Bill Text: IL SB0093 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. With regard to the Monetary Award Program, provides that, in addition to other eligibility requirements for applicants of the grant program enrolled at a qualified for-profit institution, the following shall apply to the qualified for-profit institution in which the applicant is enrolled: (i) beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, a qualified for-profit institution may not exceed a 15% national 3-year student loan cohort default rate, as published by the U.S. Department of Education, and (ii) beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, a qualified for-profit institution must maintain an 80% student success rate; defines "student success rate". Provides that a for-profit institution's failure to meet those eligibility requirements shall result in a probationary academic year during which the institution is required to notify all current and prospective students eligible for Monetary Award Program grants of the student's possibility of losing that eligibility. Provides that if the institution fails to meet the for-profit institution eligibility requirements for 2 consecutive academic years, an applicant enrolled at the institution must lose Monetary Award Program grant eligibility and for a student to regain Monetary Award Program grant eligibility at that institution, the institution must meet the for-profit institution eligibility requirements for at least 2 consecutive academic years. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-15 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB0093 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB0093-Introduced.html


103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB0093

Introduced 1/20/2023, by Sen. Jil Tracy

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 947/35

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. With regard to the Monetary Award Program, provides that, in addition to other eligibility requirements for applicants of the grant program enrolled at a qualified for-profit institution, the following shall apply to the qualified for-profit institution in which the applicant is enrolled: (i) beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, a qualified for-profit institution may not exceed a 15% national 3-year student loan cohort default rate, as published by the U.S. Department of Education, and (ii) beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, a qualified for-profit institution must maintain an 80% student success rate; defines "student success rate". Provides that a for-profit institution's failure to meet those eligibility requirements shall result in a probationary academic year during which the institution is required to notify all current and prospective students eligible for Monetary Award Program grants of the student's possibility of losing that eligibility. Provides that if the institution fails to meet the for-profit institution eligibility requirements for 2 consecutive academic years, an applicant enrolled at the institution must lose Monetary Award Program grant eligibility and for a student to regain Monetary Award Program grant eligibility at that institution, the institution must meet the for-profit institution eligibility requirements for at least 2 consecutive academic years. Effective immediately.
LRB103 25597 RJT 51946 b

A BILL FOR

SB0093LRB103 25597 RJT 51946 b
1 AN ACT concerning education.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
6 (110 ILCS 947/35)
7 Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
8 (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
9applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject
10to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
11eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission
12finds that the applicant:
13 (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
14 permanent resident of the United States;
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.
23 (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the

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1student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
2the applicant:
3 (1) has remained a student in good standing;
4 (2) remains a resident of this State; and
5 (3) is in a financial situation that continues to
6 warrant assistance.
7 (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
8necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
9amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest
10of the following amounts:
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;
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
20 (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
21 appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
22 resources.
23 Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for
24students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c)
25must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made
26by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of

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1this subsection (c).
2 "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
3include the customary charge for instruction and use of
4facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged
5for specified purposes, which are required generally of
6nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
7grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
8payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
9deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
10Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
11Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
12tuition and other necessary fees.
13 (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
14scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for
15monetary award program consideration under this Act after
16receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135
17semester credit hours of award payments.
18 (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means
19a student attending an institution of higher learning who
20received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior
21academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications
22for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually
23publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants.
24Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by
25the published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if
26he or she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under

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1this Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the
2priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5)
3shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if
4sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that
5date.
6 (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
7be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
8the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The
9Commission shall notify applicants that grant assistance is
10contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds.
11 (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is
12an important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to
13facilitate access to college both for students who pursue
14postsecondary education immediately following high school and
15for those who pursue postsecondary education later in life,
16particularly Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with
17financial need and who are seeking to improve their economic
18position through education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017
19academic years, the Commission shall give additional and
20specific consideration to the needs of dislocated workers with
21the intent of allowing applicants who are dislocated workers
22an opportunity to secure financial assistance even if applying
23later than the general pool of applicants. The Commission's
24consideration shall include, in determining the number of
25grants to be offered, an estimate of the resources needed to
26serve dislocated workers who apply after the Commission

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1initially suspends award announcements for the upcoming
2regular academic year, but prior to the beginning of that
3academic year. For the purposes of this subsection (e-5), a
4dislocated worker is defined as in the federal Workforce
5Innovation and Opportunity Act.
6 (f) (Blank).
7 (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
8make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
9institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
10Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
11for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
12 (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
13 eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
14 students who have attained an associate degree.
15 (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
16 eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
17 attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
18 grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
19 whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
20 (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
21 eligible students.
22 (g-5) In addition to the eligibility requirements set
23forth in subsection (g) for applicants enrolled at a qualified
24for-profit institution, both of the following shall apply to
25the qualified for-profit institution in which the applicant is
26enrolled:

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1 (1) Beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, a
2 qualified for-profit institution may not exceed a 15%
3 national 3-year student loan cohort default rate, as
4 published by the U.S. Department of Education.
5 (2) Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, a
6 qualified for-profit institution must maintain an 80%
7 student success rate. For purposes of this paragraph,
8 "student success rate" means the percentage of students
9 who complete their program of study or those with
10 subsequent enrollment within 4 and one-half years after
11 entering the qualified for-profit institution.
12 A for-profit institution's failure to meet the eligibility
13requirements under paragraph (1) or (2) shall result in a
14probationary academic year during which the institution is
15required to notify all current and prospective students
16eligible for Monetary Award Program grants of the student's
17possibility of losing that eligibility. If the institution
18fails to meet the for-profit institution eligibility
19requirements under this subsection for 2 consecutive academic
20years, an applicant enrolled at the institution must lose
21Monetary Award Program grant eligibility. For a student to
22regain Monetary Award Program grant eligibility at that
23institution, the institution must meet the for-profit
24institution eligibility requirements under this subsection for
25at least 2 consecutive academic years.
26 (h) The Commission may award a grant to an eligible

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1applicant enrolled at an Illinois public institution of higher
2learning in a program that will culminate in the award of an
3occupational or career and technical certificate as that term
4is defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1501.301.
5 (i) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
6Section.
7(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)
8 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
9becoming law.
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