Bill Text: IL HB0079 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Higher Education Scholarship Act. Allows scholarships to be awarded to entering freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors at community colleges, colleges, and universities, whether public or private, located in this State. Establishes Illinois residency requirements, minimum grade point average requirements, and other requirements that the student must meet to be eligible for a scholarship. Provides that the scholarship, subject to the amounts appropriated by the General Assembly, includes tuition and mandatory fees (in an amount not to exceed the maximum amount allowed to be awarded under the Monetary Award Program for a student at a private institution). Authorizes the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to promulgate rules relating to the scholarships. Effective July 1, 2009.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-04-03 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0079 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2009-HB0079-Introduced.html

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96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2009 and 2010 HB0079 Introduced 1/14/2009, by Rep. Lou Lang SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Higher Education Scholarship Act. Allows scholarships to be awarded to entering freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors at community colleges, colleges, and universities, whether public or private, located in this State. Establishes Illinois residency requirements, minimum grade point average requirements, and other requirements that the student must meet to be eligible for a scholarship. Provides that the scholarship, subject to the amounts appropriated by the General Assembly, includes tuition and mandatory fees (in an amount not to exceed the maximum amount allowed to be awarded under the Monetary Award Program for a student at a private institution). Authorizes the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to promulgate rules relating to the scholarships. Effective July 1, 2009.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Higher Education Scholarship Act.
Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
"Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
Commission.
"Eligible high school" means:
(1) a public high school located in Illinois;
(2) a private school located in Illinois where children
are taught the branches of education taught to children of
corresponding age and grade in public high schools in
Illinois and which has been recognized by the Commission;
or
(3) a public or private secondary school located in
another state and accredited by one of the following
regional agencies:
(A) The Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools.
(B) The New England Association of Schools and
Colleges.
(C) The Middle States Association of Colleges and

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Schools.
(D) The North Central Association of Colleges and
Schools.
(E) The Northwestern Association of Schools and
Colleges.
(F) The Western Association of Schools and
Colleges.
"Freshman student" means a student at an institution of
higher education who has attempted less than 31 semester hours.
"Grade point average" means the numbered grade average
calculated using a 4.0 scale.
"Institution of higher education" means a community
college, college, or university, whether public or private,
located in this State.
"Junior student" means a student at an institution of
higher education who has attempted at least 61 semester hours
but less than 91 semester hours.
"Mandatory fees" means fees approved by the Illinois
Student Assistance Commission that are charged by an
institution of higher education to every student enrolled in
that institution of higher education, regardless of the
student's program of study.
"Matriculated status" means being recognized as a student
in a defined program of study leading to a degree at an
institution of higher education.
"Scholarship" means the scholarship awarded under this

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Act.
"Semester hours" includes each semester hour attempted,
whether remedial or for credit toward a degree, but shall not
include any semester hour attempted before graduating from high
school or earning a general educational development (GED)
equivalency diploma.
"Senior student" means a student at an institution of
higher education who has attempted at least 91 semester hours
but less than 128 semester hours.
"Sophomore student" means a student at an institution of
higher education who has attempted at least 31 semester hours
but less than 61 semester hours.
"Title IV" means Title IV of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended (20 U.S.C.A. Sec. 1070, et seq.).
Section 10. Ineligibility for scholarship. A student is
ineligible for a scholarship under this Act if the student:
(1) is not a United States citizen or a permanent
resident alien who meets the definition of an eligible
noncitizen under federal Title IV requirements;
(2) is in default on a federal Title IV educational
loan or a State of Illinois educational loan, provided that
a student who is otherwise eligible and has fully repaid
the defaulted loan shall be eligible to obtain a
scholarship for future academic terms but not
retroactively;

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(3) owes a refund on a federal Title IV student
financial aid program or an Illinois student financial aid
program, provided that a student who is otherwise eligible
and has fully paid the refund owed shall be eligible to
obtain a scholarship for future academic terms but not
retroactively; or
(4) does not meet each qualification listed under
Section 15, 20, 25, or 30 of this Act applicable to the
student.
Section 15. Freshman eligibility for scholarship. To be
eligible for a scholarship, an entering freshman student
seeking a degree at an institution of higher education shall:
(1) meet residency requirements by meeting the
requirements to be classified as a legal resident of
Illinois as established by the program rules promulgated by
the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state
tuition policy of the governing board of the institution of
higher education in which the student is enrolled;
(2) meet achievement standards by having graduated
from an eligible high school with a cumulative grade point
average of at least 3.0 while meeting the curriculum
requirements of his or her program of study, or, in the
case of a student who is otherwise qualified but did not
graduate from an eligible high school, by earning a
cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 at an

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institution of higher education at the end of the semester
in which the student has attempted 30 semester hours,
provided that the student shall be eligible to receive a
retroactive scholarship for the student's freshman year to
be paid at the end of the freshman year; and
(3) meet enrollment standards by being admitted,
enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a
matriculated status.
Section 20. Sophomore eligibility for scholarship. To be
eligible for a scholarship, a sophomore student seeking a
degree at an institution of higher education shall:
(1) meet residency requirements by meeting the
requirements to be classified as a legal resident of
Illinois as established by the program rules promulgated by
the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state
tuition policy of the governing board of the institution of
higher education in which the student is enrolled;
(2) meet achievement standards by meeting the
following criteria:
(A) earning a cumulative grade point average of at
least 3.0 at an institution of higher education at the
end of the semester in which the student has attempted
30 semester hours; and
(B) maintaining satisfactory academic progress in
a course of study in accordance with the standards and

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practices used for federal Title IV programs by the
institution of higher education in which the student is
enrolled; and
(3) meet enrollment standards by being admitted,
enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a
matriculated status.
Section 25. Junior eligibility for scholarship. To be
eligible for a scholarship, a junior student seeking a degree
at an institution of higher education shall:
(1) meet residency requirements by meeting the
requirements to be classified as a legal resident of
Illinois as established by the program rules promulgated by
the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state
tuition policy of the governing board of the institution of
higher education in which the student is enrolled;
(2) meet achievement standards by meeting the
following criteria:
(A) earning a cumulative grade point average of at
least 3.0 at an institution of higher education at the
end of the semester in which the student has attempted
60 semester hours; and
(B) maintaining satisfactory academic progress in
a course of study in accordance with the standards and
practices used for federal Title IV programs by the
institution of higher education in which the student is

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enrolled; and
(3) meet enrollment standards by being admitted,
enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a
matriculated status.
Section 30. Senior eligibility for scholarship. To be
eligible for a scholarship, a senior student seeking a degree
at an institution of higher education shall:
(1) meet residency requirements by meeting the
requirements to be classified as a legal resident of
Illinois as established by the program rules promulgated by
the Commission, which shall be based upon the in-state
tuition policy of the governing board of the institution of
higher education in which the student is enrolled;
(2) meet achievement standards by meeting the
following criteria:
(A) meeting all achievement standards for
scholarship eligibility in his or her junior year;
(B) earning a cumulative grade point average of at
least 3.0 at an institution of higher education at the
end of the semester in which the student has attempted
90 semester hours; and
(C) maintaining satisfactory academic progress in
a course of study in accordance with the standards and
practices used for federal Title IV programs by the
institution of higher education in which the student is

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enrolled; and
(3) meet enrollment standards by being admitted,
enrolled, and classified as an undergraduate student in a
matriculated status.
Section 35. Cessation of eligibility.
(a) A student who fails to maintain a cumulative grade
point average of at least 3.0 at the end of the semester in
which the student has attempted 30 semester hours may attend
the next 30 semester hours without a scholarship. An otherwise
eligible student who regains a cumulative grade point average
of at least 3.0 at the end of the semester in which the student
has attempted 60 semester hours may requalify for a
scholarship.
(b) For students eligible for a scholarship under this Act,
no minimum number of hours of enrollment is required.
(c) Except as set out in subsection (d) of this Section, a
student may receive the scholarship until the first of these
events:
(1) the student has earned a baccalaureate degree; or
(2) the student has attempted at any institution of
higher education a total of 127 semester hours.
(d) A student enrolled in an undergraduate degree program
designed to be more than 127 semester hours in length is
eligible to receive the scholarship for the lesser of:
(1) a total of 150 attempted semester hours; or

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(2) the number of hours required for graduation if the
student has a cumulative grade point average of at least
3.0 after the semester in which the student attempted 127
semester hours.
Section 37. Condition for receipt of scholarship. As a
condition for receiving a scholarship under this Act, a student
must certify that he or she has applied for other federal and
State grants.
Section 40. Scholarship amount. Subject to the amounts
appropriated by the General Assembly, a scholarship awarded
under this Act shall include (i) for a public institution of
higher education, tuition and approved mandatory fees or (ii)
for a private institution of higher education, tuition and
approved mandatory fees in an amount not to exceed the maximum
amount allowed to be awarded each academic year under Section
35 of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. However, a
scholarship may be applied only to tuition and mandatory fees
not covered by any federal grant.
Section 990. Rules. The Commission is authorized to
promulgate rules not inconsistent with this Act relating to
scholarships described in this Act.
Section 995. Funding. The funding for the scholarships

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described in this Act shall be subject to annual appropriations
enacted by the General Assembly, which shall establish the
total amount of funding for these scholarships.
Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,