103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3740 Introduced , by Rep. Carol Ammons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 110 ILCS 947/10 110 ILCS 947/65.100 Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Removes provisions specifically excluding academic programs for incarcerated students from the definitions of "institution of higher learning", "qualified institution", and "institution". In provisions concerning the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program, removes the restriction that the applicant must not be incarcerated. LRB103 26178 RJT 52537 b A BILL FOR 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3740 Introduced , by Rep. Carol Ammons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 110 ILCS 947/10 110 ILCS 947/65.100 110 ILCS 947/10 110 ILCS 947/65.100 Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Removes provisions specifically excluding academic programs for incarcerated students from the definitions of "institution of higher learning", "qualified institution", and "institution". In provisions concerning the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program, removes the restriction that the applicant must not be incarcerated. LRB103 26178 RJT 52537 b LRB103 26178 RJT 52537 b A BILL FOR
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3740 Introduced , by Rep. Carol Ammons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 947/10 110 ILCS 947/65.100 110 ILCS 947/10 110 ILCS 947/65.100
110 ILCS 947/10
110 ILCS 947/65.100
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Removes provisions specifically excluding academic programs for incarcerated students from the definitions of "institution of higher learning", "qualified institution", and "institution". In provisions concerning the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program, removes the restriction that the applicant must not be incarcerated.
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A BILL FOR
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1 AN ACT concerning education.
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 changing Sections 10 and 65.100 as follows:
6 (110 ILCS 947/10)
7 Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act, and except to the
8 extent that any of the following words or phrases is
9 specifically qualified by its context:
10 "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
11 Commission created by this Act.
12 "Enrollment" means the establishment and maintenance of an
13 individual's status as a student in an institution of higher
14 learning, regardless of the terms used at the institution to
15 describe that status.
16 "Approved high school" means any public high school
17 located in this State; and any high school, located in this
18 State or elsewhere (whether designated as a high school,
19 secondary school, academy, preparatory school, or otherwise)
20 which in the judgment of the State Superintendent of Education
21 provides a course of instruction at the secondary level and
22 maintains standards of instruction substantially equivalent to
23 those of the public high schools located in this State.
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB3740 Introduced , by Rep. Carol Ammons SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 947/10 110 ILCS 947/65.100 110 ILCS 947/10 110 ILCS 947/65.100
110 ILCS 947/10
110 ILCS 947/65.100
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Removes provisions specifically excluding academic programs for incarcerated students from the definitions of "institution of higher learning", "qualified institution", and "institution". In provisions concerning the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program, removes the restriction that the applicant must not be incarcerated.
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A BILL FOR
110 ILCS 947/10
110 ILCS 947/65.100
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1 "Institution of higher learning", "qualified institution",
2 or "institution" means an educational organization located in
3 this State which
4 (1) provides at least an organized 2 year program of
5 collegiate grade in the liberal arts or sciences, or both,
6 directly applicable toward the attainment of a
7 baccalaureate degree or a program in health education
8 directly applicable toward the attainment of a
9 certificate, diploma, or an associate degree;
10 (2) either is
11 (A) operated by this State, or
12 (B) operated publicly or privately, not for
13 profit, or
14 (C) operated for profit, provided such for profit
15 organization
16 (i) offers degree programs which have been
17 approved by the Board of Higher Education for a
18 minimum of 3 years under the Academic Degree Act,
19 and
20 (ii) enrolls a majority of its students in
21 such degree programs, and
22 (iii) maintains an accredited status with the
23 Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of
24 the North Central Association of Colleges and
25 Schools;
26 (3) in the judgment of the Commission meets standards
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1 substantially equivalent to those of comparable
2 institutions operated by this State; and
3 (4) if so required by the Commission, uses the State
4 as its primary guarantor of student loans made under the
5 federal Higher Education Act of 1965.
6 For otherwise eligible educational organizations which provide
7 academic programs for incarcerated students, the terms
8 "institution of higher learning", "qualified institutions",
9 and "institution" shall specifically exclude academic programs
10 for incarcerated students.
11 "Academic year" means a 12 month period of time, normally
12 but not exclusively, from September 1 of any year through
13 August 31 of the ensuing year.
14 "Full-time student" means any undergraduate student
15 enrolled in 12 or more semester or quarter hours of credit
16 courses in any given semester or quarter or in the equivalent
17 number of units of registration as determined by the
18 Commission.
19 "Part-time student" means any undergraduate student, other
20 than a full-time student, enrolled in 6 or more semester or
21 quarter hours of credit courses in any given semester or
22 quarter or in the equivalent number of units of registration
23 as determined by the Commission. Beginning with fiscal year
24 1999, the Commission may, on a program by program basis,
25 expand this definition of "part-time student" to include
26 students who enroll in less than 6 semester or quarter hours of
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1 credit courses in any given semester or quarter.
2 "Public university" means any public 4-year university in
3 this State.
4 "Public university campus" means any campus under the
5 governance or supervision of a public university.
6 (Source: P.A. 100-587, eff. 6-4-18; 100-1015, eff. 8-21-18.)
7 (110 ILCS 947/65.100)
8 (Section scheduled to be repealed on October 1, 2024)
9 Sec. 65.100. AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program.
10 (a) The General Assembly makes all of the following
11 findings:
12 (1) Both access and affordability are important
13 aspects of the Illinois Public Agenda for College and
14 Career Success report.
15 (2) This State is in the top quartile with respect to
16 the percentage of family income needed to pay for college.
17 (3) Research suggests that as loan amounts increase,
18 rather than an increase in grant amounts, the probability
19 of college attendance decreases.
20 (4) There is further research indicating that
21 socioeconomic status may affect the willingness of
22 students to use loans to attend college.
23 (5) Strategic use of tuition discounting can decrease
24 the amount of loans that students must use to pay for
25 tuition.
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1 (6) A modest, individually tailored tuition discount
2 can make the difference in a student choosing to attend
3 college and enhance college access for low-income and
4 middle-income families.
5 (7) Even if the federally calculated financial need
6 for college attendance is met, the federally determined
7 Expected Family Contribution can still be a daunting
8 amount.
9 (8) This State is the second largest exporter of
10 students in the country.
11 (9) When talented Illinois students attend
12 universities in this State, the State and those
13 universities benefit.
14 (10) State universities in other states have adopted
15 pricing and incentives that allow many Illinois residents
16 to pay less to attend an out-of-state university than to
17 remain in this State for college.
18 (11) Supporting Illinois student attendance at
19 Illinois public universities can assist in State efforts
20 to maintain and educate a highly trained workforce.
21 (12) Modest tuition discounts that are individually
22 targeted and tailored can result in enhanced revenue for
23 public universities.
24 (13) By increasing a public university's capacity to
25 strategically use tuition discounting, the public
26 university will be capable of creating enhanced tuition
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1 revenue by increasing enrollment yields.
2 (b) In this Section:
3 "Eligible applicant" means a student from any high school
4 in this State, whether or not recognized by the State Board of
5 Education, who is engaged in a program of study that in due
6 course will be completed by the end of the school year and who
7 meets all of the qualifications and requirements under this
8 Section.
9 "Tuition and other necessary fees" includes the customary
10 charge for instruction and use of facilities in general and
11 the additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that
12 are required generally of non-grant recipients for each
13 academic period for which the grant applicant actually
14 enrolls, but does not include fees payable only once or
15 breakage fees and other contingent deposits that are
16 refundable in whole or in part. The Commission may adopt, by
17 rule not inconsistent with this Section, detailed provisions
18 concerning the computation of tuition and other necessary
19 fees.
20 (c) Beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, each
21 public university may establish a merit-based scholarship
22 pilot program known as the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program. Each
23 year, the Commission shall receive and consider applications
24 from public universities under this Section. Subject to
25 appropriation and any tuition waiver limitation established by
26 the Board of Higher Education, a public university campus may
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1 award a grant to a student under this Section if it finds that
2 the applicant meets all of the following criteria:
3 (1) He or she is a resident of this State and a citizen
4 or eligible noncitizen of the United States.
5 (2) He or she files a Free Application for Federal
6 Student Aid and demonstrates financial need with a
7 household income no greater than 6 times the poverty
8 guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by
9 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the
10 authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2). The household income of
11 the applicant at the time of initial application shall be
12 deemed to be the household income of the applicant for the
13 duration of the pilot program.
14 (3) He or she meets the minimum cumulative grade point
15 average or ACT or SAT college admissions test score, as
16 determined by the public university campus.
17 (4) He or she is enrolled in a public university as an
18 undergraduate student on a full-time basis.
19 (5) He or she has not yet received a baccalaureate
20 degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours.
21 (6) (Blank). He or she is not incarcerated.
22 (7) He or she is not in default on any student loan or
23 does not owe a refund or repayment on any State or federal
24 grant or scholarship.
25 (8) Any other reasonable criteria, as determined by
26 the public university campus.
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1 (d) Each public university campus shall determine grant
2 renewal criteria consistent with the requirements under this
3 Section.
4 (e) Each participating public university campus shall post
5 on its Internet website criteria and eligibility requirements
6 for receiving awards that use funds under this Section that
7 include a range in the sizes of these individual awards. The
8 criteria and amounts must also be reported to the Commission
9 and the Board of Higher Education, who shall post the
10 information on their respective Internet websites.
11 (f) After enactment of an appropriation for this Program,
12 the Commission shall determine an allocation of funds to each
13 public university in an amount proportionate to the number of
14 undergraduate students who are residents of this State and
15 citizens or eligible noncitizens of the United States and who
16 were enrolled at each public university campus in the previous
17 academic year. All applications must be made to the Commission
18 on or before a date determined by the Commission and on forms
19 that the Commission shall provide to each public university
20 campus. The form of the application and the information
21 required shall be determined by the Commission and shall
22 include, without limitation, the total public university
23 campus funds used to match funds received from the Commission
24 in the previous academic year under this Section, if any, the
25 total enrollment of undergraduate students who are residents
26 of this State from the previous academic year, and any
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1 supporting documents as the Commission deems necessary. Each
2 public university campus shall match the amount of funds
3 received by the Commission with financial aid for eligible
4 students.
5 A public university in which an average of at least 49% of
6 the students seeking a bachelor's degree or certificate
7 received a Pell Grant over the prior 3 academic years, as
8 reported to the Commission, shall match 20% of the amount of
9 funds awarded in a given academic year with non-loan financial
10 aid for eligible students. A public university in which an
11 average of less than 49% of the students seeking a bachelor's
12 degree or certificate received a Pell Grant over the prior 3
13 academic years, as reported to the Commission, shall match 60%
14 of the amount of funds awarded in a given academic year with
15 non-loan financial aid for eligible students.
16 A public university campus is not required to claim its
17 entire allocation. The Commission shall make available to all
18 public universities, on a date determined by the Commission,
19 any unclaimed funds and the funds must be made available to
20 those public university campuses in the proportion determined
21 under this subsection (f), excluding from the calculation
22 those public university campuses not claiming their full
23 allocations.
24 Each public university campus may determine the award
25 amounts for eligible students on an individual or broad basis,
26 but, subject to renewal eligibility, each renewed award may
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1 not be less than the amount awarded to the eligible student in
2 his or her first year attending the public university campus.
3 Notwithstanding this limitation, a renewal grant may be
4 reduced due to changes in the student's cost of attendance,
5 including, but not limited to, if a student reduces the number
6 of credit hours in which he or she is enrolled, but remains a
7 full-time student, or switches to a course of study with a
8 lower tuition rate.
9 An eligible applicant awarded grant assistance under this
10 Section is eligible to receive other financial aid. Total
11 grant aid to the student from all sources may not exceed the
12 total cost of attendance at the public university campus.
13 (g) All money allocated to a public university campus
14 under this Section may be used only for financial aid purposes
15 for students attending the public university campus during the
16 academic year, not including summer terms. Notwithstanding any
17 other provision of law to the contrary, any funds received by a
18 public university campus under this Section that are not
19 granted to students in the academic year for which the funds
20 are received may be retained by the public university campus
21 for expenditure on students participating in the Program or
22 students eligible to participate in the Program.
23 (h) Each public university campus that establishes a
24 Program under this Section must annually report to the
25 Commission, on or before a date determined by the Commission,
26 the number of undergraduate students enrolled at that campus
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1 who are residents of this State.
2 (i) Each public university campus must report to the
3 Commission the total non-loan financial aid amount given by
4 the public university campus to undergraduate students in the
5 2017-2018 academic year, not including the summer term. To be
6 eligible to receive funds under the Program, a public
7 university campus may not decrease the total amount of
8 non-loan financial aid it gives to undergraduate students, not
9 including any funds received from the Commission under this
10 Section or any funds used to match grant awards under this
11 Section, to an amount lower than the reported amount for the
12 2017-2018 academic year, not including the summer term.
13 (j) On or before a date determined by the Commission, each
14 public university campus that participates in the Program
15 under this Section shall annually submit a report to the
16 Commission with all of the following information:
17 (1) The Program's impact on tuition revenue and
18 enrollment goals and increase in access and affordability
19 at the public university campus.
20 (2) Total funds received by the public university
21 campus under the Program.
22 (3) Total non-loan financial aid awarded to
23 undergraduate students attending the public university
24 campus.
25 (4) Total amount of funds matched by the public
26 university campus.
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1 (5) Total amount of claimed and unexpended funds
2 retained by the public university campus.
3 (6) The percentage of total financial aid distributed
4 under the Program by the public university campus.
5 (7) The total number of students receiving grants from
6 the public university campus under the Program and those
7 students' grade level, race, gender, income level, family
8 size, Monetary Award Program eligibility, Pell Grant
9 eligibility, and zip code of residence and the amount of
10 each grant award. This information shall include unit
11 record data on those students regarding variables
12 associated with the parameters of the public university's
13 Program, including, but not limited to, a student's ACT or
14 SAT college admissions test score, high school or
15 university cumulative grade point average, or program of
16 study.
17 On or before October 1, 2020 and annually on or before
18 October 1 thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report
19 with the findings under this subsection (j) and any other
20 information regarding the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program to (i)
21 the Governor, (ii) the Speaker of the House of
22 Representatives, (iii) the Minority Leader of the House of
23 Representatives, (iv) the President of the Senate, and (v) the
24 Minority Leader of the Senate. The reports to the General
25 Assembly shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of
26 Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate in electronic
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1 form only, in the manner that the Clerk and the Secretary shall
2 direct. The Commission's report may not disaggregate data to a
3 level that may disclose personally identifying information of
4 individual students.
5 The sharing and reporting of student data under this
6 subsection (j) must be in accordance with the requirements
7 under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
8 1974 and the Illinois School Student Records Act. All parties
9 must preserve the confidentiality of the information as
10 required by law. The names of the grant recipients under this
11 Section are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of
12 Information Act.
13 Public university campuses that fail to submit a report
14 under this subsection (j) or that fail to adhere to any other
15 requirements under this Section may not be eligible for
16 distribution of funds under the Program for the next academic
17 year, but may be eligible for distribution of funds for each
18 academic year thereafter.
19 (k) The Commission shall adopt rules to implement this
20 Section.
21 (l) This Section is repealed on October 1, 2024.
22 (Source: P.A. 100-587, eff. 6-4-18; 100-1015, eff. 8-21-18;
23 100-1183, eff. 4-4-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-613, eff.
24 6-1-20; 101-643, eff. 6-18-20; 101-654, eff. 3-8-21.)
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