Public Act 103-0435
 
HB2528 EnrolledLRB103 28443 RJT 54823 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
    Section 5. The State Finance Act is amended by adding 
Section 5.990 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
    Sec. 5.990. The Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund.
 
    Section 10. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended  
by adding Section 9.43 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 205/9.43 new)
    Sec. 9.43. Hunger-free campus grant program.
    (a) The Board shall establish a hunger-free campus grant 
program for the purposes set forth under subsection (b).
    (b)   The purpose of the hunger-free campus grant program 
shall be to provide grants to public institutions of higher 
education that have one or more campuses designated by the 
Board as hunger-free campuses under subsection (c). The 
purpose of the grant funding shall be to: 
        (1)  address student hunger; 
        (2)  leverage more sustainable solutions to address 
    basic food needs on campus; 
        (3)  raise awareness of services currently offered on 
    campus that address basic food needs; and 
        (4)  continue to build strategic partnerships at the 
    federal, State, and local levels to address food 
    insecurity among students. 
    (c)  In order to be designated as a hunger-free campus by 
the Board, a public institution of higher education shall: 
        (1)  establish a hunger task force that meets a minimum 
    of 3 times per academic year to set at least 2 goals with 
    action plans and that includes representatives from the 
    student body; 
        (2)  designate a staff member responsible for assisting 
    students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition 
    Assistance Program (SNAP); 
        (3)  provide options for students to utilize SNAP 
    benefits at campus stores or provide students with 
    information on establishments in the surrounding area of 
    campus where they can utilize SNAP benefits; 
        (4)  participate in an awareness day campaign activity 
    and plan a campus awareness event during the national 
    Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week; 
        (5)  provide at least one physical food pantry on 
    campus or enable students to receive food through a 
    separate, stigma-free arrangement with a local food pantry 
    or food bank near campus; 
        (6)  develop a student meal credit donation program or 
    designate a certain amount of money for free meal vouchers 
    for students; and 
        (7)  annually conduct a student survey on hunger, 
    developed by the Board, and submit the results of the 
    survey to the Board at a time prescribed by the Board for 
    inclusion in a comparative profile of each campus 
    designated as a hunger-free campus. Survey data on student 
    hunger shall be disaggregated by race, gender identity, 
    sexual orientation, parenting status, and financial aid 
    status of students. In the development of the survey, the 
    Board  may utilize any existing surveys designed to collect 
    information on food insecurity among students enrolled in 
    public institutions of higher education. 
    (d)  The Board shall allocate grant funding to each public 
institution of higher education that has one or more campuses 
designated by the Board as a hunger-free campus under 
subsection (c). The Board shall determine the amount of each 
grant that shall be used by the public institution of higher 
education to further address food insecurity among students 
enrolled in the public institution of higher education. The 
Board shall prioritize grants to public institutions of higher 
education with campuses that serve primarily minority and 
low-income students and have a high percentage of Pell Grant 
recipients. 
    (e)  The Board shall submit a report to the Governor and to 
the General Assembly no later than 2 years after the 
establishment of the hunger-free campus grant program. The 
report shall include, but not be limited to, the number and 
amount of the grant awards, the impact the hunger-free campus 
grant program has on establishing additional hunger-free 
campuses at public institutions of higher education and 
reducing the number of students experiencing food insecurity, 
disaggregated data on those students served reflecting the 
students' race, gender identity, sexual orientation, parenting 
status, and financial aid status, and recommendations on the 
expansion of the hunger-free campus grant program. 
    (f)  The Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund is created as a 
special fund in the State treasury. All money in the Fund shall 
be used, subject to appropriation,  by the Board for the 
hunger-free campus grant program. 
    (g) The Board may adopt any rules necessary to implement 
this Section. 
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.