103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB2528

 

Introduced 2/15/2023, by Rep. Carol Ammons

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
30 ILCS 105/5.990 new
110 ILCS 205/9.43 new

    Amends the Board of Higher Education Act. Requires the Board of Higher Education to establish a hunger-free campus grant program. Provides that the hunger-free campus grant program shall provide grants to public institutions of higher education that have one or more campuses designated by the Board as hunger-free campuses. Provides for requirements for being designated a hunger-free campus. Provides that the Board shall determine the amount of each grant that shall be used by the public institution of higher education to further address food insecurity among students enrolled in the public institution of higher education. Provides that the Board shall prioritize grants to public institutions of higher education with campuses that serve primarily minority and low-income students and have a high percentage of Pell Grant recipients. Provides that the Board shall submit a report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than 2 years after the establishment of the grant program. Provides for rulemaking. Amends the State Finance Act to create the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB2528LRB103 28443 RJT 54823 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 State Finance Act is amended by adding
5Section 5.990 as follows:
 
6    (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
7    Sec. 5.990. The Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund.
 
8    Section 10. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended
9by adding Section 9.43 as follows:
 
10    (110 ILCS 205/9.43 new)
11    Sec. 9.43. Hunger-free campus grant program.
12    (a) The Board shall establish a hunger-free campus grant
13program for the purposes set forth under subsection (b).
14    (b) The purpose of the hunger-free campus grant program
15shall be to provide grants to public institutions of higher
16education that have one or more campuses designated by the
17Board as hunger-free campuses under subsection (c). The
18purpose of the grant funding shall be to:
19        (1) address student hunger;
20        (2) leverage more sustainable solutions to address
21    basic food needs on campus;

 

 

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1        (3) raise awareness of services currently offered on
2    campus that address basic food needs; and
3        (4) continue to build strategic partnerships at the
4    federal, State, and local levels to address food
5    insecurity among students.
6    (c) In order to be designated as a hunger-free campus by
7the Board, a public institution of higher education shall:
8        (1) establish a hunger task force that meets a minimum
9    of 3 times per academic year to set at least 2 goals with
10    action plans and that includes representatives from the
11    student body;
12        (2) designate a staff member responsible for assisting
13    students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition
14    Assistance Program (SNAP);
15        (3) provide options for students to utilize SNAP
16    benefits at campus stores or provide students with
17    information on establishments in the surrounding area of
18    campus where they can utilize SNAP benefits;
19        (4) participate in an awareness day campaign activity
20    and plan a campus awareness event during the national
21    Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week;
22        (5) provide at least one physical food pantry on
23    campus or enable students to receive food through a
24    separate, stigma-free arrangement with a local food pantry
25    or food bank near campus;
26        (6) develop a student meal credit donation program or

 

 

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1    designate a certain amount of money for free meal vouchers
2    for students; and
3        (7) annually conduct a student survey on hunger,
4    developed by the Board, and submit the results of the
5    survey to the Board at a time prescribed by the Board for
6    inclusion in a comparative profile of each campus
7    designated as a hunger-free campus. Survey data on student
8    hunger shall be disaggregated by race, gender identity,
9    sexual orientation, parenting status, and financial aid
10    status of students. In the development of the survey, the
11    Board may utilize any existing surveys designed to collect
12    information on food insecurity among students enrolled in
13    public institutions of higher education.
14    (d) The Board shall allocate grant funding to each public
15institution of higher education that has one or more campuses
16designated by the Board as a hunger-free campus under
17subsection (c). The Board shall determine the amount of each
18grant that shall be used by the public institution of higher
19education to further address food insecurity among students
20enrolled in the public institution of higher education. The
21Board shall prioritize grants to public institutions of higher
22education with campuses that serve primarily minority and
23low-income students and have a high percentage of Pell Grant
24recipients.
25    (e) The Board shall submit a report to the Governor and to
26the General Assembly no later than 2 years after the

 

 

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1establishment of the hunger-free campus grant program. The
2report shall include, but not be limited to, the number and
3amount of the grant awards, the impact the hunger-free campus
4grant program has on establishing additional hunger-free
5campuses at public institutions of higher education and
6reducing the number of students experiencing food insecurity,
7disaggregated data on those students served reflecting the
8students' race, gender identity, sexual orientation, parenting
9status, and financial aid status, and recommendations on the
10expansion of the hunger-free campus grant program.
11    (f) The Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund is created as a
12special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall
13be used, subject to appropriation, by the Board for the
14hunger-free campus grant program.
15    (g) The Board may adopt any rules necessary to implement
16this Section.
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.