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| Public Act 103-0943
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| SB3138 Enrolled | LRB103 37690 KTG 67817 b |
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AN ACT concerning State government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended |
by changing Section 8 as follows:
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(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 State of Illinois High School |
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 |
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and completion of a certificate or degree program. 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 |
to 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, |
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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 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 State of Illinois High School |
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Diploma 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 continues to work |
toward graduation and completion of a certificate or degree |
program. makes satisfactory progress toward completing the |
student's 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 |
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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 |
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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 the youth's |
apprenticeship. The age requirement and 5-year cap on the |
apprenticeship stipend provided under this subsection shall be |
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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. 102-1100, eff. 1-1-23; 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; |
103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)
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