Public Act 101-0558
 
SB1525 EnrolledLRB101 10314 KTG 55420 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
by changing Section 8 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 505/8)  (from Ch. 23, par. 5008)
    Sec. 8. Scholarships and fee waivers; tuition waiver.
    (a) Each year the Department shall select a minimum of 53
students (at least 4 of whom shall be children of veterans) to
receive scholarships and fee waivers which will enable them to
attend and complete their post-secondary education at a
community college, university, or college. Youth shall be
selected from among the youth for whom the Department has
court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who aged out of care
at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care who have been
adopted or who have been placed in private guardianship.
Recipients must have earned a high school diploma from an
accredited institution or a high school equivalency
certificate or diploma or have met the State criteria for high
school graduation before the start of the school year for which
they are applying for the scholarship and waiver. Scholarships
and fee waivers shall be available to students for at least 5
years, provided they are continuing to work toward graduation.
Unused scholarship dollars and fee waivers shall be reallocated
to new recipients. No later than January 1, 2015, the
Department shall promulgate rules identifying the criteria for
"continuing to work toward graduation" and for reallocating
unused scholarships and fee waivers. Selection shall be made on
the basis of several factors, including, but not limited to,
scholastic record, aptitude, and general interest in higher
education. The selection committee shall include at least 2
individuals formerly under the care of the Department who have
completed their post-secondary education. In accordance with
this Act, tuition scholarships and fee waivers shall be
available to such students at any university or college
maintained by the State of Illinois. The Department shall
provide maintenance and school expenses, except tuition and
fees, during the academic years to supplement the students'
earnings or other resources so long as they consistently
maintain scholastic records which are acceptable to their
schools and to the Department. Students may attend other
colleges and universities, if scholarships are awarded them,
and receive the same benefits for maintenance and other
expenses as those students attending any Illinois State
community college, university, or college under this Section.
Beginning with recipients receiving scholarships and waivers
in August 2014, the Department shall collect data and report
annually to the General Assembly on measures of success,
including (i) the number of youth applying for and receiving
scholarships or waivers, (ii) the percentage of scholarship or
waiver recipients who complete their college or university
degree within 5 years, (iii) the average length of time it
takes for scholarship or waiver recipients to complete their
college or university degree, (iv) the reasons that scholarship
or waiver recipients are discharged or fail to complete their
college or university degree, (v) when available, youths'
outcomes 5 years and 10 years after being awarded the
scholarships or waivers, and (vi) budget allocations for
maintenance and school expenses incurred by the Department.
    (b) Youth who are not selected to receive a scholarship or
fee waiver under subsection (a) shall receive a tuition and fee
waiver to assist them in attending and completing their
post-secondary education at any community college, university,
or college maintained by the State of Illinois if they are
youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal
responsibility, youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older,
or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the
subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been
placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a
subsidized guardianship agreement.
    To receive a waiver under this subsection, an applicant
must:
        (1) have earned a high school diploma from an
    accredited institution or a high school equivalency
    certificate or have met the State criteria for high school
    graduation before the start of the school year for which
    the applicant is applying for the waiver;
        (2) enroll in a qualifying post-secondary education
    before the applicant reaches the age of 26; and
        (3) apply for federal and State grant assistance by
    completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
    The community college or public university that an
applicant attends must waive any tuition and fee amounts that
exceed the amounts paid to the applicant under the federal Pell
Grant Program or the State's Monetary Award Program.
    Tuition and fee waivers shall be available to a student for
at least the first 5 years the student is enrolled in a
community college, university, or college maintained by the
State of Illinois so long as the student makes satisfactory
progress toward completing his or her degree. The age
requirement and 5-year cap on tuition and fee waivers under
this subsection shall be waived and eligibility for tuition and
fee waivers shall be extended for any applicant or student who
the Department determines was unable to enroll in a qualifying
post-secondary school or complete an academic term because the
applicant or student: (i) was called into active duty with the
United States Armed Forces; (ii) was deployed for service in
the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; or
(iii) volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The
Department shall extend eligibility for a qualifying applicant
or student by the total number of months or years during which
the applicant or student served on active duty with the United
States Armed Forces, was deployed for service in the United
States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, or
volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The number of
months an applicant or student served on active duty with the
United States Armed Forces shall be rounded up to the next
higher year to determine the maximum length of time to extend
eligibility for the applicant or student.
    The Department may provide the student with a stipend to
cover maintenance and school expenses, except tuition and fees,
during the academic years to supplement the student's earnings
or other resources so long as the student consistently
maintains scholastic records which are acceptable to the
student's school and to the Department.
    The Department shall develop outreach programs to ensure
that youths who qualify for the tuition and fee waivers under
this subsection who are high school students in grades 9
through 12 or who are enrolled in a high school equivalency
testing program are aware of the availability of the tuition
and fee waivers.
    (c) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall provide
eligible youth an apprenticeship stipend to cover those costs
associated with entering and sustaining through completion an
apprenticeship, including, but not limited to fees, tuition for
classes, work clothes, rain gear, boots, and
occupation-specific tools. The following youth may be eligible
for the apprenticeship stipend provided under this subsection:
youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal
responsibility; youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older;
or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the
subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been
placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a
subsidized guardianship agreement.
    To receive a stipend under this subsection, an applicant
must:
        (1) be enrolled in an apprenticeship training program
    approved or recognized by the Illinois Department of
    Employment Security or an apprenticeship program approved
    by the United States Department of Labor;
        (2) not be a recipient of a scholarship or fee waiver
    under subsection (a) or (b); and
        (3) be under the age of 26 before enrolling in a
    qualified apprenticeship program.
    Apprenticeship stipends shall be available to an eligible
youth for a maximum of 5 years after the youth enrolls in a
qualifying apprenticeship program so long as the youth makes
satisfactory progress toward completing his or her
apprenticeship. The age requirement and 5-year cap on the
apprenticeship stipend provided under this subsection shall be
extended for any applicant who the Department determines was
unable to enroll in a qualifying apprenticeship program because
the applicant: (i) was called into active duty with the United
States Armed Forces; (ii) was deployed for service in the
United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; or
(iii) volunteered in the Peace Corps or the AmeriCorps. The
Department shall extend eligibility for a qualifying applicant
by the total number of months or years during which the
applicant served on active duty with the United States Armed
Forces, was deployed for service in the United States Public
Health Service Commissioned Corps, or volunteered in the Peace
Corps or the AmeriCorps. The number of months an applicant
served on active duty with the United States Armed Forces shall
be rounded up to the next higher year to determine the maximum
length of time to extend eligibility for the applicant.
    The Department shall develop outreach programs to ensure
that youths who qualify for the apprenticeship stipends under
this subsection who are high school students in grades 9
through 12 or who are enrolled in a high school equivalency
testing program are aware of the availability of the
apprenticeship stipend.
(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 100-1045, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2020.