100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB3567

 

Introduced 2/16/2018, by Sen. Chapin Rose

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/35

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. With regard to the Monetary Award Program, provides that a student who otherwise meets the award renewal requirements under the Program is not required to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid to obtain the renewal of an award. Provides that, beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, a grant awarded to a first-time, full-time freshman of an institution of higher learning shall be guaranteed for renewal until the grant recipient completes a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 credit hours if the recipient otherwise meets the grant renewal requirements and remains enrolled at the same institution of higher learning until the degree or credit hours are completed.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Legislative intent. It is the intent of the
5General Assembly that nothing in this Act reduces or eliminates
6the funding of Monetary Award Program grants by the Illinois
7Student Assistance Commission for first-time applicants who
8are not freshmen of an institution of higher learning.
 
9    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
10amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
 
11    (110 ILCS 947/35)
12    Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
13    (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
14applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject
15to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
16eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission
17finds that the applicant:
18        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
19    permanent resident of the United States; and
20        (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
21    deterred by financial considerations from completing an
22    educational program at the qualified institution of his or

 

 

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1    her choice.
2    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
3student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
4the applicant:
5        (1) has remained a student in good standing;
6        (2) remains a resident of this State; and
7        (3) is in a financial situation that continues to
8    warrant assistance.
9    A student who meets the requirements under this subsection
10(b) is not required to file a Free Application for Federal
11Student Aid to obtain the renewal of an award.
12    (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
13necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
14amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of
15the following amounts:
16        (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year
17    2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal
18    year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser
19    amount as the Commission finds to be available, during an
20    academic year;
21        (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters
22    tuition and other necessary fees required generally by the
23    institution of all full-time undergraduate students; or
24        (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
25    appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
26    resources.

 

 

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1    Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for
2students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c)
3must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made
4by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of
5this subsection (c).
6    "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
7include the customary charge for instruction and use of
8facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged
9for specified purposes, which are required generally of
10nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
11grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
12payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
13deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
14Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
15Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
16tuition and other necessary fees.
17    (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
18scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary
19award program consideration under this Act after receiving a
20baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit
21hours of award payments.
22    (d-5) Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, a grant
23awarded under this Section to a first-time, full-time freshman
24of an institution of higher learning shall be guaranteed for
25renewal until the grant recipient completes a baccalaureate
26degree or the equivalent of 135 credit hours if the recipient

 

 

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1otherwise meets the renewal requirements under this Section and
2remains enrolled at the same institution of higher learning
3until the degree or credit hours are completed.
4    (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
5be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
6the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The Commission
7shall notify applicants that grant assistance is contingent
8upon the availability of appropriated funds.
9    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an
10important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate
11access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary
12education immediately following high school and for those who
13pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly
14Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and
15who are seeking to improve their economic position through
16education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the
17Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to
18the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing
19applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure
20financial assistance even if applying later than the general
21pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall
22include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an
23estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers
24who apply after the Commission initially suspends award
25announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior
26to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of

 

 

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1this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the
2federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
3    (f) The Commission may request appropriations for deposit
4into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund. Monies deposited
5into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund may be expended
6exclusively for one purpose: to make Monetary Award Program
7grants to eligible students. Amounts on deposit in the Monetary
8Award Program Reserve Fund may not exceed 2% of the current
9annual State appropriation for the Monetary Award Program.
10    The purpose of the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund is
11to enable the Commission each year to assure as many students
12as possible of their eligibility for a Monetary Award Program
13grant and to do so before commencement of the academic year.
14Moneys deposited in this Reserve Fund are intended to enhance
15the Commission's management of the Monetary Award Program,
16minimizing the necessity, magnitude, and frequency of
17adjusting award amounts and ensuring that the annual Monetary
18Award Program appropriation can be fully utilized.
19    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
20make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
21institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
22Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
23for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
24        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
25    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
26    students who have attained an associate degree.

 

 

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1        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
2    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
3    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
4    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
5    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
6        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
7    eligible students.
8(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17.)