Bill Text: IL HB3974 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act with respect to the Monetary Award Program. Makes changes concerning definitions. Provides that, beginning with the 2016-2017 academic year, an applicant who is a freshman dependent college student is required to achieve at least an ACT college entrance exam composite score of 18 or a 3.0 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in high school in order to be eligible for a grant.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-27 - House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB3974 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-HB3974-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
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6 | (110 ILCS 947/35)
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7 | Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
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8 | (a) In this Section: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | "Dependent college student" means a traditional student | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | attending an institution of higher learning who depends on his | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | or her family for financial support. Students who are not | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | presumed to be independent college students under this | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | subsection (a) are presumed, for the purposes of this Section, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | to be dependent on their families for financial support. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | "Independent college student" means a non-traditional | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | student attending an institution of higher learning who does | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | not depend on his or
her family for financial support. Students | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | who are orphans, 24 years of age or older, married, or in the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | military or who have
a child and contribute to more than half | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | of the child's support
are presumed, for the purposes of this | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | Section, not to
be dependent on their families for financial | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | support. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | "Tuition and other necessary fees" includes the customary |
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1 | charge for instruction and use of facilities in general and the | ||||||
2 | additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes, which are | ||||||
3 | required generally of nongrant recipients for each academic | ||||||
4 | period for which the
grant applicant actually enrolls, but does | ||||||
5 | not include fees
payable only once or breakage fees and other | ||||||
6 | contingent
deposits that are refundable in whole or in part. | ||||||
7 | The
Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with | ||||||
8 | this
Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation | ||||||
9 | of
tuition and other necessary fees. | ||||||
10 | (a-5) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider | ||||||
11 | applications
for grant assistance under this Section. Subject | ||||||
12 | to a separate
appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is | ||||||
13 | eligible for a grant under
this Section when the Commission | ||||||
14 | finds that the applicant:
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15 | (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or | ||||||
16 | permanent resident
of the United States; and
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17 | (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be | ||||||
18 | deterred by
financial considerations from completing an | ||||||
19 | educational program at the
qualified institution of his or | ||||||
20 | her choice ; and .
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21 | (3) beginning with the 2016-2017 academic year, with | ||||||
22 | respect to an applicant who is a freshman dependent college | ||||||
23 | student, has achieved at least an ACT college entrance exam | ||||||
24 | composite score of 18 or a 3.0 cumulative grade point | ||||||
25 | average on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent, in high school. | ||||||
26 | (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the |
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1 | student's application
and upon the Commission's finding that | ||||||
2 | the applicant:
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3 | (1) has remained a student in good standing;
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4 | (2) remains a resident of this State; and
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5 | (3) is in a financial situation that continues to | ||||||
6 | warrant assistance.
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7 | (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and | ||||||
8 | necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
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9 | amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of
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10 | the following amounts:
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11 | (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year | ||||||
12 | 2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal | ||||||
13 | year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser | ||||||
14 | amount as
the Commission finds to be available, during an | ||||||
15 | academic year;
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16 | (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters | ||||||
17 | tuition
and other necessary fees required generally by the | ||||||
18 | institution of all
full-time undergraduate students; or
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19 | (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be | ||||||
20 | appropriate in view of
the applicant's financial | ||||||
21 | resources.
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22 | Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for | ||||||
23 | students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c) | ||||||
24 | must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made | ||||||
25 | by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of | ||||||
26 | this subsection (c). |
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1 | "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section | ||||||
2 | include the
customary charge for instruction and use of | ||||||
3 | facilities in general, and the
additional fixed fees charged | ||||||
4 | for specified purposes, which are required
generally of | ||||||
5 | nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the | ||||||
6 | grant
applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees | ||||||
7 | payable only once or
breakage fees and other contingent | ||||||
8 | deposits which are refundable in whole or in
part. The | ||||||
9 | Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
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10 | Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of | ||||||
11 | tuition and other
necessary fees.
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12 | (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving | ||||||
13 | scholarship
assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary | ||||||
14 | award program
consideration under this Act after receiving a | ||||||
15 | baccalaureate degree or
the equivalent of 135 semester credit | ||||||
16 | hours of award payments.
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17 | (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to | ||||||
18 | be offered,
shall take into consideration past experience with | ||||||
19 | the rate of grant funds
unclaimed by recipients. The Commission | ||||||
20 | shall notify applicants that grant
assistance is contingent | ||||||
21 | upon the availability of appropriated funds.
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22 | (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an | ||||||
23 | important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate | ||||||
24 | access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary | ||||||
25 | education immediately following high school and for those who | ||||||
26 | pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly |
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1 | Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and | ||||||
2 | who are seeking to improve their economic position through | ||||||
3 | education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the | ||||||
4 | Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to | ||||||
5 | the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing | ||||||
6 | applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure | ||||||
7 | financial assistance even if applying later than the general | ||||||
8 | pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall | ||||||
9 | include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an | ||||||
10 | estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers | ||||||
11 | who apply after the Commission initially suspends award | ||||||
12 | announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior | ||||||
13 | to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of | ||||||
14 | this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the | ||||||
15 | federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998. | ||||||
16 | (f) The Commission may request appropriations for deposit | ||||||
17 | into the
Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund. Monies deposited | ||||||
18 | into the Monetary Award
Program Reserve Fund may be expended | ||||||
19 | exclusively for one purpose: to make
Monetary Award Program | ||||||
20 | grants to eligible students. Amounts on deposit in the
Monetary | ||||||
21 | Award Program Reserve Fund may not exceed 2% of the current | ||||||
22 | annual
State appropriation for the Monetary Award Program.
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23 | The purpose of the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund is | ||||||
24 | to enable the
Commission each year to assure as many students | ||||||
25 | as possible of their
eligibility for a Monetary Award Program | ||||||
26 | grant and to do so before commencement
of the academic year. |
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1 | Moneys deposited in this Reserve Fund are intended to
enhance | ||||||
2 | the Commission's management of the Monetary Award Program, | ||||||
3 | minimizing
the necessity, magnitude, and frequency of | ||||||
4 | adjusting award amounts and ensuring
that the annual Monetary | ||||||
5 | Award Program appropriation can be fully utilized.
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6 | (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and | ||||||
7 | make grants to
applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit | ||||||
8 | institutions in accordance with the
criteria set forth in this | ||||||
9 | Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at
such | ||||||
10 | for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
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11 | (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to | ||||||
12 | eligible first-time
freshmen and
first-time transfer | ||||||
13 | students who have attained an associate degree.
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14 | (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to | ||||||
15 | eligible freshmen
students,
transfer students who have | ||||||
16 | attained an associate degree, and students who
receive a | ||||||
17 | grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and | ||||||
18 | whose grants
are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
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19 | (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all | ||||||
20 | eligible students.
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21 | (Source: P.A. 98-967, eff. 8-15-14.)
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