Public Act 103-0435
 
HB2528 EnrolledLRB103 28443 RJT 54823 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.990 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
    Sec. 5.990. The Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund.
 
    Section 10. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended
by adding Section 9.43 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 205/9.43 new)
    Sec. 9.43. Hunger-free campus grant program.
    (a) The Board shall establish a hunger-free campus grant
program for the purposes set forth under subsection (b).
    (b) The purpose of the hunger-free campus grant program
shall be to provide grants to public institutions of higher
education that have one or more campuses designated by the
Board as hunger-free campuses under subsection (c). The
purpose of the grant funding shall be to:
        (1) address student hunger;
        (2) leverage more sustainable solutions to address
    basic food needs on campus;
        (3) raise awareness of services currently offered on
    campus that address basic food needs; and
        (4) continue to build strategic partnerships at the
    federal, State, and local levels to address food
    insecurity among students.
    (c) In order to be designated as a hunger-free campus by
the Board, a public institution of higher education shall:
        (1) establish a hunger task force that meets a minimum
    of 3 times per academic year to set at least 2 goals with
    action plans and that includes representatives from the
    student body;
        (2) designate a staff member responsible for assisting
    students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition
    Assistance Program (SNAP);
        (3) provide options for students to utilize SNAP
    benefits at campus stores or provide students with
    information on establishments in the surrounding area of
    campus where they can utilize SNAP benefits;
        (4) participate in an awareness day campaign activity
    and plan a campus awareness event during the national
    Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week;
        (5) provide at least one physical food pantry on
    campus or enable students to receive food through a
    separate, stigma-free arrangement with a local food pantry
    or food bank near campus;
        (6) develop a student meal credit donation program or
    designate a certain amount of money for free meal vouchers
    for students; and
        (7) annually conduct a student survey on hunger,
    developed by the Board, and submit the results of the
    survey to the Board at a time prescribed by the Board for
    inclusion in a comparative profile of each campus
    designated as a hunger-free campus. Survey data on student
    hunger shall be disaggregated by race, gender identity,
    sexual orientation, parenting status, and financial aid
    status of students. In the development of the survey, the
    Board may utilize any existing surveys designed to collect
    information on food insecurity among students enrolled in
    public institutions of higher education.
    (d) The Board shall allocate grant funding to each public
institution of higher education that has one or more campuses
designated by the Board as a hunger-free campus under
subsection (c). The Board shall determine the amount of each
grant that shall be used by the public institution of higher
education to further address food insecurity among students
enrolled in the public institution of higher education. The
Board shall prioritize grants to public institutions of higher
education with campuses that serve primarily minority and
low-income students and have a high percentage of Pell Grant
recipients.
    (e) The Board shall submit a report to the Governor and to
the General Assembly no later than 2 years after the
establishment of the hunger-free campus grant program. The
report shall include, but not be limited to, the number and
amount of the grant awards, the impact the hunger-free campus
grant program has on establishing additional hunger-free
campuses at public institutions of higher education and
reducing the number of students experiencing food insecurity,
disaggregated data on those students served reflecting the
students' race, gender identity, sexual orientation, parenting
status, and financial aid status, and recommendations on the
expansion of the hunger-free campus grant program.
    (f) The Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund is created as a
special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall
be used, subject to appropriation, by the Board for the
hunger-free campus grant program.
    (g) The Board may adopt any rules necessary to implement
this Section.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/4/2023