Public Act 095-0715
 
SB0437 Enrolled LRB095 10765 RAS 31007 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
amended by changing Sections 25 and 31 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 947/25)
    Sec. 25. State scholar program.
    (a) An applicant is eligible to be designated a State
Scholar when the Commission finds the candidate:
        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
    permanent resident of the United States;
        (2) has successfully completed the program of
    instruction at an approved high school, or is a student in
    good standing at such a school and is engaged in a program
    which in due course will be completed by the end of the
    academic year, and in either event that the candidate's
    academic standing is above the class median; and that the
    candidate has not had any university, college, normal
    school, private junior college or public community
    college, or other advanced training subsequent to
    graduation from high school; and
        (3) has superior capacity to profit by a higher
    education.
    (b) In determining an applicant's superior capacity to
profit by a higher education, the Commission shall consider the
candidate's scholastic record in high school and the results of
the examination conducted under the provisions of this Act. The
Commission shall establish by rule the minimum conditions of
eligibility in terms of the foregoing factors, and the relative
weight to be accorded to those factors.
    (c) The Commission shall base its State Scholar
designations upon the eligibility formula prescribed in its
rules, except that notwithstanding those rules or any other
provision of this Section, a student nominated by his or her
school shall be designated a State Scholar if that student
achieves an Illinois Standard Test Score at or above the 95th
percentile among students taking the designated examinations
in Illinois that year, as determined by the Commission.
    (d) The Commission shall obtain the results of a
competitive examination from the applicants this Act. The
examination shall provide a measure of each candidate's ability
to perform college work and shall have demonstrated utility in
such a selection program. The Commission shall select, and
designate by rule, the specific examinations to be used in
determining the applicant's superior capacity to profit from a
higher education. Candidates may be asked by the Commission to
take those steps necessary to provide results of the designated
examination as part of their applications. Any nominal cost of
obtaining or providing the examination results shall be paid by
the candidate to the agency designated by the Commission to
provide the examination service. In the event that a candidate
or candidates are unable to participate in the examination for
financial reasons, the Commission may choose to pay the
examination fee on the candidate's or candidates' behalf. Any
notary fee which may also be required as part of the total
application shall be paid by the applicant.
    (e) The Commission shall award to each State Scholar a
certificate or other suitable form of recognition. The decision
to attend a non-qualified institution of higher learning shall
not disqualify applicants who are otherwise fully qualified.
    (f) Subject to appropriation, each State Scholar who
enrolls or is enrolled in an institution of higher learning in
this State shall also receive a one-time grant of $1,000 to be
applied to tuition and mandatory fees and paid directly to the
institution of higher learning. However, a student who has been
awarded a Merit Recognition Scholarship under Section 31 of
this Act may not be awarded a grant under this subsection (f),
although he or she may still be designated a State Scholar.
    (g) The Commission shall adopt all necessary and proper
rules not inconsistent with this Section for its effective
implementation.
(Source: P.A. 87-997.)
 
    (110 ILCS 947/31)
    Sec. 31. Merit Recognition Scholarship program.
    (a) As used in this Section:
    "Eligible applicant" means a student from any high school
in this State, either approved by or not recognized by the
State Board of Education, who is engaged in a program of study
that in due course will be completed by the end of the academic
year, and (i) whose cumulative high school grade point average
is at or above the 95th percentile of his or her high school
class after completion of the 6th semester of a high school
program of instruction or (ii) whose score on a standardized
examination determined by the Commission, taken before or
during the 6th semester of high school, is at or above the 95th
percentile of students in the State who take the standardized
college entrance examination. These high school students are
all eligible to receive a scholarship to be awarded under this
Section.
    "Qualified student" means a person:
        (1) who is a resident of this State and a citizen or
    permanent resident of the United States;
        (2) who, as an eligible applicant, is in good academic
    standing at the high school in which he or she is enrolled
    and has made a timely application for a Merit Recognition
    Scholarship under this Section;
        (3) who has successfully completed the program of
    instruction at any high school located in this State; and
        (4) who enrolls or is enrolled in a qualified Illinois
    institution of higher learning or a Service Academy as an
    undergraduate student or cadet and has not received a
    baccalaureate degree.
    "Merit Recognition Scholarship" means a $1,000 academic
scholarship awarded under this Section during an academic year
to a qualified student, without regard to financial need, as a
scholarship to any qualified Illinois institution of higher
learning or a Service Academy in which the student is or will
be enrolled as an undergraduate student or cadet.
    "Service Academy" means the U.S. Air Force Academy, the
U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, or the
U.S. Naval Academy.
    (b) In order to identify, encourage, promote, and reward
the distinguished academic achievement of students from every
high school located in this State, each qualified student shall
be awarded a Merit Recognition Scholarship by the Illinois
Student Assistance Commission to any qualified Illinois
institution of higher learning or to any Service Academy.
    (b-5) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section,
a student who has received a grant under the State Scholar
program under Section 25 of this Act is ineligible to receive a
Merit Recognition Scholarship.
    (c) No Merit Recognition Scholarship provided for a
qualified student under this Section shall be considered in
evaluating the financial situation of that student or be deemed
a financial resource of or a form of financial aid or
assistance to that student, for purposes of determining the
eligibility of the student for any scholarship, grant, or
monetary assistance awarded by the Commission, the State, or
any agency thereof pursuant to the provisions of any other
Section of this Act or any other law of this State; nor shall
any Merit Recognition Scholarship provided for a qualified
student under this Section reduce the amount of any
scholarship, grant, or monetary assistance that that student is
eligible to be awarded by the Commission, the State, or any
agency thereof in accordance with the provisions of any other
Section of this Act or any other law of this State.
    (d) The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is
designated as administrator of the Merit Recognition
Scholarship program. Each high school located in this State
shall certify to the Commission the names of its students who
are eligible applicants, specifying which of the students
certified as eligible applicants have completed the program of
instruction at that high school and the graduation date fixed
for their high school class and specifying for each of the
other eligible applicants whose names appear on the
certification the semester of high school last completed by
them. The Commission shall promptly notify those eligible
applicants so certified who are reasonably assured of receiving
a Merit Recognition Scholarship in accordance with the annual
funding levels recommended in the Governor's budget of their
eligibility to apply for a scholarship under this Section,
other than any eligible applicant named on any such
certification who, as an eligible applicant, has previously
made application to the Commission for a Merit Recognition
Scholarship under this Section. An otherwise eligible
applicant who fails to make a timely application (as determined
by the Commission) for a Merit Recognition Scholarship under
this Section shall no longer be deemed an eligible applicant
and shall not qualify for the award.
    (e) All applications for Merit Recognition Scholarships to
be awarded under this Section shall be made to the Commission
on forms that the Commission shall provide for eligible
applicants. The form of applications and the information
required to be set forth therein shall be determined by the
Commission, and the Commission shall require eligible
applicants to submit with their applications such supporting
documents as the Commission deems necessary.
    (f) The names and addresses of Merit Recognition
Scholarship recipients are a matter of public record.
    (g) Whenever an eligible applicant who has completed the
program of instruction at any high school located in this State
thereafter makes timely application to the Commission for a
Merit Recognition Scholarship under this Section, the
Commission shall promptly determine whether that eligible
applicant is a qualified student as defined in subsection (a)
of this Section. Each such eligible applicant so determined by
the Commission to be a qualified student shall be awarded a
Merit Recognition Scholarship in the amount of $1,000,
effective exclusively during the academic year following the
qualified student's high school graduation, subject to
appropriation by the General Assembly.
    (h) Subject to a separate appropriation for purposes of
this Section, payment of any Merit Recognition Scholarship
awarded under this Section shall be determined exclusively by
the Commission. All scholarship funds distributed in
accordance with this subsection (h) shall be paid to the
qualified Illinois institution of higher learning or Service
Academy and used only for payment of the educational expenses
incurred by the student in connection with his or her
attendance as an undergraduate student or cadet at that
institution or Service Academy, including but not limited to
tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, required
Service Academy uniforms, and travel and personal expenses
related to the student's attendance at that institution or
Service Academy. Any Merit Recognition Scholarship awarded
under this Section shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3
quarters of enrollment. Should a qualified student withdraw
from enrollment prior to completion of the first semester or
quarter for which the Merit Recognition Scholarship is
applicable, the student shall refund to the Commission the
amount of the scholarship received.
    (i) The Commission shall administer the Merit Recognition
Scholarship program established by this Section and shall make
all necessary and proper rules, not inconsistent with this
Section, for its effective implementation.
    (j) When an appropriation to the Commission for purposes of
this Section is insufficient to provide scholarships to all
qualified students, the Commission shall allocate the
appropriation in accordance with this subsection (j). If funds
are insufficient to provide all qualified students with a
scholarship as authorized by subsection (g) of this Section,
the Commission shall allocate the scholarships to qualified
students in order of decreasing relative academic rank, as
determined by the Commission using a formula based upon the
qualified student's grade point average, score on the
appropriate statewide standardized examination, or a
combination of grade point average and standardized test score.
All Merit Recognition Scholarships awarded shall be in the
amount of $1,000.
    (k) The Commission, in determining the number of Merit
Recognition Scholarships to be offered pursuant to subsection
(j) of this Section, shall take into consideration past
experience with the rate of merit scholarship funds unclaimed
by qualified students. To the extent necessary to avoid an
over-commitment of funds, the Commission may allocate
scholarship funds on the basis of the date the Commission
receives a completed application form.
(Source: P.A. 91-128, eff. 7-1-00.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2009