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Public Act 91-0128
HB0080 Enrolled LRB9100386NTsbA
AN ACT to amend the Higher Education Student Assistance
Act by adding Section 31 and repealing Sections 25 and 30.
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 adding Section 31 as follows:
(110 ILCS 947/31 new)
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.
(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.
(110 ILCS 947/30 rep.)
Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
is amended by repealing Section 30.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July
1, 2000.
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