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91_SB0686
LRB9105064NTsb
1 AN ACT to create the Higher Education for Real
2 Opportunities Act.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Higher Education for Real Opportunities Act.
7 Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to
8 improve the ability of low-income adults who are supporting
9 children to acquire through post-secondary education the
10 skills necessary to qualify for higher paying job
11 opportunities. In addition, this Act seeks to improve the
12 ability of the Illinois workforce to produce workers with
13 skills needed by employers.
14 Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
15 "Accredited" means that the institution is authorized to
16 do business as an educational institution in Illinois by the
17 Board of Higher Education and eligible to dispense federal
18 and State need-based student aid under the laws governing
19 such aid.
20 "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
21 Commission.
22 "HERO program" means the Higher Education for Real
23 Opportunities program established under this Act.
24 "Low-income" means a person who is a member of a
25 household of one or more related individuals in which the
26 gross monthly income of all adult members is less than the
27 federal poverty level for the applicable family size. There
28 shall be a deduction from countable income under this
29 paragraph for all child support payments made each month
30 pursuant to court or administrative orders by household
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1 members to persons who do not live with the household. No
2 federal or State student assistance shall count as income
3 under this paragraph, except assistance that is available to
4 the student to pay for living expenses at the student's
5 discretion. Lump sum amounts made available to students for
6 living expenses during a school term shall be prorated to
7 monthly amounts for purposes of this paragraph.
8 "Post-secondary education" and "institution of
9 post-secondary education" mean an accredited school or
10 program that provides educational services and offers courses
11 of study that require as a prerequisite that students have a
12 high school diploma or equivalency certificate. The term
13 includes community colleges, colleges, universities, and
14 vocational training programs and institutions.
15 "Supporting minor children" means that the student is
16 either (i) the custodial parent of a minor child, as defined
17 by State law or (ii) the noncustodial parent of a minor
18 child, but only if the student's parentage is established
19 under State law and the student is making current monthly
20 child support payments to the extent required by a child
21 support order.
22 "Work requirement" is the amount of paid employment or
23 self-employment in which the student must engage each week in
24 order to be eligible for the HERO program. The work
25 requirement is determined by subtracting the student's credit
26 hours plus study time of one and one-half hours per credit
27 hour from 40. The remaining hours are the work requirement.
28 College work-study and other paid campus employment is
29 employment under this paragraph.
30 Section 15. Establishment of program. There is created
31 a program of grants and loans to support the pursuit of
32 post-secondary education by low-income adults who are
33 supporting minor children. The program shall be known as the
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1 "Higher Education for Real Opportunities" or "HERO" program.
2 The program shall be administered by the Commission through
3 the financial aid offices of accredited institutions of
4 post-secondary education in Illinois.
5 Section 20. Eligibility. Students who meet all of the
6 following eligibility requirements, as calculated and
7 determined at the beginning of each term by the financial aid
8 office of the institution of post-secondary education and
9 periodically thereafter as specified by the Commission by
10 rules, are eligible for grants or loans under the HERO
11 program:
12 (1) The student must be low-income.
13 (2) The student must be supporting at least one
14 minor child.
15 (3) The student must meet the work requirement,
16 provided that custodial parents who are attending the
17 institution of higher education on a full time basis need
18 not meet the work requirement. Unless the institution
19 defines the term otherwise, full time consists of a
20 course load of at least 12 credit hours, or the
21 equivalent.
22 (4) The student must not be receiving cash public
23 assistance under any need-based program under the
24 Illinois Public Aid Code.
25 (5) The student must have a high school diploma or
26 equivalency certificate, and the student may not already
27 have a bachelor's degree.
28 (6) The student must not have earned more than 85%
29 of the State median income in either of the 2 tax years
30 for which returns were to have been filed prior to the
31 commencement of the school term, as evidenced by State
32 tax returns.
33 (7) To be eligible in the his or her first term,
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1 the student must be accepted by the institution of
2 post-secondary education under its normal acceptance
3 criteria. To be eligible in his or her second term, the
4 student must have achieved in his or her first term at
5 least a 2.0 grade point average, on a 4.0 point scale, in
6 his or her first term. To be eligible for any term
7 thereafter, the student must have achieved at least a 2.5
8 grade point average in his or her most recently completed
9 term or a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5
10 calculated at the conclusion of the most recently
11 completed term. The Commission shall provide by rule a
12 method by which institutions that do not have a 4.0 scale
13 or that do not grade on a traditional grade point scale
14 shall determine an equivalent measure by which the
15 student can meet this requirement.
16 (8) The student must be enrolled for no less than 8
17 credit hours during non-summer terms, or 6 credit hours
18 during summer terms.
19 Section 25. Grants. The following grants shall be paid
20 to eligible students under the HERO program:
21 (1) An amount each term to cover the actual cost of
22 required books and supplies or $400, whichever is less.
23 The institution may pay this amount in cash, vouchers,
24 credit arrangements with the institutional bookstore, or
25 any other means approved by the Commission. This grant
26 is available for a maximum of 8 regular school year
27 semesters and 3 summer terms, or the equivalent for
28 institutions that use different schedules, as determined
29 by the Commission in rules.
30 (2) A monthly cash stipend according to family
31 size. The amount shall be equal to one-third of the
32 monthly federal poverty level for the various family
33 sizes. An updated schedule of these amounts shall be
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1 published each year by the Commission. This grant is
2 available for a maximum of 40 months, which need not be
3 consecutive.
4 Section 30. Loans. The following loans may be made to
5 eligible students under the HERO program:
6 (1) When a student has failed to meet the
7 requirement of subdivision (7) of Section 20 of this Act
8 with respect to grade point average, but remains a
9 student "in good standing" as defined by the institution
10 of post-secondary education, the grants specified in
11 Section 25 may be made as loans instead, provided the
12 student otherwise meets the eligibility requirements, and
13 shall count against the maximum number of months such
14 grants may be made.
15 (2) After a student has exhausted the grants for
16 books specified in subdivision (1) of Section 25 of this
17 Act, the student, if otherwise eligible, may receive the
18 same amount as a loan for an additional 4 regular school
19 terms and 2 summer school terms, or the equivalent as
20 determined by the Commission in rules.
21 (3) After a student has exhausted the cash grants
22 specified in subdivision (2) of Section 25 of this Act,
23 the student, if otherwise eligible, may receive the same
24 amount as a loan for an additional 32 months.
25 (4) The total of the loans received under this
26 Section shall become due and owing 12 months after the
27 end the term in which the last possible loan was made, or
28 12 months after the student stopped attending
29 post-secondary school, whichever is earlier, and shall be
30 subject to the repayment schedules and collection
31 procedures provided by the Commission by rule. The first
32 payment on the loan shall be due in the thirteenth month,
33 according to a repayment schedule established by the
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1 institution pursuant to rules established by the
2 Commission. The Commission is granted authority to
3 establish rules and procedures for repayment, collection,
4 forbearance, or forgiveness that are the same as or as
5 close as possible to those in effect for other
6 state-funded or guaranteed student loans. However, the
7 following loan forgiveness provisions shall also apply:
8 (A) If, prior to the due date of the loan, the
9 student completes the requirements for the degree or
10 certificate the student was seeking, one-half of the
11 total amount shall be forgiven; and
12 (B) For each month after the due date of the
13 loan in which a student who is the custodial parent
14 of a minor child does not receive need-based cash
15 public assistance under the Illinois Public Aid
16 Code, the student shall receive forgiveness of an
17 amount equal to one month's payment on the loan,
18 which shall be credited against the balance due on
19 the loan and constitute that month's payment on the
20 loan; receipt of such public assistance in any month
21 shall terminate the right of the student to this
22 forgiveness in any future month.
23 (5) Persons who are in good standing on the
24 repayment of their loans, who have eligibility for
25 additional loans left under this program, and who return
26 to school and are otherwise eligible for such loans, are
27 eligible for them. If the person begin to receive loans
28 under this program, payments on his or her prior loans
29 shall be suspended, and the balance of the old loans
30 shall be added to the new loans when calculating the new
31 repayment plan under subdivision (4) of this Section.
32 All provisions of subdivision (4) of this Section shall
33 apply with respect to this new loan balance, including
34 the timing of the payments and the application of loan
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1 forgiveness provisions.
2 Section 35. Coordination with other programs.
3 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of State law, as
4 to any month in which the student qualifies for a grant or
5 loan under the HERO program, the student shall be eligible
6 for a State subsidy for child care, subject to all other
7 rules and procedures for that program.
8 (b) HERO grants and loans shall be treated the same as
9 other State student assistance for purposes of eligibility
10 for medical assistance under the Illinois Public Aid Code.
11 (c) HERO grants and loans shall not be counted to reduce
12 the amount of student assistance the student would receive
13 under other State student aid programs in the absence of the
14 HERO program. State and federal student assistance available
15 in cash for the basic living expenses of the student may be
16 counted in determining the student's eligibility for HERO
17 grants and loans, but not in determining the amount of
18 assistance for eligible students.
19 Section 40. Administration. The Commission shall adopt
20 rules and procedures for the administration of the HERO
21 program by financial aid offices at institutions of
22 post-secondary education, enter into such inter-agency
23 agreements as may aid in administration, and administer the
24 program consistently with other State student assistance
25 programs.
26 Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
27 becoming law.