Public Act 100-1015
 
SB2927 EnrolledLRB100 18942 AXK 34192 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
    Section 1. Legislative intent.  It is the intent of this Act 
to increase enrollment at public 4-year universities in this 
State by providing those universities with the option for 
additional funding through a new, merit-based and means-tested 
matching scholarship for Illinois students. It is also the 
intent of this Act that any public university participating in 
this program should, in its best efforts, attempt to delegate 
scholarship funds amongst a racially diverse range of students 
and not use a student's race, color, religion, sex (including 
gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy), national 
origin, age, disability, or genetic information to disqualify 
him or her from receiving funds under the program.
 
    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is 
amended  by changing Section 10 and adding Section 65.100 as 
follows:
 



    (110 ILCS 947/10)



    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act, and except to the extent 
that any of the
following words or phrases is specifically 
qualified by its context:

    "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance 
Commission created by this
Act.

    "Enrollment" means the establishment and maintenance of an 
individual's
status as a student in an institution of higher 
learning, regardless of the
terms used at the institution to 
describe that status.

    "Approved high school" means any public high school located 
in this
State; and any high school, located in this State or 
elsewhere (whether
designated as a high school, secondary 
school, academy, preparatory school,
or otherwise) which in the 
judgment of the State Superintendent of
Education provides a 
course of instruction at the secondary level and maintains

standards of instruction substantially equivalent to those of 
the public high
schools located in this State.

    "Institution of higher learning", "qualified institution", 
or "institution"
means an educational organization located in 
this State which


        (1) provides
at least an organized 2 year program of 
    collegiate grade in the liberal arts or
sciences, or both, 
    directly applicable toward the attainment of a 
    baccalaureate
degree or a program in health
education

    directly applicable toward the attainment of a 
    certificate, diploma, or an
associate degree;


        (2) either is


            (A) operated by this State, or


            (B) operated
publicly or privately, not for 
        profit, or


            (C) operated for profit, provided such for profit 
        organization


                (i) offers degree programs which have been 
            approved by the Board of
Higher Education for a 
            minimum of 3 years under the Academic Degree Act, 
            and


                (ii) enrolls a majority of its students in such 
            degree programs, and


                (iii) maintains an accredited status with the 
            Commission on
Institutions of Higher Education of 
            the North Central Association of Colleges
and 
            Schools;


        (3) in the judgment of the Commission
meets standards 
    substantially equivalent to those of comparable 
    institutions
operated by this State; and


        (4) if so required by the Commission, uses the
State as 
    its primary guarantor of student loans made under the 
    federal Higher
Education Act of 1965.

For otherwise eligible educational organizations which
provide 
academic programs for incarcerated students, the terms 
"institution of
higher learning", "qualified institutions", 
and "institution" shall
specifically exclude academic programs 
for incarcerated students.

    "Academic Year" means a 12 month period of time, normally 
but not
exclusively, from September 1 of any year through 
August 31 of the ensuing
year.

    "Full-time student" means any undergraduate student 
enrolled in 12 or
more semester or quarter hours of credit 
courses in any given semester or
quarter or in the equivalent 
number of units of registration as determined
by the 
Commission.

    "Part-time student" means any undergraduate student, other 
than a
full-time student, enrolled in 6 or more semester or 
quarter hours of
credit courses in any given semester or 
quarter or in the equivalent number
of units of registration as 
determined by the Commission.  Beginning with
fiscal year 1999, 
the Commission may, on a program by program basis, expand
this 
definition of "part-time student" to include students who 
enroll in less
than 6 semester or quarter hours of credit 
courses in any given semester or
quarter.

    "Public university" means any public 4-year university in 
this State. 
    "Public university campus" means any campus under the 
governance or supervision of a public university. 
(Source: P.A. 90-122, eff. 7-17-97; 91-250, eff. 7-22-99.)

 
    (110 ILCS 947/65.100 new)
    Sec. 65.100. AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program.
    (a) The General Assembly makes all of the following 
findings: 
        (1) Both access and affordability are important 
    aspects of the Illinois Public Agenda for College and 
    Career Success report.
        (2) This State is in the top quartile with respect to 
    the percentage of family income needed to pay for college.
        (3) Research suggests that as loan amounts increase, 
    rather than an increase in grant amounts, the probability 
    of college attendance decreases.
        (4) There is further research indicating that 
    socioeconomic status may affect the willingness of 
    students to use loans to attend college.
        (5) Strategic use of tuition discounting can decrease 
    the amount of loans that students must use to pay for 
    tuition.
        (6) A modest, individually tailored tuition discount 
    can make the difference in a student choosing to attend 
    college and enhance college access for low-income and 
    middle-income families.
        (7) Even if the federally calculated financial need for 
    college attendance is met, the federally determined 
    Expected Family Contribution can still be a daunting 
    amount.
        (8) This State is the second largest exporter of 
    students in the country.
        (9) When talented Illinois students attend 
    universities in this State, the State and those 
    universities benefit.
        (10) State universities in other states have adopted 
    pricing and incentives that allow many Illinois residents 
    to pay less to attend an out-of-state university than to 
    remain in this State for college.
        (11) Supporting Illinois student attendance at 
    Illinois public universities can assist in State efforts to 
    maintain and educate a highly trained workforce.
        (12) Modest tuition discounts that are individually 
    targeted and tailored can result in enhanced revenue for 
    public universities.
        (13) By increasing a public university's capacity to 
    strategically use tuition discounting, the public 
    university will be capable of creating enhanced tuition 
    revenue by increasing enrollment yields. 
    (b) In this Section: 
    "Eligible applicant" means a student from any high school 
in this State, whether or not recognized by the State Board of 
Education, who is engaged in a program of study that in due 
course will be completed by the end of the school year and who 
meets all of the qualifications and requirements under this 
Section. 
    "Tuition and other necessary fees" includes the customary 
charge for instruction and use of facilities in general and the 
additional fixed fees charged for specified purposes that are 
required generally of non-grant recipients for each academic 
period for which the grant applicant actually enrolls, but does 
not include fees payable only once or breakage fees and other 
contingent deposits that are refundable in whole or in part. 
The Commission may adopt, by rule not inconsistent with this 
Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of 
tuition and other necessary fees.
    (c) Beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, each public 
university may establish a merit-based scholarship pilot 
program known as the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program. Each year, 
the Commission shall receive and consider applications from 
public universities under this Section. Subject to 
appropriation and any tuition waiver limitation established by 
the Board of Higher Education, a public university campus may 
award a grant to a student under this Section if it finds that 
the applicant meets all of the following criteria: 
        (1) He or she is a resident of this State and a citizen 
    or eligible noncitizen  of the United States.
        (2) He or she files a Free Application for Federal 
    Student Aid and demonstrates financial need with a 
    household income no greater than 6 times the poverty 
    guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by 
    the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the 
    authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2).
        (3) He or she meets the minimum cumulative grade point 
    average or ACT or SAT college admissions test score, as 
    determined by the public university campus.
        (4) He or she is enrolled in a public university as an 
    undergraduate student on a full-time basis.
        (5) He or she has not yet received a baccalaureate 
    degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours.
        (6) He or she is not incarcerated.
        (7) He or she is not in default on any student loan or 
    does not owe a refund or repayment on any State or federal 
    grant or scholarship.
        (8) Any other reasonable criteria, as determined by the 
    public university campus. 
    (d) Each public university campus shall determine grant 
renewal criteria consistent with the requirements under this 
Section.
    (e) Each participating public university campus shall post 
on its Internet website criteria and eligibility requirements 
for receiving awards that use funds under this Section that 
includes a range in the sizes of these individual awards. The 
criteria and amounts must also be reported to the Commission 
and the Board of Higher Education, who shall post the 
information on their respective Internet websites. 
    (f) After enactment of an appropriation for this Program, 
the Commission shall determine an allocation of funds to each 
public university in an amount proportionate to the number of 
undergraduate students who are residents of this State and 
citizens or eligible noncitizens of the United States and who 
were enrolled at each public university campus in the previous 
academic year. All applications must be made to the Commission 
on or before a date determined by the Commission and on forms 
that the Commission shall provide to each public university 
campus. The form of the application and the information 
required shall be determined by the Commission and shall 
include, without limitation, the total public university 
campus funds used to match funds received from the Commission 
in the previous academic year under this Section, if any, the 
total enrollment of undergraduate students who are residents of 
this State from the  previous academic year, and any supporting 
documents as the Commission deems necessary. Each public 
university campus shall match the amount of funds received by 
the Commission with financial aid for eligible students.
    A public university campus is not required to claim its 
entire allocation.  The Commission shall make available to all 
public universities, on a date determined by the Commission, 
any unclaimed funds and the funds must be made available  to 
those public university campuses in the proportion determined 
under this subsection (f), excluding from the calculation those 
public university campuses not claiming their full 
allocations.
    Each public university campus may determine the award 
amounts for eligible students on an individual or broad basis, 
but, subject to renewal eligibility, each renewed award may not 
be less than the amount awarded to the eligible student in his 
or her first year attending the public university campus. 
Notwithstanding this limitation, a renewal grant may be reduced 
due to changes in the student's cost of attendance, including, 
but not limited to, if a student reduces the number of credit 
hours in which he or she is enrolled, but remains a full-time 
student, or switches to a course of study with a lower tuition 
rate.
    An eligible applicant awarded grant assistance under this 
Section is eligible to receive other financial aid.  Total grant 
aid to the student from all sources may not exceed the total 
cost of attendance at the public university campus.
    (g) All money allocated to a public university campus under 
this Section may be used only for financial aid purposes for 
students attending the public university campus during the 
academic year, not including summer terms. Any funds received 
by a public university campus under this Section that are not 
granted to students in the academic year for which the funds 
are received must be refunded to the Commission before any new 
funds are received by the public university campus for the next 
academic year. 
    (h) Each public university campus that establishes a 
Program under this Section must annually report to the 
Commission, on or before a date determined by the Commission, 
the number of undergraduate students enrolled at that campus 
who are residents of this State.
    (i) Each public university campus must report to the 
Commission the total non-loan financial aid amount given by the 
public university campus to undergraduate students in fiscal 
year 2018. To be eligible to receive funds under the Program, a 
public university campus may not decrease the total amount of 
non-loan financial aid for undergraduate students to an amount 
lower than the total non-loan financial aid amount  given by the 
public university campus to undergraduate students in fiscal 
year 2018, not including any funds received from the Commission 
under this Section or any funds used to match grant awards 
under this Section.
    (j) On or before a date determined by the Commission, each 
public university campus that participates in the Program under 
this Section shall annually submit a report to the Commission 
with all of the following information: 
        (1) The Program's impact on tuition revenue and  
    enrollment goals and increase in access and affordability 
    at the public university campus.
        (2) Total funds received by the public university 
    campus under the Program.
        (3) Total non-loan financial aid awarded to 
    undergraduate students attending the public university 
    campus.
        (4) Total amount of funds matched by the public 
    university campus.
        (5) Total amount of funds refunded to the Commission by 
    the public university campus.
        (6) The percentage of total financial aid distributed 
    under the Program by the public university campus.
        (7) The total number of students receiving grants from 
    the public university campus under the Program and those 
    students' grade level, race, gender, income level, family 
    size, Monetary Award Program eligibility, Pell Grant 
    eligibility, and zip code of residence and the amount of 
    each grant award. This information shall include unit 
    record data on those students regarding variables 
    associated with the parameters of the public university's 
    Program, including, but not limited to, a student's ACT or 
    SAT college admissions test score, high school or 
    university cumulative grade point average, or program of 
    study. 
    On or before October 1, 2020 and annually on or before 
October 1 thereafter, the Commission shall submit a report with 
the findings under this subsection (j) and any other 
information regarding the AIM HIGH Grant Pilot Program to (i) 
the Governor, (ii) the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
(iii) the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, (iv) 
the President of the Senate, and (v) the Minority Leader of the 
Senate. The reports to the General Assembly shall be filed with 
the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of 
the Senate in electronic form only, in the manner that the 
Clerk and the Secretary shall direct. The Commission's report 
may not disaggregate data to a level that may disclose 
personally identifying information of individual students.
    The sharing and reporting of student data under this 
subsection (j) must be in accordance with the requirements 
under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 
1974 and the Illinois School Student Records Act. All parties 
must preserve the confidentiality of the information as 
required by law. The names of the grant recipients under this 
Section are not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of 
Information Act.
    Public university campuses that fail to submit a report 
under this subsection (j) or that fail to adhere to any other 
requirements under this Section may not be eligible for 
distribution of funds under the Program for the next academic 
year, but may be eligible for distribution of funds for each 
academic year thereafter. 
    (k) The Commission shall adopt rules to implement this 
Section.
    (l) This Section is repealed on October 1, 2024. 
 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.