State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SB1616

 
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 1        AN ACT concerning a youth service scholarship program.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  1.  Short  title.   This Act may be cited as the
 5    Youth Service Scholarship Act.

 6        Section 5.  Intent.  It is  the  intent  of  the  General
 7    Assembly  to  establish the Youth Service Scholarship Program
 8    to accomplish all of the following goals:
 9        (1)  Provide this State's youth with opportunities to  do
10    all of the following:
11             (A)  Give back to their communities through service.
12             (B)  Enhance their access to a college education.
13             (C)  Develop,  in "real life" situations, the skills
14        and  understanding  critical  to  their  development   as
15        students, workers, and community members.
16             (D)  Develop  a  lifelong  ethic  of  service  and a
17        richer  understanding  of  citizenship  in  a  democratic
18        society.
19        (2)  Deter juvenile delinquency by providing this State's
20    youth with after school and  intersession  alternatives  that
21    promote public service.
22        (3)  Form  a  partnership  between  schools and community
23    organizations  dedicated  to  building   responsibility   and
24    broadening  higher  education  opportunities for this State's
25    youth.
26        (4)  Mobilize youth,  an  often  neglected  resource,  in
27    service  that  meets  the critical needs of their communities
28    by, for example,  tutoring  preschool  children  in  reading,
29    assisting  licensed providers' care for infants and toddlers,
30    helping  with  after   school   recreational   programs   and
31    nutritional  programs  for  elementary school pupils, helping
 
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 1    the frail and elderly to live independently, contributing  to
 2    neighborhood cleanup and housing rehabilitation projects, and
 3    assisting   their  peers  to  become  involved  in  community
 4    service.

 5        Section 10.  Definitions.  In this Act:
 6        "Commission" means the Illinois Commission  on  Community
 7    Service.
 8        "Program" means the Youth Service Scholarship Program.

 9        Section  15.  Establishment  of  Program; availability to
10    consortia.
11        (a)  There  is  hereby  established  the  Youth   Service
12    Scholarship  Program,  a pilot program, to be administered by
13    the Commission.  The Program shall be in  effect  for  fiscal
14    years  2003  through  2007,  and  the  Program  shall be made
15    available to consortia that are  comprised  of  one  or  more
16    school  districts  that operate schools with grades 9 through
17    12  and  at  least  3  community-based  organizations.    The
18    consortia  shall be selected for participation in the program
19    on a competitive basis by the Commission.
20        (b)  A pupil may be selected by a consortium  to  earn  a
21    scholarship  while  the  pupil is enrolled in any of grades 9
22    through 12 in a public school located in this State  that  is
23    involved  in  the  consortium.   The  pupil  may  redeem  the
24    scholarship  if  the  pupil  enrolls  in  a private or public
25    postsecondary or vocational institution located in this State
26    by December 1 of the  year  the  pupil  graduates  from  high
27    school  or receives a high school equivalency certificate.  A
28    student may defer redeeming the scholarship for 2  years.   A
29    pupil  wishing  to  defer his or her scholarship shall notify
30    the Commission, in writing,  by December 1 of  the  year  the
31    pupil  graduates  from  high school or receives a high school
32    equivalency certificate.  A pupil may  also  defer  redeeming
 
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 1    the  scholarship  for longer than 2 years if the pupil enters
 2    service in AmeriCorps, another national service program, or a
 3    branch of the United States Armed Services, in which case the
 4    scholarship shall be redeemed upon completion of the service.
 5    The Commission may grant a request to delay redemption  of  a
 6    scholarship  beyond  2  years  for other reasons on a case by
 7    case basis.
 8        (c)  In the event that the Commission  ceases  to  exist,
 9    the  Program  shall  be  administered by the Illinois Student
10    Assistance Commission.

11        Section 20.  Award of scholarships.  Upon  completion  of
12    100  hours  of volunteer community service, as defined by the
13    Commission pursuant to Section  35  of  this  Act,  performed
14    between  September  1  of  one year and August 31 of the next
15    year, a pupil shall earn a scholarship in the amount of $500.
16    The maximum amount of a scholarship  is  $2,000,  provided  a
17    pupil  performs  the  required  amount  of  community service
18    during each of grades 9 through 12.  A scholarship shall only
19    be used  for  tuition,  fees,  books,  supplies,  and  living
20    expenses.  If possible, an equal number of scholarships shall
21    be awarded to pupils enrolled in each of grades 9 through 12.

22        Section 25.  Service sites.
23        (a)  The community service described  in  Section  20  of
24    this  Act  shall  only be performed at service sites that are
25    approved by the consortium, based on guidelines developed  by
26    the Commission, pursuant to Sections 30 and 35 of this Act.
27        (b)  A service site may not provide any salary or stipend
28    to  the  pupils  performing  community service in conjunction
29    with the Program.
30        (c)  Any public or private not for  profit  organization,
31    including  a  school,  located  in  this State is eligible to
32    participate as a service site if the service to  be  provided
 
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 1    by  pupils  seeking to earn scholarships meets the definition
 2    of community service developed by the Commission pursuant  to
 3    Section 35 of this Act.
 4        (d)  The  consortia  shall give priority to service sites
 5    that meet the needs of low-income youth or focus on  reducing
 6    juvenile delinquency, or both.
 7        (e)  The  Commission  shall  ensure  that  consortia  and
 8    participating  service sites comply with all applicable State
 9    and federal child welfare laws.

10        Section   30.  Selection   of   pupils   and   consortia;
11    application.
12        (a)  The Commission shall develop guidelines to  be  used
13    by  the  consortia  to  select  pupils  to participate in the
14    Program.  These guidelines shall give selection  priority  to
15    pupils   who  will  participate  in  academically  meaningful
16    community service.
17        (b)  The  Commission   shall   develop   guidelines   for
18    selecting  consortia  for  participation in the Program.  The
19    Commission  shall  give  priority   to   consortia   with   a
20    participating  school  district that serves a high percentage
21    of students qualifying for a free  lunch  under  the  federal
22    Child Nutrition Act of 1966.
23        (c)  The  Commission  shall  attempt  to include an equal
24    distribution of consortia serving urban, rural, and  suburban
25    communities.
26        (d)  The Commission shall develop an application form and
27    instructions  for  completion  of  the  form  to  be  used by
28    consortia when applying for  participation  in  the  program.
29    The  Commission  shall  notify  all eligible school districts
30    about the Program and shall include a copy of the application
31    form and instructions with the notice.

32        Section 35.  Community service defined.  The  Commission,
 
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 1    in  consultation  with  the  State  Board of Education, shall
 2    define eligible community service based on the definitions of
 3    community service used in the federal work-study program  and
 4    the National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended by
 5    the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993.

 6        Section  40.  Administrative costs.  Administrative costs
 7    under this Act shall not exceed actual costs up to a  maximum
 8    of  10% in fiscal year 2003 and 6% thereafter. The Commission
 9    shall reimburse a  participating  school  district  within  a
10    consortium for administrative costs incurred in administering
11    the  Program,  in  an  amount  that does not exceed 5% of the
12    amount  of  each  scholarship  administered  by  that  school
13    district.

14        Section 45.  Study.  By  July  1,  2006,  the  Commission
15    shall  submit to the General Assembly a study of the efficacy
16    of the Program.  The study shall include, but is not  limited
17    to, all of the following:
18             (1)  The demand for scholarships by grade level.
19             (2)  The  demand  for  pupil participants by service
20        sites.
21             (3)  General background data on participating pupils
22        and consortia.
23             (4)  Types of  service  performed  by  participating
24        pupils.
25             (5)  An  itemization  of costs for administering the
26        Program.

27        Section 50.  Appropriation of funds.  This Act  shall  be
28    implemented  only  to  the extent that funds for that purpose
29    are appropriated.

30        Section 990.  Repealer.  This Act is repealed on  January
 
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 1    1, 2008.

 2        Section 999.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
 3    becoming law.

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