SB2846 Engrossed LRB100 18458 KTG 33673 b
1		AN ACT concerning State government.
2		Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3		represented in the General Assembly:
4		Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5		amended by adding Section 65.105 as follows:
6		(110 ILCS 947/65.105 new)
7		Sec. 65.105. Grant for high risk students formerly in the
8		care of the Department of Children and Family Services.
9		(a) Subject to the appropriation of funds for this purpose,
10		the Commission shall each year receive and consider
11		applications for grant assistance under this Section. An
12		applicant is eligible for a grant under this Section if the
13		Commission finds that the applicant:
14		(1) is a youth for whom the Department of Children and
15		Family Services has court-ordered legal responsibility, a
16		youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, or a youth
17		formerly under care who has been adopted and was the
18		subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who has been
19		placed in private guardianship and was the subject of a
20		subsidized guardianship agreement;
21		(2) will have earned a high school diploma from an
22		accredited institution or a high school equivalency
23		certificate or will have met the State criteria for high

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1		school graduation, before the start of the academic year
2		for which the student is applying for the grant;
3		(3) if enrolling as a first-time freshman, has not yet
4		reached the age of 26; and
5		(4) will be, at the time of the payment of the grant,
6		enrolled in an Illinois public university or community
7		college.
8		(b) An applicant who is determined to be eligible for
9		assistance under this Section shall receive, subject to
10		appropriation, a grant to be applied to the applicant's tuition
11		and fees and paid directly to the public institution of higher
12		learning at which the applicant is enrolled. The amount of the
13		grant shall be sufficient to pay the institution's tuition and
14		fee costs that remain after applying any Monetary Award Program
15		grant and federal Pell Grant to the student's account.
16		(c) A grant awarded under this Section may be renewed for a
17		total of up to 5 years of full-time enrollment at a public
18		institution of higher learning, including summer terms, so long
19		as the student makes satisfactory progress toward completing
20		his or her undergraduate degree. The age requirement and 5-year
21		cap on grants under this Section shall be waived and
22		eligibility for a grant shall be extended for any applicant or
23		student whom the Commission determines was unable to enroll in
24		a public institution of higher learning or complete an academic
25		term because the applicant or student (i) was called into
26		active duty with the United States Armed Forces, (ii) was

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