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90_SB1892
110 ILCS 947/30
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act to
make students who score 7 points or more above the statewide
average cumulative ACT score eligible for merit recognition
scholarships.
SRS90S0081KSaw
SRS90S0081KSaw
1 AN ACT to amend the Higher Education Student Assistance
2 Act by amending Section 30.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
6 amended by changing Section 30 as follows:
7 (110 ILCS 947/30)
8 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 90-372)
9 Sec. 30. Merit recognition scholarship program.
10 (a) As used in this Section:
11 "Eligible applicant" means a student from any
12 approved high school located in this State whose 7th
13 semester cumulative high school grade point average is at
14 or above the 95th percentile, or 90th percentile with
15 respect to students who graduated from such an approved
16 high school during the 1986-1987 or 1987-1988 school
17 year, of his or her high school class, or a student from
18 any high school whose cumulative score on the ACT is at
19 least 7 points above the statewide average cumulative ACT
20 score as determined by the State Board of Education, and
21 who by reason thereof is entitled to apply for
22 scholarships to be awarded under this Section.
23 "Qualified student" means a person: (i) of good
24 moral character who is a resident of this State and a
25 citizen or permanent resident of the United States, (ii)
26 who, as an eligible applicant, has made a timely
27 application for a merit recognition scholarship under
28 this Section, (iii) who has successfully completed the
29 program of instruction at any approved high school
30 located in this State, and (iv) who enrolls or is
31 enrolled in a qualified Illinois institution of higher
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1 learning or a Service Academy as an undergraduate student
2 or cadet and has not received a baccalaureate degree.
3 "Merit recognition scholarship" means a $1,000
4 academic scholarship awarded under this Section during an
5 academic year to a qualified student, without regard to
6 financial need, as a scholarship to any qualified
7 Illinois institution of higher learning or a Service
8 Academy in which that student is or will be enrolled as
9 an undergraduate student or cadet.
10 "Service Academy" means the U.S. Air Force Academy,
11 the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Military Academy,
12 or the U.S. Naval Academy.
13 (b) In order to identify, encourage, promote, and reward
14 the distinguished academic achievement of students from every
15 approved high school located in this State, each qualified
16 student shall be awarded a merit recognition scholarship to
17 any qualified Illinois institution of higher learning or to
18 any Service Academy.
19 (c) No merit recognition scholarship provided for a
20 qualified student under this Section shall be considered in
21 evaluating the financial situation of that student, or be
22 deemed a financial resource of or a form of financial aid or
23 assistance to that student, for purposes of determining the
24 eligibility of the student for any scholarship, grant, or
25 monetary assistance awarded by the Commission, the State or
26 any agency thereof pursuant to the provisions of any other
27 Section of this Act or any other law of this State; nor shall
28 any merit recognition scholarship provided for a qualified
29 student under this Section reduce the amount of any
30 scholarship, grant, or monetary assistance which that student
31 is eligible to be awarded by the Commission, the State, or
32 any agency thereof in accordance with the provisions of any
33 other Section of this Act or any other law of this State.
34 (d) Each approved high school located in this State
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1 shall certify to the Commission the names of its students who
2 are eligible applicants, specifying which of the students
3 certified as eligible applicants have completed the program
4 of instruction at that high school and the graduation date
5 fixed for their high school class, and specifying for each of
6 the other eligible applicants whose names appear on the
7 certification the semester of high school last completed by
8 them. The Commission shall promptly notify those eligible
9 applicants so certified who are reasonably assured of
10 receiving a Merit Recognition Scholarship in accordance with
11 the annual funding levels recommended in the Governor's
12 Budget -- other than any eligible applicant named on any such
13 certification who, as an eligible applicant, has previously
14 made application to the Commission for a merit recognition
15 scholarship under this Section -- of their eligibility to
16 apply for a scholarship under this Section. An otherwise
17 eligible applicant who fails to make a timely application (as
18 determined by the Commission) for a merit recognition
19 scholarship under this Section shall no longer be deemed an
20 eligible applicant and shall not qualify for the award of any
21 merit recognition scholarship.
22 (e) All applications for merit recognition scholarships
23 to be awarded under this Section shall be made to the
24 Commission on forms which the Commission shall provide for
25 eligible applicants. The form of applications and the
26 information required to be set forth therein shall be
27 determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall
28 require eligible applicants to submit with their applications
29 such supporting documents or recommendations as the
30 Commission deems necessary.
31 (f) Whenever an eligible applicant who has completed the
32 program of instruction at any approved high school located in
33 this State thereafter makes timely application to the
34 Commission for a merit recognition scholarship under this
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1 Section, the Commission shall promptly determine whether that
2 eligible applicant is a qualified student as defined in
3 subsection (a) of this Section. Each such eligible applicant
4 so determined by the Commission to be a qualified student
5 shall be designated as such by the Commission and shall be
6 awarded a merit recognition scholarship in the amount of
7 $1,000, effective during the academic year following the
8 qualified student's high school graduation or, should the
9 General Assembly specifically so provide in an appropriation
10 under this Section, effective for a subsequent academic year.
11 (g) Subject to a separate appropriation for purposes of
12 this Section, payment of any merit recognition scholarship
13 awarded under this Section shall be determined by the
14 Commission. All scholarship funds distributed in accordance
15 with this subsection shall be paid to the qualified Illinois
16 institution of higher learning or Service Academy and used
17 only for payment of the educational expenses incurred by the
18 student in connection with his or her attendance as an
19 undergraduate student or cadet at that institution or Service
20 Academy, including but not limited to tuition and fees, room
21 and board, books and supplies, required Service Academy
22 uniforms, and travel and personal expenses related to the
23 student's attendance at that institution or Service Academy.
24 Any merit recognition scholarship awarded under this Section
25 shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3 quarters of
26 enrollment. Should a qualified student withdraw from
27 enrollment prior to completion of the first semester or
28 quarter for which the merit recognition scholarship is
29 applicable, the student shall refund to the Commission the
30 full amount of the merit recognition scholarship.
31 (h) The Commission shall administer the merit
32 recognition scholarship aid program established by this
33 Section and shall make all necessary and proper rules, not
34 inconsistent with this Section, for its effective
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1 implementation.
2 (i) When an appropriation to the Commission for purposes
3 of this Section is insufficient to provide scholarships to
4 all qualified students, the Commission shall allocate the
5 appropriation in accordance with this subsection. If funds
6 are insufficient to provide all qualified students with a
7 scholarship as authorized by subsection (f), the Commission
8 shall allocate the scholarships to qualified students in
9 order of decreasing percentile as determined by the eligible
10 applicant's cumulative grade point average. All merit
11 recognition scholarships shall be in the amount of $1,000.
12 (j) The Commission, in determining the number of
13 scholarships to be offered pursuant to subsection (i), shall
14 take into consideration past experience with the rate of
15 scholarship funds unclaimed by qualified students. To the
16 extent necessary to avoid an overcommitment of funds, the
17 Commission may allocate scholarship funds on the basis of the
18 date the Commission receives a complete application form.
19 (k) (Blank).
20 (Source: P.A. 90-372, eff. 7-1-98.)