Rep. Norma Hernandez
Filed: 2/19/2026
 
 

 
 

 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4604 

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4604 by replacing 
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
5Hispanic-Serving Institutions Task Force Act.
 
6    Section 5. Legislative findings and purpose.
7    (a) The General Assembly finds that:
8        (1) Hispanic and Latino students represent a growing 
9    share of this State's college-going population and are 
10    critical to the State's workforce, economic vitality, and 
11    civic life;
12        (2) Hispanic-serving institutions play a central role 
13    in expanding access to higher education, improving degree 
14    completion, and advancing economic mobility for 
15    first-generation and low-income students;
16        (3) higher education institutions that meet the 
 
 
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1    federal definition of a Hispanic-serving institution or 
2    that are an emerging Hispanic-serving institution benefit 
3    from coordinated State policy alignment, technical 
4    assistance, and resource leveraging; and
5        (4) establishing a statewide advisory task force 
6    allows the State to assess needs, identify best practices, 
7    and develop actionable recommendations to support 
8    Hispanic-serving institutions.
9    (b) The purpose of this Act is to establish the 
10Hispanic-Serving Institutions Task Force to study, assess, and 
11make recommendations regarding State support for 
12Hispanic-serving institutions.
 
13    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
14    "Emerging Hispanic-serving institution" means an 
15institution of higher education located in this State with an 
16undergraduate, full-time-equivalent enrollment of at least 15% 
17Hispanic or Latino students.
18    "Hispanic-serving institution" means an institution of 
19higher education located in this State that meets the federal 
20definition of a Hispanic-serving institution under Title V of 
21the federal Higher Education Act of 1965.
22    "Task Force" means the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Task 
23Force created under this Act.
 
24    Section 15. Hispanic-Serving Institutions Task Force.
 
 
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1    (a) The Hispanic-Serving Institutions Task Force is 
2created. The Task Force shall be advisory in nature.
3    (b) The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois 
4Community College Board shall jointly provide administrative, 
5technical, and staffing support to the Task Force, subject to 
6available appropriations.
 
7    Section 20. Membership.
8    (a) The Task Force shall consist of all of the following 
9members:
10        (1) The Executive Director of the Board of Higher 
11    Education or the Executive Director's designee, who shall 
12    be co-chairperson of the Task Force.
13        (2) The Executive Director of the Illinois Community 
14    College Board or the Executive Director's designee, who 
15    shall be co-chairperson of the Task Force.
16        (3) One representative of the Illinois Student 
17    Assistance Commission, appointed by the Executive Director 
18    of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.
19        (4) One representative of the Department of Commerce 
20    and Economic Opportunity, appointed by the Director of 
21    Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
22        (5) Two presidents or chancellors of public, 
23    Hispanic-serving institutions or emerging 
24    Hispanic-serving institutions located in this State, 
25    appointed by the Governor.
 
 
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1        (6) Two presidents or chancellors of public community 
2    colleges located in this State that are Hispanic-serving 
3    institutions or emerging Hispanic-serving institutions, 
4    appointed by the Governor.
5        (7) One president or chancellor of a private, 
6    nonprofit, Hispanic-serving institution or emerging 
7    Hispanic-serving institution located in this State, 
8    appointed by the Governor.
9        (8) Two faculty members from Hispanic-serving 
10    institutions or emerging Hispanic-serving institutions 
11    with expertise in student success, institutional capacity, 
12    or workforce alignment, appointed by the Governor.
13        (9) Two students enrolled at Hispanic-serving 
14    institutions or emerging Hispanic-serving institutions 
15    located in this State, appointed by the Governor.
16        (10) One representative of a statewide, 
17    Latino-serving, nonprofit organization with experience in 
18    higher education policy, appointed by the Governor.
19        (11) One representative of the business or workforce 
20    development community with experience partnering with a 
21    Hispanic-serving institutions, appointed by the Governor.
22    (b) Appointments shall reflect geographic diversity and 
23representation from both community colleges and universities.
24    (c) Members of the Task Force shall serve without 
25compensation but may be reimbursed for reasonable and 
26necessary travel expenses from funds appropriated for that 
 
 
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1purpose, subject to the rules of the appropriate travel 
2control board.
 
3    Section 25. Duties. The Task Force shall do all of the 
4following:
5        (1) Assess the current landscape of Hispanic-serving 
6    institutions and emerging Hispanic-serving institutions in 
7    this State, including enrollment trends, degree 
8    completion, transfer outcomes, workforce alignment, and 
9    institutional capacity.
10        (2) Identify barriers to student access, retention, 
11    and completion, including funding equity, data capacity, 
12    faculty diversification, infrastructure needs, and the 
13    basic needs of students.
14        (3) Review existing State policies and accountability 
15    frameworks to determine their impact on Hispanic-serving 
16    institutions and their students' success.
17        (4) Examine best practices from other states related 
18    to supporting Hispanic-serving institutions.
19        (5) Develop recommendations to:
20            (A) improve access to and success in higher 
21        education for students;
22            (B) strengthen institutional capacity, including 
23        grant development and research infrastructure;
24            (C) improve coordination between State agencies 
25        and Hispanic-serving institutions;
 
 
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1            (D) align Hispanic-serving institutions' efforts 
2        with State workforce and economic development 
3        priorities; and
4            (E) consider the feasibility of creating a 
5        permanent State initiative, designation, or funding 
6        mechanism to support Hispanic-serving institutions.
 
7    Section 30. Meetings; quorum; hearings.
8    (a) The Task Force shall meet at least quarterly at the 
9call of the co-chairpersons.
10    (b) A majority of the members of the Task Force shall 
11constitute a quorum.
12    (c) The Task Force may hold public hearings and solicit 
13public testimony as necessary to carry out the Task Force's 
14duties.
 
15    Section 35. Report.
16    (a) No later than 18 months after the effective date of 
17this Act, the Task Force shall submit a written report to the 
18Governor and the General Assembly.
19    (b) The report shall include the Task Force's findings and 
20recommendations for legislative, administrative, or budgetary 
21action.
22    (c) The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois 
23Community College Board shall each post the report on their 
24respective public websites.
 
 
 
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1    Section 90. Dissolution and repeal. The Task Force is 
2dissolved upon submission of the report required under Section 
335, and this Act is repealed on January 1, 2029.
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
5becoming law.".