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

 

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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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1         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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1         (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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1     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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1         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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1         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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1         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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1         (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.