Bill Text: IL SB2776 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship program. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish and administer a student teaching stipend program. Subject to appropriation, requires the Commission to receive and consider applications for additional funds from recipients of scholarships who are student teaching. Provides that the Commission shall select stipend recipients from among applicants who are in financial need. Provides that certain recipients may receive an additional payment for other expenses during the year in which the recipient is engaged in student teaching. Provides for rulemaking.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-03 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB2776 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2776-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 SB2776 Introduced 1/17/2024, by Sen. Natalie Toro SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 947/50
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to the Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship program. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish and administer a student teaching stipend program. Subject to appropriation, requires the Commission to receive and consider applications for additional funds from recipients of scholarships who are student teaching. Provides that the Commission shall select stipend recipients from among applicants who are in financial need. Provides that certain recipients may receive an additional payment for other expenses during the year in which the recipient is engaged in student teaching. Provides for rulemaking.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
amended by changing Section 50 as follows:
(110 ILCS 947/50)
Sec. 50. Minority Teachers of Illinois scholarship
program.
(a) As used in this Section:
"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.
"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).
"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
less than 2.5 on a 4.0 scale; and (vii) who continues to
advance satisfactorily toward the attainment of a degree.
(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
scholarship to any qualified Illinois institution of higher
learning. However, preference may be given to qualified
applicants enrolled at or above the junior level.
(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
an annual maximum of $7,500.
(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

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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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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
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.
(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.
(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.
(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
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).
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).
(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
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
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.
(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
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.
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.
(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
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.
(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.
(s) The Commission shall establish and administer a
student teaching stipend program. Under the program, subject
to a specific and distinct appropriation for those express
purposes, the Commission shall receive and consider
applications for additional funds from recipients of
scholarships under this Section who are student teaching. The
Commission shall select stipend recipients from among
applicants who are in financial need. All applications for
stipends under this subsection (s) shall be made to the
Commission in a form as set forth by the Commission. The form
of application and the information required shall be
determined by the Commission, and the Commission shall require
applicants to submit with their applications such supporting
documents as the Commission deems necessary.
Beginning with grants for the 2025-2026 academic year,
notwithstanding the maximum award amounts listed in subsection

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