[ Search ] [ PDF text ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
| [ Introduced ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ Governor's Message ] |
| [ House Amendment 001 ] | [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
92_SB1521eng SB1521 Engrossed LRB9208236WHpc 1 AN ACT relating to education. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding 5 Section 5.545 as follows: 6 (30 ILCS 105/5.545 new) 7 Sec. 5.545. The Illinois Future Teacher Corps 8 Scholarship Fund. 9 Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act 10 is amended by adding Section 65.65 as follows: 11 (110 ILCS 947/65.65 new) 12 Sec. 65.65. Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarships. 13 (a) In this Section: 14 "Fees" means matriculation, graduation, activity, term, 15 or incidental fees. "Fees" does not include any other 16 fees, including book rental, service, laboratory, supply, 17 and union building fees, hospital and medical insurance fees, 18 and any fees established for the operation and maintenance of 19 buildings the income of which is pledged to the payment of 20 interest and principal on bonds issued by the governing board 21 of an institution of higher learning. 22 "Shortage" means an unfilled teaching position or one 23 that is filled but is occupied by a person who is not fully 24 certified by the State for that teaching position at the 25 start of the school year. 26 "Scholarship" means an Illinois Future Teacher Corps 27 Scholarship. 28 "Tuition and other necessary fees" includes the 29 customary charge for instruction and use of facilities in SB1521 Engrossed -2- LRB9208236WHpc 1 general and the additional fixed fees charged for specified 2 purposes that are required generally of non-scholarship 3 recipients for each academic term for which the recipient of 4 a scholarship under this Section actually enrolls. "Tuition 5 and other necessary fees" does not include fees payable only 6 once or breakage fees and other contingent deposits that are 7 refundable in whole or in part. "Tuition and other necessary 8 fees" does not include expenses for any sectarian or 9 denominational instruction, for the construction or 10 maintenance of sectarian or denominational facilities, or for 11 any other sectarian or denominational purposes or activity. 12 (b) A program is created to provide new teacher training 13 scholarships, to be known as Illinois Future Teacher Corps 14 Scholarships. The scholarships are for full-time 15 undergraduate and graduate students pursuing studies at 16 qualified institutions of higher learning leading to teacher 17 certification in this State. To receive a scholarship, a 18 graduate student must be seeking retraining, from another 19 field, to enter a teaching career. No more than half of the 20 scholarships shall be awarded to graduate students seeking 21 retraining. 22 (c) The Commission, in accordance with rules adopted for 23 the program created under this Section, shall provide 24 funding, determine the eligibility of applicants, and 25 designate each year's new recipients from among those 26 applicants who qualify for consideration by showing: 27 (1) that he or she is a resident of this State 28 and a citizen or a lawful permanent resident alien of the 29 United States; 30 (2) that he or she (i) has successfully completed 31 the program of instruction at an approved high 32 school or (ii) is a student in good standing at that 33 school and is enrolled in a program of instruction that 34 will be completed by the end of the school year and, in SB1521 Engrossed -3- LRB9208236WHpc 1 either event, that his or her cumulative grade point 2 average was or is in the upper one-third of his or her 3 high school class; 4 (3) that he or she has a superior capacity to 5 profit by a higher education; and 6 (4) that he or she intends to teach in an 7 elementary or secondary school in this State. 8 (d) If for any academic year the number of qualified 9 applicants exceeds the number of scholarships to be 10 awarded, the Commission shall prioritize the awarding of 11 scholarships to applicants by considering (i) identified 12 teacher shortage areas established by the State Board of 13 Education and (ii) an applicant's cumulative class rank in 14 high school or, for graduate student applicants, total 15 undergraduate cumulative grade point average. 16 (e) Unless otherwise indicated, scholarships shall be 17 good for a period of up to 4 academic years while the 18 recipient is enrolled for full-time residence credit at a 19 qualified institution of higher learning. Each academic 20 year, the scholarship shall cover tuition and other necessary 21 fees for 2 semesters plus the summer session or 4 quarters. 22 For purposes of calculating scholarship assistance for 23 recipients attending private institutions of higher learning, 24 tuition and other necessary fees for students at private 25 institutions shall not exceed the average tuition and other 26 necessary fees for students at State universities for the 27 academic year in which the scholarship is made. 28 (f) Before receiving scholarship assistance, a 29 scholarship recipient shall be required by the Commission to 30 sign an agreement under which the recipient pledges that, 31 within the 5-year period following the completion of the 32 academic program for which the recipient was awarded a 33 scholarship, the recipient (i) shall teach for a period of 34 not less than 4 years for each academic year of scholarship SB1521 Engrossed -4- LRB9208236WHpc 1 assistance that he or she was awarded, (ii) shall fulfill 2 this teaching obligation at a public or nonprofit private 3 preschool, elementary school, or secondary school in this 4 State, and (iii) shall, upon request by the Commission, 5 provide the Commission with evidence that he or she is 6 fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the teaching 7 agreement provided for in this subsection (f). 8 (g) If a scholarship recipient fails to fulfill the 9 teaching obligation set forth in subsection (f) of this 10 Section, the Commission shall require the recipient to repay 11 the amount of the scholarship assistance received, at a rate 12 of interest equal to 5%, and, if applicable, reasonable 13 collection fees. The Commission may establish rules relating 14 to its collection activities for the repayment of 15 scholarships. All repayments collected under this Section 16 shall be forwarded to the State Comptroller for deposit into 17 the General Revenue Fund. 18 A scholarship recipient shall not be considered in 19 violation of the agreement entered into pursuant to 20 subsection (f) of this Section if the recipient (i) enrolls 21 on a full-time basis as a graduate student in a course of 22 study related to the field of teaching at a qualified 23 institution of higher learning, (ii) is serving as a member 24 of the armed services of the United States for a period of 25 time not to exceed 3 years, (iii) is temporarily totally 26 disabled for a period of time not to exceed 3 years, as 27 established by sworn affidavit of a qualified physician, (iv) 28 is seeking and unable to find full-time employment as a 29 teacher at a public or nonprofit private preschool, 30 elementary school, or secondary school that satisfies the 31 criteria set forth in subsection (f) of this Section and is 32 able to provide evidence of that fact, or (v) becomes 33 permanently totally disabled, as established by sworn 34 affidavit of a qualified physician. No claim for repayment SB1521 Engrossed -5- LRB9208236WHpc 1 may be filed against the estate of a decedent or incompetent. 2 Each person applying for a scholarship shall be provided 3 with a copy of this subsection (g) at the time he or she 4 applies for the scholarship. 5 (h) The Commission may prescribe, by rule, detailed 6 provisions concerning the computation of tuition and other 7 necessary fees, which must not be inconsistent with this 8 Section. 9 (i) If an applicant for a scholarship under this Section 10 accepts another teacher preparation scholarship administered 11 by the Commission for the same academic year as the 12 scholarship under this Section, that applicant shall not be 13 eligible for a scholarship under this Section. 14 (j) To continue receiving scholarship assistance, a 15 scholarship recipient must remain a full-time student and 16 must maintain a cumulative grade point average at the 17 postsecondary level of no less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. 18 (k) A scholarship shall not be awarded to or continued 19 for anyone who has been convicted of a criminal offense that 20 would disqualify that person from receiving teacher 21 certification in this State. 22 (l) If a scholarship recipient satisfies the president 23 of the institution of higher learning in which the recipient 24 is enrolled (or someone designated by the president) that the 25 recipient requires a leave of absence for the purpose of 26 earning funds to defray his or her expenses while enrolled 27 in the institution, for study abroad or internship study, or 28 on account of illness or military service, then leave may be 29 granted for a period of time not to exceed 6 years (with time 30 spent in the armed forces not included as part of this time 31 limit) without violating the agreement entered into pursuant 32 to subsection (f) of this Section. 33 (m) Scholarship amounts due to an institution of 34 higher learning shall be payable by the Comptroller to that SB1521 Engrossed -6- LRB9208236WHpc 1 institution on vouchers approved by the Commission. 2 (n) The Commission shall administer the program created 3 under this Section and shall adopt all necessary and proper 4 rules not inconsistent with this Section for the program's 5 effective implementation. All applications for scholarship 6 assistance shall be made to the Commission in a form as set 7 forth by the Commission. The form of application and the 8 information required to be set forth in the application shall 9 be determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall 10 require applicants to submit with their applications any 11 supporting documents that the Commission deems necessary. 12 (o) If an appropriation to the Commission for a given 13 fiscal year is insufficient to provide scholarships to all 14 qualified applicants, then the Commission shall allocate the 15 available scholarship funds for that fiscal year on the 16 basis of the date the Commission receives a complete 17 application form from a qualified applicant. 18 Section 15. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by 19 adding Section 3-648 as follows: 20 (625 ILCS 5/3-648 new) 21 Sec. 3-648. Education license plates. 22 (a) The Secretary, upon receipt of an application made 23 in the form prescribed by the Secretary, may issue special 24 registration plates designated as Education license plates. 25 The special plates issued under this Section shall be affixed 26 only to passenger vehicles of the first division and motor 27 vehicles of the second division weighing not more than 8,000 28 pounds. Plates issued under this Section shall expire 29 according to the multi-year procedure established by Section 30 3-414.1 of this Code. 31 (b) The design and color of the plates shall be 32 determined by a contest that every elementary school pupil in SB1521 Engrossed -7- LRB9208236WHpc 1 the State of Illinois is eligible to enter. The designs 2 submitted for the contest shall be judged on September 30, 3 2002, and the winning design shall be selected by a committee 4 composed of the Secretary, the Director of State Police, 2 5 members of the Senate, one member chosen by the President of 6 the Senate and one member chosen by the Senate Minority 7 Leader, and 2 members of the House of Representatives, one 8 member chosen by the Speaker of the House and one member 9 chosen by the House Minority Leader. The Secretary may allow 10 the plates to be issued as vanity or personalized plates 11 under Section 3-405.1 of the Code. The Secretary shall 12 prescribe stickers or decals as provided under Section 3-412 13 of this Code. 14 (c) An applicant for the special plate shall be charged 15 a $40 fee for original issuance, in addition to the 16 appropriate registration fee. Of this $40 additional original 17 issuance fee, $15 shall be deposited into the Secretary of 18 State Special License Plate Fund, to be used by the Secretary 19 to help defray the administrative processing costs, and $25 20 shall be deposited into the Illinois Future Teacher Corps 21 Scholarship Fund. For each registration renewal period, a 22 $40 fee, in addition to the appropriate registration fee, 23 shall be charged. Of this $40 additional renewal fee, $2 24 shall be deposited into the Secretary of State Special 25 License Plate Fund and $38 shall be deposited into the 26 Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund. Each fiscal 27 year, once deposits from the additional original issuance and 28 renewal fees into the Secretary of State Special License 29 Plate Fund have reached $500,000, all the amounts received 30 for the additional fees for the balance of the fiscal year 31 shall be deposited into the Illinois Future Teacher Corps 32 Scholarship Fund. 33 (d) The Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund 34 is created as a special fund in the State treasury. All SB1521 Engrossed -8- LRB9208236WHpc 1 moneys in the Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund 2 shall be appropriated to the Illinois Student Assistance 3 Commission for scholarships under Section 65.65 of the Higher 4 Education Student Assistance Act. 5 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 6 becoming law.