103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB2899

 

Introduced 2/16/2023, by Rep. Maurice A. West, II

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
30 ILCS 105/5.990 new
105 ILCS 426/35
110 ILCS 947/35

    Amends the Private Business and Vocational Schools Act of 2012. In provisions regarding institution and program approval criteria, provides that a part of the criteria for approval is fair and equitable reimbursement in the case of an unfair or deceptive practice finding. Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. In provisions concerning the monetary award program, makes changes to the provisions regarding the award of grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit institutions, and provides that credits earned during the 2023-2024 academic year at a qualified for-profit institution may not count toward the maximum credit-hour limitation. Sets forth provisions concerning an institution that received monetary award program funds at a time the institution was using unfair or deceptive practices, including refunding State funds to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and awarding grants to students who attended that institution. Amends the State Finance Act to create the MAP Refund Fund as a special fund in the State treasury. Effective immediately.


LRB103 30323 RJT 56751 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2899LRB103 30323 RJT 56751 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 MAP Refund Fund.
 
8    Section 10. The Private Business and Vocational Schools
9Act of 2012 is amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
 
10    (105 ILCS 426/35)
11    Sec. 35. Institution and program approval criteria. Each
12entity seeking a permit of approval is required to demonstrate
13that it satisfies institution-approval criteria and that each
14program of study offered meets the program-approval criteria
15in this Act and any applicable rules. The following standard
16criteria are intended to measure the appropriateness of the
17stated educational objectives of the educational programs of a
18given institution and the extent to which suitable and proper
19processes have been developed for meeting those objectives.
20Information related to the satisfaction of the approval
21criteria outlined in this Section must be supplied to the

 

 

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1Board by institutions on forms provided by the Board.
2Additional information may be requested by the Board to
3determine the institution's ability to satisfy the criteria.
4The following must be considered as part of, but not
5necessarily all of, the criteria for approval of institutions
6and the programs offered under this Act:
7        (1) Qualifications of governing board members, owners,
8    and senior administrators. At a minimum, these individuals
9    must be of good moral character and have no felony
10    criminal record.
11        (2) Qualifications of faculty and staff.
12        (3) Demonstration of student learning and quality of
13    program delivery.
14        (4) Sufficiency of institutional finances. The
15    institution must demonstrate that it has the financial
16    resources sufficient to meet its financial obligations,
17    including, but not limited to, refunding tuition pursuant
18    to the institution's stated policies. The school must
19    tender financial records, including, but not limited to,
20    financial statements, income statements, and cash flow
21    statements.
22        (5) Accuracy, clarity, and appropriateness of program
23    descriptions. Institutional promotional, advertising, and
24    recruiting materials must be clear, appropriate, and
25    accurate.
26        (6) Sufficiency of facilities and equipment. At a

 

 

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1    minimum, these must be appropriate and must meet
2    applicable safety code requirements and ordinances.
3        (7) Fair and equitable refund policies. At a minimum,
4    these must be fair and equitable, must satisfy any related
5    State or federal rules, and must abide by the standards
6    established in Section 60 of this Act and the rules
7    adopted for the implementation of this Act.
8        (8) Appropriate and ethical admissions and recruitment
9    practices. At a minimum, recruiting practices must be
10    ethical and abide by any State or federal rules.
11        (9) Recognized accreditation status. Accreditation
12    with an accrediting body approved by the U.S. Department
13    of Education may be counted as significant evidence of the
14    institution's ability to meet curricular approval
15    criteria.
16        (10) Meeting employment requirements in the field of
17    study. The institution must clearly demonstrate how a
18    student's completion of the program of study satisfies
19    employment requirements in the occupational field. Such
20    information must be clearly and accurately provided to
21    students. If licensure, certification, or their equivalent
22    is required of program graduates to enter the field of
23    employment, the institution must clearly demonstrate that
24    completion of the program will allow students to achieve
25    this status.
26        (11) Enrollment agreements that, at a minimum, meet

 

 

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1    the requirements outlined in Section 40 of this Act.
2        (12) Clearly communicated tuition and fee charges.
3    Tuition and fees and any other expense charged by the
4    school must be appropriate to the expected income that
5    will be earned by graduates. No school may have a tuition
6    policy or enrollment agreement that requires that a
7    student register for more than a single semester, quarter,
8    term, or other such period of enrollment as a condition of
9    the enrollment nor shall any school charge a student for
10    multiple periods of enrollment prior to completion of the
11    single semester, quarter, term, or other such period of
12    enrollment.
13        (13) Legal action against the institution, its parent
14    company, its owners, its governing board, or its board
15    members. Any such legal action must be provided to the
16    Board and may be considered as a reason for denial or
17    revocation of the permit of approval.
18        (14) Fair and equitable reimbursement in the case of
19    an unfair or deceptive practice finding. If an institution
20    received monetary award program funds under Section 35 of
21    the Higher Education Student Assistance Act at a time the
22    institution was using an unfair or deceptive practice, as
23    defined by the Federal Trade Commission, and is required
24    to reimburse students for loans taken to pay for their
25    education due to a judgment against the institution after
26    the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd

 

 

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1    General Assembly, then any State funds paid to the
2    institution in the time period of that judgment must be
3    refunded to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission
4    under Section 35 of the Higher Education Student
5    Assistance Act. In this paragraph (14), "unfair or
6    deceptive practice" means an act or practice in which a
7    representation, omission, or practice misleads or is
8    likely to mislead a consumer as determined by the Federal
9    Trade Commission.
10(Source: P.A. 102-1046, eff. 6-7-22.)
 
11    Section 15. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
12amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
 
13    (110 ILCS 947/35)
14    Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
15    (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
16applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject
17to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
18eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission
19finds that the applicant:
20        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
21    permanent resident of the United States;
22        (2) is enrolled or has been accepted for enrollment in
23    a qualified institution other than a for-profit
24    institution, unless the applicant was enrolled in a

 

 

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1    qualified for-profit institution during the 2022-2023
2    academic year, for the purpose of obtaining a degree,
3    certificate, or other credential offered by the
4    institution, as applicable; and
5        (3) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
6    deterred by financial considerations from completing an
7    educational program at the qualified institution of his or
8    her choice.
9    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
10student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
11the applicant:
12        (1) has remained a student in good standing;
13        (2) remains a resident of this State; and
14        (3) is in a financial situation that continues to
15    warrant assistance.
16    (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
17necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
18amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest
19of the following amounts:
20        (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year
21    2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, $6,468 for fiscal year
22    2011 and each fiscal year thereafter through fiscal year
23    2022, and $8,508 for fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year
24    thereafter, or such lesser amount as the Commission finds
25    to be available, during an academic year;
26        (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters

 

 

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1    tuition and other necessary fees required generally by the
2    institution of all full-time undergraduate students; or
3        (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
4    appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
5    resources.
6    Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for
7students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c)
8must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made
9by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of
10this subsection (c).
11    "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
12include the customary charge for instruction and use of
13facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged
14for specified purposes, which are required generally of
15nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
16grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
17payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
18deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
19Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
20Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
21tuition and other necessary fees.
22    (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
23scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for
24monetary award program consideration under this Act after
25receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135
26semester credit hours of award payments. However, credits

 

 

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1earned during the 2023-2024 academic year at a qualified
2for-profit institution may not count toward this maximum
3credit-hour limitation.
4    (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means
5a student attending an institution of higher learning who
6received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior
7academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications
8for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually
9publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants.
10Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by
11the published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if
12he or she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under
13this Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the
14priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5)
15shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if
16sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that
17date.
18    (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
19be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
20the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The
21Commission shall notify applicants that grant assistance is
22contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds.
23    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is
24an important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to
25facilitate access to college both for students who pursue
26postsecondary education immediately following high school and

 

 

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1for those who pursue postsecondary education later in life,
2particularly Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with
3financial need and who are seeking to improve their economic
4position through education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017
5academic years, the Commission shall give additional and
6specific consideration to the needs of dislocated workers with
7the intent of allowing applicants who are dislocated workers
8an opportunity to secure financial assistance even if applying
9later than the general pool of applicants. The Commission's
10consideration shall include, in determining the number of
11grants to be offered, an estimate of the resources needed to
12serve dislocated workers who apply after the Commission
13initially suspends award announcements for the upcoming
14regular academic year, but prior to the beginning of that
15academic year. For the purposes of this subsection (e-5), a
16dislocated worker is defined as in the federal Workforce
17Innovation and Opportunity Act.
18    (f) (Blank).
19    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
20make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
21institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
22Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
23for-profit institutions shall be limited to eligible students
24under this Section who received a monetary award program grant
25for attendance at a for-profit institution during the
262022-2023 academic year and who satisfy any conditions

 

 

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1otherwise specified by the Board of Higher Education. as
2follows:
3        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
4    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
5    students who have attained an associate degree.
6        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
7    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
8    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
9    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
10    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
11        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
12    eligible students.
13    (h) The Commission may award a grant to an eligible
14applicant enrolled at an Illinois public institution of higher
15learning in a program that will culminate in the award of an
16occupational or career and technical certificate as that term
17is defined in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1501.301.
18    (h-5) In this subsection (h-5), "unfair or deceptive
19practice" means an act or practice in which a representation,
20omission, or practice misleads or is likely to mislead a
21consumer as determined by the Federal Trade Commission.
22    If an institution received monetary award program funds at
23a time the institution was using an unfair or deceptive
24practice, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission, and is
25required to reimburse students for loans taken to pay for
26their education due to a judgment against the institution

 

 

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1after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd
2General Assembly, then any State funds paid to the institution
3in the time period of that judgment must be refunded to the
4Commission, to be deposited into the MAP Refund Fund. The
5Commission shall use funds appropriated from the MAP Refund
6Fund to award grants to students who attended that institution
7during the period in which the institution had a judgment
8found against it.
9    An institution found to have been using an unfair or
10deceptive practice must notify students who were enrolled
11during the period of the judgment about the judgment,
12electronically and by certified mail, within 6 months after
13the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
14Assembly. Affected students may apply for a grant under this
15subsection (h-5) following the effective date of this
16amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly or notification
17of the judgment against the institution, whichever is later.
18The application process shall be administered by the
19Commission and remain open until no funds remain in the MAP
20Refund Fund, subject to the other provisions of this
21subsection (h-5).
22    A grant under this subsection (h-5) may not exceed the
23maximum amount for a monetary award program grant for the
24academic year that the grant under this subsection (h-5) is
25awarded, as determined by the Commission. A grant under this
26subsection (h-5) may be awarded to a student in addition to a

 

 

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1monetary award program grant but may not exceed the cost of
2attendance at the institution at which the student is
3enrolled.
4    At the start of the third academic year following the
5effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General
6Assembly, the remaining balance in the MAP Refund Fund shall
7be appropriated to the Commission for the Commission's
8operating budget for the monetary award program.
9    The MAP Refund Fund is created as a special fund in the
10State treasury. All refunds of Monetary Award Program funds
11shall be deposited into the MAP Refund Fund. All money in the
12Fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, by the
13Commission for the purposes of this subsection (h-5).
14    (i) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
15Section.
16(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-699, eff. 4-19-22.)
 
17    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.