[ Search ] [ PDF text ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
| [ Introduced ] | [ Engrossed ] | [ Governor's Message ] |
| [ House Amendment 001 ] | [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
92_SB1521enr SB1521 Enrolled LRB9208236WHpc 1 AN ACT relating to education. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding 5 Section 5.545 as follows: 6 (30 ILCS 105/5.545 new) 7 Sec. 5.545. The Illinois Future Teacher Corps 8 Scholarship Fund. 9 Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act 10 is amended by adding Section 65.65 as follows: 11 (110 ILCS 947/65.65 new) 12 Sec. 65.65. Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarships. 13 (a) In this Section: 14 "Fees" means matriculation, graduation, activity, term, 15 or incidental fees. "Fees" does not include any other 16 fees, including book rental, service, laboratory, supply, 17 and union building fees, hospital and medical insurance fees, 18 and any fees established for the operation and maintenance of 19 buildings the income of which is pledged to the payment of 20 interest and principal on bonds issued by the governing board 21 of an institution of higher learning. 22 "Shortage" means an unfilled teaching position or one 23 that is filled but is occupied by a person who is not fully 24 certified by the State for that teaching position at the 25 start of the school year. 26 "Scholarship" means an Illinois Future Teacher Corps 27 Scholarship. 28 "Tuition and other necessary fees" includes the 29 customary charge for instruction and use of facilities in SB1521 Enrolled -2- LRB9208236WHpc 1 general and the additional fixed fees charged for specified 2 purposes that are required generally of non-scholarship 3 recipients for each academic term for which the recipient of 4 a scholarship under this Section actually enrolls. "Tuition 5 and other necessary fees" does not include fees payable only 6 once or breakage fees and other contingent deposits that are 7 refundable in whole or in part. "Tuition and other necessary 8 fees" does not include expenses for any sectarian or 9 denominational instruction, for the construction or 10 maintenance of sectarian or denominational facilities, or for 11 any other sectarian or denominational purposes or activity. 12 (b) A program is created to provide new teacher training 13 scholarships, to be known as Illinois Future Teacher Corps 14 Scholarships. The scholarships are for full-time 15 undergraduate and graduate students pursuing studies at 16 qualified institutions of higher learning leading to teacher 17 certification in this State. To receive a scholarship, a 18 graduate student must be seeking retraining, from another 19 field, to enter a teaching career. No more than half of the 20 scholarships shall be awarded to graduate students seeking 21 retraining. 22 (c) The Commission, in accordance with rules adopted for 23 the program created under this Section, shall provide 24 funding, determine the eligibility of applicants, and 25 designate each year's new recipients from among those 26 applicants who qualify for consideration by showing: 27 (1) that he or she is a resident of this State 28 and a citizen or a lawful permanent resident alien of the 29 United States; 30 (2) that he or she (i) has successfully completed 31 the program of instruction at an approved high 32 school or (ii) is a student in good standing at that 33 school and is enrolled in a program of instruction that 34 will be completed by the end of the school year and, in SB1521 Enrolled -3- LRB9208236WHpc 1 either event, that his or her cumulative grade point 2 average was or is in the upper one-third of his or her 3 high school class; 4 (3) that he or she has a superior capacity to 5 profit by a higher education; and 6 (4) that he or she intends to teach in an 7 elementary or secondary school in this State. 8 (d) If for any academic year the number of qualified 9 applicants exceeds the number of scholarships to be 10 awarded, the Commission shall prioritize the awarding of 11 scholarships to applicants by considering (i) identified 12 teacher shortage areas established by the State Board of 13 Education and (ii) an applicant's cumulative class rank in 14 high school or, for graduate student applicants, total 15 undergraduate cumulative grade point average. 16 (e) Unless otherwise indicated, scholarships shall be 17 good for a period of up to 4 academic years while the 18 recipient is enrolled for full-time residence credit at a 19 qualified institution of higher learning. Each academic 20 year, the scholarship shall cover tuition and other necessary 21 fees for 2 semesters plus the summer session or 4 quarters; 22 however, the amount of a scholarship in a single academic 23 year may not exceed $5,000. For purposes of calculating 24 scholarship assistance for recipients attending private 25 institutions of higher learning, tuition and other necessary 26 fees for students at private institutions shall not exceed 27 the average tuition and other necessary fees for students at 28 State universities for the academic year in which the 29 scholarship is made. 30 (f) Before receiving scholarship assistance, a 31 scholarship recipient shall be required by the Commission to 32 sign an agreement under which the recipient pledges that, 33 within the 5-year period following the completion of the 34 academic program for which the recipient was awarded a SB1521 Enrolled -4- LRB9208236WHpc 1 scholarship, the recipient (i) shall teach for a period of 2 not less than one year for each academic year of scholarship 3 assistance that he or she was awarded, (ii) shall fulfill 4 this teaching obligation at a public or nonprofit private 5 preschool, elementary school, or secondary school in this 6 State, and (iii) shall, upon request by the Commission, 7 provide the Commission with evidence that he or she is 8 fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the teaching 9 agreement provided for in this subsection (f). 10 (g) If a scholarship recipient fails to fulfill the 11 teaching obligation set forth in subsection (f) of this 12 Section, the Commission shall require the recipient to repay 13 the amount of the scholarship assistance received, at a rate 14 of interest equal to 5%, and, if applicable, reasonable 15 collection fees. The Commission may establish rules relating 16 to its collection activities for the repayment of 17 scholarships. All repayments collected under this Section 18 shall be forwarded to the State Comptroller for deposit into 19 the General Revenue Fund. 20 A scholarship recipient shall not be considered in 21 violation of the agreement entered into pursuant to 22 subsection (f) of this Section if the recipient (i) enrolls 23 on a full-time basis as a graduate student in a course of 24 study related to the field of teaching at a qualified 25 institution of higher learning, (ii) is serving as a member 26 of the armed services of the United States for a period of 27 time not to exceed 3 years, (iii) is temporarily totally 28 disabled for a period of time not to exceed 3 years, as 29 established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician, (iv) 30 is seeking and unable to find full-time employment as a 31 teacher at a public or nonprofit private preschool, 32 elementary school, or secondary school that satisfies the 33 criteria set forth in subsection (f) of this Section and is 34 able to provide evidence of that fact, or (v) becomes SB1521 Enrolled -5- LRB9208236WHpc 1 permanently totally disabled, as established by sworn 2 affidavit of a qualified physician. No claim for repayment 3 may be filed against the estate of a decedent or incompetent. 4 Each person applying for a scholarship shall be provided 5 with a copy of this subsection (g) at the time he or she 6 applies for the scholarship. 7 (h) The Commission may prescribe, by rule, detailed 8 provisions concerning the computation of tuition and other 9 necessary fees, which must not be inconsistent with this 10 Section. 11 (i) If an applicant for a scholarship under this Section 12 accepts another teacher preparation scholarship administered 13 by the Commission for the same academic year as the 14 scholarship under this Section, that applicant shall not be 15 eligible for a scholarship under this Section. 16 (j) To continue receiving scholarship assistance, a 17 scholarship recipient must remain a full-time student and 18 must maintain a cumulative grade point average at the 19 postsecondary level of no less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. 20 (k) A scholarship shall not be awarded to or continued 21 for anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offense that 22 would disqualify that person from receiving teacher 23 certification in this State. 24 (l) If a scholarship recipient satisfies the president 25 of the institution of higher learning in which the recipient 26 is enrolled (or someone designated by the president) that the 27 recipient requires a leave of absence for the purpose of 28 earning funds to defray his or her expenses while enrolled 29 in the institution, for study abroad or internship study, or 30 on account of illness or military service, then leave may be 31 granted for a period of time not to exceed 6 years (with time 32 spent in the armed forces not included as part of this time 33 limit) without violating the agreement entered into pursuant 34 to subsection (f) of this Section. SB1521 Enrolled -6- LRB9208236WHpc 1 (m) Scholarship amounts due to an institution of 2 higher learning shall be payable by the Comptroller to that 3 institution on vouchers approved by the Commission. 4 (n) The Commission shall administer the program created 5 under this Section and shall adopt all necessary and proper 6 rules not inconsistent with this Section for the program's 7 effective implementation. All applications for scholarship 8 assistance shall be made to the Commission in a form as set 9 forth by the Commission. The form of application and the 10 information required to be set forth in the application shall 11 be determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall 12 require applicants to submit with their applications any 13 supporting documents that the Commission deems necessary. 14 (o) If an appropriation to the Commission for a given 15 fiscal year is insufficient to provide scholarships to all 16 qualified applicants, then the Commission shall allocate the 17 available scholarship funds for that fiscal year on the 18 basis of the date the Commission receives a complete 19 application form from a qualified applicant. 20 Section 15. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by 21 adding Section 3-648 as follows: 22 (625 ILCS 5/3-648 new) 23 Sec. 3-648. Education license plates. 24 (a) The Secretary, upon receipt of an application made 25 in the form prescribed by the Secretary, may issue special 26 registration plates designated as Education license plates. 27 The special plates issued under this Section shall be affixed 28 only to passenger vehicles of the first division and motor 29 vehicles of the second division weighing not more than 8,000 30 pounds. Plates issued under this Section shall expire 31 according to the multi-year procedure established by Section 32 3-414.1 of this Code. SB1521 Enrolled -7- LRB9208236WHpc 1 (b) The design and color of the plates shall be 2 determined by a contest that every elementary school pupil in 3 the State of Illinois is eligible to enter. The designs 4 submitted for the contest shall be judged on September 30, 5 2002, and the winning design shall be selected by a committee 6 composed of the Secretary, the Director of State Police, 2 7 members of the Senate, one member chosen by the President of 8 the Senate and one member chosen by the Senate Minority 9 Leader, and 2 members of the House of Representatives, one 10 member chosen by the Speaker of the House and one member 11 chosen by the House Minority Leader. The Secretary may allow 12 the plates to be issued as vanity or personalized plates 13 under Section 3-405.1 of the Code. The Secretary shall 14 prescribe stickers or decals as provided under Section 3-412 15 of this Code. 16 (c) An applicant for the special plate shall be charged 17 a $40 fee for original issuance, in addition to the 18 appropriate registration fee. Of this $40 additional original 19 issuance fee, $15 shall be deposited into the Secretary of 20 State Special License Plate Fund, to be used by the Secretary 21 to help defray the administrative processing costs, and $25 22 shall be deposited into the Illinois Future Teacher Corps 23 Scholarship Fund. For each registration renewal period, a 24 $40 fee, in addition to the appropriate registration fee, 25 shall be charged. Of this $40 additional renewal fee, $2 26 shall be deposited into the Secretary of State Special 27 License Plate Fund and $38 shall be deposited into the 28 Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund. Each fiscal 29 year, once deposits from the additional original issuance and 30 renewal fees into the Secretary of State Special License 31 Plate Fund have reached $500,000, all the amounts received 32 for the additional fees for the balance of the fiscal year 33 shall be deposited into the Illinois Future Teacher Corps 34 Scholarship Fund. SB1521 Enrolled -8- LRB9208236WHpc 1 (d) The Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund 2 is created as a special fund in the State treasury. 3 Ninety-five percent of the moneys in the Illinois Future 4 Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund shall be appropriated to the 5 Illinois Student Assistance Commission for scholarships under 6 Section 65.65 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act, 7 and 5% of the moneys in the Illinois Future Teacher Corps 8 Scholarship Fund shall be appropriated to the State Board of 9 Education for grants to the Golden Apple Foundation for 10 Excellence in Teaching, a recognized charitable organization 11 that meets the requirements of Title 26, Section 501(c)(3) of 12 the United States Code. 13 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 14 becoming law.