SB0815sam001 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

Filed: 4/16/2021

10200SB0815sam001 LRB102 04603 CMG 25365 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 815

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 815 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Commission on Equitable Higher Education Funding Act.

Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds all of the following:

(1) Historical and continued systemic racism has created significant disparities in college access, affordability, and completion for Black, Latinx, and other underrepresented and historically underserved students in this State.

(2) This State's approach to funding education has contributed to racial and socioeconomic inequities in access to resources and educational outcomes.

(3) Great strides have been made in this State in addressing inequity in funding the kindergarten through grade 12 public school system, including the adoption of an evidence-based funding formula, which has resulted in new funds being targeted to the highest-need districts.

(4) Adequate and equitable investment in higher education is the key to ensuring that every institution of higher education can provide adequate academic, financial, and social-emotional support and services that improve persistence and completion.

(5) In this State, higher education appropriations have effectively been cut in half since fiscal year 2002. Institutions of higher education serving higher percentages of Black students are more reliant on State funds and have been disproportionately harmed by this disinvestment in higher education.

(6) The most selective institutions of higher education in this State have received a greater share of State appropriations even as their tuition revenue has grown, while less-selective institutions who serve greater percentages of Black students have had less access to both tuition and State revenue.

(7) As a result of historic underfunding and level cuts to institutions of higher education, this State's public universities have had to increase tuition, effectively pricing out students from low-income families. Less selective universities in this State now have the second highest average net cost in the country for students from the lowest-income households.

(8) Wealth and income gaps caused by structural racism have resulted in college tuition rates posing a larger burden to Black and Latinx families. Black and Latinx families in this State pay 44% and 39% of their income, respectively, to attend public universities compared to 31% for white students. Black and Latinx students in this State pay 36% and 24% of their income, respectively, to attend public community colleges, compared to 18% for white students.

(9) Combined with the high cost of college and insufficient State financial aid, racial income and wealth disparities contribute to the accumulation of student debt and make college enrollment and persistence more challenging for Black and Latinx students.

(10) Despite similar numbers of Black high school graduates, about 25,000 fewer Black students enrolled in institutions of higher education in this State in 2018 compared to 2008.

(11) Only 2 of the 12 public universities are representative of the Latinx population in this State, and only 4 public universities are representative of the Black population in this State.

(12) Seventeen percent of individuals who are 18 to 24 years old in this State identify as Black, yet Black students represent less than 7% of the student body at selective universities in this State.

(13) State appropriations make it possible for colleges to provide essential academic services, social-emotional support and services, and institutional aid to students to improve student persistence and completion.

(14) This State must strategically invest in higher education to address wide disparities in degree completion. Public community colleges currently graduate Black and Latinx students at a rate of 14% and 26% within 3 years, respectively, compared to 38% of white students. At public universities, Black and Latinx students currently graduate at a rate of 34% and 49%, respectively, compared to 66% of white students, within 6 years.

(15) This State has a moral obligation and economic interest in dismantling and reforming structures that create or exacerbate racial and socioeconomic inequities in higher education.

(16) This State benefits from a public higher education system that receives adequate and stable resources for student success and that strategically uses those resources to maximize college enrollment, persistence, and completion of underrepresented and historically underserved students, including Black and Latinx students and students from low-income families.

Section 10. Commission on Equitable Higher Education Funding; purpose.

(a) There is created the Commission on Equitable Higher Education Funding.

(b) The purpose of the Commission is to, at a minimum, recommend specific criteria and approaches to the General Assembly to equitably fund public universities in this State and to evaluate the existing formula used for public community colleges using similar criteria and approaches.

Section 15. Membership; administrative support; compensation.

(a) The membership of the Commission shall include, at a minimum:

(1) One member of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall serve as co-chairperson.

(2) One member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall serve as co-chairperson.

(3) The chairperson of the Board of Higher Education or a designee, who shall serve as co-chairperson.

(4) The chairperson of the Illinois Community College Board or a designee, who shall serve as co-chairperson.

(5) One member appointed by the Governor, who shall serve as co-chairperson.

(6) One senator appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

(7) One representative appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

(8) The Chairperson of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission or a designee.

(9) The Chairperson of the State Board of Education or a designee.

(10) Twelve representatives of the public universities in this State appointed by the chairperson of the Board of Higher Education.

(11) Four representatives of the public community colleges in this State appointed by the chairperson of the Illinois Community College Board.

(12) One member representing a higher education advocacy organization focused on eliminating disparities in college completion in this State for low-income and first-generation college students and students of color appointed by the Board of Higher Education.

(13) One member representing a statewide advocacy organization focused on improving educational and employment opportunities for women and adults appointed by the Board of Higher Education.

(14) One member representing a statewide advocacy organization focused on developing an equitable birth-to-career educational system appointed by the Board of Higher Education.

(15) One member representing a fiscal policy research organization focused on the impact that State-level budget and tax policies have on equitable education funding solutions appointed by the Board of Higher Education.

(16) One member representing a business organization or business trade association appointed by the Board of Higher Education.

(17) One research expert in higher education finance and funding formulas appointed by the Board of Higher Education.

(18) One member representing an organization that advocates on behalf of public university faculty members appointed by the Board of Higher Education.

(19) One member representing an organization that advocates on behalf of public community college faculty members appointed by the Illinois Community College Board.

(20) One postsecondary student enrolled at a public university in this State appointed by the Board of Higher Education.

(21) One postsecondary student enrolled at a public community college in this State appointed by the Illinois Community College Board.

(b) The Board of Higher Education and Illinois Community College Board shall provide administrative support to the Commission, including any related workgroups, and shall be responsible for administering the Commission's operations and ensuring that the requirements of this Act are met.

(c) The members of the Commission shall serve without compensation for their services as members of the Commission.

Section 20. Meetings; reports.

(a) The Commission shall meet at least once per quarter beginning no later than October 15, 2021.

(b) On or before February 1, 2023, the Commission shall deliver to the General Assembly a report on the Commission's recommendations, including specific criteria and funding approaches, to establish an equity-based higher education funding system for, at a minimum, the allocation of State funds to public universities. The recommendations included in the report must focus on all of the following areas:

(1) Remediating inequities in funding that have led to disparities in access, affordability, and completion for Black, Latinx, and other underrepresented and historically underserved students.

(2) Ensuring that this State adequately funds public institutions of higher education that serve Black and Latinx students that proportionally reflects, at a minimum, the diversity of this State's population.

(3) Providing incentives to all 4-year institutions of higher education in this State to enroll underrepresented and historically underserved student groups, including students who are Black, Latinx, or from low-income families, in proportion to the diversity of this State's population.

(4) Allowing ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement of funding formulas by requiring transparency in how State appropriations are expended and identifying a mechanism to study and review the implementation of any funding model developed as a result of this Act.

(5) Creating guidelines for how funding is distributed during times of economic hardship so that public institutions of higher education are able to adequately and equitably serve students.

The recommendations must fulfill the principles established by the Board of Higher Education's Strategic Plan. The recommendations must also be informed by the findings and recommendations established by the Chicago State University Equity Working Group.

The Commission shall also report to the General Assembly the extent to which the current approach to funding fulfills the principles established by the Board of Higher Education's Strategic Plan.

(c) On or before May 1, 2024 and each year thereafter, the Board of Higher Education shall file a report with the General Assembly that includes, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) The State funding allocations and total revenue of each public institution of higher education for each of the prior 5 academic years.

(2) The average institutional funding allocation per student for each of the prior 5 academic years, disaggregated by variables, including, but not limited to, racial group, income status, dependency, and in-state residency status.

(3) The average expenditures per student for each of the prior 5 academic years, defined as the sum of academic and student support expenditures, disaggregated by variables, including, but not limited to, racial group, income status, dependency, and in-state residency status.

Section 25. Compliance. Notwithstanding any other law or provision to the contrary, all public institutions of higher education and State agencies regulating public institutions of higher education shall furnish such data and information to the Commission as the Commission deems necessary to fulfill the requirements of this Act.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.".