Bill Text: IL SB0637 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to implement and administer a program, beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, to award College Promise grants to Illinois residents seeking an associate degree, certificate, or diploma from an institution of higher learning or a not-for-profit private business or vocational school. Sets forth the terms and conditions of the program. Effective July 1, 2022.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-10 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB0637 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-SB0637-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 SB0637 Introduced 2/24/2021, by Sen. Laura M. Murphy SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 947/23 new
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to implement and administer a program, beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, to award College Promise grants to Illinois residents seeking an associate degree, certificate, or diploma from an institution of higher learning or a not-for-profit private business or vocational school. Sets forth the terms and conditions of the program. Effective July 1, 2022.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
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 adding Section 23 as follows:
(110 ILCS 947/23 new)
Sec. 23. College Promise program.
(a) In this Section:
"Continuous enrollment" means a student has attended
classes in the fall and spring semester of a single academic
year; enrollment in summer semester or intersession terms is
not required.
"School" means a private business and vocational school,
as defined in Section 15 of the Private Business and
Vocational Schools Act of 2012, that is not for profit.
"Student aid" means scholarships and grants, other than a
College Promise grant, awarded to a student from any source
that does not require repayment; "student aid" does not
include student loans and work-study awards.
(b) The Commission shall implement and administer a
program, beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, to award
College Promise grants to all eligible Illinois residents
seeking an associate degree, certificate, or diploma from an

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institution or a school. The following terms and conditions
shall apply to the program:
(1) To be eligible for a grant, a student must be
admitted to and enrolled full-time, as an Illinois
resident, in an institution or a school in the fall term
following graduation from an approved high school or after
obtaining a high school equivalency certificate, provided
that the student obtains the high school equivalency
certificate prior to the student reaching 19 years of age.
Exceptions to initial enrollment may be made for
extenuating circumstances as provided in rules adopted by
the Commission.
(2) Students applying for a grant shall complete the
College Promise grant application in their initial year of
enrollment. Students shall complete the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid each academic year in which they
seek to receive a grant.
(3) To continue to receive a grant, a student must
maintain Illinois residency, as well as satisfactory
academic progress as determined by rules adopted by the
Commission.
(4) Grant recipients shall participate in mentoring
and community service programs under rules adopted by the
Commission.
(5) Each academic year, subject to appropriation, a
grant shall be equal to the cost of tuition and mandatory

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fees at the institution or the school attended less all
other student aid. Student aid shall be credited first to
the student's tuition and mandatory fees.
(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (5) of this subsection
(b), the amount of the grant at a public university, a
private institution, or a school may not exceed the
average cost of tuition and mandatory fees at public
community colleges as determined by the Illinois Community
College Board.
(7) A student awarded a grant who has an approved
medical or personal leave of absence from an institution
or a school may continue to receive the grant upon
resuming the student's education at an institution or a
school so long as the student continues to meet all
applicable eligibility requirements under this Section and
as adopted by the Commission. The total of all approved
leaves of absence may not exceed 6 months.
(8) A student is eligible for a grant until the
occurrence of the first of the following events:
(A) the student has earned an associate degree,
certificate, or diploma; or
(B) the sum of the number of years the student has
attended an institution or a school, exclusive of
approved leaves of absence, equals 2 years from the
date of the student's initial enrollment at an
institution or a school.

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(9) Except for a medical or personal leave of absence,
as approved by an institution or a school, a student
awarded a grant under this Section shall maintain
continuous enrollment at an institution or a school.
(c) In awarding grants under this Section, the Commission
shall, by rule, develop the selection and renewal criteria for
students.