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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 an
6amount not to exceed 50% of the personal services cost for an
7agriculture education teacher under this Section. However, a
8school district that is creating a new agriculture education
9program may apply for a grant to fund an amount not to exceed
10100% of an agriculture teacher's personal services cost in the
11first and second year of the new agriculture education program
12and an amount not to exceed 80% of an agriculture teacher's
13personal services cost in the third and fourth years of the new
14agriculture education program. A school district may apply for
15a grant for more than one teacher under this Section.
16    (d) A school district that applies for a grant under this
17Section or offers any extended contract for agriculture
18education shall base its personal services costs on the
19reasonably expected personal services cost for the teacher
20based on the cost of the teacher's regularly scheduled teaching
21duties.
22    (e) The State Board of Education shall create a statewide
23system for an agriculture education teacher to track his or her
24additional hours completed pursuant to a grant under this
25Section.
26    (f) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules as

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 88-228; 89-4, eff. 1-1-96.)