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| [ Engrossed ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ Senate Amendment 002 ] |
91_HB0080
LRB9100386NTsbA
1 AN ACT to amend the Higher Education Student Assistance
2 Act by changing Section 30.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
6 is amended by changing Section 30 as follows:
7 (110 ILCS 947/30)
8 Sec. 30. Merit recognition scholarship program.
9 (a) As used in this Section:
10 "Eligible applicant" means a student from any
11 approved high school located in this State whose 7th
12 semester cumulative high school grade point average is at
13 or above the 90th 95th percentile of his or her high
14 school class, or a student from any non-recognized high
15 school whose cumulative score on the ACT is at least 5 7
16 points above the statewide mean average cumulative ACT
17 score as determined by the State Board of Education, and
18 who by reason thereof is entitled to apply for
19 scholarships to be awarded under this Section.
20 "Qualified student" means a person: (i) of good
21 moral character who is a resident of this State and a
22 citizen or permanent resident of the United States, (ii)
23 who, as an eligible applicant, has made a timely
24 application for a merit recognition scholarship under
25 this Section, (iii) who has successfully completed the
26 program of instruction at any high school located in this
27 State, and (iv) who enrolls or is enrolled in a qualified
28 Illinois institution of higher learning or a Service
29 Academy as an undergraduate student or cadet and has not
30 received a baccalaureate degree.
31 "Merit recognition scholarship" means a $1,000
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1 academic scholarship awarded under this Section during an
2 academic year to a qualified student, without regard to
3 financial need, as a scholarship to any qualified
4 Illinois institution of higher learning or a Service
5 Academy in which that student is or will be enrolled as
6 an undergraduate student or cadet.
7 "Service Academy" means the U.S. Air Force Academy,
8 the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Military Academy,
9 or the U.S. Naval Academy.
10 (b) In order to identify, encourage, promote, and reward
11 the distinguished academic achievement of students from every
12 high school located in this State, each qualified student
13 shall be awarded a merit recognition scholarship to any
14 qualified Illinois institution of higher learning or to any
15 Service Academy.
16 (c) No merit recognition scholarship provided for a
17 qualified student under this Section shall be considered in
18 evaluating the financial situation of that student, or be
19 deemed a financial resource of or a form of financial aid or
20 assistance to that student, for purposes of determining the
21 eligibility of the student for any scholarship, grant, or
22 monetary assistance awarded by the Commission, the State or
23 any agency thereof pursuant to the provisions of any other
24 Section of this Act or any other law of this State; nor shall
25 any merit recognition scholarship provided for a qualified
26 student under this Section reduce the amount of any
27 scholarship, grant, or monetary assistance which that student
28 is eligible to be awarded by the Commission, the State, or
29 any agency thereof in accordance with the provisions of any
30 other Section of this Act or any other law of this State.
31 (d) Each high school located in this State shall certify
32 to the Commission the names of its students who are eligible
33 applicants, specifying which of the students certified as
34 eligible applicants have completed the program of instruction
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1 at that high school and the graduation date fixed for their
2 high school class, and specifying for each of the other
3 eligible applicants whose names appear on the certification
4 the semester of high school last completed by them. The
5 Commission shall promptly notify those eligible applicants so
6 certified who are reasonably assured of receiving a Merit
7 Recognition Scholarship in accordance with the annual funding
8 levels recommended in the Governor's Budget -- other than any
9 eligible applicant named on any such certification who, as an
10 eligible applicant, has previously made application to the
11 Commission for a merit recognition scholarship under this
12 Section -- of their eligibility to apply for a scholarship
13 under this Section. An otherwise eligible applicant who fails
14 to make a timely application (as determined by the
15 Commission) for a merit recognition scholarship under this
16 Section shall no longer be deemed an eligible applicant and
17 shall not qualify for the award of any merit recognition
18 scholarship.
19 (e) All applications for merit recognition scholarships
20 to be awarded under this Section shall be made to the
21 Commission on forms which the Commission shall provide for
22 eligible applicants. The form of applications and the
23 information required to be set forth therein shall be
24 determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall
25 require eligible applicants to submit with their applications
26 such supporting documents or recommendations as the
27 Commission deems necessary.
28 (f) Whenever an eligible applicant who has completed the
29 program of instruction at any high school located in this
30 State thereafter makes timely application to the Commission
31 for a merit recognition scholarship under this Section, the
32 Commission shall promptly determine whether that eligible
33 applicant is a qualified student as defined in subsection (a)
34 of this Section. Each such eligible applicant so determined
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1 by the Commission to be a qualified student shall be
2 designated as such by the Commission and shall be awarded a
3 merit recognition scholarship in the amount of $1,000,
4 effective during the academic year following the qualified
5 student's high school graduation or, should the General
6 Assembly specifically so provide in an appropriation under
7 this Section, effective for a subsequent academic year.
8 (g) Subject to a separate appropriation for purposes of
9 this Section, payment of any merit recognition scholarship
10 awarded under this Section shall be determined by the
11 Commission. All scholarship funds distributed in accordance
12 with this subsection shall be paid to the qualified Illinois
13 institution of higher learning or Service Academy and used
14 only for payment of the educational expenses incurred by the
15 student in connection with his or her attendance as an
16 undergraduate student or cadet at that institution or Service
17 Academy, including but not limited to tuition and fees, room
18 and board, books and supplies, required Service Academy
19 uniforms, and travel and personal expenses related to the
20 student's attendance at that institution or Service Academy.
21 Any merit recognition scholarship awarded under this Section
22 shall be applicable to 2 semesters or 3 quarters of
23 enrollment. Should a qualified student withdraw from
24 enrollment prior to completion of the first semester or
25 quarter for which the merit recognition scholarship is
26 applicable, the student shall refund to the Commission the
27 full amount of the merit recognition scholarship.
28 (h) The Commission shall administer the merit
29 recognition scholarship aid program established by this
30 Section and shall make all necessary and proper rules, not
31 inconsistent with this Section, for its effective
32 implementation.
33 (i) When an appropriation to the Commission for purposes
34 of this Section is insufficient to provide scholarships to
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1 all qualified students, the Commission shall allocate the
2 appropriation in accordance with this subsection. If funds
3 are insufficient to provide all qualified students with a
4 scholarship as authorized by subsection (f), the Commission
5 shall allocate the scholarships to qualified students in
6 order of decreasing percentile as determined by the eligible
7 applicant's cumulative grade point average, except that the
8 percentile placement of qualified students from
9 non-recognized high schools shall be determined as follows:
10 those with a cumulative ACT score of 34 or above shall be in
11 the 99th percentile, those with a cumulative ACT score that
12 is at least 33 but less than 34 shall be in the 98th
13 percentile, those with a cumulative ACT score that is at
14 least 32 but less than 33 shall be in the 97th percentile,
15 those with a cumulative ACT score that is at least 31 but
16 less than 32 shall be in the 96th percentile, and those with
17 a cumulative ACT score that is at least 30 but less than 31
18 shall be in the 95th percentile, those with a cumulative ACT
19 score that is at least 29 but less than 30 shall be in the
20 94th percentile, those with a cumulative ACT score that is at
21 least 28 but less than 29 shall be in the 92nd percentile,
22 and those with a cumulative ACT score that is at least 5
23 points above the statewide mean average cumulative ACT score
24 but less than 28 shall be in the 90th 7 points above the
25 statewide average cumulative ACT score but less than 31 shall
26 be in the 95th percentile. All merit recognition
27 scholarships shall be in the amount of $1,000.
28 (j) The Commission, in determining the number of
29 scholarships to be offered pursuant to subsection (i), shall
30 take into consideration past experience with the rate of
31 scholarship funds unclaimed by qualified students. To the
32 extent necessary to avoid an overcommitment of funds, the
33 Commission may allocate scholarship funds on the basis of the
34 date the Commission receives a complete application form.
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1 (k) (Blank).
2 (Source: P.A. 90-372, eff. 7-1-98; 90-728, eff. 1-1-99.)