Illinois Public School teachers using their own money to implement lesson plans are eligible for reimbursement. 

State representative Sue Scherer, a democrat in Decatur, introduced the legislation requiring the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish a teacher reimbursement grant program used for tuition and mandatory fees. 

Eligible teachers may receive grants for reimbursement worth eight semesters of tuition for up to 10 years as part of the program. 

Scherer says that many teachers have to go above requirements for their students and lesson plans, and that this reimbursement program relieves teachers of the burden of high student loan debt when they give their service to Illinois Schools. 

The Illinois State Board of Education says that the state had about 1,000 unfilled teaching position in 2017. In 2021, that number is nearly 1,700 with 77 percent of Illinois School Districts reporting teacher shortages or difficulty finding substitute teachers.