102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB2827

 

Introduced 2/19/2021, by Rep. Dan Caulkins

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/35

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Under the monetary award program, provides for the awarding of grants to students enrolled in dual credit coursework pursuant to a partnership agreement between a school district and a community college district. Provides that a grant may be applied only to the costs of tuition and other necessary fees charged for the coursework and the student must complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2827LRB102 11982 CMG 17318 b

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 or from enrolling in dual credit coursework
19    pursuant to Section 16 of the Dual Credit Quality Act.
20    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
21student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
22the applicant:
23        (1) has remained a student in good standing;

 

 

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

 

 

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1for specified purposes, which are required generally of
2nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
3grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
4payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
5deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
6Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
7Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
8tuition and other necessary fees.
9    (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
10scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for
11monetary award program consideration under this Act after
12receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135
13semester credit hours of award payments.
14    (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means
15a student attending an institution of higher learning or
16enrolled in dual credit coursework pursuant to Section 16 of
17the Dual Credit Quality Act who received a Monetary Award
18Program grant during the prior academic year. Beginning with
19the processing of applications for the 2020-2021 academic
20year, the Commission shall annually publish a priority
21deadline date for renewing applicants. Subject to
22appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by the published
23priority deadline date shall receive a grant if he or she
24continues to meet the eligibility requirements under this
25Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the
26priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5)

 

 

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1shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if
2sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that
3date.
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
7Commission shall notify applicants that grant assistance is
8contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds.
9    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is
10an important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to
11facilitate access to college both for students who pursue
12postsecondary education immediately following high school and
13for those who pursue postsecondary education later in life,
14particularly Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with
15financial need and who are seeking to improve their economic
16position through education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017
17academic years, the Commission shall give additional and
18specific consideration to the needs of dislocated workers with
19the intent of allowing applicants who are dislocated workers
20an opportunity to secure financial assistance even if applying
21later than the general pool of applicants. The Commission's
22consideration shall include, in determining the number of
23grants to be offered, an estimate of the resources needed to
24serve dislocated workers who apply after the Commission
25initially suspends award announcements for the upcoming
26regular academic year, but prior to the beginning of that

 

 

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1academic year. For the purposes of this subsection (e-5), a
2dislocated worker is defined as in the federal Workforce
3Innovation and Opportunity Act.
4    (f) (Blank).
5    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
6make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
7institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
8Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
9for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
10        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
11    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
12    students who have attained an associate degree.
13        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
14    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
15    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
16    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
17    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
18        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
19    eligible students.
20    (g-5) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of
21and make grants to applicants enrolled in dual credit
22coursework pursuant to Section 16 of the Dual Credit Quality
23Act, subject to the following requirements:
24        (1) A grant may be applied only to the costs of tuition
25    and other necessary fees charged for the coursework.
26        (2) The applicant must complete and submit a Free

 

 

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1    Application for Federal Student Aid.
2    (h) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
3Section.
4(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 100-621, eff. 7-20-18;
5100-823, eff. 8-13-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.