SB0190sam001 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton

Filed: 3/19/2021

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 190

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 190 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Higher Education Housing and Opportunities Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Institution of higher education" or "institution" means
8any publicly or privately operated university, college,
9community college, business, technical, or vocational school,
10or other educational institution offering degrees and
11instruction beyond the secondary school level.
12    "Student experiencing homelessness" or "homeless student"
13means an individual enrolled in an institution who lacks or is
14at imminent risk of lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate
15nighttime residence or whose parent or legal guardian is
16unable or unwilling to provide shelter and care and includes a

 

 

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1homeless individual as defined under the federal
2McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. For the purposes of
3this definition, the term "fixed, regular, and adequate
4nighttime residence" does not include residence in an
5institution of higher education's on-campus housing.
6    "Student in care" means any person, regardless of age, who
7is or was under the care and legal custody of the Department of
8Children and Family Services, including youth for whom the
9Department has court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who
10aged out of care at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under
11care who have been adopted and were the subject of an adoption
12assistance agreement or who have been placed in private
13guardianship and were the subject of a subsidized guardianship
14agreement.
 
15    Section 10. Housing and Opportunities that are Useful for
16Students' Excellence (HOUSE) liaison.
17    (a) In an effort to provide assistance to students
18experiencing homelessness, each institution of higher
19education shall designate at least one staff member to serve
20as a liaison to assist homeless students enrolled at the
21institution. The designated staff member may be employed in
22the office of financial aid, in campus housing services, or in
23any other appropriate office or department as determined by
24the institution.
25    (b) The liaison designated under subsection (a) shall

 

 

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1offer assistance and resources to any homeless student or
2student in care enrolled at the institution. The liaison shall
3have all of the following responsibilities:
4        (1) To understand provisions pertaining to the
5    financial aid eligibility of homeless students, including
6    eligibility as an independent student under the federal
7    Higher Education Act of 1965.
8        (2) To identify services and resources that are
9    available to and appropriate for a homeless student.
10        (3) To assist a homeless student or student in care in
11    applying for and receiving federal and State financial aid
12    and available services.
13        (4) To track and monitor the graduation rate and
14    retention rate of homeless students and students in care
15    enrolled at the institution.
16        (5) To report annually to the Board of Higher
17    Education or the Illinois Community College Board, as
18    appropriate, the number of homeless students and students
19    in care enrolled at the institution. The report must
20    include the number of students who received assistance or
21    services through the liaison and the type of service or
22    assistance received by the student. If the information is
23    available, the report may describe the outcome for the
24    student as a result of the services or assistance he or she
25    received through the liaison.
26        (6) To act as an intermediary between a homeless

 

 

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1    student or student in care and the office of financial
2    aid, student support services, and campus housing
3    services.
4        (7) To connect a homeless student or student in care
5    to a local continuum of care program.
6        (8) To publish on the institution's website
7    information about the services and resources available
8    through the institution's liaison, as well as contact
9    information for local, State, and federal services.
10        (9) To develop a plan to provide access to on-campus
11    housing or to suitable off-campus housing between academic
12    breaks to homeless students or students in care enrolled
13    at the institution.
14        (10) To train the institution's employees to identify
15    students experiencing homelessness and to refer those
16    students to the liaison.
17    At his or her discretion, the liaison may provide any
18additional service he or she reasonably believes is within the
19purview of the role of liaison.
20    (c) The Board of Higher Education and the Illinois
21Community College Board shall adopt rules, policies, and
22procedures to implement and administer this Act. Each Board
23must:
24        (1) provide access to a training program developed by
25    a homeless advocacy organization;
26        (2) require a liaison to receive training on an annual

 

 

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1    basis;
2        (3) collaborate with the State Coordinator for
3    McKinney-Vento Homeless Education and the contact liaisons
4    designated under Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of Title 42 of
5    the United States Code to facilitate the efficient
6    transition of homeless students from secondary to
7    postsecondary education and provide homeless students and
8    students in care information about support services,
9    including financial aid, on-campus and off-campus housing,
10    food and meal plan programs, and counseling services, and
11    other resources and any other relevant information to
12    assist these students; and
13        (4) issue annual reports about students experiencing
14    homelessness and students in care enrolled at academic
15    institutions.
16    (d) After 3 academic years, if the data submitted to the
17Board of Higher Education or the Illinois Community College
18Board, as appropriate, indicates that the number of students
19experiencing homelessness or the number of students in care
20exceeds 2% or more of the student body of the institution, the
21institution must create a position whose primary function is
22to carry out the responsibilities of a liaison as described in
23subsection (b).
24    (e) Each institution that provides on-campus housing for
25students enrolled at the institution shall:
26        (1) grant priority for on-campus housing to students

 

 

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1    experiencing homelessness and students in care who are
2    enrolled at the institution, including but not limited to,
3    access to on-campus housing that remains open during
4    academic breaks, and waive fees for the on-campus housing
5    during academic breaks;
6        (2) allow students experiencing homelessness and
7    students in care who are enrolled part-time at the
8    institution to access on-campus housing;
9        (3) provide information about the availability of
10    on-campus housing to students experiencing homelessness
11    and students in care; and
12        (4) provide information about the services and
13    assistance offered by the institution regarding
14    homelessness in financial aid packets and admission
15    packets and on the institution's website.
 
16    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect August
171, 2022.".