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| Public Act 103-0435 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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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.
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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