(110 ILCS 947/65.27)
Sec. 65.27. Teach Illinois Scholarship Program.
(a) For the purposes of this Section:
"Area of identified staff shortage" means a school district in which
the number of teachers is insufficient to meet student or school district
demand or a subject area for which the number of teachers who are qualified to teach that subject area is insufficient to meet student or school district demand, as determined by the State Board of
Education.
"Qualified institution of higher learning" means one of the
universities listed in Section 65.40 of this Act.
(b) The Commission shall implement and administer a teacher
scholarship program, to be known as the Teach Illinois Scholarship
Program. The Commission shall annually award scholarships to persons
preparing to teach in areas of identified staff shortages. These
scholarships shall be awarded to individuals who make application to the
Commission and who agree to take courses at qualified institutions of
higher learning that will prepare them to teach in areas of identified staff
shortages.
(c) Scholarships awarded under this Section shall be issued
pursuant to rules promulgated by the Commission.
(d) 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.
(e) The Commission shall make tuition payments directly to the
qualified institution of higher learning that the individual attends for the
courses prescribed.
(f) Following the completion of the program of study, the individual
must accept employment to teach in an elementary or secondary school in
Illinois
in an area of identified staff shortage for a period of at least 5
years. Individuals who fail to comply with this provision shall refund all
of the awarded scholarships 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 promulgated as provided in this
Section shall contain provisions regarding the waiving and deferral of
such payments.
(g) 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.
(h) The scholarships under this Section are subject to appropriations to the Commission by the General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 94-205, eff. 1-1-06.) |