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93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004 HB4491
Introduced 02/03/04, by Donald L. Moffitt SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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105 ILCS 5/30-14.2 |
from Ch. 122, par. 30-14.2 |
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Amends the School Code. In a provision concerning MIA/POW scholarships, defines "eligible veteran or serviceperson" to include an Illinois National Guard member who is on active duty or is active on a training assignment and who has been declared to be a prisoner of war or missing in action, has died as the result of a service-connected disability, or is permanently disabled from service-connected causes. Effective immediately.
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| FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
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A BILL FOR
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HB4491 |
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LRB093 18947 NHT 44682 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 |
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| 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 |
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| any
step-child of an eligible veteran or serviceperson who |
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| possesses all necessary
entrance requirements shall, upon |
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| application and proper proof, be awarded
a MIA/POW Scholarship |
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| consisting of the equivalent of 4 calendar years of
full-time |
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| enrollment including summer terms, to the state supported
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| Illinois institution of higher learning of his choice, subject |
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| to the
restrictions listed below.
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| "Eligible veteran or serviceperson" means any veteran or |
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| serviceperson , including an Illinois National Guard member who |
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| is on active duty or is active on a training assignment,
who |
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| 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, |
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| be missing
in action, have died as the result of a |
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| service-connected disability or be
permanently disabled from |
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| service-connected causes with 100% disability and
who at the |
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| time of entering service was an Illinois resident or was an
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| Illinois resident within 6 months of entering such service.
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| Full-time enrollment means 12 or more semester hours of |
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| courses per semester,
or 12 or more quarter hours of courses |
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| per quarter, or the equivalent thereof
per term. Scholarships |
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| utilized by dependents enrolled in less than full-time
study |
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| shall be computed in the proportion which the number of hours |
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| so carried
bears to full-time enrollment.
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| Scholarships awarded under this Section may be used by a |
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HB4491 |
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LRB093 18947 NHT 44682 b |
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| spouse or child
without regard to his or her age. The holder of |
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| a Scholarship
awarded under this Section shall be subject to |
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| all examinations and academic
standards, including the |
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| maintenance of minimum grade levels, that are
applicable |
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| generally to other enrolled students at the Illinois |
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| institution of
higher learning where the Scholarship is being |
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| used.
If the surviving spouse
remarries or if there is a |
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| divorce between the veteran or serviceperson and
his or her |
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| 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 |
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| the term for
which he or she is presently enrolled. Such |
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| dependents shall also be
entitled, upon proper proof and |
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| 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 |
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| Section shall
not be required to pay any matriculation or |
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| application fees, tuition,
activities fees, graduation fees or |
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| other fees, except multipurpose
building fees or similar fees |
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| for supplies and materials.
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| Any dependent who has been or shall be awarded a MIA/POW |
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| Scholarship shall
be reimbursed by the appropriate institution |
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| of higher learning for any
fees which he or she has paid and |
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| for which exemption is granted under this
Section if |
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| 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 |
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| spouse,
natural child, legally adopted child, or step-child of |
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| an eligible veteran
or serviceperson, which spouse or child has |
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| a physical, mental or
developmental disability, shall be |
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| entitled to receive, upon application and
proper proof, a |
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| benefit to be used for the purpose of defraying the cost of
the |
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| attendance or treatment of such spouse or child at one or more
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| appropriate therapeutic, rehabilitative or educational |
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| facilities. The
application and proof may be made by the parent |
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| or legal guardian of the
spouse or child on his or her behalf.
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HB4491 |
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LRB093 18947 NHT 44682 b |
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| The total benefit provided to any beneficiary under this |
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| subsection shall
not exceed the cost equivalent of 4 calendar |
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| years of full-time enrollment,
including summer terms, at the |
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| University of Illinois. Whenever
practicable in the opinion of |
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| the Department of Veterans' Affairs, payment
of benefits under |
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| this subsection shall be made directly to the facility,
the |
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| cost of attendance or treatment at which is being defrayed, as |
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| such
costs accrue.
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| (c) The benefits of this Section shall be administered by |
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| and paid for out
of funds made available to the Illinois |
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| Department of Veterans' Affairs.
The amounts that become due to |
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| any state supported Illinois institution of
higher learning |
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| shall be payable by the Comptroller to such institution on
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| vouchers approved by the Illinois Department of Veterans' |
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| Affairs. The
amounts that become due under subsection (b) of |
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| this Section shall be
payable by warrant upon vouchers issued |
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| by the Illinois Department of
Veterans' Affairs and approved by |
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| the Comptroller. The Illinois Department
of Veterans' Affairs |
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| shall determine the eligibility of the persons
who make |
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| application for the benefits provided for in this Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 89-267, eff. 1-1-96.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| becoming law.
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