HB5020 EnrolledLRB100 20370 AXK 35671 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 1. Legislative intent. It is the intent of the
5General Assembly that nothing in this Act reduces or eliminates
6the funding of Monetary Award Program grants by the Illinois
7Student Assistance Commission for first-time applicants who
8are not freshmen of an institution of higher learning.
 
9    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
10amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
 
11    (110 ILCS 947/35)
12    Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
13    (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
14applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject
15to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
16eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission
17finds that the applicant:
18        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
19    permanent resident of the United States; and
20        (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
21    deterred by financial considerations from completing an
22    educational program at the qualified institution of his or

 

 

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1    her choice.
2    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
3student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
4the applicant:
5        (1) has remained a student in good standing;
6        (2) remains a resident of this State; and
7        (3) is in a financial situation that continues to
8    warrant assistance.
9    (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
10necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
11amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of
12the following amounts:
13        (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year
14    2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal
15    year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser
16    amount as the Commission finds to be available, during an
17    academic year;
18        (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters
19    tuition and other necessary fees required generally by the
20    institution of all full-time undergraduate students; or
21        (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
22    appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
23    resources.
24    Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for
25students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c)
26must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1who apply after the Commission initially suspends award
2announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior
3to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of
4this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the
5federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
6    (f) The Commission may request appropriations for deposit
7into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund. Monies deposited
8into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund may be expended
9exclusively for one purpose: to make Monetary Award Program
10grants to eligible students. Amounts on deposit in the Monetary
11Award Program Reserve Fund may not exceed 2% of the current
12annual State appropriation for the Monetary Award Program.
13    The purpose of the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund is
14to enable the Commission each year to assure as many students
15as possible of their eligibility for a Monetary Award Program
16grant and to do so before commencement of the academic year.
17Moneys deposited in this Reserve Fund are intended to enhance
18the Commission's management of the Monetary Award Program,
19minimizing the necessity, magnitude, and frequency of
20adjusting award amounts and ensuring that the annual Monetary
21Award Program appropriation can be fully utilized.
22    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
23make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
24institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
25Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
26for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:

 

 

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1        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
2    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
3    students who have attained an associate degree.
4        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
5    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
6    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
7    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
8    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
9        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
10    eligible students.
11    (h) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
12Section.
13(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17.)
 
14    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15becoming law.