102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB1643

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Chapin Rose

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/35

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Provides that an applicant enrolled in a certificate program offered by a public community college is eligible for a Monetary Award Program grant until he or she completes the certificate program, provided that the certificate program provides certification for employment in a high-demand industry in which the holder of the certificate can expect to find, within 3 months following the award of the certificate, employment that offers a salary of at least $50,000 annually. Effective immediately.


LRB102 16587 CMG 21984 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1643LRB102 16587 CMG 21984 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; and
15        (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
16    deterred by financial considerations from completing an
17    educational program at the qualified institution of his or
18    her choice, including any certificate program offered by a
19    public community college, provided that the certificate
20    program provides certification for employment in a
21    high-demand industry in which the holder of the
22    certificate can expect to find, within 3 months following
23    the award of the certificate, employment that offers a

 

 

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1    salary of at least $50,000 annually.
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
12of the 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
16monetary award program consideration under this Act after
17receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135
18semester credit hours of award payments. However, an applicant
19enrolled in a certificate program offered by a public
20community college may continue to be eligible for monetary
21award program consideration under this Act until the
22completion of the certificate program even if he or she has
23exceeded this limitation, provided that the certificate
24program provides certification for employment in a high-demand
25industry in which the holder of the certificate can expect to
26find, within 3 months following the award of the certificate,

 

 

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1employment that offers a salary of at least $50,000 annually.
2    (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means
3a student attending an institution of higher learning who
4received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior
5academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications
6for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually
7publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants.
8Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by
9the published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if
10he or she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under
11this Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the
12priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5)
13shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if
14sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that
15date.
16    (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
17be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
18the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The
19Commission shall notify applicants that grant assistance is
20contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds.
21    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is
22an important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to
23facilitate access to college both for students who pursue
24postsecondary education immediately following high school and
25for those who pursue postsecondary education later in life,
26particularly Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with

 

 

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1financial need and who are seeking to improve their economic
2position through education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017
3academic years, the Commission shall give additional and
4specific consideration to the needs of dislocated workers with
5the intent of allowing applicants who are dislocated workers
6an opportunity to secure financial assistance even if applying
7later than the general pool of applicants. The Commission's
8consideration shall include, in determining the number of
9grants to be offered, an estimate of the resources needed to
10serve dislocated workers who apply after the Commission
11initially suspends award announcements for the upcoming
12regular academic year, but prior to the beginning of that
13academic year. For the purposes of this subsection (e-5), a
14dislocated worker is defined as in the federal Workforce
15Innovation and Opportunity Act.
16    (f) (Blank).
17    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
18make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
19institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
20Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
21for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
22        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
23    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
24    students who have attained an associate degree.
25        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
26    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have

 

 

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1    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
2    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
3    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
4        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
5    eligible students.
6    (h) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
7Section.
8(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 100-621, eff. 7-20-18;
9100-823, eff. 8-13-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.