99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB2975

 

Introduced 2/18/2016, by Sen. Bill Cunningham

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/2-3.80b new
110 ILCS 947/65.25

    Amends the School Code. Provides that, subject to appropriation to the State Board of Education, there is created an agriculture education teacher grant program to fund personal services costs for agriculture education teachers in school districts. Provides that a school district may apply for a grant to fund 50% of the personal services cost for an agriculture education teacher; however, a school district that is creating a new agriculture education program may apply for a grant to fund 100% of an agriculture teacher's personal services cost in the first and second year of the new agriculture education program and 80% of an agriculture teacher's personal services cost in the third and fourth years of the new agriculture education program. Allows a school district to apply for a grant for more than one teacher. Sets forth the duties of the State Board. Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to teacher shortage scholarships. Specifies that agricultural education is a course of study included in the definition of "areas of identified staff shortages".


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
52-3.80b as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.80b new)
7    Sec. 2-3.80b. Agriculture education teacher grant program.
8    (a) As used in this Section:
9    "New agriculture education program" means an agriculture
10education program approved by the State Board of Education in a
11school district that has not had an agriculture education
12program for a period of 10 years or more prior to the date of
13application for a grant under this Section.
14    "Personal services cost" means the cost of a teacher
15providing 60 additional days, which shall mean 400 additional
16hours, outside the teacher's regularly scheduled teaching
17duties for the benefit of agriculture education. The 400
18additional hours shall be any activity that is to the benefit
19of agriculture education, as defined by the State Board of
20Education by rule, regardless of the time of year the activity
21occurs.
22    (b) Subject to appropriation to the State Board of
23Education, there is created an agriculture education teacher

 

 

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1grant program to fund personal services costs for agriculture
2education teachers in school districts. The grants shall be for
3the purpose of assisting school districts with paying for
4personal services costs of agriculture education teachers.
5    (c) A school district may apply for a grant to fund 50% of
6the personal services cost for an agriculture education teacher
7under this Section. However, a school district that is creating
8a new agriculture education program may apply for a grant to
9fund 100% of an agriculture teacher's personal services cost in
10the first and second year of the new agriculture education
11program and 80% of an agriculture teacher's personal services
12cost in the third and fourth years of the new agriculture
13education program. A school district may apply for a grant for
14more than one teacher under this Section.
15    (d) A school district that applies for a grant under this
16Section or offers any extended contract for agriculture
17education shall base its personal services costs on the
18reasonably expected personal services cost for the teacher
19based on the cost of the teacher's regularly scheduled teaching
20duties.
21    (e) The State Board of Education shall create a statewide
22system for an agriculture education teacher to track his or her
23additional hours completed pursuant to a grant under this
24Section.
25    (f) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules as
26necessary to implement this Section.
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
2amended by changing Section 65.25 as follows:
 
3    (110 ILCS 947/65.25)
4    Sec. 65.25. Teacher shortage scholarships.
5    (a) The Commission may annually award a number of
6scholarships to persons preparing to teach in areas of
7identified staff shortages. Such scholarships shall be issued
8to individuals who make application to the Commission and who
9agree to take courses at qualified institutions of higher
10learning which will prepare them to teach in areas of
11identified staff shortages.
12    (b) Scholarships awarded under this Section shall be issued
13pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Commission;
14provided that no rule or regulation promulgated by the State
15Board of Education prior to the effective date of this
16amendatory Act of 1993 pursuant to the exercise of any right,
17power, duty, responsibility or matter of pending business
18transferred from the State Board of Education to the Commission
19under this Section shall be affected thereby, and all such
20rules and regulations shall become the rules and regulations of
21the Commission until modified or changed by the Commission in
22accordance with law. The Commission shall allocate the
23scholarships awarded between persons initially preparing to
24teach, persons holding valid teaching certificates issued

 

 

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1under Articles 21 and 34 of the School Code, and persons
2holding a bachelor's degree from any accredited college or
3university who have been employed for a minimum of 10 years in
4a field other than teaching.
5    (c) Each scholarship shall be utilized by its holder for
6the payment of tuition and non-revenue bond fees at any
7qualified institution of higher learning. Such tuition and fees
8shall be available only for courses that will enable the
9individual to be certified to teach in areas of identified
10staff shortages. The Commission shall determine which courses
11are eligible for tuition payments under this Section.
12    (d) The Commission may make tuition payments directly to
13the qualified institution of higher learning which the
14individual attends for the courses prescribed or may make
15payments to the teacher. Any teacher who received payments and
16who fails to enroll in the courses prescribed shall refund the
17payments to the Commission.
18    (e) Following the completion of the program of study,
19persons who held valid teaching certificates and persons
20holding a bachelor's degree from any accredited college or
21university who have been employed for a minimum of 10 years in
22a field other than teaching prior to receiving a teacher
23shortage scholarship must accept employment within 2 years in a
24school in Illinois within 60 miles of the person's residence to
25teach in an area of identified staff shortage for a period of
26at least 3 years; provided, however that any such person

 

 

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1instead may elect to accept employment within such 2 year
2period to teach in an area of identified staff shortage for a
3period of at least 3 years in a school in Illinois which is
4more than 60 miles from such person's residence. Persons
5initially preparing to teach prior to receiving a teacher
6shortage scholarship must accept employment within 2 years in a
7school in Illinois to teach in an area of identified staff
8shortage for a period of at least 3 years. Individuals who fail
9to comply with this provision shall refund all of the
10scholarships awarded to the Commission, whether payments were
11made directly to the institutions of higher learning or to the
12individuals, and this condition shall be agreed to in writing
13by all scholarship recipients at the time the scholarship is
14awarded. No individual shall be required to refund tuition
15payments if his or her failure to obtain employment as a
16teacher in a school is the result of financial conditions
17within school districts. The rules and regulations promulgated
18as provided in this Section shall contain provisions regarding
19the waiving and deferral of such payments.
20    (f) The Commission, with the cooperation of the State Board
21of Education, shall assist individuals who have participated in
22the scholarship program established by this Section in finding
23employment in areas of identified staff shortages.
24    (g) Beginning in September, 1994 and annually thereafter,
25the Commission, using data annually supplied by the State Board
26of Education under procedures developed by it to measure the

 

 

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1level of shortage of qualified bilingual personnel serving
2students with disabilities, shall annually publish (i) the
3level of shortage of qualified bilingual personnel serving
4students with disabilities, and (ii) allocations of
5scholarships for personnel preparation training programs in
6the areas of bilingual special education teacher training and
7bilingual school service personnel.
8    (h) Appropriations for the scholarships outlined in this
9Section shall be made to the Commission from funds appropriated
10by the General Assembly.
11    (i) This Section is substantially the same as Section 30-4c
12of the School Code, which Section is repealed by this
13amendatory Act of 1993, and shall be construed as a
14continuation of the teacher shortage scholarship program
15established under that prior law, and not as a new or different
16teacher shortage scholarship program. The State Board of
17Education shall transfer to the Commission, as the successor to
18the State Board of Education for all purposes of administering
19and implementing the provisions of this Section, all books,
20accounts, records, papers, documents, contracts, agreements,
21and pending business in any way relating to the teacher
22shortage scholarship program continued under this Section; and
23all scholarships at any time awarded under that program by, and
24all applications for any such scholarships at any time made to,
25the State Board of Education shall be unaffected by the
26transfer to the Commission of all responsibility for the

 

 

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1administration and implementation of the teacher shortage
2scholarship program continued under this Section. The State
3Board of Education shall furnish to the Commission such other
4information as the Commission may request to assist it in
5administering this Section.
6    (j) For the purposes of this Section:
7    "Qualified institution of higher learning" means the
8University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago
9State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State
10University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois
11University, Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois
12University, the public community colleges subject to the Public
13Community College Act and any Illinois privately operated
14college, community college or university offering degrees and
15instructional programs above the high school level either in
16residence or by correspondence. The Board of Higher Education
17and the Commission, in consultation with the State Board of
18Education, shall identify qualified institutions to supply the
19demand for bilingual special education teachers and bilingual
20school service personnel.
21    "Areas of identified staff shortages" means courses of
22study, including, but not limited to, agricultural education,
23in which the number of teachers is insufficient to meet student
24or school district demand for such instruction as determined by
25the State Board of Education.
26(Source: P.A. 88-228; 89-4, eff. 1-1-96.)