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Public Act 096-1415
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| SB3630 Enrolled | LRB096 20415 MJR 36159 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section |
30-14.2 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/30-14.2) (from Ch. 122, par. 30-14.2)
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Sec. 30-14.2. MIA/POW scholarships.
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(a) Any spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or |
any
step-child of an eligible veteran or serviceperson who |
possesses all necessary
entrance requirements shall, upon |
application and proper proof, be awarded
a MIA/POW Scholarship |
consisting of the equivalent of 4 calendar years of
full-time |
enrollment including summer terms, to the state supported
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Illinois institution of higher learning of his choice, subject |
to the
restrictions listed below.
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"Eligible veteran or serviceperson" means any veteran or |
serviceperson, including an Illinois National Guard member who |
is on active duty or is active on a training assignment,
who |
has been declared by the U. S. Department of Defense or the
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U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs to be a prisoner of war, |
be missing
in action, have died as the result of a |
service-connected disability or be
permanently disabled from |
service-connected causes with 100% disability and
who (i) at |
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the time of entering service was an Illinois resident, (ii) or |
was an
Illinois resident within 6 months after of entering such |
service, or (iii) until July 1, 2014, became an Illinois |
resident within 6 months after leaving the service and can |
establish at least 30 years of continuous residency in the |
State of Illinois.
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Full-time enrollment means 12 or more semester hours of |
courses per semester,
or 12 or more quarter hours of courses |
per quarter, or the equivalent thereof
per term. Scholarships |
utilized by dependents enrolled in less than full-time
study |
shall be computed in the proportion which the number of hours |
so carried
bears to full-time enrollment.
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Scholarships awarded under this Section may be used by a |
spouse or child
without regard to his or her age. The holder of |
a Scholarship
awarded under this Section shall be subject to |
all examinations and academic
standards, including the |
maintenance of minimum grade levels, that are
applicable |
generally to other enrolled students at the Illinois |
institution of
higher learning where the Scholarship is being |
used.
If the surviving spouse
remarries or if there is a |
divorce between the veteran or serviceperson and
his or her |
spouse while the dependent is pursuing his or her course of
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study, Scholarship benefits will be terminated at the end of |
the term for
which he or she is presently enrolled. Such |
dependents shall also be
entitled, upon proper proof and |
application, to enroll in any extension
course offered by a |
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State supported Illinois institution of higher learning
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without payment of tuition and approved fees.
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The holder of a MIA/POW Scholarship authorized under this |
Section shall
not be required to pay any matriculation or |
application fees, tuition,
activities fees, graduation fees or |
other fees, except multipurpose
building fees or similar fees |
for supplies and materials.
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Any dependent who has been or shall be awarded a MIA/POW |
Scholarship shall
be reimbursed by the appropriate institution |
of higher learning for any
fees which he or she has paid and |
for which exemption is granted under this
Section if |
application for reimbursement is made within 2 months following
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the end of the school term for which the fees were paid.
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(b) In lieu of the benefit provided in subsection (a), any |
spouse,
natural child, legally adopted child, or step-child of |
an eligible veteran
or serviceperson, which spouse or child has |
a physical, mental or
developmental disability, shall be |
entitled to receive, upon application and
proper proof, a |
benefit to be used for the purpose of defraying the cost of
the |
attendance or treatment of such spouse or child at one or more
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appropriate therapeutic, rehabilitative or educational |
facilities. The
application and proof may be made by the parent |
or legal guardian of the
spouse or child on his or her behalf.
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The total benefit provided to any beneficiary under this |
subsection shall
not exceed the cost equivalent of 4 calendar |
years of full-time enrollment,
including summer terms, at the |
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University of Illinois. Whenever
practicable in the opinion of |
the Department of Veterans' Affairs, payment
of benefits under |
this subsection shall be made directly to the facility,
the |
cost of attendance or treatment at which is being defrayed, as |
such
costs accrue.
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(c) The benefits of this Section shall be administered by |
and paid for out
of funds made available to the Illinois |
Department of Veterans' Affairs.
The amounts that become due to |
any state supported Illinois institution of
higher learning |
shall be payable by the Comptroller to such institution on
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vouchers approved by the Illinois Department of Veterans' |
Affairs. The
amounts that become due under subsection (b) of |
this Section shall be
payable by warrant upon vouchers issued |
by the Illinois Department of
Veterans' Affairs and approved by |
the Comptroller. The Illinois Department
of Veterans' Affairs |
shall determine the eligibility of the persons
who make |
application for the benefits provided for in this Section.
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(Source: P.A. 93-825, eff. 7-28-04.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, |
2010.
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