The Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Program encourages current teachers and academically talented students to pursue careers as Illinois public, private or parochial preschool or elementary or secondary school teachers in any area of Special Education.

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110 ILCS 947/20(f) and 65.15

23 ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE CH. XIX, SEC. 2765

To increase the number of qualified special education teachers in the State of Illinois.

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Individuals;

A qualified applicant must be: 1) U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen, or meet the “undocumented student” criteria of the RISE Act; 2) A resident of Illinois; 3) A graduate of an approved high school; a student scheduled to graduate from an approved high school by the end of the academic year in which the award is made who ranks in the upper half of the high school graduating class at the end of the sixth semester; or a person holding a valid teaching license that is not in the discipline of Special Education; 4) enrolled, or accepted for enrollment, as an undergraduate or graduate student seeking initial licensure in any area of Special Education as determined by the university; 5) Attending, or planning to attend, one of the 12 Illinois public 4-year universities; and 6) A potential new recipient that has not received the Illinois SETTW in the past.

Individual

Direct Payments for Specific Use

Education

Prior to receiving assistance, the qualified applicant must sign a Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note, which must be submitted to ISAC, in which the recipient pledges to begin teaching on a full-time basis, in the field of Special Education, within one year following graduation from or termination of enrollment in a teacher education program, at a nonprofit, public, private or parochial preschool, elementary or secondary school in Illinois and to continue teaching for at least 2 of the 5 years immediately following. The five-year time period during which the teaching requirement must be fulfilled 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 enrolled full-time in an academic program related to the field of teaching, leading to a graduate or postgraduate degree; 3) is temporarily totally disabled for a period of time not to exceed three years, as established by the sworn affidavit of a qualified physician; 4) is actively seeking but unable to find full-time employment as a teacher at an Illinois public, private, or parochial school 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. If the teaching requirement is not fulfilled, the tuition waiver converts to a loan and the recipient must repay the entire amount of the tuition waiver (prorated according to the fraction of the teaching obligation not completed), plus interest at a rate equal to 5% per annum; and the recipient agrees to provide ISAC with evidence of compliance with program requirements (e.g., responses to annual follow-up questionnaires, etc.).

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Applications are available on the ISAC website. For priority consideration, your complete application must be submitted (i.e., electronically signed or postmarked) on or before March 1 preceding the academic year for which the student is applying. Applications submitted after that date will be given consideration for the award if, after the initial round of awarding, all 250 available tuition waivers have not been awarded.

Applicants must agree to teach at one of the following Illinois schools that has been approved by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE): a nonprofit public, private or parochial preschool; a nonprofit public, private or parochial elementary school; or a nonprofit public, private or parochial secondary school.

ISAC shall annually award 250 Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waivers, as follows: 1) Currently Licensed Teachers: A maximum of 40 tuition waivers may be awarded annually to qualified applicants who hold a valid teaching license that is not in the discipline of Special Education. If more than 40 applicants qualify under these provisions, a lottery shall be used to select 40 recipients. 2) Applicants Graduating from High School in the Current Award Year: Excluding rollover waivers, a minimum of 105 tuition waivers shall be awarded annually to students scheduled to graduate from an approved high school in the academic year in which the award is made and who rank in the upper half of their class at the end of the sixth semester. Recipients will be selected from qualified applicants based on the highest ACT or SAT scores from the time periods set forth in the State Scholar Program, as converted according to the Illinois Standard Test Score table. If the number of qualified applicants sharing the same Illinois Standard Test Score exceeds the number of tuition waivers to be awarded, a lottery shall be used to select the awardees. 3) Applicants Not Graduating from High School in the Current Award Year: Excluding rollover waivers, a minimum of 105 tuition waivers shall be awarded annually to qualified applicants who have graduated from an approved high school prior to the academic year in which the award is made. If the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of tuition waivers to be awarded, a lottery shall be used to select the awardees. 4) Rollover of Unused Tuition Waivers: Any of the available tuition waivers not awarded under 1) will be added to the pool of available waivers under 2). If the number of qualified applicants under 2) or 3) is insufficient to utilize all of the waivers, the remainder shall be transferred to the pool of waivers under 1) if there are qualified applicants who have not yet been awarded a waiver. A student may received SETTW for a maximum of four calendar years. Recipients must agree to teach in Illinois in the field of special education. If this teaching commitment is not fulfilled, the amount of benefits received converts to a loan, and the recipient will be required to repay the entire amount plus interest.

A completed ISAC application for the Illinois SETTW Program must be postmarked on or before March 1 immediately preceding the academic year for which the tuition waiver is being requested, in order to receive priority consideration for an award. Applications submitted March 1 will be given consideration for the award if, after the initial round of awarding, all 250 available tuition waivers have not been awarded. Notice of eligibility will be sent by July 1 to each qualified applicant who is selected to receive a tuition waiver.

Notice of eligibility will be sent by July 1 to each qualified applicant who is selected to receive a tuition waiver.

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Once an applicant has received and used a tuition waiver, they do not need to reapply for consideration for additional years.

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In any academic year in which the qualified applicant accepts or receives financial assistance through the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship or the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois, the applicant will not be eligible for SETTW.

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The grant is applicable only toward tuition and mandatory fees.

Illinois SETTW provides a waiver of college tuition and mandatory fees for eligible applicants.

https://www.isac.org/e-library/documents/administrative-rules/2022-23-isac-rules/2765-SETTW.pdf

500 West Monroe, 3rd Floor Springfield, IL 62704

1755 Lake Cook Road Deerfield, IL 60015-5209

https://www.isac.org/students/during-college/types-of-financial-aid/scholarships/illinois-special-education-teacher-tuition-waiver-settw-program.html

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