103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB2593

 

Introduced 2/15/2023, by Rep. Dan Caulkins

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/35

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Under the monetary award program, provides for the awarding of grants to students enrolled in dual credit coursework pursuant to a partnership agreement between a school district and a community college district. Provides that a grant may be applied only to the costs of tuition and other necessary fees charged for the coursework and the student must complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Effective immediately.


LRB103 25617 RJT 51966 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2593LRB103 25617 RJT 51966 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 or from enrolling in dual credit coursework
23    pursuant to Section 16 of the Dual Credit Quality Act.

 

 

HB2593- 2 -LRB103 25617 RJT 51966 b

1    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
2student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
3the applicant:
4        (1) has remained a student in good standing;
5        (2) remains a resident of this State; and
6        (3) is in a financial situation that continues to
7    warrant assistance.
8    (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
9necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
10amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest
11of the following amounts:
12        (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year
13    2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, $6,468 for fiscal year
14    2011 and each fiscal year thereafter through fiscal year
15    2022, and $8,508 for fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year
16    thereafter, or such lesser amount as the Commission finds
17    to be available, during an 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

 

 

HB2593- 3 -LRB103 25617 RJT 51966 b

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
16monetary award program consideration under this Act after
17receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135
18semester credit hours of award payments.
19    (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means
20a student attending an institution of higher learning or
21enrolled in dual credit coursework pursuant to Section 16 of
22the Dual Credit Quality Act who received a Monetary Award
23Program grant during the prior academic year. Beginning with
24the processing of applications for the 2020-2021 academic
25year, the Commission shall annually publish a priority
26deadline date for renewing applicants. Subject to

 

 

HB2593- 4 -LRB103 25617 RJT 51966 b

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

 

 

HB2593- 5 -LRB103 25617 RJT 51966 b

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

 

 

HB2593- 6 -LRB103 25617 RJT 51966 b

1coursework pursuant to Section 16 of the Dual Credit Quality
2Act, subject to the following requirements:
3        (1) A grant may be applied only to the costs of tuition
4    and other necessary fees charged for the coursework.
5        (2) The applicant must complete and submit a Free
6    Application for Federal Student Aid.
7    (h) The Commission may award a grant to an eligible
8applicant enrolled at an Illinois public institution of higher
9learning in a program that will culminate in the award of an
10occupational or career and technical certificate as that term
11is defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1501.301.
12    (i) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
13Section.
14(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.