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1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5 30-14.2 as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/30-14.2)  (from Ch. 122, par. 30-14.2)
7     Sec. 30-14.2. MIA/POW scholarships.
8     (a) Any spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or
9 any step-child of an eligible veteran or serviceperson who
10 possesses all necessary entrance requirements shall, upon
11 application and proper proof, be awarded a MIA/POW Scholarship
12 consisting of the equivalent of 4 calendar years of full-time
13 enrollment including summer terms, to the state supported
14 Illinois institution of higher learning of his choice, subject
15 to the restrictions listed below.
16     "Eligible veteran or serviceperson" means any veteran or
17 serviceperson, including an Illinois National Guard member who
18 is on active duty or is active on a training assignment, who
19 has been declared by the U. S. Department of Defense or the
20 U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs to be a prisoner of war,
21 be missing in action, have died as the result of a
22 service-connected disability or be permanently disabled from
23 service-connected causes with 100% disability and who (i) at

 

 

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1 the time of entering service was an Illinois resident, (ii) or
2 was an Illinois resident within 6 months after of entering such
3 service, or (iii) until July 1, 2014, became an Illinois
4 resident within 6 months after leaving the service and can
5 establish at least 30 years of continuous residency in the
6 State of Illinois.
7     Full-time enrollment means 12 or more semester hours of
8 courses per semester, or 12 or more quarter hours of courses
9 per quarter, or the equivalent thereof per term. Scholarships
10 utilized by dependents enrolled in less than full-time study
11 shall be computed in the proportion which the number of hours
12 so carried bears to full-time enrollment.
13     Scholarships awarded under this Section may be used by a
14 spouse or child without regard to his or her age. The holder of
15 a Scholarship awarded under this Section shall be subject to
16 all examinations and academic standards, including the
17 maintenance of minimum grade levels, that are applicable
18 generally to other enrolled students at the Illinois
19 institution of higher learning where the Scholarship is being
20 used. If the surviving spouse remarries or if there is a
21 divorce between the veteran or serviceperson and his or her
22 spouse while the dependent is pursuing his or her course of
23 study, Scholarship benefits will be terminated at the end of
24 the term for which he or she is presently enrolled. Such
25 dependents shall also be entitled, upon proper proof and
26 application, to enroll in any extension course offered by a

 

 

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1 State supported Illinois institution of higher learning
2 without payment of tuition and approved fees.
3     The holder of a MIA/POW Scholarship authorized under this
4 Section shall not be required to pay any matriculation or
5 application fees, tuition, activities fees, graduation fees or
6 other fees, except multipurpose building fees or similar fees
7 for supplies and materials.
8     Any dependent who has been or shall be awarded a MIA/POW
9 Scholarship shall be reimbursed by the appropriate institution
10 of higher learning for any fees which he or she has paid and
11 for which exemption is granted under this Section if
12 application for reimbursement is made within 2 months following
13 the end of the school term for which the fees were paid.
14     (b) In lieu of the benefit provided in subsection (a), any
15 spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or step-child of
16 an eligible veteran or serviceperson, which spouse or child has
17 a physical, mental or developmental disability, shall be
18 entitled to receive, upon application and proper proof, a
19 benefit to be used for the purpose of defraying the cost of the
20 attendance or treatment of such spouse or child at one or more
21 appropriate therapeutic, rehabilitative or educational
22 facilities. The application and proof may be made by the parent
23 or legal guardian of the spouse or child on his or her behalf.
24     The total benefit provided to any beneficiary under this
25 subsection shall not exceed the cost equivalent of 4 calendar
26 years of full-time enrollment, including summer terms, at the

 

 

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1 University of Illinois. Whenever practicable in the opinion of
2 the Department of Veterans' Affairs, payment of benefits under
3 this subsection shall be made directly to the facility, the
4 cost of attendance or treatment at which is being defrayed, as
5 such costs accrue.
6     (c) The benefits of this Section shall be administered by
7 and paid for out of funds made available to the Illinois
8 Department of Veterans' Affairs. The amounts that become due to
9 any state supported Illinois institution of higher learning
10 shall be payable by the Comptroller to such institution on
11 vouchers approved by the Illinois Department of Veterans'
12 Affairs. The amounts that become due under subsection (b) of
13 this Section shall be payable by warrant upon vouchers issued
14 by the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs and approved by
15 the Comptroller. The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs
16 shall determine the eligibility of the persons who make
17 application for the benefits provided for in this Section.
18 (Source: P.A. 93-825, eff. 7-28-04.)
 
19     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
20 2010.