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| [ Introduced ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
91_HB3981eng HB3981 Engrossed LRB9111267NTksA 1 AN ACT to amend the Higher Education Student Assistance 2 Act by adding Section 65.57. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act 6 is amended by adding Section 65.57 as follows: 7 (110 ILCS 947/65.57 new) 8 Sec. 65.57. The Higher Education for Real Opportunities 9 Pilot Program. 10 (a) In this Section: 11 "Accredited" means that an institution of post-secondary 12 education is authorized to do business as an educational 13 institution in this State by the Board of Higher Education 14 and is eligible to dispense federal and State need-based 15 student aid under the laws governing such aid. 16 "Institution of post-secondary education" means an 17 accredited school or program that provides educational 18 services and offers courses of study that require, as a 19 prerequisite, that students have a high school diploma or an 20 equivalency certificate. This term includes accredited 21 community colleges, colleges, universities, and vocational 22 training programs and institutions. 23 "Low-income" means that a person is a member of a 24 household of one or more related individuals in which the 25 monthly income of all adult members is such that the family 26 is income-eligible for a State subsidy for child care in the 27 child care program operated by the Department of Human 28 Services. 29 "Post-secondary education" means education at an 30 institution of post-secondary education. 31 "Supporting minor children" means that a student is HB3981 Engrossed -2- LRB9111267NTksA 1 either (i) the custodial parent of a minor child, as defined 2 by State law, or (ii) the noncustodial parent of a minor 3 child whose parentage is established under State law and who 4 is making current monthly child support payments to the 5 extent required by a child support order. 6 (b) The Higher Education for Real Opportunities Pilot 7 Program is hereby created. The purpose of the program is to 8 improve the ability of low-income adults who are supporting 9 minor children to acquire, through post-secondary education, 10 the skills necessary to qualify for higher paying job 11 opportunities. In addition, this program seeks to improve 12 the ability of this State to produce workers with skills 13 needed by employers in the current economy. 14 (c) The program shall provide grants to support the 15 pursuit of post-secondary education by low-income adults who 16 are supporting minor children. The program shall be 17 administered by the Commission through the financial aid 18 offices of participating institutions of post-secondary 19 education. The Commission shall operate the program in 3 20 locations, one of which shall be in a city with a population 21 of more than 1,000,000. In each location, the Commission 22 shall select for participation in the program (i) one 23 accredited college or university and (ii) one or more other 24 accredited institutions of post-secondary education. The 25 program shall operate for 3 school years, beginning with the 26 fall term of 2000 and extending through the end of the spring 27 term of 2003. 28 (d) Students who meet all of the following eligibility 29 requirements, as calculated and determined at the beginning 30 of each term by the financial aid office of the participating 31 institution of post-secondary education and periodically 32 thereafter as specified by the Commission by rule, are 33 eligible for grants under the program. 34 (1) The student must be a low-income adult. HB3981 Engrossed -3- LRB9111267NTksA 1 Current receipt of a child care subsidy under the child 2 care program operated by the Department of Human Services 3 shall be prima facie proof that the student is a 4 low-income adult. In other cases, financial eligibility 5 shall be determined by the same rules used by the 6 Department of Human Services for determining eligibility 7 for a child care subsidy. No federal or State student 8 assistance shall count as income under this subdivision 9 (1), except to the extent that the assistance is not a 10 loan and is available to the student to pay for living 11 expenses at the student's discretion. For purposes of 12 this subdivision (1), lump sum amounts made available to 13 students for living expenses during a school term shall 14 be prorated to monthly amounts for the months of the 15 school term covered by the student assistance. 16 (2) The student must be supporting at least one 17 minor child. 18 (3) The student must meet the work requirement 19 established under this subdivision (3), unless the 20 student is a custodial parent who is attending an 21 institution of post-secondary education on a full time 22 basis. Unless the institution of post-secondary 23 education defines the term otherwise, "full time" means a 24 course load of at least 12 credit hours or the 25 equivalent. The work requirement shall consist of paid 26 employment or self-employment. College work-study or 27 other paid campus employment is employment under this 28 subdivision (3). There is no work requirement for the 29 first 24 months of a post-secondary vocational training 30 program. In any additional months, the work requirement 31 is 20 hours per week. The work requirement for 2-year or 32 4-year degree programs is 10 hours per week. This work 33 requirement may also be met with 20 hours per week of 34 unpaid campus employment, such as student teaching, HB3981 Engrossed -4- LRB9111267NTksA 1 internships, or practicums, or any combination of paid 2 and unpaid work totaling 20 hours per week. 3 (4) The student must not be receiving cash public 4 assistance under any need-based program under the 5 Illinois Public Aid Code. 6 (5) The student must have a high school diploma or 7 an equivalency certificate, and the student may not 8 already have a bachelor's degree. 9 (6) The student must not have earned more than the 10 maximum amount allowed for eligibility for a State child 11 care subsidy, under the child care program operated by 12 the Department of Human Services, in either of the 2 tax 13 years for which returns were to have been filed prior to 14 the commencement of the school term, as evidenced by 15 State tax returns or other comparable evidence as 16 specified by rule. 17 (7) To be eligible in his or her first term, the 18 student must be accepted by the participating institution 19 of post-secondary education under its normal acceptance 20 criteria. To be eligible thereafter, the student must 21 maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average, 22 on a 4.0 point scale, calculated at the conclusion of the 23 most recently completed term. The Commission shall 24 provide, by rule, a method by which institutions of 25 post-secondary education that do not have a 4.0 scale or 26 that do not grade on a traditional grade point scale 27 shall determine an equivalent measure by which the 28 student can meet this requirement. 29 (8) The student must be enrolled at a participating 30 institution of post-secondary education at least half 31 time, as defined by the institution of post-secondary 32 education. 33 (e) The following grants shall be paid to eligible 34 students under the program: HB3981 Engrossed -5- LRB9111267NTksA 1 (1) An amount each term to cover the actual cost of 2 required books and supplies or $400, whichever is less. 3 The institution of post-secondary education may pay this 4 amount in cash, vouchers, credit arrangements with the 5 institutional bookstore, or any other means approved by 6 the Commission. This grant is available for all school 7 terms during the program's existence. If the program is 8 extended or made into a permanent program, this grant 9 shall be available for a maximum of 8 regular school year 10 semesters and 3 summer terms or the equivalent for 11 institutions of post-secondary education that use 12 different schedules, as determined by the Commission by 13 rule. 14 (2) A monthly cash stipend according to family 15 size. The amount shall be equal to one-third of the 16 monthly federal poverty level for the various family 17 sizes. An updated schedule of these amounts shall be 18 published each year by the Commission. This grant shall 19 be available in months in which students are eligible 20 throughout the program's existence. If the program is 21 extended or made into a permanent program, this grant 22 shall be available for a maximum of 40 months, which need 23 not be consecutive. 24 (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of State law, as 25 to any month in which the student qualifies for a grant under 26 the program, the student shall be eligible for a State 27 subsidy for child care, subject to all other rules and 28 procedures for that child care program. Grants under this 29 Section shall be treated the same as other State student 30 assistance for purposes of eligibility for medical assistance 31 under the Illinois Public Aid Code. Grants under this 32 Section may not be counted to reduce the amount of student 33 assistance the student would receive under other State 34 student aid programs in the absence of the program created HB3981 Engrossed -6- LRB9111267NTksA 1 under this Section. State and federal student assistance 2 available in cash for the basic living expenses of the 3 student may be counted in determining the student's 4 eligibility for grants under the program, but not in 5 determining the amount of assistance for eligible students 6 under the program. 7 (g) The Commission shall submit an interim report to the 8 Governor and the General Assembly by December 1, 2002, 9 covering the first 2 years of the program and any portion of 10 the third year that is feasible to be included. The 11 Commission shall submit a final report to the Governor and 12 the General Assembly by September 1, 2003. The report shall 13 include information on the number of students served each 14 term, the methods of administration, the impact of the grants 15 on completion of schooling, the performance of grant 16 recipients in obtaining employment after completion of 17 studies, and any other information relevant to the decision 18 on whether to renew, expand, or terminate the program upon 19 expiration of the program. 20 (h) The Commission shall adopt rules and procedures for 21 the administration of the program by financial aid offices of 22 participating institutions of post-secondary education, enter 23 into such inter-agency agreements as may aid in 24 administration, and administer the program consistently with 25 other State student assistance programs. 26 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 27 becoming law.