Bill Text: IL SB0293 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to the monetary award program. Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year through the 2030-2031 academic year, provides that an applicant who is otherwise eligible for grant assistance under the program may receive grant assistance for an additional academic year after receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours if he or she (i) enrolls in a State-approved educator preparation program and (ii) within 5 years after receiving a Professional Educator License, teaches in this State for a minimum of 3 years. Requires repayment if at any time a person fails to meet the requirements. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-24 - Referred to Assignments [SB0293 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB0293-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 SB0293 Introduced 1/24/2025, by Sen. Sue Rezin SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 947/35
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to the monetary award program. Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year through the 2030-2031 academic year, provides that an applicant who is otherwise eligible for grant assistance under the program may receive grant assistance for an additional academic year after receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours if he or she (i) enrolls in a State-approved educator preparation program and (ii) within 5 years after receiving a Professional Educator License, teaches in this State for a minimum of 3 years. Requires repayment if at any time a person fails to meet the requirements. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
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;
(2) is enrolled or has been accepted for enrollment in
a qualified institution for the purpose of obtaining a
degree, certificate, or other credential offered by the
institution, as applicable; and
(3) 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

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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, $6,468 for fiscal year
2011 and each fiscal year thereafter through fiscal year
2022, $8,508 for fiscal year 2023, and $10,896 for fiscal
year 2024 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

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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) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no 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-3) Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year through
the 2030-2031 academic year, an applicant who is otherwise
eligible for grant assistance under this Section may receive
grant assistance for an additional academic year after
receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135
semester credit hours if he or she (i) enrolls in a
State-approved educator preparation program and (ii) within 5

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years after receiving a Professional Educator License, teaches
in this State for a minimum of 3 years. If at any time a person
fails to meet the requirements of this subsection, he or she
must repay the amount of additional assistance received to the
Commission, in a manner as determined by the Commission,
prorated according to the fraction of the teaching obligation
not completed.
(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.

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(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) (Blank).
(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

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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 award a grant to an eligible
applicant enrolled at an Illinois public institution of higher
learning in a program that will culminate in the award of an
occupational or career and technical certificate as that term
is defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1501.301.
(i) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-699, eff. 4-19-22; 103-8, eff. 6-7-23.)