Public Act 100-0823

HB5020 Enrolled LRB100 20370 AXK 35671 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Legislative intent. It is the intent of the

General Assembly that nothing in this Act reduces or eliminates

the funding of Monetary Award Program grants by the Illinois

Student Assistance Commission for first-time applicants who

are not freshmen of an institution of higher learning.

Section 5. 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; and

(2) 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, and $6,468 for fiscal

year 2011 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) The Commission may request appropriations for deposit

into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund. Monies deposited

into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund may be expended

exclusively for one purpose: to make Monetary Award Program

grants to eligible students. Amounts on deposit in the Monetary

Award Program Reserve Fund may not exceed 2% of the current

annual State appropriation for the Monetary Award Program.

The purpose of the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund is

to enable the Commission each year to assure as many students

as possible of their eligibility for a Monetary Award Program

grant and to do so before commencement of the academic year.

Moneys deposited in this Reserve Fund are intended to enhance

the Commission's management of the Monetary Award Program,

minimizing the necessity, magnitude, and frequency of

adjusting award amounts and ensuring that the annual Monetary

Award Program appropriation can be fully utilized.

(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 adopt rules to implement this

Section.

(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17.)