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| Public Act 103-0448
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| HB3498 Enrolled | LRB103 29879 RJT 56289 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is |
amended by changing Sections 50, 52, and 65.15 as follows:
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(110 ILCS 947/50)
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Sec. 50. Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship |
program.
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(a) As used in this Section:
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"Eligible applicant" means a minority student who has |
graduated
from high school or has received a State of |
Illinois High School Diploma
and has
maintained a |
cumulative grade point average of
no
less than 2.5 on a 4.0 |
scale, and who by reason thereof is entitled to
apply for |
scholarships to be awarded under this Section.
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"Minority student" means a student who is any of the |
following: |
(1) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person |
having origins in any of the original peoples of North |
and South America, including Central America, and who |
maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment). |
(2) Asian (a person having origins in any of the |
original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or |
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the Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited |
to, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, |
Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and |
Vietnam). |
(3) Black or African American (a person having |
origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa). |
(4) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban, |
Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or |
other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race). |
(5) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a |
person having origins in any of the original peoples |
of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).
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"Qualified bilingual minority applicant" means a |
qualified student who demonstrates proficiency in a |
language other than English by (i) receiving a State Seal |
of Biliteracy from the State Board of Education or (ii) |
receiving a passing score on an educator licensure target |
language proficiency test. |
"Qualified student" means a person (i) who is a |
resident of this State
and a citizen or permanent resident |
of the United States; (ii) who is a
minority student, as |
defined in this Section; (iii) who, as an eligible
|
applicant, has made a timely application for a minority |
teaching
scholarship under this Section; (iv) who is |
enrolled on at least a
half-time basis at a
qualified |
Illinois institution of
higher learning; (v) who is |
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enrolled in a course of study leading to
teacher |
licensure, including alternative teacher licensure, or, if |
the student is already licensed to teach, in a course of |
study leading to an additional teaching endorsement or a |
master's degree in an academic field in which he or she is |
teaching or plans to teach or who has received one or more |
College and Career Pathway Endorsements pursuant to |
Section 80 of the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness |
Act and commits to enrolling in a course of study leading |
to teacher licensure, including alternative teacher |
licensure; (vi)
who maintains a grade point average of no
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less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale;
and (vii) who continues to |
advance satisfactorily toward the attainment
of a degree.
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(b) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois |
minority
students to pursue teaching careers at the preschool |
or elementary or
secondary
school
level and to address and |
alleviate the teacher shortage crisis in this State described |
under the provisions of the Transitions in Education Act, each |
qualified student shall be awarded a minority teacher
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scholarship to any qualified Illinois institution of higher |
learning.
However, preference may be given to qualified |
applicants enrolled at or above
the
junior level.
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(c) Each minority teacher scholarship awarded under this |
Section shall
be in an amount sufficient to pay the tuition and |
fees and room and board
costs of the qualified Illinois |
institution of higher learning at which the
recipient is |
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enrolled, up to an annual maximum of $5,000;
except that
in
the |
case of a recipient who does not reside on-campus at the |
institution at
which he or she is enrolled, the amount of the |
scholarship shall be
sufficient to pay tuition and fee |
expenses and a commuter allowance, up to
an annual maximum of |
$5,000.
However, if at least $2,850,000 is appropriated in a |
given fiscal year for the Minority Teachers of Illinois |
scholarship program, then, in each fiscal year thereafter, |
each scholarship awarded under this Section shall
be in an |
amount sufficient to pay the tuition and fees and room and |
board
costs of the qualified Illinois institution of higher |
learning at which the
recipient is enrolled, up to an annual |
maximum of $7,500;
except that
in
the case of a recipient who |
does not reside on-campus at the institution at
which he or she |
is enrolled, the amount of the scholarship shall be
sufficient |
to pay tuition and fee expenses and a commuter allowance, up to
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an annual maximum of $7,500.
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(d) The total amount of minority teacher scholarship |
assistance awarded by
the Commission under this Section to an |
individual in any given fiscal
year, when added to other |
financial assistance awarded to that individual
for that year, |
shall not exceed the cost of attendance at the institution
at |
which the student is enrolled. If the amount of minority |
teacher
scholarship to be awarded to a qualified student as |
provided in
subsection (c) of this Section exceeds the cost of |
attendance at the
institution at which the student is |
|
enrolled, the minority teacher
scholarship shall be reduced by |
an amount equal to the amount by which the
combined financial |
assistance available to the student exceeds the cost
of |
attendance.
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(e) The maximum number of academic terms for which a |
qualified
student
can receive minority teacher scholarship |
assistance shall be 8 semesters or
12 quarters.
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(f) In any academic year for which an eligible applicant |
under this
Section accepts financial assistance through the |
Paul Douglas Teacher
Scholarship Program, as authorized by |
Section 551 et seq. of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, the |
applicant shall not be eligible for scholarship
assistance |
awarded under this Section.
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(g) All applications for minority teacher scholarships to |
be awarded
under this Section shall be made to the Commission |
on forms which the
Commission shall provide for eligible |
applicants. The form of applications
and the information |
required to be set forth therein shall be determined by
the |
Commission, and the Commission shall require eligible |
applicants to
submit with their applications such supporting |
documents or recommendations
as the Commission deems |
necessary.
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(h) Subject to a separate appropriation for such purposes, |
payment of
any minority teacher scholarship awarded under this |
Section shall be
determined by the Commission. All scholarship |
funds distributed in
accordance with this subsection shall be |
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paid to the institution and used
only for payment of the |
tuition and fee and room and board expenses
incurred by the |
student in connection with his or her attendance at a |
qualified Illinois institution of higher
learning. Any |
minority teacher scholarship awarded under this Section
shall |
be applicable to 2 semesters or 3 quarters of enrollment. If a
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qualified student withdraws from enrollment prior to |
completion of the
first semester or quarter for which the |
minority teacher scholarship is
applicable, the school shall |
refund to the Commission the full amount of the
minority |
teacher scholarship.
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(i) The Commission shall administer the minority teacher |
scholarship aid
program established by this Section and shall |
make all necessary and proper
rules not inconsistent with this |
Section for its effective implementation.
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(j) When an appropriation to the Commission for a given |
fiscal year is
insufficient to provide scholarships to all |
qualified students, the
Commission shall allocate the |
appropriation in accordance with this
subsection. If funds are |
insufficient to provide all qualified students
with a |
scholarship as authorized by this Section, the Commission |
shall
allocate the available scholarship funds for that fiscal |
year to qualified students who submit a complete application |
form on or before a date specified by the Commission based on |
the following order of priority: |
(1) To students who received a scholarship under this |
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Section in the prior academic year and who remain eligible |
for a minority teacher scholarship under this Section. |
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (k), to |
students who demonstrate financial need, as determined by |
the Commission.
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(k) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subsection (j), at |
least 35% of the funds appropriated for
scholarships awarded |
under this Section in each fiscal year shall be reserved
for |
qualified male minority applicants, with priority being given |
to qualified Black male applicants beginning with fiscal year |
2023.
If the Commission does not receive enough applications |
from qualified male
minorities on or before
January 1 of each |
fiscal year to award 35% of the funds appropriated for these
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scholarships to qualified
male minority applicants, then the |
Commission may award a portion of the
reserved funds to |
qualified
female minority applicants in accordance with |
subsection (j).
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Beginning with fiscal year 2023, if at least $2,850,000 |
but less than $4,200,000 is appropriated in a given fiscal |
year for scholarships awarded under this Section, then at |
least 10% of the funds appropriated shall be reserved for |
qualified bilingual minority applicants, with priority being |
given to qualified bilingual minority applicants who are |
enrolled in an educator preparation program with a |
concentration in bilingual, bicultural education. Beginning |
with fiscal year 2023, if at least $4,200,000 is appropriated |
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in a given fiscal year for the Minority Teachers of Illinois |
scholarship program, then at least 30% of the funds |
appropriated shall be reserved for qualified bilingual |
minority applicants, with priority being given to qualified |
bilingual minority applicants who are enrolled in an educator |
preparation program with a concentration in bilingual, |
bicultural education. Beginning with fiscal year 2023, if at |
least $2,850,000 is appropriated in a given fiscal year for |
scholarships awarded under this Section but the Commission |
does not receive enough applications from qualified bilingual |
minority applicants on or before January 1 of that fiscal year |
to award at least 10% of the funds appropriated to qualified |
bilingual minority applicants, then the Commission may, in its |
discretion, award a portion of the reserved funds to other |
qualified students in accordance with subsection (j).
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(l) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any |
academic year,
each recipient of a minority teacher |
scholarship awarded under this Section
shall be required by |
the Commission to sign an agreement under which the
recipient |
pledges that, within the one-year period following the
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termination
of the program for which the recipient was awarded |
a minority
teacher scholarship, the recipient (i) shall begin |
teaching for a
period of not less
than one year for each year |
of scholarship assistance he or she was awarded
under this |
Section; (ii) shall fulfill this teaching obligation at a
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nonprofit Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool, |
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elementary school,
or secondary school at which no less than |
30% of the enrolled students are
minority students in the year |
during which the recipient begins teaching at the
school or |
may instead, if the recipient received a scholarship as a |
qualified bilingual minority applicant, fulfill this teaching |
obligation in a program in transitional bilingual education |
pursuant to Article 14C of the School Code or in a school in |
which 20 or more English learner students in the same language |
classification are enrolled; and (iii) shall, upon request by |
the Commission, provide the Commission
with evidence that he |
or she is fulfilling or has fulfilled the terms of the
teaching |
agreement provided for in this subsection.
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(m) If a recipient of a minority teacher scholarship |
awarded under this
Section fails to fulfill the teaching |
obligation set forth in subsection
(l) of this Section, the |
Commission shall require the recipient to repay
the amount of |
the scholarships received, prorated according to the fraction
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of the teaching obligation not completed, at a rate of |
interest equal to
5%, and, if applicable, reasonable |
collection fees. If a recipient who enters into repayment |
under this subsection (m) subsequently, within 5 years of |
entering repayment, begins to teach at a school meeting the |
description under subsection (l) of this Section, the |
Commission may reduce the amount owed by the recipient in |
proportion to the amount of the teaching obligation completed.
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The Commission is authorized to establish rules relating to |
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its collection
activities for repayment of scholarships under |
this Section. All repayments
collected under this Section |
shall be forwarded to the State Comptroller for
deposit into |
the State's General Revenue Fund.
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(n) A recipient of minority teacher scholarship shall not |
be considered
in violation of the agreement entered into |
pursuant to subsection (l) if
the recipient (i) enrolls on a |
full time basis as a graduate student in a
course of study |
related to the field of teaching at a qualified Illinois
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institution of higher learning; (ii) is serving, not in excess |
of 3 years,
as a member of the armed services of the United |
States; (iii) is
a person with a temporary total disability |
for a period of time not to exceed 3 years as
established by |
sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; (iv) is seeking
and |
unable to find full time employment as a teacher at an Illinois |
public,
private, or parochial preschool or elementary or |
secondary school that
satisfies the
criteria set forth in |
subsection (l) of this Section and is able to provide
evidence |
of that fact; (v) becomes a person with a permanent total |
disability as
established by sworn affidavit of a qualified |
physician; (vi) is taking additional courses, on at least a |
half-time basis, needed to obtain licensure as a teacher in |
Illinois; or (vii) is fulfilling teaching requirements |
associated with other programs administered by the Commission |
and cannot concurrently fulfill them under this Section in a |
period of time equal to the length of the teaching obligation.
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(o) Scholarship recipients under this Section who withdraw |
from
a program of teacher education but remain enrolled in |
school
to continue their postsecondary studies in another |
academic discipline shall
not be required to commence |
repayment of their Minority Teachers of Illinois
scholarship |
so long as they remain enrolled in school on a full-time basis |
or
if they can document for the Commission special |
circumstances that warrant
extension of repayment.
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(p) If the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship |
program does not expend at least 90% of the amount |
appropriated for the program in a given fiscal year for 3 |
consecutive fiscal years and the Commission does not receive |
enough applications from the groups identified in subsection |
(k) on or before January 1 in each of those fiscal years to |
meet the percentage reserved for those groups under subsection |
(k), then up to 3% of amount appropriated for the program for |
each of next 3 fiscal years shall be allocated to increasing |
awareness of the program and for the recruitment of Black male |
applicants. The Commission shall make a recommendation to the |
General Assembly by January 1 of the year immediately |
following the end of that third fiscal year regarding whether |
the amount allocated to increasing awareness and recruitment |
should continue. |
(q) Each qualified Illinois institution of higher learning |
that receives funds from the Minority Teachers of Illinois |
scholarship program shall host an annual information session |
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at the institution about the program for teacher candidates of |
color in accordance with rules adopted by the Commission. |
Additionally, the institution shall ensure that each |
scholarship recipient enrolled at the institution meets with |
an academic advisor at least once per academic year to |
facilitate on-time completion of the recipient's educator |
preparation program. |
(r) The changes made to this Section by Public Act 101-654 |
will first take effect with awards made for the 2022-2023 |
academic year. |
(Source: P.A. 101-654, eff. 3-8-21; 102-465, eff. 1-1-22; |
102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23.)
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(110 ILCS 947/52)
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Sec. 52. Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program; Golden |
Apple Foundation for Excellence in Teaching.
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(a) In this Section, "Foundation" means the Golden Apple |
Foundation for Excellence in Teaching, a registered 501(c)(3) |
not-for-profit corporation. |
(a-2) In order to encourage academically talented Illinois |
students,
especially minority students, to pursue teaching |
careers, especially in
teacher shortage
disciplines
(which |
shall be defined to include early childhood education) or at
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hard-to-staff schools (as defined by the Commission in |
consultation with the
State Board of Education), to provide |
those students with the crucial mentoring, guidance, and |
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in-service support that will significantly increase the |
likelihood that they will complete their full teaching |
commitments and elect to continue teaching in targeted |
disciplines and hard-to-staff schools, and to ensure that |
students in this State will continue to have access to a pool |
of highly-qualified teachers, each qualified student shall be |
awarded a Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program |
scholarship to any Illinois institution of higher learning. |
The Commission shall administer the Golden Apple Scholars of |
Illinois Program, which shall be managed by the Foundation |
pursuant to the terms of a grant agreement meeting the |
requirements of Section 4 of the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery |
Act. |
(a-3) For purposes of this Section, a qualified student |
shall be a student who meets the following qualifications: |
(1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or |
eligible noncitizen of the United States; |
(2) is a high school graduate or a person who has |
received a State of Illinois High School Diploma; |
(3) is enrolled or accepted, on at least a half-time |
basis, at an institution of higher learning; |
(4) is pursuing a postsecondary course of study |
leading to initial certification or pursuing additional |
course work needed to gain State Board of Education |
approval to teach, including alternative teacher |
licensure; and |
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(5) is a participant in programs managed by and is |
approved to receive a scholarship from the Foundation. |
(a-5) (Blank).
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(b) (Blank).
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(b-5) Funds designated for the Golden Apple Scholars of |
Illinois Program shall be used by the Commission for the |
payment of scholarship assistance under this Section or for |
the award of grant funds, subject to the Illinois Grant Funds |
Recovery Act, to the Foundation. Subject to appropriation, |
awards of grant funds to the Foundation shall be made on an |
annual basis and following an application for grant funds by |
the Foundation. |
(b-10) Each year, the Foundation shall include in its |
application to the Commission for grant funds an estimate of |
the amount of scholarship assistance to be provided to |
qualified students during the grant period. Any amount of |
appropriated funds exceeding the estimated amount of |
scholarship assistance may be awarded by the Commission to the |
Foundation for management expenses expected to be incurred by |
the Foundation in providing the mentoring, guidance, and |
in-service supports that will increase the likelihood that |
qualified students will complete their teaching commitments |
and elect to continue teaching in hard-to-staff schools. If |
the estimate of the amount of scholarship assistance described |
in the Foundation's application is less than the actual amount |
required for the award of scholarship assistance to qualified |
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students, the Foundation shall be responsible for using |
awarded grant funds to ensure all qualified students receive |
scholarship assistance under this Section. |
(b-15) All grant funds not expended or legally obligated |
within the time specified in a grant agreement between the |
Foundation and the Commission shall be returned to the |
Commission within 45 days. Any funds legally obligated by the |
end of a grant agreement shall be liquidated within 45 days or |
otherwise returned to the Commission within 90 days after the |
end of the grant agreement that resulted in the award of grant |
funds. |
(c) Each scholarship awarded under this Section shall be |
in an amount
sufficient to pay the tuition and fees and room |
and board costs of the Illinois
institution of higher learning |
at which the recipient is enrolled, up to
an annual maximum of |
$5,000; except that, in the case of a
recipient who
does not
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reside on campus
on-campus at the institution of higher |
learning at which he or she is enrolled,
the amount of the |
scholarship shall be sufficient to pay tuition and fee
|
expenses and a commuter allowance, up to an annual maximum of |
$5,000. All scholarship funds distributed in accordance with |
this Section shall be paid to the institution on behalf of |
recipients.
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(d) The total amount of scholarship assistance awarded by |
the Commission
under this Section to an individual in any |
given fiscal year, when added to
other financial assistance |
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awarded to that individual for that year, shall not
exceed the |
cost of attendance at the institution of higher learning at |
which
the student is enrolled. In any academic year for which a |
qualified student under this Section accepts financial |
assistance through any other teacher scholarship program |
administered by the Commission, a qualified student shall not |
be eligible for scholarship assistance awarded under this |
Section.
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(e) A recipient may receive up to 8 semesters or 12
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quarters of scholarship
assistance under this Section. |
Scholarship funds are applicable toward 2 semesters or 3 |
quarters of enrollment each academic year.
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(f) All applications for scholarship assistance to be |
awarded under this
Section shall be made to the Foundation in a |
form determined by the Foundation. Each year, the Foundation |
shall notify the Commission of the individuals awarded |
scholarship assistance under this Section. Each year, at least |
30% of the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program |
scholarships shall be awarded to students residing in counties |
having a population of less than 500,000.
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(g) (Blank).
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(h) The Commission shall administer the payment of
|
scholarship assistance provided through the Golden Apple |
Scholars of Illinois Program and shall make all necessary
and
|
proper rules not inconsistent with this Section for the |
effective
implementation of this Section.
|
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(i) Prior to receiving scholarship assistance for any |
academic year, each
recipient of a scholarship awarded under |
this
Section shall be required by the Foundation to sign an |
agreement under which
the
recipient pledges that, within the |
2-year period following the
termination
of the academic |
program for which the recipient was awarded a scholarship, the
|
recipient: (i) shall begin teaching for a period of not
less |
than 5 years, (ii) shall fulfill this teaching obligation at a |
nonprofit
Illinois public,
private, or parochial
preschool or |
an Illinois public elementary or secondary school that |
qualifies for teacher loan cancellation under Section |
465(a)(2)(A) of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 |
U.S.C. 1087ee(a)(2)(A)) or other Illinois schools deemed |
eligible for fulfilling the teaching commitment as designated |
by the Foundation, and (iii)
shall, upon request of
the |
Foundation, provide the Foundation with evidence that he or |
she is fulfilling
or has fulfilled the terms of the teaching |
agreement provided for in this
subsection. Upon request, the |
Foundation shall provide evidence of teacher fulfillment to |
the Commission.
|
(j) If a recipient of a scholarship awarded under this |
Section fails to
fulfill the teaching obligation set forth in |
subsection (i) of this Section,
the Commission shall require |
the recipient to repay the amount of the
scholarships |
received, prorated according to the fraction of the teaching
|
obligation not completed, plus interest at a rate of 5% and, if |
|
applicable, reasonable
collection fees. If a recipient who |
enters into repayment under this subsection (j) subsequently, |
within 5 years of entering repayment, begins to teach at a |
school meeting the description under subsection (i) of this |
Section, the Commission may reduce the amount owed by the |
recipient in proportion to the amount of the teaching |
obligation completed. Reduction of the amount owed shall not |
be construed as reinstatement in the Golden Apple Scholars |
program. Reinstatement in the program shall be solely at the |
discretion of the Golden Apple Foundation on terms determined |
by the Foundation.
Payments received by the Commission under |
this subsection (j)
shall be remitted to the State Comptroller |
for deposit into
the General Revenue Fund, except that that |
portion of a
recipient's repayment that equals the amount in |
expenses that
the Commission has reasonably incurred in |
attempting
collection from that recipient shall be remitted to |
the State
Comptroller for deposit into the ISAC Accounts
|
Receivable Fund, a special fund in the State treasury. |
(k) A recipient of a scholarship awarded by the Foundation |
under this
Section shall not be considered to have failed to |
fulfill the teaching obligations of the agreement entered into |
pursuant to
subsection (i) if the recipient (i) enrolls on a |
full-time basis as a graduate
student in a course of study |
related to the field of teaching at an institution
of higher |
learning; (ii) is serving as a member of the armed services of |
the
United States; (iii) is a person with a temporary total |
|
disability, as established by sworn
affidavit of a qualified |
physician; (iv) is seeking and unable to find
full-time |
employment as a teacher at a school that satisfies the |
criteria set
forth
in subsection (i) and is able to provide |
evidence of that fact; (v) is taking additional courses, on at |
least a half-time basis, needed to obtain certification as a |
teacher in Illinois; (vi) is fulfilling teaching requirements |
associated with other programs administered by the Commission |
and cannot concurrently fulfill them under this Section in a |
period of time equal to the length of the teaching obligation; |
or (vii) is participating in a program established under |
Executive Order 10924 of the President of the United States or |
the federal National Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. |
12501 et seq.). Any such
extension of the period during which |
the teaching requirement must be fulfilled
shall be subject to |
limitations of duration as established by the Commission.
|
(l) A recipient who fails to fulfill the teaching |
obligations of the agreement entered into pursuant to |
subsection (i) of this Section shall repay the amount of |
scholarship assistance awarded to them under this Section |
within 10 years. |
(m) Annually, at a time determined by the Commission in |
consultation with the Foundation, the Foundation shall submit |
a report to assist the Commission in monitoring the |
Foundation's performance of grant activities. The report shall |
describe the following: |
|
(1) the Foundation's anticipated expenditures for the |
next fiscal year; |
(2) the number of qualified students receiving |
scholarship assistance at each institution of higher |
learning where a qualified student was enrolled under this |
Section during the previous fiscal year; |
(3) the total monetary value of scholarship funds paid |
to each institution of higher learning at which a |
qualified student was enrolled during the previous fiscal |
year; |
(4) the number of scholarship recipients who completed |
a baccalaureate degree during the previous fiscal year; |
(5) the number of scholarship recipients who fulfilled |
their teaching obligation during the previous fiscal year; |
(6) the number of scholarship recipients who failed to |
fulfill their teaching obligation during the previous |
fiscal year; |
(7) the number of scholarship recipients granted an |
extension described in subsection (k) of this Section |
during the previous fiscal year; |
(8) the number of scholarship recipients required to |
repay scholarship assistance in accordance with subsection |
(j) of this Section during the previous fiscal year; |
(9) the number of scholarship recipients who |
successfully repaid scholarship assistance in full during |
the previous fiscal year; |
|
(10) the number of scholarship recipients who |
defaulted on their obligation to repay scholarship |
assistance during the previous fiscal year; |
(11) the amount of scholarship assistance subject to |
collection in accordance with subsection (j) of this |
Section at the end of the previous fiscal year; |
(12) the amount of collected funds to be remitted to |
the Comptroller in accordance with subsection (j) of this |
Section at the end of the previous fiscal year; and |
(13) other information that the Commission may |
reasonably request. |
(n) Nothing in this Section shall affect the rights of the |
Commission to collect moneys owed to it by recipients of |
scholarship assistance through the Illinois Future Teacher |
Corps Program, repealed by Public Act 98-533. |
(o) The Auditor General shall prepare an annual audit of |
the operations and finances of the Golden Apple Scholars of |
Illinois Program. This audit shall be provided to the |
Governor, General Assembly, and the Commission. |
(p) The suspension of grant making authority found in |
Section 4.2 of the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act shall not |
apply to grants made pursuant to this Section. |
(Source: P.A. 102-1071, eff. 6-10-22; 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23; |
revised 12-13-22.)
|
(110 ILCS 947/65.15)
|
|
Sec. 65.15. Special education teacher scholarships.
|
(a) There shall be awarded annually 250
scholarships to |
persons qualifying as members of any of the
following
groups:
|
(1) Students who are otherwise qualified to receive a |
scholarship as
provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this |
Section and who make application
to the Commission for |
such scholarship and agree to take courses that will
|
prepare the student for the teaching of children described |
in Section 14-1 of
the School Code.
|
(2) Persons holding a valid certificate issued under |
the laws relating
to the certification of teachers and who |
make application to the Commission
for such scholarship |
and agree to take courses that will prepare them for the
|
teaching of children described in Section 14-1 of the |
School Code.
|
(3) Persons who (A) have graduated high school; (B) |
have not been
certified as a teacher; and (C) make |
application to the Commission for such
scholarship and |
agree to take courses that will prepare them for the |
teaching
of children described in Section 14-1 of the |
School Code.
|
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.
|
For the purposes of this Section scholarships awarded each |
school year
shall be deemed to be issued on July 1 of the year |
prior to
the start of the postsecondary school term and all |
calculations for use of the scholarship shall be based on such
|
date. Each scholarship shall entitle its holder to exemption |
from fees as
provided in subsection (a) of Section 65.40 while |
enrolled in a special
education program of
teacher education, |
for a period of not more than 4 calendar years and shall be
|
available for use at any time during such period of study |
except as provided in
subsection (b) of Section 65.40.
|
Scholarships issued to holders of a valid certificate |
issued under the
laws relating to the certification of |
teachers as provided in
paragraph (2) of this subsection may |
also entitle the holder thereof to
a program of teacher |
education that will prepare the student for the
teaching of |
children described in Section 14-1 of the School Code at the
|
graduate level.
|
(b) The principal, or his or her
designee, of an approved |
high school shall
certify to the Commission, for students who |
are Illinois residents and are
completing an application, that |
|
the students ranked
scholastically in the upper one-half of |
their graduating class at
the end of
the sixth semester.
|
(c) Each holder of a scholarship must furnish proof to the
|
Commission, in such form and at such intervals as the
|
Commission prescribes, of the holder's continued
enrollment in |
a teacher education program qualifying the holder for the
|
scholarship. Any holder of a scholarship who fails to register |
in a
special education program of teacher education at the |
university within 10
days after the
commencement of the term, |
quarter or semester immediately following the
receipt of the |
scholarship or who, having registered, withdraws from the
|
university or transfers out of teacher education, shall |
thereupon
forfeit the right to use it and it may be granted to |
the person having
the next highest rank as shown on the list |
held by the
Commission. If the person having the next
highest |
rank, within 10 days after notification thereof by the
|
Commission, fails to register at any such
university in a |
special education program of teacher education, or who,
having |
registered,
withdraws from the university or transfers out of |
teacher education, the
scholarship may then be granted to the |
person shown on the list as
having the rank next below such |
person.
|
(d) Any person who has accepted a scholarship under the |
preceding
subsections of this Section must, within one year |
after graduation from or
termination of
enrollment in a |
teacher education program, begin teaching at a nonprofit
|
|
Illinois public,
private, or parochial preschool or elementary |
or secondary school for a period of at least 2 of the
5 years
|
immediately following that graduation or termination, |
excluding, however, from
the computation of that 5 year period |
(i) any time up to 3 years
spent in the
military service, |
whether such service occurs before or after the person
|
graduates; (ii) any time
that person is enrolled full-time in |
an academic program related to the field
of teaching leading |
to a
graduate or postgraduate degree; (iii) the time that |
person is
a person with a temporary total disability for a |
period of time not to exceed 3 years, as
established by the |
sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; (iv) the time that
|
person is seeking and unable to find full time employment as a |
teacher at an
Illinois public, private, or parochial school; |
(v) the time that person is
taking additional courses, on at |
least a half-time basis, needed to obtain
certification as a |
teacher in Illinois; or (vi) the time that person is |
fulfilling teaching requirements associated with other |
programs administered by the Commission if he or she cannot |
concurrently fulfill them under this Section in a period of |
time equal to the length of the teaching obligation.
|
A person who has accepted a scholarship under the |
preceding
subsections of this Section and who has been unable |
to
fulfill the teaching requirements of this Section may
|
receive a deferment from the obligation of repayment under
|
this subsection (d) under guidelines established by the |
|
Commission; provided
that no guideline established for any |
such purpose by the State Board of
Education prior to the |
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1993 shall be
|
affected by the transfer to the Commission of the |
responsibility for
administering and implementing the |
provisions of this Section, and all
guidelines so established |
shall become the guidelines of the Commission until
modified |
or changed by the Commission.
|
Any such person who fails to fulfill this teaching |
requirement shall pay
to the Commission the amount of tuition |
waived by
virtue of his or her acceptance of the scholarship, |
together with interest at
5% per year on that amount. However, |
this obligation to repay the
amount of
tuition waived plus |
interest does not apply when the failure to fulfill the
|
teaching requirement results from the death or adjudication as |
a person
under legal disability of the person holding the |
scholarship, and no claim for
repayment may be filed against |
the estate of such a decedent or person under
legal |
disability. If a recipient who enters into repayment under |
this paragraph subsequently, within 5 years of entering |
repayment, begins to teach at a school meeting the description |
under this subsection (d), the Commission may reduce the |
amount owed by the recipient in proportion to the amount of the |
teaching obligation completed. Payments received by the |
Commission under this subsection
(d) shall be remitted to the |
State
Treasurer for deposit in
the General Revenue
Fund. Each |
|
person receiving a
scholarship shall be
provided with a
|
description of the provisions of this subsection (d) at the |
time
he or she qualifies for the benefits of
such a |
scholarship.
|
(e) This Section is basically the same as Sections
30-1, |
30-2, 30-3, and
30-4a of the School Code, which are repealed by |
this amendatory Act of 1993,
and shall be construed as a |
continuation of the teacher scholarship program
established by |
that prior law, and not as a new or different teacher
|
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 |
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 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.
|
(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
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