SB2846eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB2846 Engrossed LRB100 18458 KTG 33673 b

AN ACT concerning State government.

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 65.105 as follows:

(110 ILCS 947/65.105 new)

Sec. 65.105. Grant for high risk students formerly in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services.

(a) Subject to the appropriation of funds for this purpose, the Commission shall each year receive and consider applications for grant assistance under this Section. An applicant is eligible for a grant under this Section if the Commission finds that the applicant:

(1) is a youth for whom the Department of Children and Family Services has court-ordered legal responsibility, a youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, or a youth formerly under care who has been adopted and was the subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who has been placed in private guardianship and was the subject of a subsidized guardianship agreement;

(2) will have earned a high school diploma from an accredited institution or a high school equivalency certificate or will have met the State criteria for high school graduation, before the start of the academic year for which the student is applying for the grant;

(3) if enrolling as a first-time freshman, has not yet reached the age of 26; and

(4) will be, at the time of the payment of the grant, enrolled in an Illinois public university or community college.

(b) An applicant who is determined to be eligible for assistance under this Section shall receive, subject to appropriation, a grant to be applied to the applicant's tuition and fees and paid directly to the public institution of higher learning at which the applicant is enrolled. The amount of the grant shall be sufficient to pay the institution's tuition and fee costs that remain after applying any Monetary Award Program grant and federal Pell Grant to the student's account.

(c) A grant awarded under this Section may be renewed for a total of up to 5 years of full-time enrollment at a public institution of higher learning, including summer terms, so long as the student makes satisfactory progress toward completing his or her undergraduate degree. The age requirement and 5-year cap on grants under this Section shall be waived and eligibility for a grant shall be extended for any applicant or student whom the Commission determines was unable to enroll in a public institution of higher learning or complete an academic term because the applicant or student (i) was called into active duty with the United States Armed Forces, (ii) was deployed for service in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, or (iii) volunteered in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps. The Commission shall extend eligibility for a qualifying applicant or student by the total number of months or years during which the applicant or student served on active duty with the United States Armed Forces, was deployed for service in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, or volunteered in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps. The number of months an applicant or student served on active duty with the United States Armed Forces shall be rounded up to the next higher year to determine the maximum length of time to extend eligibility for the applicant or student.

(d) The General Assembly encourages the Commission and the Department of Children and Family Services to coordinate to simplify, to the extent feasible, the process of confirming applicant eligibility for a grant under this Section.

(e) The Commission shall adopt rules to implement this Section.