Bill Text: IL HB2528 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-08-04 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0435 [HB2528 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB2528-Engrossed.html

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

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

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designate a certain amount of money for free meal vouchers
for students; and
(7) annually conduct a student survey on hunger,
developed by the Board, and submit the results of the
survey to the Board at a time prescribed by the Board for
inclusion in a comparative profile of each campus
designated as a hunger-free campus. Survey data on student
hunger shall be disaggregated by race, gender identity,
sexual orientation, parenting status, and financial aid
status of students. In the development of the survey, the
Board may utilize any existing surveys designed to collect
information on food insecurity among students enrolled in
public institutions of higher education.
(d) The Board shall allocate grant funding to each public
institution of higher education that has one or more campuses
designated by the Board as a hunger-free campus under
subsection (c). 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. 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.
(e) The Board shall submit a report to the Governor and to
the General Assembly no later than 2 years after the

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