SB1809 EngrossedLRB101 09676 AXK 54775 b

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.
19    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
20student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
21the applicant:
22        (1) has remained a student in good standing;
23        (2) remains a resident of this State; and

 

 

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

 

 

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1nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
2grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
3payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
4deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
5Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
6Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
7tuition and other necessary fees.
8    (d) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no No
9applicant, including those presently receiving scholarship
10assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary award
11program consideration under this Act after receiving a
12baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit
13hours of award payments.
14    (d-3) Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year through
15the 2024-2025 academic year, an applicant who is otherwise
16eligible for grant assistance under this Section may receive
17grant assistance for an additional academic year after
18receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135
19semester credit hours if he or she (i) enrolls in a
20State-approved educator preparation program and (ii) within 5
21years after receiving a Professional Educator License, teaches
22in this State for a minimum of 3 years. If at any time a person
23fails to meet the requirements of this subsection, he or she
24must repay the amount of additional assistance received to the
25Commission, in a manner as determined by the Commission,
26prorated according to the fraction of the teaching obligation

 

 

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1not completed. This subsection is inoperative on and after July
21, 2025.
3    (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means
4a student attending an institution of higher learning who
5received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior
6academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications
7for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually
8publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants.
9Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by the
10published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if he or
11she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under this
12Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the
13priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5)
14shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if
15sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that
16date.
17    (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
18be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
19the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The Commission
20shall notify applicants that grant assistance is contingent
21upon the availability of appropriated funds.
22    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an
23important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate
24access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary
25education immediately following high school and for those who
26pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly

 

 

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1Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and
2who are seeking to improve their economic position through
3education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the
4Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to
5the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing
6applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure
7financial assistance even if applying later than the general
8pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall
9include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an
10estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers
11who apply after the Commission initially suspends award
12announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior
13to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of
14this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the
15federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
16    (f) (Blank).
17    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
18make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
19institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
20Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
21for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
22        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
23    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
24    students who have attained an associate degree.
25        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
26    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have

 

 

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1    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
2    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
3    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
4        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
5    eligible students.
6    (h) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
7Section.
8(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 100-621, eff. 7-20-18;
9100-823, eff. 8-13-18; revised 10-10-18.)
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.