93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB6940

 

Introduced 02/09/04, by James D. Brosnahan

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/31

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Provides that an applicant for a Merit Recognition Scholarship must complete at least 40 hours of volunteer service as of the end of the 6th semester of high school in order to be eligible. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT concerning higher education student assistance.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5 amended by changing Section 31 as follows:
 
6     (110 ILCS 947/31)
7     Sec. 31. Merit Recognition Scholarship program.
8     (a) As used in this Section:
9     "Eligible applicant" means a student from any high school
10 in this State, either approved by or not recognized by the
11 State Board of Education, (i) who is engaged in a program of
12 study that in due course will be completed by the end of the
13 academic year, (ii) who has completed at least 40 hours of
14 volunteer service as of the end of the 6th semester of high
15 school, and (iii) (i) whose cumulative high school grade point
16 average is at or above the 95th percentile of his or her high
17 school class after completion of the 6th semester of a high
18 school program of instruction or (ii) whose score on a
19 standardized examination determined by the Commission, taken
20 before or during the 6th semester of high school, is at or
21 above the 95th percentile of students in the State who take the
22 standardized college entrance examination. These high school
23 students are all eligible to receive a scholarship to be
24 awarded under this Section.
25     "Qualified student" means a person:
26         (1) who is a resident of this State and a citizen or
27     permanent resident of the United States;
28         (2) who, as an eligible applicant, is in good academic
29     standing at the high school in which he or she is enrolled
30     and has made a timely application for a Merit Recognition
31     Scholarship under this Section;
32         (3) who has successfully completed the program of

 

 

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1     instruction at any high school located in this State; and
2         (4) who enrolls or is enrolled in a qualified Illinois
3     institution of higher learning or a Service Academy as an
4     undergraduate student or cadet and has not received a
5     baccalaureate degree.
6     "Merit Recognition Scholarship" means a $1,000 academic
7 scholarship awarded under this Section during an academic year
8 to a qualified student, without regard to financial need, as a
9 scholarship to any qualified Illinois institution of higher
10 learning or a Service Academy in which the student is or will
11 be enrolled as an undergraduate student or cadet.
12     "Service Academy" means the U.S. Air Force Academy, the
13 U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, or the
14 U.S. Naval Academy.
15     (b) In order to identify, encourage, promote, and reward
16 the distinguished academic achievement of students from every
17 high school located in this State, each qualified student shall
18 be awarded a Merit Recognition Scholarship by the Illinois
19 Student Assistance Commission to any qualified Illinois
20 institution of higher learning or to any Service Academy.
21     (c) No Merit Recognition Scholarship provided for a
22 qualified student under this Section shall be considered in
23 evaluating the financial situation of that student or be deemed
24 a financial resource of or a form of financial aid or
25 assistance to that student, for purposes of determining the
26 eligibility of the student for any scholarship, grant, or
27 monetary assistance awarded by the Commission, the State, or
28 any agency thereof pursuant to the provisions of any other
29 Section of this Act or any other law of this State; nor shall
30 any Merit Recognition Scholarship provided for a qualified
31 student under this Section reduce the amount of any
32 scholarship, grant, or monetary assistance that that student is
33 eligible to be awarded by the Commission, the State, or any
34 agency thereof in accordance with the provisions of any other
35 Section of this Act or any other law of this State.
36     (d) The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is

 

 

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1 designated as administrator of the Merit Recognition
2 Scholarship program. Each high school located in this State
3 shall certify to the Commission the names of its students who
4 are eligible applicants, specifying which of the students
5 certified as eligible applicants have completed the program of
6 instruction at that high school and the graduation date fixed
7 for their high school class and specifying for each of the
8 other eligible applicants whose names appear on the
9 certification the semester of high school last completed by
10 them. The Commission shall promptly notify those eligible
11 applicants so certified who are reasonably assured of receiving
12 a Merit Recognition Scholarship in accordance with the annual
13 funding levels recommended in the Governor's budget of their
14 eligibility to apply for a scholarship under this Section,
15 other than any eligible applicant named on any such
16 certification who, as an eligible applicant, has previously
17 made application to the Commission for a Merit Recognition
18 Scholarship under this Section. An otherwise eligible
19 applicant who fails to make a timely application (as determined
20 by the Commission) for a Merit Recognition Scholarship under
21 this Section shall no longer be deemed an eligible applicant
22 and shall not qualify for the award.
23     (e) All applications for Merit Recognition Scholarships to
24 be awarded under this Section shall be made to the Commission
25 on forms that the Commission shall provide for eligible
26 applicants. The form of applications and the information
27 required to be set forth therein shall be determined by the
28 Commission, and the Commission shall require eligible
29 applicants to submit with their applications such supporting
30 documents as the Commission deems necessary.
31     (f) The names and addresses of Merit Recognition
32 Scholarship recipients are a matter of public record.
33     (g) Whenever an eligible applicant who has completed the
34 program of instruction at any high school located in this State
35 thereafter makes timely application to the Commission for a
36 Merit Recognition Scholarship under this Section, the

 

 

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1 Commission shall promptly determine whether that eligible
2 applicant is a qualified student as defined in subsection (a)
3 of this Section. Each such eligible applicant so determined by
4 the Commission to be a qualified student shall be awarded a
5 Merit Recognition Scholarship in the amount of $1,000,
6 effective exclusively during the academic year following the
7 qualified student's high school graduation, subject to
8 appropriation by the General Assembly.
9     (h) Subject to a separate appropriation for purposes of
10 this Section, payment of any Merit Recognition Scholarship
11 awarded under this Section shall be determined exclusively by
12 the Commission. All scholarship funds distributed in
13 accordance with this subsection (h) shall be paid to the
14 qualified Illinois institution of higher learning or Service
15 Academy and used only for payment of the educational expenses
16 incurred by the student in connection with his or her
17 attendance as an undergraduate student or cadet at that
18 institution or Service Academy, including but not limited to
19 tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, required
20 Service Academy uniforms, and travel and personal expenses
21 related to the student's attendance at that institution or
22 Service Academy. Any Merit Recognition Scholarship awarded
23 under this Section shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3
24 quarters of enrollment. Should a qualified student withdraw
25 from enrollment prior to completion of the first semester or
26 quarter for which the Merit Recognition Scholarship is
27 applicable, the student shall refund to the Commission the
28 amount of the scholarship received.
29     (i) The Commission shall administer the Merit Recognition
30 Scholarship program established by this Section and shall make
31 all necessary and proper rules, not inconsistent with this
32 Section, for its effective implementation.
33     (j) When an appropriation to the Commission for purposes of
34 this Section is insufficient to provide scholarships to all
35 qualified students, the Commission shall allocate the
36 appropriation in accordance with this subsection (j). If funds

 

 

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1 are insufficient to provide all qualified students with a
2 scholarship as authorized by subsection (g) of this Section,
3 the Commission shall allocate the scholarships to qualified
4 students in order of decreasing relative academic rank, as
5 determined by the Commission using a formula based upon the
6 qualified student's grade point average, score on the
7 appropriate statewide standardized examination, or a
8 combination of grade point average and standardized test score.
9 All Merit Recognition Scholarships awarded shall be in the
10 amount of $1,000.
11     (k) The Commission, in determining the number of Merit
12 Recognition Scholarships to be offered pursuant to subsection
13 (j) of this Section, shall take into consideration past
14 experience with the rate of merit scholarship funds unclaimed
15 by qualified students. To the extent necessary to avoid an
16 over-commitment of funds, the Commission may allocate
17 scholarship funds on the basis of the date the Commission
18 receives a completed application form.
19 (Source: P.A. 91-128, eff. 7-1-00.)
 
20     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21 becoming law.