Bill Text: IL SB1311 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year and subject to appropriation, provides that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall, each year, receive and consider applications for grant assistance under a pilot program to be known as the Growing Regional Opportunities for Work (GROW) Illinois Grant Pilot Program. Provides that the Commission may award grants under the program to applicants who are enrolled or plan to enroll at a public community college participating in the program in a certificate, license, or degree program to work in a high-demand industry, among other qualifications. Sets forth provisions concerning grant renewal, posting requirements, the allocation of funding, the application process, matching and unclaimed funds, the grant amount, reporting requirements, and rulemaking. Repeals the provisions on October 1, 2029. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2023-03-10 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB1311 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB1311-Introduced.html


103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB1311

Introduced 2/6/2023, by Sen. Chapin Rose

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 947/65.120 new

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year and subject to appropriation, provides that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall, each year, receive and consider applications for grant assistance under a pilot program to be known as the Growing Regional Opportunities for Work (GROW) Illinois Grant Pilot Program. Provides that the Commission may award grants under the program to applicants who are enrolled or plan to enroll at a public community college participating in the program in a certificate, license, or degree program to work in a high-demand industry, among other qualifications. Sets forth provisions concerning grant renewal, posting requirements, the allocation of funding, the application process, matching and unclaimed funds, the grant amount, reporting requirements, and rulemaking. Repeals the provisions on October 1, 2029. Effective immediately.
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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,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by adding Section 65.120 as follows:
6 (110 ILCS 947/65.120 new)
7 Sec. 65.120. GROW Illinois Grant Pilot Program.
8 (a) In this Section:
9 "Eligible applicant" means a student or prospective
10student enrolled at a participating public community college
11in this State who has yet to receive a certificate, license, or
12degree to work in a high-demand industry.
13 "High-demand industry" means an industry identified by a
14public community college, in coordination with local
15employers, that is growing and where job placement is high.
16 "Tuition and other necessary fees" includes the customary
17charge for instruction and use of facilities in general and
18the additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that
19are required generally of non-grant recipients for each
20academic period for which the grant applicant actually
21enrolls, but does not include fees payable only once or
22breakage fees and other contingent deposits that are
23refundable in whole or in part.

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1 (b) Beginning with the 2024-2025 academic year, subject to
2a separate appropriation made for such purpose, the Commission
3shall, each year, receive and consider applications for grant
4assistance under a pilot program to be known as the Growing
5Regional Opportunities for Work (GROW) Illinois Grant Pilot
6Program. The Commission may award a grant under this Section
7to an eligible applicant if the Commission finds that the
8applicant meets all of the following qualifications:
9 (1) The applicant is a resident of this State and a
10 citizen or eligible noncitizen of the United States.
11 (2) The applicant has not yet received a certificate,
12 license, or degree to work in a high-demand industry.
13 (3) The applicant is not incarcerated.
14 (4) The applicant is not in default on any student
15 loan.
16 (5) The applicant is enrolled or plans to enroll at a
17 public community college participating in the program in a
18 certificate, license, or degree program to work in a
19 high-demand industry.
20 (6) Any other reasonable criteria, as determined by
21 the participating public community college.
22 (c) Each community college participating in the program
23shall determine grant renewal criteria consistent with this
24Section.
25 (d) Each participating community college shall post on its
26Internet website the criteria and eligibility requirements to

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1receive an award of grant assistance under this Section. The
2information posted on the website must include the range of
3the amount of grant assistance that may be awarded to a
4qualified student. The criteria, eligibility requirements, and
5the amounts of the grant assistance available to students also
6must be reported to the Commission and the Illinois Community
7College Board. The Commission and the Illinois Community
8College Board shall post this information on their respective
9Internet websites.
10 (e) Subject to appropriation, the Commission shall
11determine the allocation of funds available to each
12participating community college. The Commission shall allocate
13to the community college an amount proportional to the number
14of students who (i) are residents of this State, (ii) are
15citizens or eligible noncitizens of the United States, and
16(iii) were enrolled at the community college in the previous
17academic year.
18 (f) Applications must be made to the Commission on or
19before a date determined by the Commission and on forms that
20the Commission shall provide to each participating community
21college. The form of the application and the information
22required shall be determined by the Commission. The
23information shall include, without limitation:
24 (1) the total public community college funds used to
25 match funds received in the previous academic year from
26 the Commission under this Section;

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1 (2) the total number of students enrolled in the
2 previous academic year who are residents of this State;
3 and
4 (3) any supporting documents that the Commission deems
5 necessary.
6 (g) Each participating community college shall match the
7amount of funds received from the Commission with financial
8assistance for qualified students. The community college is
9not required to claim its entire allocation.
10 (h) On a date determined by the Commission, the Commission
11shall make available to all participating community colleges
12the amount of unclaimed funds, if any. The unclaimed funds
13must be made available to those participating community
14colleges in the proportion determined under subsection (e),
15but must exclude from the calculation those participating
16community colleges that are not claiming their full
17allocations.
18 (i) Each participating community college may determine the
19award amounts for qualified students on a per-student or
20collective basis. Subject to renewal eligibility, each renewal
21grant award may not be less than the amount awarded to the
22qualified student in the student's prior attendance at the
23participating community college under this Section.
24Notwithstanding this limitation, a renewal grant award may be
25reduced due to changes in the student's cost of attendance,
26including, but not limited to, if the student (i) reduces the

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1number of credit hours, (ii) changes the course of study in
2which the student is enrolled, or (iii) switches to a course of
3study with a lower tuition and fee rate. If an eligible
4applicant awarded grant assistance under this Section is
5eligible to receive other financial aid, the total grant aid
6to the student from all sources may not exceed the total cost
7of the course of study attendance at the participating
8community college in which the student is enrolled.
9 (j) All money allocated to a public community college
10under this Section may be used only for financial assistance
11purposes for students attending the public community college.
12Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
13any funds received by a public community college under this
14Section that are not awarded to students in the academic year
15for which the funds are received may be retained by the public
16community college for expenditure on students participating in
17the program or students eligible to participate in the
18program.
19 (k) Each participating community college must annually
20report to the Commission, on or before a date determined by the
21Commission, the number of students enrolled at that college
22who are residents of this State.
23 (l) Nothing in this Section prohibits a public community
24college from using funds raised to be used as matching funds.
25 (m) On or before a date determined by the Commission, each
26participating community college shall annually submit a report

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1to the Commission with all of the following information:
2 (1) The program's impact on tuition revenue and
3 enrollment goals and access and affordability at the
4 community college.
5 (2) Total funds received by the community college
6 under the program.
7 (3) Total amount of funds matched by the community
8 college.
9 (4) Total amount of claimed and unexpended funds
10 retained by the community college.
11 (5) The total number of students receiving grants from
12 the community college under the program, the students'
13 program of study, race, gender, income level, family size,
14 and zip code of residence, and the amount of each grant
15 award. This information shall include unit record data on
16 those students regarding variables associated with the
17 parameters of the program.
18 (n) On or before October 1, 2025 and annually thereafter,
19the Commission shall submit a report with the information
20under subsection (m) and any other information regarding the
21program to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of
22Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of
23Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Minority
24Leader of the Senate. The Commission's report may not
25disaggregate data to a level that may disclose personally
26identifying information of individual students.

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1 (o) The sharing and reporting of student data under this
2Section must be in accordance with the requirements of the
3federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. All
4parties must preserve the confidentiality of the information
5as required by law. The names of the grant recipients under
6this Section are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom
7of Information Act. Public community colleges that fail to
8submit a report under subsection (m) or that fail to adhere to
9any other requirements under this Section may not be eligible
10for distribution of funds under the program for the next
11academic year, but may be eligible for distribution of funds
12for each academic year thereafter.
13 (p) The Commission may adopt any rules necessary to
14implement this Section, including rules concerning the
15computation of tuition and other necessary fees.
16 (q) This Section is repealed on October 1, 2029.
17 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
18becoming law.
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