HB2898 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 05261 RJT 50279 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB2898

Introduced 2/16/2023, by Rep. Maurice A. West, II

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

30 ILCS 105/5.990 new
105 ILCS 426/35
110 ILCS 947/35

Amends the Private Business and Vocational Schools Act of 2012. In provisions regarding institution and program approval criteria, provides that a part of the criteria for approval is fair and equitable reimbursement in the case of an unfair or deceptive practice finding. Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. In provisions concerning the monetary award program, sets forth provisions concerning an institution that received monetary award program funds at a time the institution was using unfair or deceptive practices, including refunding State funds to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and awarding grants to students who attended that institution. Amends the State Finance Act to create the MAP Refund Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding Section 5.990 as follows:

(30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)

Sec. 5.990. The MAP Refund Fund.

Section 10. The Private Business and Vocational Schools Act of 2012 is amended by changing Section 35 as follows:

(105 ILCS 426/35)

Sec. 35. Institution and program approval criteria. Each entity seeking a permit of approval is required to demonstrate that it satisfies institution-approval criteria and that each program of study offered meets the program-approval criteria in this Act and any applicable rules. The following standard criteria are intended to measure the appropriateness of the stated educational objectives of the educational programs of a given institution and the extent to which suitable and proper processes have been developed for meeting those objectives. Information related to the satisfaction of the approval criteria outlined in this Section must be supplied to the Board by institutions on forms provided by the Board. Additional information may be requested by the Board to determine the institution's ability to satisfy the criteria. The following must be considered as part of, but not necessarily all of, the criteria for approval of institutions and the programs offered under this Act:

(1) Qualifications of governing board members, owners, and senior administrators. At a minimum, these individuals must be of good moral character and have no felony criminal record.

(2) Qualifications of faculty and staff.

(3) Demonstration of student learning and quality of program delivery.

(4) Sufficiency of institutional finances. The institution must demonstrate that it has the financial resources sufficient to meet its financial obligations, including, but not limited to, refunding tuition pursuant to the institution's stated policies. The school must tender financial records, including, but not limited to, financial statements, income statements, and cash flow statements.

(5) Accuracy, clarity, and appropriateness of program descriptions. Institutional promotional, advertising, and recruiting materials must be clear, appropriate, and accurate.

(6) Sufficiency of facilities and equipment. At a minimum, these must be appropriate and must meet applicable safety code requirements and ordinances.

(7) Fair and equitable refund policies. At a minimum, these must be fair and equitable, must satisfy any related State or federal rules, and must abide by the standards established in Section 60 of this Act and the rules adopted for the implementation of this Act.

(8) Appropriate and ethical admissions and recruitment practices. At a minimum, recruiting practices must be ethical and abide by any State or federal rules.

(9) Recognized accreditation status. Accreditation with an accrediting body approved by the U.S. Department of Education may be counted as significant evidence of the institution's ability to meet curricular approval criteria.

(10) Meeting employment requirements in the field of study. The institution must clearly demonstrate how a student's completion of the program of study satisfies employment requirements in the occupational field. Such information must be clearly and accurately provided to students. If licensure, certification, or their equivalent is required of program graduates to enter the field of employment, the institution must clearly demonstrate that completion of the program will allow students to achieve this status.

(11) Enrollment agreements that, at a minimum, meet the requirements outlined in Section 40 of this Act.

(12) Clearly communicated tuition and fee charges. Tuition and fees and any other expense charged by the school must be appropriate to the expected income that will be earned by graduates. No school may have a tuition policy or enrollment agreement that requires that a student register for more than a single semester, quarter, term, or other such period of enrollment as a condition of the enrollment nor shall any school charge a student for multiple periods of enrollment prior to completion of the single semester, quarter, term, or other such period of enrollment.

(13) Legal action against the institution, its parent company, its owners, its governing board, or its board members. Any such legal action must be provided to the Board and may be considered as a reason for denial or revocation of the permit of approval.

(14) Fair and equitable reimbursement in the case of an unfair or deceptive practice finding. If an institution received monetary award program funds under Section 35 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act at a time the institution was using an unfair or deceptive practice, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission, and is required to reimburse students for loans taken to pay for their education due to a judgment against the institution after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, then any State funds paid to the institution in the time period of that judgment must be refunded to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission under Section 35 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. In this paragraph (14), "unfair or deceptive practice" means an act or practice in which a representation, omission, or practice misleads or is likely to mislead a consumer as determined by the Federal Trade Commission.

(Source: P.A. 102-1046, eff. 6-7-22.)

Section 15. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is amended by changing Section 35 as follows:

(110 ILCS 947/35)

Sec. 35. Monetary award program.

(a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission finds that the applicant:

(1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or permanent resident of the United States;

(2) is enrolled or has been accepted for enrollment in a qualified institution for the purpose of obtaining a degree, certificate, or other credential offered by the institution, as applicable; and

(3) in the absence of grant assistance, will be deterred by financial considerations from completing an educational program at the qualified institution of his or her choice.

(b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the student's application and upon the Commission's finding that the applicant:

(1) has remained a student in good standing;

(2) remains a resident of this State; and

(3) is in a financial situation that continues to warrant assistance.

(c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of the following amounts:

(1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year 2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, $6,468 for fiscal year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter through fiscal year 2022, and $8,508 for fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser amount as the Commission finds to be available, during an academic year;

(2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters tuition and other necessary fees required generally by the institution of all full-time undergraduate students; or

(3) such amount as the Commission finds to be appropriate in view of the applicant's financial resources.

Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c) must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of this subsection (c).

"Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section include the customary charge for instruction and use of facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes, which are required generally of nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of tuition and other necessary fees.

(d) No applicant, including those presently receiving scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary award program consideration under this Act after receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours of award payments.

(d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means a student attending an institution of higher learning who received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants. Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by the published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if he or she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under this Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5) shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that date.

(e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The Commission shall notify applicants that grant assistance is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds.

(e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary education immediately following high school and for those who pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and who are seeking to improve their economic position through education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure financial assistance even if applying later than the general pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers who apply after the Commission initially suspends award announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

(f) (Blank).

(g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:

(1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer students who have attained an associate degree.

(2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have attained an associate degree, and students who receive a grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.

(3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all eligible students.

(h) The Commission may award a grant to an eligible applicant enrolled at an Illinois public institution of higher learning in a program that will culminate in the award of an occupational or career and technical certificate as that term is defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1501.301.

(h-5) In this subsection (h-5), "unfair or deceptive practice" means an act or practice in which a representation, omission, or practice misleads or is likely to mislead a consumer as determined by the Federal Trade Commission.

If an institution received monetary award program funds at a time the institution was using an unfair or deceptive practice, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission, and is required to reimburse students for loans taken to pay for their education due to a judgment against the institution after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, then any State funds paid to the institution in the time period of that judgment must be refunded to the Commission, to be deposited into the MAP Refund Fund. The Commission shall use funds appropriated from the MAP Refund Fund to award grants to students who attended that institution during the period in which the institution had a judgment found against it.

An institution found to have been using an unfair or deceptive practice must notify students who were enrolled during the period of the judgment about the judgment, electronically and by certified mail, within 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly. Affected students may apply for a grant under this subsection (h-5) following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly or notification of the judgment against the institution, whichever is later. The application process shall be administered by the Commission and remain open until no funds remain in the MAP Refund Fund, subject to the other provisions of this subsection (h-5).

A grant under this subsection (h-5) may not exceed the maximum amount for a monetary award program grant for the academic year that the grant under this subsection (h-5) is awarded, as determined by the Commission. A grant under this subsection (h-5) may be awarded to a student in addition to a monetary award program grant but may not exceed the cost of attendance at the institution at which the student is enrolled.

At the start of the third academic year following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, the remaining balance in the MAP Refund Fund shall be appropriated to the Commission for the Commission's operating budget for the monetary award program.

The MAP Refund Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. All refunds of Monetary Award Program funds shall be deposited into the MAP Refund Fund. All money in the Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the Commission for the purposes of this subsection (h-5).

(i) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this Section.

(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)

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