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| | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB2510 Introduced , by Rep. Suzanne M. Ness SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
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Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Provides that an applicant enrolled in a certificate program offered by a public community college is eligible for a Monetary Award Program grant until he or she completes the certificate program. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| | HB2510 | | LRB103 29799 RJT 56206 b |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
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| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | | Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is |
| 5 | | amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
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| 6 | | (110 ILCS 947/35)
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| 7 | | Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
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| 8 | | (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider |
| 9 | | applications
for grant assistance under this Section. Subject |
| 10 | | to a separate
appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is |
| 11 | | eligible for a grant under
this Section when the Commission |
| 12 | | finds that the applicant:
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| 13 | | (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or |
| 14 | | permanent resident
of the United States;
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| 15 | | (2) is enrolled or has been accepted for enrollment in |
| 16 | | a qualified institution for the purpose of obtaining a |
| 17 | | degree, certificate, or other credential offered by the |
| 18 | | institution, as applicable; and |
| 19 | | (3) in the absence of grant assistance, will be |
| 20 | | deterred by
financial considerations from completing an |
| 21 | | educational program at the
qualified institution of his or |
| 22 | | her choice.
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| 23 | | (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the |
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| 1 | | student's application
and upon the Commission's finding that |
| 2 | | the applicant:
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| 3 | | (1) has remained a student in good standing;
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| 4 | | (2) remains a resident of this State; and
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| 5 | | (3) is in a financial situation that continues to |
| 6 | | warrant assistance.
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| 7 | | (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and |
| 8 | | necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
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| 9 | | amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest |
| 10 | | of
the following amounts:
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| 11 | | (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year |
| 12 | | 2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, $6,468 for fiscal year |
| 13 | | 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter through fiscal year |
| 14 | | 2022, and $8,508 for fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year |
| 15 | | thereafter, or such lesser amount as
the Commission finds |
| 16 | | to be available, during an academic year;
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| 17 | | (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters |
| 18 | | tuition
and other necessary fees required generally by the |
| 19 | | institution of all
full-time undergraduate students; or
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| 20 | | (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be |
| 21 | | appropriate in view of
the applicant's financial |
| 22 | | resources.
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| 23 | | Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for |
| 24 | | students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c) |
| 25 | | must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made |
| 26 | | by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of |
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| 1 | | this subsection (c). |
| 2 | | "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section |
| 3 | | include the
customary charge for instruction and use of |
| 4 | | facilities in general, and the
additional fixed fees charged |
| 5 | | for specified purposes, which are required
generally of |
| 6 | | nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the |
| 7 | | grant
applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees |
| 8 | | payable only once or
breakage fees and other contingent |
| 9 | | deposits which are refundable in whole or in
part. The |
| 10 | | Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
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| 11 | | Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of |
| 12 | | tuition and other
necessary fees.
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| 13 | | (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving |
| 14 | | scholarship
assistance under this Act, is eligible for |
| 15 | | monetary award program
consideration under this Act after |
| 16 | | receiving a baccalaureate degree or
the equivalent of 135 |
| 17 | | semester credit hours of award payments. However, an applicant |
| 18 | | enrolled in a certificate program offered by a public |
| 19 | | community college may continue to be eligible for monetary |
| 20 | | award program consideration under this Act until the |
| 21 | | completion of the certificate program even if he or she has |
| 22 | | exceeded this limitation.
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| 23 | | (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means |
| 24 | | a student attending an institution of higher learning who |
| 25 | | received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior |
| 26 | | academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications |
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| 1 | | for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually |
| 2 | | publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants. |
| 3 | | Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by |
| 4 | | the published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if |
| 5 | | he or she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under |
| 6 | | this Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the |
| 7 | | priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5) |
| 8 | | shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if |
| 9 | | sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that |
| 10 | | date. |
| 11 | | (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to |
| 12 | | be offered,
shall take into consideration past experience with |
| 13 | | the rate of grant funds
unclaimed by recipients. The |
| 14 | | Commission shall notify applicants that grant
assistance is |
| 15 | | contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds.
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| 16 | | (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is |
| 17 | | an important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to |
| 18 | | facilitate access to college both for students who pursue |
| 19 | | postsecondary education immediately following high school and |
| 20 | | for those who pursue postsecondary education later in life, |
| 21 | | particularly Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with |
| 22 | | financial need and who are seeking to improve their economic |
| 23 | | position through education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 |
| 24 | | academic years, the Commission shall give additional and |
| 25 | | specific consideration to the needs of dislocated workers with |
| 26 | | the intent of allowing applicants who are dislocated workers |
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| 1 | | an opportunity to secure financial assistance even if applying |
| 2 | | later than the general pool of applicants. The Commission's |
| 3 | | consideration shall include, in determining the number of |
| 4 | | grants to be offered, an estimate of the resources needed to |
| 5 | | serve dislocated workers who apply after the Commission |
| 6 | | initially suspends award announcements for the upcoming |
| 7 | | regular academic year, but prior to the beginning of that |
| 8 | | academic year. For the purposes of this subsection (e-5), a |
| 9 | | dislocated worker is defined as in the federal Workforce
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| 10 | | Innovation and Opportunity Act. |
| 11 | | (f) (Blank).
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| 12 | | (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and |
| 13 | | make grants to
applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit |
| 14 | | institutions in accordance with the
criteria set forth in this |
| 15 | | Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at
such |
| 16 | | for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
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| 17 | | (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to |
| 18 | | eligible first-time
freshmen and
first-time transfer |
| 19 | | students who have attained an associate degree.
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| 20 | | (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to |
| 21 | | eligible freshmen
students,
transfer students who have |
| 22 | | attained an associate degree, and students who
receive a |
| 23 | | grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and |
| 24 | | whose grants
are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
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| 25 | | (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all |
| 26 | | eligible students.
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| 1 | | (h) The Commission may award a grant to an eligible |
| 2 | | applicant enrolled at an Illinois public institution of higher |
| 3 | | learning in a program that will culminate in the award of an |
| 4 | | occupational or career and technical certificate as that term |
| 5 | | is defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1501.301. |
| 6 | | (i) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this |
| 7 | | Section. |
| 8 | | (Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)
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| 9 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
| 10 | | becoming law.
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