96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB0079


 
Introduced 1/14/2009, by Rep. Lou Lang
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 		












New Act











    Creates the Higher Education Scholarship Act.  Allows scholarships
to
be awarded to entering freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors at
community colleges, colleges, and universities, whether public or private,
located in this State.
Establishes Illinois residency requirements, minimum grade point average
requirements,
and other requirements that the student must meet to be eligible for a
scholarship.
Provides that the scholarship, subject to the amounts appropriated by the
General
Assembly, includes tuition and mandatory fees (in an amount not to exceed the
maximum amount allowed to be
awarded under the Monetary Award Program for a student at a private
institution).  Authorizes the
Illinois Student
Assistance Commission to promulgate rules relating to the scholarships.
Effective July 1, 2009.
















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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
















 


 


A BILL FOR









 











HB0079

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1
    AN ACT concerning education. 

 
2
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
3
represented in the General Assembly: 


 
4
    Section 1. Short title.   This Act may be cited as the 
5
Higher Education
Scholarship Act.



 
6
    Section 5. Definitions.   In this Act:


7
    "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance 
8
Commission.


9
    "Eligible high school" means:


10
        (1)  a public high school located in Illinois;


11
        (2)  a private school located in Illinois where children 
12
    are taught the
branches of education taught to children of 
13
    corresponding age and grade in
public high schools in 
14
    Illinois and which has been recognized by the
Commission; 
15
    or


16
        (3)  a public or private secondary school located in 
17
    another state and
accredited by one of the following 
18
    regional agencies:


19
            (A)  The Southern Association of Colleges and 
20
        Schools.


21
            (B)  The New England Association of Schools and

22
        Colleges.


23
            (C)  The Middle States Association of Colleges and

 


 






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        Schools.


2
            (D)  The North Central Association of Colleges and

3
        Schools.


4
            (E)  The Northwestern Association of Schools and

5
        Colleges.


6
            (F)  The Western Association of Schools and 
7
        Colleges.


8
    "Freshman student" means a student at an institution of 
9
higher
education who has attempted
less than 31 semester hours.


10
    "Grade point average" means the numbered grade average

11
calculated using a 4.0 scale.


12
    "Institution of higher education" means a community 
13
college,
college, or university, whether public or private, 
14
located in this State.


15
    "Junior student" means a student at an institution of 
16
higher education
who has attempted at
least 61 semester hours 
17
but less than 91 semester hours.


18
    "Mandatory fees" means fees approved by the Illinois 
19
Student Assistance
Commission that are charged by an 
20
institution of higher education to
every student enrolled in

21
that
institution of higher education, regardless of the 
22
student's program of study.


23
    "Matriculated status" means being recognized as a student 
24
in
a defined program of study leading to a degree at an 
25
institution of
higher education.


26
    "Scholarship" means the scholarship awarded under this 
 


 






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1
Act.


2
    "Semester hours" includes each semester hour attempted,

3
whether remedial or for credit toward a degree, but shall not

4
include any semester hour attempted before graduating from high

5
school or earning a general educational development (GED)

6
equivalency diploma.


7
    "Senior student" means a student at an institution of 
8
higher education
who has attempted at
least 91 semester hours 
9
but less than 128 semester hours.


10
    "Sophomore student" means a student at an institution of 
11
higher
education who has attempted
at least 31 semester hours 
12
but less than 61 semester hours.


13
    "Title IV" means Title IV of the Higher Education Act of

14
1965, as amended (20 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1070, et seq.).



 
15
    Section 10. Ineligibility for scholarship.   A student is 
16
ineligible for a
scholarship under this Act if the student:


17
        (1) is not a United States citizen or a permanent 
18
    resident alien who
meets the definition of an eligible 
19
    noncitizen under federal Title IV
requirements;


20
        (2) is in default on a federal Title IV educational 
21
    loan or a State of
Illinois educational loan, provided that 
22
    a student who is otherwise eligible
and
has fully repaid 
23
    the defaulted loan shall be eligible to obtain a 
24
    scholarship
for
future academic terms but not 
25
    retroactively;


 


 






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        (3) owes a refund on a federal Title IV student 
2
    financial aid program
or an Illinois student financial aid 
3
    program, provided that a student who is
otherwise eligible 
4
    and has fully paid the refund owed shall be eligible to

5
    obtain a
scholarship for future academic terms but not 
6
    retroactively; or


7
        (4) does not meet each qualification listed under 
8
    Section 15, 20, 25, or
30 of this
Act applicable to the 
9
    student.



 
10
    Section 15. Freshman eligibility for scholarship.
To be 
11
eligible for a scholarship, an entering freshman student 
12
seeking a
degree at an institution of higher education shall:


13
        (1)  meet residency requirements by meeting the 
14
    requirements to be
classified as a legal resident of 
15
    Illinois as established by the program rules
promulgated by 
16
    the Commission, which shall be based
upon the in-state 
17
    tuition policy of the governing board of the
institution of 
18
    higher education in
which the student is enrolled;


19
        (2)  meet achievement standards by having graduated 
20
    from an
eligible high school with a cumulative grade point 
21
    average of at least 3.0
while meeting the curriculum 
22
    requirements of his or her
program of study, or, in the 
23
    case of a student who is otherwise qualified but
did
not 
24
    graduate from an eligible high school,
by earning a

25
    cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 at an 
 


 






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    institution of
higher education at the
end of
the semester 
2
    in which the student has attempted 30 semester hours, 
3
    provided
that
the student shall be eligible to receive a 
4
    retroactive scholarship for the
student's
freshman year to 
5
    be paid at the end of the freshman year; and


6
        (3)  meet enrollment standards by being admitted, 
7
    enrolled, and
classified as an undergraduate student in a 
8
    matriculated status.



 
9
    Section 20. Sophomore eligibility for scholarship.
To be 
10
eligible for a scholarship, a sophomore student seeking a

11
degree at an institution of higher education shall:


12
        (1) meet residency requirements by meeting the 
13
    requirements to be
classified as a legal resident of 
14
    Illinois as established by the program rules
promulgated by 
15
    the Commission, which shall be based
upon the in-state 
16
    tuition policy of the governing board of the
institution of 
17
    higher education in
which the student is enrolled;


18
        (2) meet achievement standards by meeting the 
19
    following criteria:


20
            (A) earning a cumulative grade point average of at 
21
        least 3.0
at an institution of higher education at the 
22
        end of the semester in which
the student has
attempted 
23
        30 semester hours; and


24
            (B) maintaining satisfactory academic progress in 
25
        a course
of study in accordance with the standards and 
 


 






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        practices used for
federal Title IV programs by the 
2
        institution of higher education in
which the
student is 
3
        enrolled; and


4
        (3) meet enrollment standards by being admitted, 
5
    enrolled, and
classified as an undergraduate student in a 
6
    matriculated status.



 
7
    Section 25. Junior eligibility for scholarship.
To be 
8
eligible for a scholarship, a junior student seeking a
degree 
9
at an institution of higher education shall:


10
        (1)  meet residency requirements by meeting the 
11
    requirements to be
classified as a legal resident of 
12
    Illinois as established by the program rules
promulgated by 
13
    the Commission, which shall be based
upon the in-state 
14
    tuition policy of the governing board of the
institution of 
15
    higher education
in which the student is enrolled;


16
        (2) meet achievement standards by meeting the 
17
    following criteria:


18
            (A)  earning a cumulative grade point average of at 
19
        least
3.0 at an institution of higher education at the 
20
        end of the semester in
which the
student has attempted 
21
        60 semester hours; and


22
            (B)  maintaining satisfactory academic progress in 
23
        a course
of study in accordance with the standards and 
24
        practices used for
federal Title IV programs by the 
25
        institution of higher education in
which the
student is 
 


 






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        enrolled; and


2
        (3)  meet enrollment standards by being admitted, 
3
    enrolled, and
classified as an undergraduate student in a 
4
    matriculated status.



 
5
    Section 30. Senior eligibility for scholarship.
To be 
6
eligible for a scholarship, a senior student seeking a
degree 
7
at an institution of higher education shall:


8
        (1)  meet residency requirements by meeting the 
9
    requirements to be
classified as a legal resident of 
10
    Illinois as established by the program rules
promulgated by 
11
    the Commission, which shall be based
upon the in-state 
12
    tuition policy of the governing board of the
institution of 
13
    higher education in
which the student is enrolled;


14
        (2)  meet achievement standards by meeting the 
15
    following criteria:


16
            (A)  meeting all achievement standards for 
17
        scholarship
eligibility in his or her junior year;


18
            (B)  earning a cumulative grade point average of at 
19
        least
3.0 at an institution of higher education at the 
20
        end of the semester in
which the
student has attempted 
21
        90 semester hours; and


22
            (C)  maintaining satisfactory academic progress in 
23
        a course
of study in accordance with the standards and 
24
        practices used for
federal Title IV programs by the 
25
        institution of higher education in which
the
student is 
 


 






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        enrolled; and


2
        (3)  meet enrollment standards by being admitted, 
3
    enrolled, and
classified as an undergraduate student in a 
4
    matriculated status.



 
5
    Section 35. Cessation of eligibility.


6
    (a)  A student who fails to maintain a cumulative grade 
7
point average of at
least
3.0 at the end of the semester in 
8
which the student has attempted 30 semester
hours may
attend 
9
the next 30 semester hours without a scholarship.  An otherwise 
10
eligible
student
who regains a cumulative grade point average 
11
of at least 3.0 at the end of the
semester in
which the student 
12
has attempted 60 semester hours may requalify for a

13
scholarship.


14
    (b) For students eligible for a scholarship under this Act, 
15
no minimum number
of hours of enrollment is required.


16
    (c)  Except as set out in subsection (d) of this Section, a 
17
student may
receive the
scholarship until the first of these 
18
events:


19
        (1)  the student has earned a baccalaureate degree; or


20
        (2)  the student has attempted at any institution of 
21
    higher
education a total of 127
semester hours.


22
    (d)  A student enrolled in an undergraduate degree program 
23
designed to be
more than 127 semester hours in length is 
24
eligible to receive the scholarship
for the lesser of:


25
        (1)  a total of 150 attempted semester hours; or


 


 






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        (2)  the number of hours required for graduation if the 
2
    student has a
cumulative grade point average of at least 
3
    3.0 after the semester in which
the student attempted 127 
4
    semester hours.



 
5
    Section 37. Condition for receipt of scholarship.  As a 
6
condition for
receiving a scholarship under this Act, a student 
7
must certify that he or she
has applied for other federal and 
8
State grants.



 
9
    Section 40. Scholarship amount.   Subject to the amounts 
10
appropriated by the
General Assembly, a scholarship awarded 
11
under this Act shall include
(i) for a public institution of 
12
higher education, tuition and approved
mandatory fees or (ii) 
13
for a private institution of higher education, tuition
and 
14
approved mandatory fees in an amount not to exceed the maximum

15
amount allowed to be awarded each academic year under Section 
16
35 of
the Higher Education Student Assistance Act.
However, a 
17
scholarship may be applied only to tuition and
mandatory fees

18
not covered by any federal grant.



 
19
    Section 990. Rules.   The Commission is
authorized
to 
20
promulgate rules not inconsistent with this Act relating to 
21
scholarships
described in
this Act.



 
22
    Section 995. Funding.   The funding for the scholarships 
 


 






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1
described in this
Act
shall be subject to annual appropriations 
2
enacted by the General Assembly,
which shall
establish the 
3
total amount of funding for these scholarships.



 
4
    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 
5
2009.