Bill Text: IL SB2324 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to implement and administer a program, beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, to award College Promise grants to Illinois residents seeking an associate degree, certificate, or diploma from an institution of higher learning. Sets forth the terms and conditions of the program. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB2324 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB2324-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 SB2324 Introduced 1/8/2020, by Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
110 ILCS 947/23 new
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to implement and administer a program, beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, to award College Promise grants to Illinois residents seeking an associate degree, certificate, or diploma from an institution of higher learning. Sets forth the terms and conditions of the program. Effective immediately.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
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 23 as follows:
(110 ILCS 947/23 new)
Sec. 23. College Promise program.
(a) In this Section:
"Continuous enrollment" means a student has attended
classes in the fall and spring semester of a single academic
year; enrollment in summer semester or intersession terms is
not required.
"Student aid" means scholarships and grants, other than a
College Promise grant, awarded to a student from any source
that does not require repayment; "student aid" does not include
student loans and work-study awards.
(b) The Commission shall implement and administer a
program, beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, to award
College Promise grants to all eligible Illinois residents
seeking an associate degree, certificate, or diploma from an
institution. The following terms and conditions shall apply to
the program:
(1) To be eligible for a grant, a student must be

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admitted to and enrolled full-time, as an Illinois
resident, in an institution in the fall term following
graduation from an approved high school or after obtaining
a high school equivalency certificate, provided that the
student obtains the high school equivalency certificate
prior to the student reaching 19 years of age. Exceptions
to initial enrollment may be made for extenuating
circumstances as provided in rules adopted by the
Commission.
(2) Students applying for a grant shall complete the
College Promise grant application in their initial year of
enrollment. Students shall complete the Free Application
for Federal Student Aid each academic year in which they
seek to receive a grant.
(3) To continue to receive a grant, a student must
maintain Illinois residency, as well as satisfactory
academic progress as determined by rules adopted by the
Commission.
(4) Grant recipients shall participate in mentoring
and community service programs under rules adopted by the
Commission.
(5) Each academic year, subject to appropriation, a
grant shall be equal to the cost of tuition and mandatory
fees at the institution attended less all other student
aid. Student aid shall be credited first to the student's
tuition and mandatory fees.

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(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (5) of this subsection
(b), the amount of the grant at a public university or
private institution may not exceed the average cost of
tuition and mandatory fees at public community colleges.
(7) A student awarded a grant who has an approved
medical or personal leave of absence from an institution
may continue to receive the grant upon resuming the
student's education at an institution so long as the
student continues to meet all applicable eligibility
requirements under this Section and as adopted by the
Commission. The total of all approved leaves of absence may
not exceed 6 months.
(8) A student is eligible for a grant until the
occurrence of the first of the following events:
(A) the student has earned an associate degree,
certificate, or diploma; or
(B) the sum of the number of years the student has
attended an institution, exclusive of approved leaves
of absence, equals 2 and one-half years from the date
of the student's initial enrollment at an institution.
(9) Except for a medical or personal leave of absence,
as approved by an institution, a student awarded a grant
under this Section shall maintain continuous enrollment at
an institution.
(c) In awarding grants under this Section, the Commission
shall, by rule, develop the selection and renewal criteria for

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students.