Public Act 102-0083
 
SB0190 EnrolledLRB102 10285 CMG 15612 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  



 
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Higher 
Education Housing and Opportunities Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Institution of higher education" or "institution" means 
any publicly or privately operated university, college, 
community college, business, technical, or vocational school, 
or other educational institution offering degrees and 
instruction beyond the secondary school level.
    "Student experiencing homelessness" or "homeless student" 
means an individual enrolled in an institution who lacks or is 
at imminent risk of lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate 
nighttime residence or whose parent or legal guardian is 
unable or unwilling to provide shelter and care and includes a 
homeless individual as defined under the federal 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. For the purposes of 
this definition, the term "fixed, regular, and adequate 
nighttime residence" does not include residence in an 
institution of higher education's on-campus housing.
    "Student in care" means any person, regardless of age, who 
is or was under the care and legal custody of the Department of 
Children and Family Services, including youth for whom the 
Department has court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who 
aged out of care at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under 
care who have been adopted and were the subject of an adoption 
assistance agreement or who have been placed in private 
guardianship and were the subject of a subsidized guardianship 
agreement.
 
    Section 10. Housing and Opportunities that are Useful for 
Students' Excellence (HOUSE) liaison.
    (a) In an effort to provide assistance to students 
experiencing homelessness, each institution of higher 
education shall designate at least one staff member to serve 
as a liaison to assist homeless students enrolled at the 
institution. The designated staff member may be employed in 
the office of financial aid, in campus housing services, or in 
any other appropriate office or department as determined by 
the institution.
    (b) The liaison designated under subsection (a) shall 
offer assistance and resources to any homeless student or 
student in care enrolled at the institution. The liaison shall 
have all of the following responsibilities:

        (1) To understand provisions pertaining to the 
    financial aid eligibility of homeless students, including 
    eligibility as an independent student under the federal 
    Higher Education Act of 1965.
        (2) To identify services and resources that are 
    available to and appropriate for a homeless student.
        (3) To assist a homeless student or student in care in 
    applying for and receiving federal and State financial aid 
    and available services.
        (4) To track and monitor the graduation rate and 
    retention rate of homeless students and students in care 
    enrolled at the institution.
        (5) To report annually to the Board of Higher 
    Education or the Illinois Community College Board, as 
    appropriate, the number of homeless students and students 
    in care enrolled at the institution. The report must 
    include the number of students who received assistance or 
    services through the liaison and the type of service or 
    assistance received by the student. If the information is 
    available, the report may describe the outcome for the 
    student as a result of the services or assistance he or she 
    received through the liaison.
        (6) To act as an intermediary between a homeless 
    student or student in care and the office of financial 
    aid, student support services, and campus housing 
    services.
        (7) To connect a homeless student or student in care 
    to a local continuum of  care program.
        (8) To publish on the institution's website 
    information about the services and resources available 
    through the institution's liaison, as well as contact 
    information for local, State, and federal services.
        (9) To develop a plan to provide access to on-campus 
    housing or to suitable off-campus housing between academic 
    breaks to homeless students or students in care enrolled 
    at the institution.
        (10) To train the institution's employees to identify 
    students experiencing homelessness and to refer those 
    students to the liaison.
    At his or her discretion, the liaison may provide any 
additional service he or she reasonably believes is within the 
purview of the role of liaison.
    (c) The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois 
Community College Board shall adopt rules, policies, and 
procedures to implement and administer this Act. Each Board 
must:

        (1)   provide access to a training program developed by 
    a homeless advocacy organization;
        (2)    require a liaison to receive training on an annual 
    basis;
        (3)   collaborate with the State Coordinator for 
    McKinney-Vento Homeless Education and the contact liaisons 
    designated under Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of Title 42 of 
    the United States Code to facilitate the efficient 
    transition of homeless students from secondary to 
    postsecondary education and provide homeless students and 
    students in care information about support services, 
    including financial aid, on-campus and off-campus housing, 
    food and meal plan programs, and counseling services, and 
    other resources and any other relevant information to 
    assist these students; and
        (4) issue annual reports about students experiencing 
    homelessness and students in care enrolled at academic 
    institutions.
    (d) After 3 academic years, if the data submitted to the 
Board of Higher Education or the Illinois Community College 
Board, as appropriate, indicates that the number of students 
experiencing homelessness or the number of students in care 
exceeds 2% or more of the student body of the institution, the 
institution must create a position whose primary function is 
to carry out the responsibilities of a liaison as described in 
subsection (b).
    (e) Each institution that provides on-campus housing for 
students enrolled at the institution shall:
        (1) grant priority for on-campus housing to students 
    experiencing homelessness and students in care who are 
    enrolled at the institution, including, but not limited 
    to, access to on-campus housing that remains open during 
    academic breaks, and waive fees for the on-campus housing 
    during academic breaks;
        (2) allow students experiencing homelessness and 
    students in care who are enrolled part-time at the 
    institution to access on-campus housing;
        (3) provide information about the availability of 
    on-campus housing to students experiencing homelessness 
    and students in care; and
        (4) provide information about the services and 
    assistance offered by the institution  regarding 
    homelessness in financial aid packets and admission 
    packets and on the institution's website.
  
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect August 
1, 2022.