102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3411

 

Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Blaine Wilhour

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 40/5
35 ILCS 40/7.5 new
35 ILCS 40/10
35 ILCS 40/40
35 ILCS 40/45
35 ILCS 40/65 rep.
35 ILCS 40/995 rep.

    Amends the Invest in Kids Act. Provides that the amount of the credit shall be 100% (currently, 75%) of the total amount of qualified contributions made by the taxpayer during the taxable year. Provides that the annual aggregate credit cap shall be $100,000,000 per calendar year (currently, $75,000,000). Provides that the individual credit cap shall be $1,333,333 per taxpayer (currently, $1,000,000). Removes a limitation that prevent contributions from being directed to a particular subset of schools or a particular school. Provides that, in granting scholarships, first priority shall be given to eligible students who received a scholarship from a scholarship granting organization during the previous school year. Contains provisions concerning technical academies.


LRB102 14219 HLH 19571 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3411LRB102 14219 HLH 19571 b

1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 105-10. The Invest in Kids Act is amended by
5changing Sections 5, 10, 40, and 45 and by adding Section 7.5
6as follows:
 
7    (35 ILCS 40/5)
8    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2024)
9    Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
10    "Authorized contribution" means the contribution amount
11that is listed on the contribution authorization certificate
12issued to the taxpayer.
13    "Board" means the State Board of Education.
14    "Contribution" means a donation made by the taxpayer
15during the taxable year for providing scholarships as provided
16in this Act.
17    "Custodian" means, with respect to eligible students, an
18Illinois resident who is a parent or legal guardian of the
19eligible student or students.
20    "Department" means the Department of Revenue.
21    "Eligible student" means a child who:
22        (1) is a member of a household whose federal adjusted
23    gross income the year before he or she initially receives

 

 

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1    a scholarship under this program, as determined by the
2    Department, does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty
3    level and, once the child receives a scholarship, does not
4    exceed 400% of the federal poverty level;
5        (2) is eligible to attend a public elementary school
6    or high school in Illinois in the semester immediately
7    preceding the semester for which he or she first receives
8    a scholarship or is starting school in Illinois for the
9    first time when he or she first receives a scholarship;
10    and
11        (3) resides in Illinois while receiving a scholarship.
12    "Family member" means a parent, child, or sibling, whether
13by whole blood, half blood, or adoption; spouse; or stepchild.
14    "Focus district" means a school district which has a
15school that is either (i) a school that has one or more
16subgroups in which the average student performance is at or
17below the State average for the lowest 10% of student
18performance in that subgroup or (ii) a school with an average
19graduation rate of less than 60% and not identified for
20priority.
21    "Jointly-administered CTE program" means a program or set
22of programs within a non-public school located in Illinois, as
23determined by the Department of Labor pursuant to Section 7.5
24of this Act.
25    "Necessary costs and fees" includes the customary charge
26for instruction and use of facilities in general and the

 

 

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1additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that are
2required generally of non-scholarship recipients for each
3academic period for which the scholarship applicant actually
4enrolls, including costs associated with student assessments,
5but does not include fees payable only once and other
6contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or in part.
7The Board may prescribe, by rules consistent with this Act,
8detailed provisions concerning the computation of necessary
9costs and fees.
10    "Scholarship granting organization" means an entity that:
11        (1) is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of
12    the Internal Revenue Code;
13        (2) uses at least 95% of the qualified contributions
14    received during a taxable year for scholarships;
15        (3) provides scholarships to students according to the
16    guidelines of this Act;
17        (4) deposits and holds qualified contributions and any
18    income derived from qualified contributions in an account
19    that is separate from the organization's operating fund or
20    other funds until such qualified contributions or income
21    are withdrawn for use; and
22        (5) is approved to issue certificates of receipt.
23    "Qualified contribution" means the authorized contribution
24made by a taxpayer to a scholarship granting organization for
25which the taxpayer has received a certificate of receipt from
26such organization.

 

 

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1    "Qualified school" means a non-public school located in
2Illinois and recognized by the Board pursuant to Section
32-3.25o of the School Code.
4    "Scholarship" means an educational scholarship awarded to
5an eligible student to attend a qualified school of their
6custodians' choice in an amount not exceeding the necessary
7costs and fees to attend that school.
8    "Taxpayer" means any individual, corporation, partnership,
9trust, or other entity subject to the Illinois income tax. For
10the purposes of this Act, 2 individuals filing a joint return
11shall be considered one taxpayer.
12    "Technical academy" means a non-public school located in
13Illinois that (i) registers with the Board pursuant to Section
142-3.25o of the School Code and (ii) operates or will operate a
15jointly-administered CTE program as the primary focus of the
16school. To maintain its status as a technical academy, the
17non-public school must obtain recognition from the Board
18pursuant to Section 2-3.25o of the School Code within 2
19calendar years of its registration with the Board.
20(Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)
 
21    (35 ILCS 40/7.5 new)
22    Sec. 7.5. Determination of jointly-administered CTE
23programs.
24    (a) Upon its own motion, or petition from a qualified
25school or technical academy, the Department of Labor shall

 

 

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1determine whether a program or set of programs offered or
2proposed by a qualified school or technical academy provides
3coursework and training in career and technical education
4pathways aligned to industry-recognized certifications and
5credentials. The Department of Labor shall make that
6determination based upon whether the industry-recognized
7certifications or credentials that are the focus of a
8qualified school or technical academy's coursework and
9training program or set of programs (i) are associated with an
10occupation determined to fall under the LEADING or EMERGING
11priority sectors as determined through Illinois' Workforce
12Innovation and Opportunity Act Unified State Plan, and (ii)
13provide wages that are at least 70% of the average annual wage
14in the State as determined by the United States Bureau of Labor
15Statistics.
16    The Department of Labor shall publish a list of approved
17jointly-administered programs on its website and otherwise
18make such list available to the public.
19    (b) A qualified school or technical academy may petition
20the Department of Labor to obtain a determination that a
21proposed program or set of programs that it seeks to offer
22qualifies as a jointly-administered CTE program under
23subsection (a) of this Section. A petitioner shall file one
24original petition in the format provided by the Department of
25Labor and in the manner specified by the Department of Labor.
26The petitioner may withdraw his or her petition by submitting

 

 

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1a written statement to the Department indicating withdrawal.
2The Department shall approve or deny a petition within 180
3days of its submission, and, upon approval, shall proceed to
4add the program or set of programs to the list of approved
5jointly-administered CTE programs. The approval or denial of
6any petition is a final decision of the Department, subject to
7judicial review under the Administrative Review Law.
8Jurisdiction and venue are vested in the circuit court.
9    (c) The Department of Labor shall evaluate the approved
10jointly-administered CTE programs under this Section once
11every 5 years. At this time, the Department shall determine
12whether these programs continue to meet the requirements set
13forth in subsection (a) of this Section.
 
14    (35 ILCS 40/10)
15    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2024)
16    Sec. 10. Credit awards.
17    (a) The Department shall award credits against the tax
18imposed under subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 of the
19Illinois Income Tax Act to taxpayers who make qualified
20contributions. For contributions made under this Act, the
21credit shall be equal to 100% 75% of the total amount of
22qualified contributions made by the taxpayer during a taxable
23year, not to exceed a credit of $1,333,333 $1,000,000 per
24taxpayer.
25    (b) The aggregate amount of all credits the Department may

 

 

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1award under this Act in any calendar year may not exceed
2$100,000,000 $75,000,000. The aggregate credit cap under this
3subsection (b) shall be increased by 20% beginning on the
4first day of a calendar year if, in at least 2 of the previous
53 calendar years, the applicable aggregate credit cap was
6reached.
7    (c) Contributions made by corporations (including
8Subchapter S corporations), partnerships, and trusts under
9this Act may not be directed to a particular subset of schools
10or , a particular school, but may not be directed to a
11particular group of students, or a particular student.
12Contributions made by individuals under this Act may be
13directed to a particular subset of schools or a particular
14school but may not be directed to a particular group of
15students or a particular student.
16    (d) No credit shall be taken under this Act for any
17qualified contribution for which the taxpayer claims a federal
18income tax deduction.
19    (e) Credits shall be awarded in a manner, as determined by
20the Department, that is geographically proportionate to
21enrollment in recognized non-public schools in Illinois. If
22the cap on the aggregate credits that may be awarded by the
23Department is not reached by April 1 June 1 of a given year,
24the Department shall award remaining credits on a first-come,
25first-served basis, without regard to the limitation of this
26subsection.

 

 

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1    (f) Credits awarded for donations made to a technical
2academy shall be awarded without regard to subsection (e), but
3shall not exceed 15% of the annual statewide program cap. For
4the purposes of this subsection, "technical academy" means a
5technical academy that is registered with the Board within 30
6days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
7102nd General Assembly.
8(Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)
 
9    (35 ILCS 40/40)
10    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2024)
11    Sec. 40. Scholarship granting organization
12responsibilities.
13    (a) Before granting a scholarship for an academic year,
14all scholarship granting organizations shall assess and
15document each student's eligibility for the academic year.
16    (b) A scholarship granting organization shall grant
17scholarships only to eligible students.
18    (c) A scholarship granting organization shall allow an
19eligible student to attend any qualified school of the
20student's choosing, subject to the availability of funds.
21    (d) In granting scholarships, beginning in the 2022-2023
22school year and each school year thereafter, a scholarship
23granting organization shall give first priority to eligible
24students who received a scholarship from a scholarship
25granting organization during the previous school year. Second

 

 

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1priority shall be given to the following priority groups:
2        (1) (blank); eligible students who received a
3    scholarship from a scholarship granting organization
4    during the previous school year;
5        (2) eligible students who are members of a household
6    whose previous year's total annual income does not exceed
7    185% of the federal poverty level;
8        (3) eligible students who reside within a focus
9    district; and
10        (4) eligible students who are siblings of students
11    currently receiving a scholarship.
12    (d-5) A scholarship granting organization shall begin
13granting scholarships no later than February 1 preceding the
14school year for which the scholarship is sought. Each The
15priority group groups identified in subsection (d) of this
16Section shall be eligible to receive scholarships on a
17first-come, first-served basis until the April 1 immediately
18preceding the school year for which the scholarship is sought
19starting with the first priority group identified in
20subsection (d) of this Section. Applications for scholarships
21for eligible students meeting the qualifications of one or
22more priority groups that are received before April 1 must be
23either approved or denied within 10 business days after
24receipt. Beginning April 1, all eligible students shall be
25eligible to receive scholarships without regard to the
26priority groups identified in subsection (d) of this Section.

 

 

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1    (e) Except as provided in subsection (e-5) of this
2Section, scholarships shall not exceed the lesser of (i) the
3statewide average operational expense per student among public
4schools or (ii) the necessary costs and fees for attendance at
5the qualified school. Scholarships shall be prorated as
6follows:
7        (1) for eligible students whose household income is
8    less than 185% of the federal poverty level, the
9    scholarship shall be 100% of the amount determined
10    pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of
11    this Section;
12        (2) for eligible students whose household income is
13    185% or more of the federal poverty level but less than
14    250% of the federal poverty level, the average of
15    scholarships shall be 75% of the amount determined
16    pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of
17    this Section; and
18        (3) for eligible students whose household income is
19    250% or more of the federal poverty level, the average of
20    scholarships shall be 50% of the amount determined
21    pursuant to this subsection (e) and subsection (e-5) of
22    this Section.
23    (e-5) The statewide average operational expense per
24student among public schools shall be multiplied by the
25following factors:
26        (1) for students determined eligible to receive

 

 

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1    services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities
2    Education Act, 2;
3        (2) for students who are English learners, as defined
4    in subsection (d) of Section 14C-2 of the School Code,
5    1.2; and
6        (3) for students who are gifted and talented children,
7    as defined in Section 14A-20 of the School Code, 1.1; and .
8        (4) for students enrolled in a jointly-administered
9    CTE program, 1.5.
10    (f) A scholarship granting organization shall distribute
11scholarship payments to the participating school where the
12student is enrolled.
13    (g) Beginning in For the 2018-2019 school year through the
142021-2022 school year, each scholarship granting organization
15shall expend no less than 75% of the qualified contributions
16received during the calendar year in which the qualified
17contributions were received. No more than 25% of the qualified
18contributions may be carried forward to the following calendar
19year.
20    (h) In determining compliance with subsection (g), a
21scholarship granting organization may exempt a portion of
22donations directed to a technical academy operating in the
23first two calendar years in which the school is eligible to
24receive donations. For purposes of determining compliance with
25subsection (g) the sum of exempted donations per technical
26academy shall not exceed $3,000,000 over the 2-calendar year

 

 

HB3411- 12 -LRB102 14219 HLH 19571 b

1period. Not more than one scholarship granting organization
2shall exempt a portion of directed donations per technical
3academy. For the 2022-2023 school year, each scholarship
4granting organization shall expend all qualified contributions
5received during the calendar year in which the qualified
6contributions were received. No qualified contributions may be
7carried forward to the following calendar year.
8    (i) A scholarship granting organization shall allow an
9eligible student to transfer a scholarship during a school
10year to any other participating school of the custodian's
11choice. Such scholarships shall be prorated.
12    (j) With the prior approval of the Department, a
13scholarship granting organization may transfer funds to
14another scholarship granting organization if additional funds
15are required to meet scholarship demands at the receiving
16scholarship granting organization. All transferred funds must
17be deposited by the receiving scholarship granting
18organization into its scholarship accounts. All transferred
19amounts received by any scholarship granting organization must
20be separately disclosed to the Department.
21    (k) If the approval of a scholarship granting organization
22is revoked as provided in Section 20 of this Act or the
23scholarship granting organization is dissolved, all remaining
24qualified contributions of the scholarship granting
25organization shall be transferred to another scholarship
26granting organization. All transferred funds must be deposited

 

 

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1by the receiving scholarship granting organization into its
2scholarship accounts.
3    (l) Scholarship granting organizations shall make
4reasonable efforts to advertise the availability of
5scholarships to eligible students.
6(Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)
 
7    (35 ILCS 40/45)
8    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2024)
9    Sec. 45. State Board responsibilities.
10    (a) Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, students who
11have been granted a scholarship under this Act shall be
12annually assessed at the qualified school where the student
13attends school in the same manner in which students that
14attend public schools are annually assessed pursuant to
15Section 2-3.64a-5 of the School Code. Such qualified school
16shall pay costs associated with this requirement.
17    (b) The Board shall select an independent research
18organization, which may be a public or private entity or
19university, to which participating qualified schools must
20report the scores of students who are receiving scholarships
21and are assessed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section.
22Costs associated with the independent research organization
23shall be paid by the scholarship granting organizations on a
24per-pupil basis or by gifts, grants, or donations received by
25the Board under subsection (d) of this Section, as determined

 

 

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1by the Board. The independent research organization must
2annually report to the Board on the year-to-year learning
3gains of students receiving scholarships on a statewide basis.
4The report shall also include, to the extent possible, a
5comparison of these learning gains to the statewide learning
6gains of public school students with socioeconomic backgrounds
7similar to those of students receiving scholarships. The
8annual report shall be delivered to the Board and published on
9its website.
10    (c) Beginning within 120 days after the Board first
11receives the annual report by the independent research
12organization as provided in subsection (b) of this Section and
13on an annual basis thereafter, the Board shall submit a
14written report to the Governor, the President of the Senate,
15the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority
16Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of
17Representatives regarding this Act. Such report shall include
18an evaluation of the academic performance of students
19receiving scholarships and recommendations for improving
20student performance.
21    (d) Subject to the State Officials and Employees Ethics
22Act, the Board may receive and expend gifts, grants, and
23donations of any kind from any public or private entity to
24carry out the purposes of this Section, subject to the terms
25and conditions under which the gifts are given, provided that
26all such terms and conditions are permissible under law.

 

 

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1    (e) The sharing and reporting of student assessment
2learning gain data under this Section must be in accordance
3with requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy
4Act and the Illinois School Student Records Act. All parties
5must preserve the confidentiality of such information as
6required by law. The annual report must not disaggregate data
7to a level that will disclose the academic level of individual
8students.
9(Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)
 
10    (35 ILCS 40/65 rep.)
11    (35 ILCS 40/995 rep.)
12    Section 105-15. The Invest in Kids Act is amended by
13repealing Sections 65 and 995.