Bill Text: IL HB0049 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Board of Higher Education Act to prohibit the Board of Higher Education from awarding any grant funds to a private institution of higher education that is operated for profit. Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act to remove a for-profit educational organization from the definition of "institution of higher learning", "qualified institution", and "institution". Removes a provision allowing Monetary Award Program grants to be made to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit institutions. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-18 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0049 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-HB0049-Introduced.html
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 | AN ACT concerning education.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Section 5. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended by | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | adding Section 9.40 as follows:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | (110 ILCS 205/9.40 new) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | Sec. 9.40. Grant funds to for-profit institutions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | prohibited. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | Board is prohibited from awarding any grant funds to a private | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | institution of higher education that is operated for profit.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | Section 10. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | amended by changing Sections 10 and 35 as follows:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | (110 ILCS 947/10)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act, and except to the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | extent that any of the
following words or phrases is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | specifically qualified by its context:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | Commission created by this
Act.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | "Enrollment" means the establishment and maintenance of an | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | individual's
status as a student in an institution of higher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | learning, regardless of the
terms used at the institution to |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | describe that status.
| ||||||
2 | "Approved high school" means any public high school | ||||||
3 | located in this
State; and any high school, located in this | ||||||
4 | State or elsewhere (whether
designated as a high school, | ||||||
5 | secondary school, academy, preparatory school,
or otherwise) | ||||||
6 | which in the judgment of the State Superintendent of
Education | ||||||
7 | provides a course of instruction at the secondary level and | ||||||
8 | maintains
standards of instruction substantially equivalent to | ||||||
9 | those of the public high
schools located in this State.
| ||||||
10 | "Institution of higher learning", "qualified institution", | ||||||
11 | or "institution"
means an educational organization located in | ||||||
12 | this State that: which
| ||||||
13 | (1) provides
at least an organized 2-year 2 year | ||||||
14 | program of collegiate grade in the liberal arts or
| ||||||
15 | sciences, or both, directly applicable toward the | ||||||
16 | attainment of a baccalaureate
degree or a program in | ||||||
17 | health
education
directly applicable toward the attainment | ||||||
18 | of a certificate, diploma, or an
associate degree;
| ||||||
19 | (2) either is :
| ||||||
20 | (A) operated by this State ; , or
| ||||||
21 | (B) operated
publicly or privately, not for | ||||||
22 | profit ; , or
| ||||||
23 | (C) operated for profit, provided such for profit | ||||||
24 | organization
| ||||||
25 | (i) offers degree programs which have been | ||||||
26 | approved by the Board of
Higher Education for a |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | minimum of 3 years under the Academic Degree Act, | ||||||
2 | and
| ||||||
3 | (ii) enrolls a majority of its students in | ||||||
4 | such degree programs, and
| ||||||
5 | (iii) maintains an accredited status with the | ||||||
6 | Commission on
Institutions of Higher Education of | ||||||
7 | the North Central Association of Colleges
and | ||||||
8 | Schools;
| ||||||
9 | (3) in the judgment of the Commission
meets standards | ||||||
10 | substantially equivalent to those of comparable | ||||||
11 | institutions
operated by this State; and
| ||||||
12 | (4) if so required by the Commission, uses the
State | ||||||
13 | as its primary guarantor of student loans made under the | ||||||
14 | federal Higher
Education Act of 1965.
| ||||||
15 | For otherwise eligible educational organizations which
provide | ||||||
16 | academic programs for incarcerated students, the terms | ||||||
17 | "institution of
higher learning", "qualified institutions", | ||||||
18 | and "institution" shall
specifically exclude academic programs | ||||||
19 | for incarcerated students.
| ||||||
20 | "Academic year" means a 12 month period of time, normally | ||||||
21 | but not
exclusively, from September 1 of any year through | ||||||
22 | August 31 of the ensuing
year.
| ||||||
23 | "Full-time student" means any undergraduate student | ||||||
24 | enrolled in 12 or
more semester or quarter hours of credit | ||||||
25 | courses in any given semester or
quarter or in the equivalent | ||||||
26 | number of units of registration as determined
by the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Commission.
| ||||||
2 | "Part-time student" means any undergraduate student, other | ||||||
3 | than a
full-time student, enrolled in 6 or more semester or | ||||||
4 | quarter hours of
credit courses in any given semester or | ||||||
5 | quarter or in the equivalent number
of units of registration | ||||||
6 | as determined by the Commission. Beginning with
fiscal year | ||||||
7 | 1999, the Commission may, on a program by program basis, | ||||||
8 | expand
this definition of "part-time student" to include | ||||||
9 | students who enroll in less
than 6 semester or quarter hours of | ||||||
10 | credit courses in any given semester or
quarter.
| ||||||
11 | "Public university" means any public 4-year university in | ||||||
12 | this State. | ||||||
13 | "Public university campus" means any campus under the | ||||||
14 | governance or supervision of a public university. | ||||||
15 | (Source: P.A. 100-587, eff. 6-4-18; 100-1015, eff. 8-21-18.)
| ||||||
16 | (110 ILCS 947/35)
| ||||||
17 | Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
| ||||||
18 | (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider | ||||||
19 | applications
for grant assistance under this Section. Subject | ||||||
20 | to a separate
appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is | ||||||
21 | eligible for a grant under
this Section when the Commission | ||||||
22 | finds that the applicant:
| ||||||
23 | (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or | ||||||
24 | permanent resident
of the United States; and
| ||||||
25 | (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | deterred by
financial considerations from completing an | ||||||
2 | educational program at the
qualified institution of his or | ||||||
3 | her choice.
| ||||||
4 | (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the | ||||||
5 | student's application
and upon the Commission's finding that | ||||||
6 | the applicant:
| ||||||
7 | (1) has remained a student in good standing;
| ||||||
8 | (2) remains a resident of this State; and
| ||||||
9 | (3) is in a financial situation that continues to | ||||||
10 | warrant assistance.
| ||||||
11 | (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and | ||||||
12 | necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
| ||||||
13 | amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest | ||||||
14 | of
the following amounts:
| ||||||
15 | (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year | ||||||
16 | 2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal | ||||||
17 | year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser | ||||||
18 | amount as
the Commission finds to be available, during an | ||||||
19 | academic year;
| ||||||
20 | (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters | ||||||
21 | tuition
and other necessary fees required generally by the | ||||||
22 | institution of all
full-time undergraduate students; or
| ||||||
23 | (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be | ||||||
24 | appropriate in view of
the applicant's financial | ||||||
25 | resources.
| ||||||
26 | Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c) | ||||||
2 | must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made | ||||||
3 | by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of | ||||||
4 | this subsection (c). | ||||||
5 | "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section | ||||||
6 | include the
customary charge for instruction and use of | ||||||
7 | facilities in general, and the
additional fixed fees charged | ||||||
8 | for specified purposes, which are required
generally of | ||||||
9 | nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the | ||||||
10 | grant
applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees | ||||||
11 | payable only once or
breakage fees and other contingent | ||||||
12 | deposits which are refundable in whole or in
part. The | ||||||
13 | Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
| ||||||
14 | Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of | ||||||
15 | tuition and other
necessary fees.
| ||||||
16 | (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving | ||||||
17 | scholarship
assistance under this Act, is eligible for | ||||||
18 | monetary award program
consideration under this Act after | ||||||
19 | receiving a baccalaureate degree or
the equivalent of 135 | ||||||
20 | semester credit hours of award payments.
| ||||||
21 | (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means | ||||||
22 | a student attending an institution of higher learning who | ||||||
23 | received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior | ||||||
24 | academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications | ||||||
25 | for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually | ||||||
26 | publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants. |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by | ||||||
2 | the published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if | ||||||
3 | he or she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under | ||||||
4 | this Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the | ||||||
5 | priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5) | ||||||
6 | shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if | ||||||
7 | sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that | ||||||
8 | date. | ||||||
9 | (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to | ||||||
10 | be offered,
shall take into consideration past experience with | ||||||
11 | the rate of grant funds
unclaimed by recipients. The | ||||||
12 | Commission shall notify applicants that grant
assistance is | ||||||
13 | contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds.
| ||||||
14 | (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is | ||||||
15 | an important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to | ||||||
16 | facilitate access to college both for students who pursue | ||||||
17 | postsecondary education immediately following high school and | ||||||
18 | for those who pursue postsecondary education later in life, | ||||||
19 | particularly Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with | ||||||
20 | financial need and who are seeking to improve their economic | ||||||
21 | position through education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 | ||||||
22 | academic years, the Commission shall give additional and | ||||||
23 | specific consideration to the needs of dislocated workers with | ||||||
24 | the intent of allowing applicants who are dislocated workers | ||||||
25 | an opportunity to secure financial assistance even if applying | ||||||
26 | later than the general pool of applicants. The Commission's |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | consideration shall include, in determining the number of | ||||||
2 | grants to be offered, an estimate of the resources needed to | ||||||
3 | serve dislocated workers who apply after the Commission | ||||||
4 | initially suspends award announcements for the upcoming | ||||||
5 | regular academic year, but prior to the beginning of that | ||||||
6 | academic year. For the purposes of this subsection (e-5), a | ||||||
7 | dislocated worker is defined as in the federal Workforce
| ||||||
8 | Innovation and Opportunity Act. | ||||||
9 | (f) (Blank).
| ||||||
10 | (g) (Blank). The Commission shall determine the | ||||||
11 | eligibility of and make grants to
applicants enrolled at | ||||||
12 | qualified for-profit institutions in accordance with the
| ||||||
13 | criteria set forth in this Section. The eligibility of | ||||||
14 | applicants enrolled at
such for-profit institutions shall be | ||||||
15 | limited as follows:
| ||||||
16 | (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to | ||||||
17 | eligible first-time
freshmen and
first-time transfer | ||||||
18 | students who have attained an associate degree.
| ||||||
19 | (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to | ||||||
20 | eligible freshmen
students,
transfer students who have | ||||||
21 | attained an associate degree, and students who
receive a | ||||||
22 | grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and | ||||||
23 | whose grants
are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
| ||||||
24 | (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all | ||||||
25 | eligible students.
| ||||||
26 | (h) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Section. | ||||||
2 | (Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 100-621, eff. 7-20-18; | ||||||
3 | 100-823, eff. 8-13-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
| ||||||
4 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
5 | becoming law.
|