101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB1809

 

Introduced 2/15/2019, by Sen. Donald P. DeWitte

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/35

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. With regard to the Monetary Award Program, provides that, beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, an applicant who is otherwise eligible for grant assistance under the Program may receive grant assistance for an additional academic year after receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours if he or she (i) enrolls in a State-approved educator preparation program and (ii) within 7 years after receiving a Professional Educator License, teaches in this State for a minimum of 5 years. Provides that if at any time a person fails to meet these requirements, he or she must repay the amount of additional assistance received to the Commission. Effective immediately.


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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 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 947/35)
7    Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
8    (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
9applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject
10to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
11eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission
12finds that the applicant:
13        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
14    permanent resident of the United States; and
15        (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
16    deterred by financial considerations from completing an
17    educational program at the qualified institution of his or
18    her choice.
19    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
20student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
21the applicant:
22        (1) has remained a student in good standing;
23        (2) remains a resident of this State; and

 

 

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1        (3) is in a financial situation that continues to
2    warrant assistance.
3    (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
4necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
5amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of
6the following amounts:
7        (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year
8    2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal
9    year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser
10    amount as the Commission finds to be available, during an
11    academic year;
12        (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters
13    tuition and other necessary fees required generally by the
14    institution of all full-time undergraduate students; or
15        (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
16    appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
17    resources.
18    Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for
19students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c)
20must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made
21by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of
22this subsection (c).
23    "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
24include the customary charge for instruction and use of
25facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged
26for specified purposes, which are required generally of

 

 

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1nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
2grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
3payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
4deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
5Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
6Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
7tuition and other necessary fees.
8    (d) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no No
9applicant, including those presently receiving scholarship
10assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary award
11program consideration under this Act after receiving a
12baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit
13hours of award payments.
14    (d-3) Beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, an
15applicant who is otherwise eligible for grant assistance under
16this Section may receive grant assistance for an additional
17academic year after receiving a baccalaureate degree or the
18equivalent of 135 semester credit hours if he or she (i)
19enrolls in a State-approved educator preparation program and
20(ii) within 7 years after receiving a Professional Educator
21License, teaches in this State for a minimum of 5 years. If at
22any time a person fails to meet the requirements of this
23subsection, he or she must repay the amount of additional
24assistance received to the Commission, in a manner as
25determined by the Commission.
26    (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means

 

 

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1a student attending an institution of higher learning who
2received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior
3academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications
4for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually
5publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants.
6Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by the
7published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if he or
8she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under this
9Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the
10priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5)
11shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if
12sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that
13date.
14    (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
15be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
16the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The Commission
17shall notify applicants that grant assistance is contingent
18upon the availability of appropriated funds.
19    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an
20important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate
21access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary
22education immediately following high school and for those who
23pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly
24Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and
25who are seeking to improve their economic position through
26education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the

 

 

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1Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to
2the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing
3applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure
4financial assistance even if applying later than the general
5pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall
6include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an
7estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers
8who apply after the Commission initially suspends award
9announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior
10to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of
11this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the
12federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
13    (f) (Blank).
14    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
15make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
16institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
17Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
18for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
19        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
20    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
21    students who have attained an associate degree.
22        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
23    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
24    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
25    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
26    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.

 

 

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1        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
2    eligible students.
3    (h) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
4Section.
5(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 100-621, eff. 7-20-18;
6100-823, eff. 8-13-18; revised 10-10-18.)
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
8becoming law.