academic terms for which a | 13 | | qualified
student
can receive minority teacher scholarship | 14 | | assistance shall be 8 semesters or
12 quarters.
| 15 | | (f) In any academic year for which an eligible applicant | 16 | | under this
Section accepts financial assistance through the | 17 | | Paul Douglas Teacher
Scholarship Program, as authorized by | 18 | | Section 551 et seq. of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, the | 19 | | applicant shall not be eligible for scholarship
assistance | 20 | | awarded under this Section.
| 21 | | (g) All applications for minority teacher scholarships to | 22 | | be awarded
under this Section shall be made to the Commission | 23 | | on forms which the
Commission shall provide for eligible | 24 | | applicants. The form of applications
and the information | 25 | | required to be set forth therein shall be determined by
the | 26 | | Commission, and the Commission shall require eligible |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 6 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | applicants to
submit with their applications such supporting | 2 | | documents or recommendations
as the Commission deems | 3 | | necessary.
| 4 | | (h) Subject to a separate appropriation for such purposes, | 5 | | payment of
any minority teacher scholarship awarded under this | 6 | | Section shall be
determined by the Commission. All scholarship | 7 | | funds distributed in
accordance with this subsection shall be | 8 | | paid to the institution and used
only for payment of the | 9 | | tuition and fee and room and board expenses
incurred by the | 10 | | student in connection with his or her attendance at a | 11 | | qualified Illinois institution of higher
learning. Any | 12 | | minority teacher scholarship awarded under this Section
shall | 13 | | be applicable to 2 semesters or 3 quarters of enrollment. If a
| 14 | | qualified student withdraws from enrollment prior to | 15 | | completion of the
first semester or quarter for which the | 16 | | minority teacher scholarship is
applicable, the school shall | 17 | | refund to the Commission the full amount of the
minority | 18 | | teacher scholarship.
| 19 | | (i) The Commission shall administer the minority teacher | 20 | | scholarship aid
program established by this Section and shall | 21 | | make all necessary and proper
rules not inconsistent with this | 22 | | Section for its effective implementation.
| 23 | | (j) When an appropriation to the Commission for a given | 24 | | fiscal year is
insufficient to provide scholarships to all | 25 | | qualified students, the
Commission shall allocate the | 26 | | appropriation in accordance with this
subsection. If funds are |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 7 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | insufficient to provide all qualified students
with a | 2 | | scholarship as authorized by this Section, the Commission | 3 | | shall
allocate the available scholarship funds for that fiscal | 4 | | year to qualified students who submit a complete application | 5 | | form on or before a date specified by the Commission based on | 6 | | the following order of priority: | 7 | | (1) To students who received a scholarship under this | 8 | | Section in the prior academic year and who remain eligible | 9 | | for a minority teacher scholarship under this Section. | 10 | | (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (k), to | 11 | | students who demonstrate financial need, as determined by | 12 | | the Commission.
| 13 | | (k) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subsection (j), at | 14 | | least 35% of the funds appropriated for
scholarships awarded | 15 | | under this Section in each fiscal year shall be reserved
for | 16 | | qualified male minority applicants, with priority being given | 17 | | to qualified Black male applicants beginning with fiscal year | 18 | | 2023.
If the Commission does not receive enough applications | 19 | | from qualified male
minorities on or before
January 1 of each | 20 | | fiscal year to award 35% of the funds appropriated for these
| 21 | | scholarships to qualified
male minority applicants, then the | 22 | | Commission may award a portion of the
reserved funds to | 23 | | qualified
female minority applicants in accordance with | 24 | | subsection (j).
| 25 | | Beginning with fiscal year 2023, if at least $2,850,000 | 26 | | but less than $4,200,000 is appropriated in a given fiscal |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 8 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | year for scholarships awarded under this Section, then at | 2 | | least 10% of the funds appropriated shall be reserved for | 3 | | qualified bilingual minority applicants, with priority being | 4 | | given to qualified bilingual minority applicants who are | 5 | | enrolled in an educator preparation program with a | 6 | | concentration in bilingual, bicultural education. Beginning | 7 | | with fiscal year 2023, if at least $4,200,000 is appropriated | 8 | | in a given fiscal year for the Minority Teachers of Illinois | 9 | | scholarship program, then at least 30% of the funds | 10 | | appropriated shall be reserved for qualified bilingual | 11 | | minority applicants, with priority being given to qualified | 12 | | bilingual minority applicants who are enrolled in an educator | 13 | | preparation program with a concentration in bilingual, | 14 | | bicultural education. Beginning with fiscal year 2023, if at | 15 | | least $2,850,000 is appropriated in a given fiscal year for | 16 | | scholarships awarded under this Section but the Commission | 17 | | does not receive enough applications from qualified bilingual | 18 | | minority applicants on or before January 1 of that fiscal year | 19 | | to award at least 10% of the funds appropriated to qualified | 20 | | bilingual minority applicants, then the Commission may, in its | 21 | | discretion, award a portion of the reserved funds to other | 22 | | qualified students in accordance with subsection (j).
| 23 | | (l) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any | 24 | | academic year,
each recipient of a minority teacher | 25 | | scholarship awarded under this Section
shall be required by | 26 | | the Commission to sign an agreement under which the
recipient |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 9 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | pledges that, within the one-year period following the
| 2 | | termination
of the program for which the recipient was awarded | 3 | | a minority
teacher scholarship, the recipient (i) shall begin | 4 | | teaching for a
period of not less
than one year for each year | 5 | | of scholarship assistance he or she was awarded
under this | 6 | | Section; (ii) shall fulfill this teaching obligation at a
| 7 | | nonprofit Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool, | 8 | | elementary school,
or secondary school at which no less than | 9 | | 30% of the enrolled students are
minority students in the year | 10 | | during which the recipient begins teaching at the
school or | 11 | | may instead, if the recipient received a scholarship as a | 12 | | qualified bilingual minority applicant, fulfill this teaching | 13 | | obligation in a program in transitional bilingual education | 14 | | pursuant to Article 14C of the School Code or in a school in | 15 | | which 20 or more English learner students in the same language | 16 | | classification are enrolled; and (iii) shall, upon request by | 17 | | the Commission, provide the Commission
with evidence that he | 18 | | or she is fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the
teaching | 19 | | agreement provided for in this subsection.
| 20 | | (m) If a recipient of a minority teacher scholarship | 21 | | awarded under this
Section fails to fulfill the teaching | 22 | | obligation set forth in subsection
(l) of this Section, the | 23 | | Commission shall require the recipient to repay
the amount of | 24 | | the scholarships received, prorated according to the fraction
| 25 | | of the teaching obligation not completed, at a rate of | 26 | | interest equal to
5%, and, if applicable, reasonable |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 10 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | collection fees.
The Commission is authorized to establish | 2 | | rules relating to its collection
activities for repayment of | 3 | | scholarships under this Section. All repayments
collected | 4 | | under this Section shall be forwarded to the State Comptroller | 5 | | for
deposit into the State's General Revenue Fund.
| 6 | | (n) A recipient of minority teacher scholarship shall not | 7 | | be considered
in violation of the agreement entered into | 8 | | pursuant to subsection (l) if
the recipient (i) enrolls on a | 9 | | full time basis as a graduate student in a
course of study | 10 | | related to the field of teaching at a qualified Illinois
| 11 | | institution of higher learning; (ii) is serving, not in excess | 12 | | of 3 years,
as a member of the armed services of the United | 13 | | States; (iii) is
a person with a temporary total disability | 14 | | for a period of time not to exceed 3 years as
established by | 15 | | sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; (iv) is seeking
and | 16 | | unable to find full time employment as a teacher at an Illinois | 17 | | public,
private, or parochial preschool or elementary or | 18 | | secondary school that
satisfies the
criteria set forth in | 19 | | subsection (l) of this Section and is able to provide
evidence | 20 | | of that fact; (v) becomes a person with a permanent total | 21 | | disability as
established by sworn affidavit of a qualified | 22 | | physician; (vi) is taking additional courses, on at least a | 23 | | half-time basis, needed to obtain licensure as a teacher in | 24 | | Illinois; or (vii) is fulfilling teaching requirements | 25 | | associated with other programs administered by the Commission | 26 | | and cannot concurrently fulfill them under this Section in a |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 11 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | period of time equal to the length of the teaching obligation.
| 2 | | (o) Scholarship recipients under this Section who withdraw | 3 | | from
a program of teacher education but remain enrolled in | 4 | | school
to continue their postsecondary studies in another | 5 | | academic discipline shall
not be required to commence | 6 | | repayment of their Minority Teachers of Illinois
scholarship | 7 | | so long as they remain enrolled in school on a full-time basis | 8 | | or
if they can document for the Commission special | 9 | | circumstances that warrant
extension of repayment.
| 10 | | (p) If the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship | 11 | | program does not expend at least 90% of the amount | 12 | | appropriated for the program in a given fiscal year for 3 | 13 | | consecutive fiscal years and the Commission does not receive | 14 | | enough applications from the groups identified in subsection | 15 | | (k) on or before January 1 in each of those fiscal years to | 16 | | meet the percentage reserved for those groups under subsection | 17 | | (k), then up to 3% of amount appropriated for the program for | 18 | | each of next 3 fiscal years shall be allocated to increasing | 19 | | awareness of the program and for the recruitment of Black male | 20 | | applicants. The Commission shall make a recommendation to the | 21 | | General Assembly by January 1 of the year immediately | 22 | | following the end of that third fiscal year regarding whether | 23 | | the amount allocated to increasing awareness and recruitment | 24 | | should continue. | 25 | | (q) Each qualified Illinois institution of higher learning | 26 | | that receives funds from the Minority Teachers of Illinois |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 12 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | scholarship program shall host an annual information session | 2 | | at the institution about the program for teacher candidates of | 3 | | color in accordance with rules adopted by the Commission. | 4 | | Additionally, the institution shall ensure that each | 5 | | scholarship recipient enrolled at the institution meets with | 6 | | an academic advisor at least once per academic year to | 7 | | facilitate on-time completion of the recipient's educator | 8 | | preparation program. | 9 | | (r) The changes made to this Section by Public Act 101-654 | 10 | | will first take effect with awards made for the 2022-2023 | 11 | | academic year. | 12 | | (s) The Commission shall establish and administer a | 13 | | student teaching stipend program. Under the program, subject | 14 | | to a specific and distinct appropriation for those express | 15 | | purposes, the Commission shall receive and consider | 16 | | applications for additional funds from recipients of | 17 | | scholarships under this Section who are student teaching. The | 18 | | Commission shall select stipend recipients from among | 19 | | applicants who are in financial need. All applications for | 20 | | stipends under this subsection (s) shall be made to the | 21 | | Commission in a form as set forth by the Commission. The form | 22 | | of application and the information required shall be | 23 | | determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall require | 24 | | applicants to submit with their applications such supporting | 25 | | documents as the Commission deems necessary. | 26 | | Beginning with grants for the 2024-2025 academic year, |
| | | 10300SB2040sam001 | - 13 - | LRB103 05001 RJT 58263 a |
|
| 1 | | notwithstanding the maximum award amounts listed in this | 2 | | subsection (c), certain recipients may receive an additional | 3 | | payment to assist in paying other expenses during the year in | 4 | | which the recipient is engaged in student teaching. The amount | 5 | | of the payment shall be uniform and determined yearly by the | 6 | | Commission based on the available funds. Regardless of the | 7 | | total scholarship amount received, no more than $7,500 | 8 | | attributable to this single year will be subject to the | 9 | | repayment provisions of subsection (m). | 10 | | The Commission shall make all necessary and proper rules | 11 | | not inconsistent with this subsection (s) for its effective | 12 | | implementation. | 13 | | (Source: P.A. 101-654, eff. 3-8-21; 102-465, eff. 1-1-22; | 14 | | 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23 .)".
|
|