Bill Text: IL SB3154 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish the Adult Learner Flexible Education Grant Program to facilitate access to online postsecondary education for adults over the age of 25. Sets forth application requirements and eligibility. Provides that grants are applicable only to tuition and mandatory fees. Effective July 1, 2026.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2026-05-22 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB3154 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB3154-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026SB3154 Introduced 2/2/2026, by Sen. Christopher Belt SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 947/65.135 new
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to establish the Adult Learner Flexible Education Grant Program to facilitate access to online postsecondary education for adults over the age of 25. Sets forth application requirements and eligibility. Provides that grants are applicable only to tuition and mandatory fees. Effective July 1, 2026.
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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 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
amended by adding Section 65.135 as follows:
(110 ILCS 947/65.135 new)
Sec. 65.135. Adult Learner Flexible Education Grant
Program.
(a) In this Section:
"Qualified institution" means either a qualified
institution, as defined in Section 10, or a not-for-profit
postsecondary institution that is accredited by a regional
accrediting organization recognized by the Board of Higher
Education or the United States Department of Education and
that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The institution was originally chartered and is
currently operating as a not-for-profit entity.
(2) The institution's 3-year federal student loan
cohort default rate, as published by the United States
Department of Education, does not exceed 10%.
(3) The institution's average annual cost of full-time
tuition and mandatory fees over the preceding 4 academic
years is less than the average annual cost of full-time

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tuition and mandatory fees at public universities in this
State over the preceding 4 academic years, based on data
published by the United States Department of Education.
(4) The institution participates in the federal Pell
Grant program and in at least 2 of the following federal
student aid programs:
(A) The Federal Work-Study program.
(B) The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan
Program.
(C) The Federal Supplemental Educational
Opportunity Grant Program.
"Qualified program" means a bachelor's degree or
certificate program that requires at least 60% of instruction
and coursework to be delivered and completed online.
"Tuition and mandatory fees" means the customary charge
for instruction and the additional fixed fees charged for
specified purposes that are required generally of nongrant
students for each academic period for which a grant recipient
enrolls. The Commission may adopt rules concerning the
computation of tuition and mandatory fees for the purposes of
this definition.
(b) The Commission shall establish the Adult Learner
Flexible Education Grant Program to facilitate access to
online postsecondary education for adults over the age of 25.
(c) Beginning with the 2026-2027 academic year, subject to
appropriation, the Commission shall receive and consider

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applications for grant assistance under this Section. An
applicant is eligible for a grant under this Section if the
Commission finds that the applicant meets all of the following
qualifications:
(1) The applicant is over the age of 25.
(2) The applicant is accepted for enrollment at a
qualified institution to pursue a qualified program.
(3) The applicant is a resident of this State and a
permanent resident of the United States.
(4) The applicant has completed the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid.
(5) The applicant, in the absence of grant assistance,
will be deterred by financial considerations from
completing an educational program at the qualified
institution of the applicant's choice.
(6) The applicant has not already received a
baccalaureate degree.
(d) All grants under this Section are applicable only to
tuition and mandatory fees. The Commission shall determine the
grant amount for each student, which amount must not exceed
$5,000. The total amount of a grant awarded by the Commission
under this Section to an individual in any given fiscal year,
when added to other financial assistance awarded to that
individual for that fiscal year, may not exceed the cost of
attendance at the qualified institution at which the
individual is enrolled.

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(e) All applications for grants to be awarded under this
Section shall be made to the Commission in the form and manner
as prescribed by the Commission. The information required to
be set forth in the application shall be determined by the
Commission. The Commission shall require eligible applicants
to submit with their applications such supporting documents,
including financial documents, as the Commission deems
necessary.
(f) All grant funds distributed in accordance with this
Section shall be paid to the qualified institution on behalf
of the recipient. Grants are applicable toward 2 semesters or
equivalent academic terms of enrollment within an academic
year. Up to 3% of the appropriation for this program may be
used by the Commission for the costs of administering the
program. The Commission may establish a methodology for the
distribution of grants, prioritizing students as follows:
(1) Students who are ineligible for others forms of
State-based financial aid.
(2) Students who demonstrate the most financial need
based on the Student Aid Index of the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid form or any other methodology used by
the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form to
determine and prioritize student need.
(3) First-generation students.
(4) Students who meet any other criteria the
Commission deems necessary.

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(g) The Commission shall adopt rules for the effective
implementation of this Section.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2026.