Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) An
application for an MTI scholarship must be submitted annually and an applicant
must also complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid® (FAFSA).
An ISAC application for the MTI Scholarship Program and a FAFSA must be
completed and received by March 31st immediately
preceding the regular school year for which the scholarship is being requested,
in order to receive priority consideration for an award.
1) An application is available on ISAC's
website.
2) If the MTI application
is incomplete, ISAC will notify the applicant. The applicant will then have an
opportunity to furnish the missing information; however, the application will
only be considered for processing as of the date when the application is
complete and received by ISAC.
b) When an appropriation for the MTI
Scholarship Program for a given fiscal year is insufficient to provide
scholarships to all qualified students, ISAC will allocate the available
scholarship funds for that fiscal year to qualified students who submit a
complete timely application, as specified in subsection (a) based on the
following order of priority:
1) Funds will
first be awarded to students who received the MTI scholarship in the prior
academic year and who remain eligible for the MTI scholarship.
2) If funds remain after the awarding of
scholarships under subsection (b)(1), at least 35 percent of the funds
appropriated for scholarships awarded under this Section in each fiscal year
shall be reserved for male qualified applicants. If ISAC 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 ISAC may award a
portion of the reserved funds to qualified female minority
applicants.
3)
When at least $2,850,000, but less than $4,200,000 is appropriated in a
given fiscal year for MTI scholarships, then to the extent allowed by
the amount of funding that remains, 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.
4)
When at least $4,200,000 is appropriated in a given fiscal year for MTI
scholarships, then to the extent allowed by the amount of funding that
remains, 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.
[110 ILCS
947/50]
5) To the extent allowed by the amount of
funding that remains after awarding to those applicants in the priority
categories in subsections (b)(1) through (4), ISAC may award the remaining
funds to other qualified applicants.
c) When an appropriation for the MTI
scholarship in any given fiscal year is insufficient to provide scholarships to
all qualified applicants within any of the categories in subsection (b), ISAC
shall prioritize awards within that category in the following order:
1) to students that demonstrate the most
financial need;
2) to students with
the earliest date of received completed applications; and
3) to qualified applicants enrolled at or
above the junior level.
d) No recipient may receive more than 8
semesters/12 quarters of scholarship assistance under this program.
e) Scholarship funds are applicable towards
up to two semesters/three quarters of study within a regular school
year.
f) Qualified applicants may
be required to furnish the postsecondary institution at which they are enrolled
with a copy of their high school transcripts, any other documentation verifying
high school graduation, or a copy of their State of Illinois High School
Diploma.
g) Prior to receiving
scholarship assistance under this Part, the qualified applicant must sign a
Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note that is submitted to ISAC. The Teaching
Agreement/Promissory Note shall include the following stipulations:
1) the recipient pledges to teach, on a
full-time equivalent basis, for one year for each year of scholarship aid
received, or for any portion of a year for which aid was received, under this
Part;
2) the recipient shall begin
teaching within one year following the completion of the program for which the
recipient received assistance under this Part, and shall teach on a continuous
basis for the required period of time;
3) the teaching requirement will be fulfilled
at a nonprofit Illinois public, private or parochial preschool, elementary
school or secondary school at which no less than 30 percent of the enrolled
students are minority students, as certified by the Illinois State Board of
Education (ISBE). If a recipient received an MTI scholarship as a qualified
bilingual minority applicant, the recipient may instead fulfill the teaching
obligation in a transitional bilingual education program (as defined by Article
14 C of the School Code) or in a school in which at least 20 English learner
students in the same language classification are enrolled;
4) if the teaching requirement is not
fulfilled, the scholarship converts to a loan and the recipient must repay the
entire amount of the scholarships prorated according to the fraction of the
teaching obligation not completed, plus interest at a rate of interest equal to
five percent and, if applicable, reasonable collection fees;
5) the recipient agrees to provide ISAC with
evidence of compliance with program requirements (e.g., responses to annual
follow-up questionnaires, etc.); and
6) the recipient promises to use the proceeds
of the scholarship for educational expenses.
h) A recipient of a scholarship awarded under
this Part shall not be in violation of the agreement entered into pursuant to
subsection (g) during periods in which the recipient:
1) serves, for not more than three years, as
a member of the United States Armed Forces;
2) is enrolled 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;
3)
is temporarily totally disabled, for not more than three years, as established
by the sworn affidavit of a licensed physician;
4) is actively seeking but unable to find
full-time employment as a teacher at a school that satisfies the criteria set
forth in subsection (g)(3) for one continuous period not to exceed two years,
and is able to provide evidence of that fact;
5) is taking additional courses, on at least
a half-time basis, needed to obtain licensure as a teacher in Illinois;
or
6) is fulfilling teaching
requirements associated with other programs administered by ISAC if the
recipient cannot concurrently fulfill them in a period of time equal to the
length of the teaching obligation.
i) If a recipient is required to repay any
portion of the scholarship, the repayment period shall be completed within 10
years after the scholarship converts to a loan. This 10 year period may be
extended if the recipient:
1) serves, for not
more than three years, as a member of the United States Armed Forces;
2) is temporarily disabled, for not more than
three years, as established by the sworn affidavit of a licensed
physician;
3) is seeking and unable
to find full-time employment, for one continuous period not to exceed two
years, and is able to provide evidence of that fact;
4) withdraws from a course of study leading
to licensure as a teacher but is enrolled full-time in another academic
discipline; or
5) is pursuing a
graduate course of study and is enrolled on a full-time basis for one
continuous period of time not to exceed three years.
j) During the time a recipient qualifies for
any of the extensions listed in subsection (i), the recipient shall not be
required to make payments and interest shall not accrue.
k) A recipient shall enter repayment status
on the earliest of the following dates:
1) the
first day of the first calendar month after the recipient has ceased to pursue
a course of study leading to licensure as a teacher at the preschool,
elementary or secondary level, but not before six months have elapsed after the
cessation of at least half-time enrollment in such a course of study;
2) the date the recipient informs ISAC that
the recipient does not plan to fulfill the teaching obligation; or
3) the day after the latest date upon which
the recipient must have begun teaching after completing the postsecondary
education for which the scholarship was awarded.
l)
If a recipient who enters into
repayment under subsection (g) subsequently, within 5 years of
entering repayment, begins to teach at a school meeting the description under
subsection (g)(3), the amount owed by the recipient may be
reduced in proportion to the amount of the teaching obligation
completed. [110 ILCS 947/50]
m) A recipient shall not be required to repay
the amount of the scholarships received if the recipient becomes permanently
totally disabled as established by the sworn affidavit of a qualified physician
(see, e.g., 34 CFR
682.402(c)), or if the
recipient's representative provides ISAC with a death certificate or other
evidence that the recipient has died.
n)
If the MTI Program does not expend
at least 90% of the appropriated amount in a given fiscal year for three
consecutive years and ISAC does not receive enough applications by January 1
each year from the groups identified for reserved funds, then up to 3% of
appropriated funds for the next three fiscal years shall be allocated to
increase awareness of the program and for the recruitment of Black males. ISAC
will make a recommendation to the General Assembly by January 1 of the
following fiscal year regarding whether the amount allocated to increasing
awareness and recruitment should continue beyond the three-year
period. [110 ILCS 947/50]
