Public Act 099-0826
 
SB2975 EnrolledLRB099 20370 MLM 44849 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section
2-3.80b as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.80b new)
    Sec. 2-3.80b. Agriculture education teacher grant program.
    (a) As used in this Section:
    "New agriculture education program" means an agriculture
education program approved by the State Board of Education in a
school district that has not had an agriculture education
program for a period of 10 years or more prior to the date of
application for a grant under this Section.
    "Personal services cost" means the cost of a teacher
providing 60 additional days, which shall mean 400 additional
hours, outside the teacher's regularly scheduled teaching
duties for the benefit of agriculture education. The 400
additional hours shall be any activity that is to the benefit
of agriculture education, as defined by the State Board of
Education by rule, regardless of the time of year the activity
occurs.
    (b) Subject to appropriation to the State Board of
Education, there is created an agriculture education teacher
grant program to fund personal services costs for agriculture
education teachers in school districts. The grants shall be for
the purpose of assisting school districts with paying for
personal services costs of agriculture education teachers.
    (c) A school district may apply for a grant to fund an
amount not to exceed 50% of the personal services cost for an
agriculture education teacher under this Section. However, a
school district that is creating a new agriculture education
program may apply for a grant to fund an amount not to exceed
100% of an agriculture teacher's personal services cost in the
first and second year of the new agriculture education program
and an amount not to exceed 80% of an agriculture teacher's
personal services cost in the third and fourth years of the new
agriculture education program. A school district may apply for
a grant for more than one teacher under this Section.
    (d) A school district that applies for a grant under this
Section or offers any extended contract for agriculture
education shall base its personal services costs on the
reasonably expected personal services cost for the teacher
based on the cost of the teacher's regularly scheduled teaching
duties.
    (e) The State Board of Education shall create a statewide
system for an agriculture education teacher to track his or her
additional hours completed pursuant to a grant under this
Section.
    (f) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules as
necessary to implement this Section.
 
    Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
amended by changing Section 65.25 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 947/65.25)
    Sec. 65.25. Teacher shortage scholarships.
    (a) The Commission may annually award a number of
scholarships to persons preparing to teach in areas of
identified staff shortages. Such scholarships shall be issued
to individuals who make application to the Commission and who
agree to take courses at qualified institutions of higher
learning which will prepare them to teach in areas of
identified staff shortages.
    (b) Scholarships awarded under this Section shall be issued
pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Commission;
provided that no rule or regulation promulgated by the State
Board of Education prior to the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1993 pursuant to the exercise of any right,
power, duty, responsibility or matter of pending business
transferred from the State Board of Education to the Commission
under this Section shall be affected thereby, and all such
rules and regulations shall become the rules and regulations of
the Commission until modified or changed by the Commission in
accordance with law. The Commission shall allocate the
scholarships awarded between persons initially preparing to
teach, persons holding valid teaching certificates issued
under Articles 21 and 34 of the School Code, and persons
holding a bachelor's degree from any accredited college or
university who have been employed for a minimum of 10 years in
a field other than teaching.
    (c) Each scholarship shall be utilized by its holder for
the payment of tuition and non-revenue bond fees at any
qualified institution of higher learning. Such tuition and fees
shall be available only for courses that will enable the
individual to be certified to teach in areas of identified
staff shortages. The Commission shall determine which courses
are eligible for tuition payments under this Section.
    (d) The Commission may make tuition payments directly to
the qualified institution of higher learning which the
individual attends for the courses prescribed or may make
payments to the teacher. Any teacher who received payments and
who fails to enroll in the courses prescribed shall refund the
payments to the Commission.
    (e) Following the completion of the program of study,
persons who held valid teaching certificates and persons
holding a bachelor's degree from any accredited college or
university who have been employed for a minimum of 10 years in
a field other than teaching prior to receiving a teacher
shortage scholarship must accept employment within 2 years in a
school in Illinois within 60 miles of the person's residence to
teach in an area of identified staff shortage for a period of
at least 3 years; provided, however that any such person
instead may elect to accept employment within such 2 year
period to teach in an area of identified staff shortage for a
period of at least 3 years in a school in Illinois which is
more than 60 miles from such person's residence. Persons
initially preparing to teach prior to receiving a teacher
shortage scholarship must accept employment within 2 years in a
school in Illinois to teach in an area of identified staff
shortage for a period of at least 3 years. Individuals who fail
to comply with this provision shall refund all of the
scholarships awarded to the Commission, whether payments were
made directly to the institutions of higher learning or to the
individuals, and this condition shall be agreed to in writing
by all scholarship recipients at the time the scholarship is
awarded. No individual shall be required to refund tuition
payments if his or her failure to obtain employment as a
teacher in a school is the result of financial conditions
within school districts. The rules and regulations promulgated
as provided in this Section shall contain provisions regarding
the waiving and deferral of such payments.
    (f) The Commission, with the cooperation of the State Board
of Education, shall assist individuals who have participated in
the scholarship program established by this Section in finding
employment in areas of identified staff shortages.
    (g) Beginning in September, 1994 and annually thereafter,
the Commission, using data annually supplied by the State Board
of Education under procedures developed by it to measure the
level of shortage of qualified bilingual personnel serving
students with disabilities, shall annually publish (i) the
level of shortage of qualified bilingual personnel serving
students with disabilities, and (ii) allocations of
scholarships for personnel preparation training programs in
the areas of bilingual special education teacher training and
bilingual school service personnel.
    (h) Appropriations for the scholarships outlined in this
Section shall be made to the Commission from funds appropriated
by the General Assembly.
    (i) This Section is substantially the same as Section 30-4c
of the School Code, which Section is repealed by this
amendatory Act of 1993, and shall be construed as a
continuation of the teacher shortage scholarship program
established under that prior law, and not as a new or different
teacher shortage scholarship program. The State Board of
Education shall transfer to the Commission, as the successor to
the State Board of Education for all purposes of administering
and implementing the provisions of this Section, all books,
accounts, records, papers, documents, contracts, agreements,
and pending business in any way relating to the teacher
shortage scholarship program continued under this Section; and
all scholarships at any time awarded under that program by, and
all applications for any such scholarships at any time made to,
the State Board of Education shall be unaffected by the
transfer to the Commission of all responsibility for the
administration and implementation of the teacher shortage
scholarship program continued under this Section. The State
Board of Education shall furnish to the Commission such other
information as the Commission may request to assist it in
administering this Section.
    (j) For the purposes of this Section:
    "Qualified institution of higher learning" means the
University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Chicago
State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State
University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois
University, Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois
University, the public community colleges subject to the Public
Community College Act and any Illinois privately operated
college, community college or university offering degrees and
instructional programs above the high school level either in
residence or by correspondence. The Board of Higher Education
and the Commission, in consultation with the State Board of
Education, shall identify qualified institutions to supply the
demand for bilingual special education teachers and bilingual
school service personnel.
    "Areas of identified staff shortages" means courses of
study, including, but not limited to, agricultural education,
in which the number of teachers is insufficient to meet student
or school district demand for such instruction as determined by
the State Board of Education.
(Source: P.A. 88-228; 89-4, eff. 1-1-96.)