Full Text of SB3307 98th General Assembly
SB3307 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014 SB3307 Introduced 2/14/2014, by Sen. Chapin Rose SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the State scholar program.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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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 Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Section 25 as follows:
| 6 | | (110 ILCS 947/25)
| 7 | | Sec. 25. State scholar program.
| 8 | | (a) An applicant is eligible to be designated a State | 9 | | Scholar when the the
Commission finds the candidate:
| 10 | | (1) is a resident of this State, including a resident | 11 | | attending a Department of Defense school, and a citizen or | 12 | | permanent resident of the
United States;
| 13 | | (2) has successfully completed the program of | 14 | | instruction at an
approved high school, or is a student in | 15 | | good standing at such a school and
is engaged in a program | 16 | | which in due course will be completed by the end of
the | 17 | | academic year, and in either event that the candidate's | 18 | | academic
standing is above the class median; and that the | 19 | | candidate has not had any
university, college, normal | 20 | | school, private junior college or public community
| 21 | | college, or other advanced training subsequent to | 22 | | graduation from high school;
and
| 23 | | (3) has superior capacity to profit by a higher |
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| 1 | | education.
| 2 | | (b) In determining an applicant's superior capacity to | 3 | | profit by a
higher education, the Commission shall consider the | 4 | | candidate's
scholastic record in high school and the results of | 5 | | the examination conducted
under the provisions of this Act. The | 6 | | Commission shall establish by rule the
minimum conditions of | 7 | | eligibility in terms of the foregoing factors, and the
relative | 8 | | weight to be accorded to those factors.
| 9 | | (c) The Commission shall base its State Scholar | 10 | | designations upon the
eligibility formula prescribed in its | 11 | | rules, except that notwithstanding
those rules or any other | 12 | | provision of this Section, a student nominated by
his or her | 13 | | school shall be designated a State Scholar if that student
| 14 | | achieves an Illinois Standard Test Score at or above the 95th | 15 | | percentile
among students taking the designated examinations | 16 | | in Illinois that year, as
determined by the Commission.
| 17 | | (d) The Commission shall obtain the results of a | 18 | | competitive examination
from the applicants. The examination | 19 | | shall provide a measure of each
candidate's ability to perform | 20 | | college work and shall have demonstrated utility
in such a | 21 | | selection program. The Commission shall select, and designate | 22 | | by
rule, the specific examinations to be used in determining | 23 | | the applicant's
superior capacity to profit from a higher | 24 | | education. Candidates may be asked by
the Commission to take | 25 | | those steps necessary to provide results of the
designated | 26 | | examination as part of their applications. Any nominal cost of
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| 1 | | obtaining or providing the examination results shall be paid by | 2 | | the candidate
to the agency designated by the Commission to | 3 | | provide the examination service.
In the event that a candidate | 4 | | or candidates are unable to participate in the
examination for | 5 | | financial reasons, the Commission may choose to pay the
| 6 | | examination fee on the candidate's or candidates' behalf. Any | 7 | | notary fee which
may also be required as part of the total | 8 | | application shall be paid by the
applicant.
| 9 | | (e) The Commission shall award to each State Scholar a | 10 | | certificate or other
suitable form of recognition. The decision | 11 | | to attend a non-qualified
institution of higher learning shall | 12 | | not disqualify applicants who are
otherwise fully qualified.
| 13 | | (f) Subject to appropriation, each State Scholar who | 14 | | enrolls or is enrolled in an institution of higher learning in | 15 | | this State shall also receive a one-time grant of $1,000 to be | 16 | | applied to tuition and mandatory fees and paid directly to the | 17 | | institution of higher learning. However, a student who has been | 18 | | awarded a Merit Recognition Scholarship under Section 31 of | 19 | | this Act may not be awarded a grant under this subsection (f), | 20 | | although he or she may still be designated a State Scholar. | 21 | | (g)
The Commission shall conduct a study detailing all of | 22 | | the following information: | 23 | | (1) The number of students designated State Scholars in | 24 | | 2008 and 2009. | 25 | | (2) The number of State Scholars who applied to State | 26 | | universities in 2008 and 2009. |
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| 1 | | (3) The number of State Scholars who were denied | 2 | | admittance into the State universities to which they | 3 | | applied in 2008 and 2009. | 4 | | All data collected from a State university in regards to | 5 | | the study conducted under this subsection (g)
must be verified | 6 | | by that university. | 7 | | On or before January 1, 2010, the Commission must submit a | 8 | | report to the General Assembly that contains the findings of | 9 | | the study conducted under this subsection (g)
and the | 10 | | Commission's recommendations on how to make State universities | 11 | | more accessible to State Scholars. | 12 | | (h)
The Commission shall adopt all necessary and proper | 13 | | rules not inconsistent with this Section for its effective | 14 | | implementation.
| 15 | | (Source: P.A. 95-715, eff. 1-1-09; 95-760, eff. 7-28-08; | 16 | | 96-315, eff. 8-11-09; 96-328, eff. 8-11-09.)
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