101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB4243

 

Introduced 1/27/2020, by Rep. Diane Pappas

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/35

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Provides that an applicant enrolled in a certificate program offered by a public community college is eligible for a Monetary Award Program grant until he or she completes the certificate program. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 947/35)
7    Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
8    (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
9applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject
10to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
11eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission
12finds that the applicant:
13        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
14    permanent resident of the United States; and
15        (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
16    deterred by financial considerations from completing an
17    educational program at the qualified institution of his or
18    her choice, including any certificate program offered by a
19    public community college.
20    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
21student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
22the applicant:
23        (1) has remained a student in good standing;

 

 

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1        (2) remains a resident of this State; and
2        (3) is in a financial situation that continues to
3    warrant assistance.
4    (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
5necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
6amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of
7the following amounts:
8        (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year
9    2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal
10    year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser
11    amount as the Commission finds to be available, during an
12    academic year;
13        (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters
14    tuition and other necessary fees required generally by the
15    institution of all full-time undergraduate students; or
16        (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
17    appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
18    resources.
19    Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for
20students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c)
21must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made
22by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of
23this subsection (c).
24    "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
25include the customary charge for instruction and use of
26facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged

 

 

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1for specified purposes, which are required generally of
2nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
3grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
4payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
5deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
6Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
7Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
8tuition and other necessary fees.
9    (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
10scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary
11award program consideration under this Act after receiving a
12baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit
13hours of award payments. However, an applicant enrolled in a
14certificate program offered by a public community college may
15continue to be eligible for monetary award program
16consideration under this Act until the completion of the
17certificate program even if he or she has exceeded this
18limitation.
19    (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means
20a student attending an institution of higher learning who
21received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior
22academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications
23for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually
24publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants.
25Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by the
26published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if he or

 

 

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1she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under this
2Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the
3priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5)
4shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if
5sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that
6date.
7    (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
8be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
9the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The Commission
10shall notify applicants that grant assistance is contingent
11upon the availability of appropriated funds.
12    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an
13important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate
14access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary
15education immediately following high school and for those who
16pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly
17Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and
18who are seeking to improve their economic position through
19education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the
20Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to
21the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing
22applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure
23financial assistance even if applying later than the general
24pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall
25include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an
26estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers

 

 

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1who apply after the Commission initially suspends award
2announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior
3to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of
4this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the
5federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
6    (f) (Blank).
7    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
8make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
9institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
10Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
11for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
12        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
13    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
14    students who have attained an associate degree.
15        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
16    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
17    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
18    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
19    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
20        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
21    eligible students.
22    (h) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
23Section.
24(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 100-621, eff. 7-20-18;
25100-823, eff. 8-13-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
 
26    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon

 

 

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1becoming law.