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| Public Act 098-0533
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| SB1791 Enrolled | LRB098 09198 NHT 39337 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 3. The State Finance Act is amended by changing |
Section 5.562 as follows:
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(30 ILCS 105/5.562)
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Sec. 5.562.
The Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Future |
Teacher Corps Scholarship
Fund.
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(Source: P.A. 92-445, eff. 8-17-01; 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)
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Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is |
amended by changing Section 52 as follows:
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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) (a) In order to encourage academically talented |
Illinois students,
especially minority students, to pursue |
teaching careers, especially in
teacher shortage
disciplines
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(which shall be defined to include early childhood education) |
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or at
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 |
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 General Educational Development certificate; |
(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 |
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teach, including alternative teacher licensure; and |
(5) is a participant in programs managed by and is |
approved to receive a scholarship from the Foundation. the |
Commission shall combine the best practices and methods and |
programmatic functions of the Illinois Future Teacher |
Corps Program and the Golden Apple Foundation for |
Excellence in Teaching's Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois |
Program into one program. The consolidated program shall be |
known as the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program and |
shall be managed by the Golden Apple Foundation for |
Excellence in Teaching. |
(1) This consolidated program shall be fully |
operational before July 1, 2012. The existing programs, the |
Illinois Future Teacher Corps Program and the Golden Apple |
Scholars Program, shall continue to exist and be governed |
as they have under this Section before the effective date |
of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly and any |
associated administrative rules, but shall also begin a |
transition period commencing on the first day of the 2010 |
fiscal year and ending on the last day of the 2013 fiscal |
year. |
(2) During the transition period, the Commission |
shall, in consultation with the Golden Apple Foundation, |
establish rules governing the transition period and |
related fund transfers and to facilitate coordination and |
implementation of the consolidated program. Eligible |
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students in this State may continue to apply for Illinois |
Future Teacher Corps scholarships under the current rules |
governing such applications during the transition period. |
Fiscal Year 2012 shall be the last year that such |
scholarships are available. |
(3) The Commission shall, by March 30, 2010, develop an |
estimate of General Revenue Funds that it expects will |
remain unexpended at the end of FY 2010 from the FY 2010 |
appropriation for the Illinois Future Teacher Corps. No |
later than April 15, 2010, the Commission shall cause to be |
transferred funds comprising 85% of this estimated amount |
to the Golden Apple Foundation for Excellence in Teaching. |
The Commission shall subsequently transfer funding from |
the Illinois Future Teacher Corps Program to the Golden |
Apple Foundation for Excellence in Teaching on the |
following schedule and in the following amounts:
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(A) FY 2011: an amount equal to 58% of the total |
combined appropriation for the Golden Apple Foundation |
for Excellence in Teaching and the Illinois Future |
Teacher Corps Program; |
(B) FY 2012: an amount equal to 80% of the combined |
total appropriation for the Golden Apple Foundation |
for Excellence in Teaching and the Illinois Future |
Teacher Corps Program; |
(C) FY 2013: the entire appropriation shall be |
designated for the Golden Apple Foundation for |
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Excellence in Teaching. |
(4) Following the consolidation of the 2 programs, at |
least 30% of Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program |
scholarships available each year shall be awarded to |
students residing in counties having a population of less |
than 500,000. |
(5) Following the consolidation of the 2 programs, 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 and the General Assembly. |
(a-5) (Blank). The Commission shall, each year until Fiscal |
Year 2011, receive and consider applications
for scholarship |
assistance under this Section. An applicant is eligible for an |
Illinois Future Teacher Corps
scholarship under this Section |
when the Commission finds that the applicant is:
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(1) a United States citizen or eligible noncitizen;
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(2) a resident of Illinois;
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(3) a high school graduate or a person who has received |
a General
Educational Development Certificate;
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(4) enrolled or accepted for enrollment at or above the |
junior level,
on at least a half-time basis, at an Illinois |
institution of higher learning;
and
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(5) pursuing a postsecondary course of study leading to |
initial
certification or pursuing additional
course
work
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needed to gain State Board of Education approval to teach, |
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including
alternative teacher certification.
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(b) (Blank). Recipients shall be selected from among |
applicants qualified pursuant to
subsection (a) based on a |
combination of the following criteria as set forth by
the |
Commission until Fiscal Year 2011: (1) academic excellence; (2) |
status as a minority student as
defined in Section 50; and (3) |
financial need. Preference may be given to
previous recipients |
of assistance under this Section, provided they continue to
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maintain eligibility and maintain satisfactory academic |
progress as determined
by the institution of higher learning at |
which they enroll.
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In each year until the consolidation of the 2 programs |
under subsection (a) of this Section has been completed, to |
support mentoring, guidance, and in-service support for |
teaching candidates in order to increase the likelihood that |
they will complete their full teaching commitments and elect to |
continue teaching in targeted disciplines and hard-to-staff |
schools, a minimum of 200 awards shall be allocated to |
participants in the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois program. |
(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 |
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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 |
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. |
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(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 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.
For recipients who |
agree to teach in a teacher shortage discipline or at a
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hard-to-staff school under subsection (i) of this Section, the |
Commission
may, by rule and subject to appropriation, increase |
the annual
maximum amount to $10,000. If a recipient agrees to |
teach in both a
teacher shortage discipline and at a |
hard-to-staff school under
subsection (i) of this Section, the |
Commission may increase the amount of the
scholarship awarded
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by up to an additional $5,000.
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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 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 |
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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 4 semesters or 12 6
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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. Commission in a form |
as set forth by the
Commission. The form of application 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 as the Commission deems necessary. |
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, following the |
completion of the transition of funding of the Illinois Future |
Teacher Corps to the Golden Apple Foundation for Excellence in |
Teaching, all applications for scholarship assistance under |
this Section shall be in a form determined by the Golden Apple |
Foundation for Excellence in Teaching.
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(g) (Blank). Subject to a separate appropriation made for |
such purposes, payment of
any
scholarship awarded under this |
Section shall be determined by the Commission.
There shall be a |
separate appropriation made for scholarships awarded
to |
recipients who agree to teach in a teacher shortage discipline |
or at a
hard-to-staff school under subsection (i) of this |
Section.
The Commission may use for scholarship assistance |
under this Section
(i) all funds appropriated for scholarships |
under this Section that were
formerly known as ITEACH Teacher |
Shortage Scholarships and (ii) all
funds appropriated for |
scholarships under Section 65.65 of this Act
(repealed by this |
amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly), formerly
known as |
Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarships.
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All scholarship funds distributed in accordance with this |
Section shall be
paid
to the institution on behalf of the |
recipients. Scholarship funds are
applicable toward 2 |
semesters or 3 quarters of enrollment within an academic
year.
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(h) The Commission shall administer the payment of
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scholarship assistance provided through the Golden Apple |
Scholars of Illinois Program program established by this |
Section and shall make all necessary
and
proper rules not |
inconsistent with this Section for the its effective
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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 Commission to |
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sign an agreement under which
the
recipient pledges that, |
within the 2-year one-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
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the Foundation
Commission, provide the Foundation Commission |
with evidence that he or she is fulfilling
or has fulfilled the |
terms of the teaching agreement provided for in this
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subsection. Upon request, the Foundation shall provide |
evidence of teacher fulfillment to the Commission.
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(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. The Commission is authorized to |
establish rules relating to
its collection activities for |
repayment
of scholarships under this Section.
Payments |
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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 Commission's Accounts
Receivable Fund. |
(k) A recipient of a scholarship awarded by the Foundation |
Commission under this
Section shall not be considered to have |
failed to fulfill the teaching obligations in violation of the |
agreement entered into pursuant to
subsection (i) if the |
recipient (i) enrolls on a full-time basis as a graduate
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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 |
temporarily totally disabled, as established by sworn
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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; or (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 |
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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.
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(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 |
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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. |
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(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 this amendatory Act of the 98th |
General Assembly. |
(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. 95-939, eff. 1-1-09; 96-411, eff. 8-13-09.)
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Section 10. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by |
changing Section 3-648 as follows:
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(625 ILCS 5/3-648)
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Sec. 3-648. Education license plates.
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(a) The Secretary, upon receipt of an application made in |
the form
prescribed by the Secretary, may issue special |
registration plates designated
as Education license plates. |
The special plates issued under this Section
shall be affixed |
only to passenger vehicles of the first division and motor
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vehicles of the second division weighing not more than 8,000 |
pounds. Plates
issued under this Section shall expire according |
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to the multi-year procedure
established by Section 3-414.1 of |
this Code.
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(b) The design and color of the plates
shall be determined |
by a contest that every elementary school pupil in the
State of |
Illinois is eligible to enter. The designs submitted for the |
contest
shall be judged on September 30, 2002, and the winning |
design shall be selected
by a committee
composed of the |
Secretary, the Director of State Police, 2 members of the
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Senate, one member chosen by the President of the Senate and |
one member chosen
by the
Senate Minority Leader, and 2 members |
of the House of Representatives, one
member chosen by the |
Speaker of the House and one member chosen by the House
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Minority
Leader.
The
Secretary may allow the plates to be |
issued as vanity or personalized plates
under Section 3-405.1 |
of the Code. The Secretary shall prescribe stickers or
decals |
as provided under Section 3-412 of this Code.
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(c) An applicant for the special plate shall be charged a |
$40 fee for
original issuance,
in addition to the appropriate |
registration fee.
Of this $40 additional original issuance fee, |
$15 shall be deposited into the
Secretary of State Special
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License Plate Fund, to be used by the Secretary to help defray |
the
administrative processing costs, and
$25 shall be deposited |
into the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Future Teacher Corps
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Scholarship Fund.
For each registration renewal period, a $40 |
fee, in addition to the
appropriate registration fee, shall be |
charged.
Of this $40 additional renewal fee, $2 shall be |
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deposited into the Secretary of
State Special License
Plate |
Fund and $38 shall be deposited into the Golden Apple Scholars |
of Illinois Future Teacher
Corps
Scholarship Fund. Each
fiscal |
year, once deposits from the additional original issuance and |
renewal
fees into the Secretary of State Special License Plate |
Fund have reached
$500,000, all the amounts received for the |
additional fees for the balance of
the fiscal year shall be
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deposited into the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Future |
Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund.
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(d) The Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Future Teacher |
Corps Scholarship Fund
is created as a special fund in the |
State treasury. All Ninety-five
percent of the
moneys in the |
Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Future Teacher Corps |
Scholarship Fund
shall be appropriated to the Illinois Student |
Assistance
Commission for scholarships under Section 52 of the |
Higher
Education Student Assistance Act, and 5% of the
moneys |
in the Illinois Future Teacher Corps Scholarship Fund
shall be |
appropriated to the State Board of Education for grants to the
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Golden Apple Foundation for Excellence in Teaching, a |
recognized charitable
organization that
meets the requirements |
of Title 26, Section 501(c)(3) of the United States
Code. |
Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subsection (d), |
beginning in the 2010 fiscal year, funds for the Illinois |
Future Teacher Corps Program and the Golden Apple Foundation |
for Excellence in Teaching shall be apportioned according to |
Section 52 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act.
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