(110 ILCS 947/65.45)
Sec. 65.45. Special education grants.
(a) Special education grants shall be awarded by the
Commission to (i) teachers under contract
who are teaching special
education courses in a school district within an area designated as a
poverty area by the Office of Economic Opportunity, but who are not
certified to teach special education programs pursuant to Section
14-9.01 of the School Code and (ii) teachers licensed pursuant to Section 21B-15
of the School Code,
but who are not certified pursuant to Section 14-9.01 of that Code. The amount
of any
grant awarded a participating teacher under this Section shall consist
of (i) the tuition and other necessary fees required of the teacher by
the institution of higher learning at which he or she enrolls under this
Section, but limited to the maximum amount to which a student enrolled in
that institution would be entitled as a scholarship under Section
35 of this Act, and (ii) a stipend of $100 for each semester hour or
equivalent, not exceeding 21 semester hours, for continuous enrollment,
including summer sessions, in one calendar year. For purposes of this
Section "tuition and other necessary fees" has the meaning ascribed to
that term in Section 35 of this Act. Participating teachers shall enroll in an
institution of higher learning providing special education programs.
Such institutions shall be approved by the Commission, in conjunction with the
State Board of Education
and the Board of
Higher Education.
(b) Teachers under contract who participate in this program shall be
required to contract with the Commission to
teach a special education program for 2 years in a school district
within an area designated as a poverty area by the Office of Economic
Opportunity. Such commitment shall begin at the completion of the
training program of the participating teacher and shall be completed
within 3 years unless extended by the Commission. In addition,
the participating teacher shall be required to
sign a note payable to the Commission, for the
full amount of benefits awarded to that teacher under this Section, with
interest as provided herein, subject to cancellation as provided in this
Section. Completion of one year of such commitment shall operate to
cancel 50% of the amount of benefits provided a participating teacher.
The failure of a participating teacher to complete all or part of such
commitment shall obligate the participant to proportionately repay the
amount of benefits provided, plus 5% interest on that amount.
Participating teachers who are not under contract shall be subject to
those obligations, except that such teachers shall be required to teach
in a special education program for such 2 year period in a school
district within an area designated as a poverty area by the Office of
Economic Opportunity.
(c) If a participating teacher fails to cancel his or her commitment as
provided
in this Section, the Commission shall cause an
appropriate action to be commenced on the note signed by that teacher,
except where the failure to cancel the commitment was occasioned by the
death or total and permanent disability of that teacher.
(d) This Section is substantially the same as Section 30-14.3 of the School
Code,
which Section is repealed by this amendatory Act of 1993, and shall be
construed as a continuation of the special education grant program established
by that prior law and not as a new or different special education grant
program.
The State Board of Education shall transfer to the Commission, as the
successor to the State Board of Education for all purposes of administering
and implementing the provisions of this Section, all books, accounts, records,
papers, documents, contracts, agreements, and pending business in any way
relating to the special education grant program continued under this Section;
and all grants at any time made under that program
by, and all applications for any such grants at any
time made to, the State Board of Education shall be unaffected by the transfer
to the Commission of all responsibility for the administration and
implementation of the special education grant program continued under this
Section. The State Board of Education shall furnish to the Commission such
other information as the Commission may request to assist it in administering
this Section.
(e) As used in this Section the term "special education program" means a
program provided for children who have such disabilities as are set
forth in Sections 14-1.02 through 14-1.07 of the School Code.
(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)
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