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| 1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||||
| 5 | Tuition Reduction Act. | ||||||
| 6 | Section 5. Legislative intent. | ||||||
| 7 | (a) The General Assembly recognizes that this State's | ||||||
| 8 | higher education system plays a critical role in ensuring this | ||||||
| 9 | State's continued leadership role in driving economic | ||||||
| 10 | prosperity, innovation, and opportunity. By educating citizens | ||||||
| 11 | for living wage jobs, producing world-class research, and | ||||||
| 12 | helping to create vibrant communities, this State's | ||||||
| 13 | institutions of higher education form a foundational component | ||||||
| 14 | in ensuring prosperity for our citizens. | ||||||
| 15 | (b) The General Assembly also recognizes the importance of | ||||||
| 16 | prioritizing scarce resources for the core, front-line | ||||||
| 17 | services that higher education institutions provide, namely | ||||||
| 18 | instruction, research, and robust financial aid. During times | ||||||
| 19 | of economic downturn, policymakers must focus on those areas of | ||||||
| 20 | public service that have the most direct and immediate impact | ||||||
| 21 | on students. Keeping class sections open, attracting the best | ||||||
| 22 | professors and instructors, providing comprehensive support | ||||||
| 23 | services, and offering meaningful financial help to offset the | ||||||
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| 1 | costs of attending college must be the main concerns of | ||||||
| 2 | policymakers. It is for these reasons that the General Assembly | ||||||
| 3 | intends to refocus its commitment to direct aid to students and | ||||||
| 4 | continue efforts to make college more affordable.
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| 5 | Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
| 6 | "Student" means a full-time resident undergraduate student | ||||||
| 7 | enrolled at a university. | ||||||
| 8 | "University" means a public university located in this | ||||||
| 9 | State. | ||||||
| 10 | Section 15. Tuition grants.
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| 11 | (a) Beginning with the 2017-2018 academic year, each | ||||||
| 12 | university must reimburse a portion of the tuition charged to | ||||||
| 13 | students as provided in this subsection (a). Reimbursement | ||||||
| 14 | shall be in the form of a grant applied directly to a student's | ||||||
| 15 | financial aid account. To determine the per-pupil grant amount, | ||||||
| 16 | the university shall calculate the difference, if any, between | ||||||
| 17 | the current fiscal year's aggregate appropriations to the | ||||||
| 18 | university for operations and fiscal year 2002's aggregate | ||||||
| 19 | appropriations to the university for operations and divide that | ||||||
| 20 | amount by the number of students enrolled on the tenth day of | ||||||
| 21 | the previous academic year. Fifty percent of this calculation | ||||||
| 22 | then equals the per-pupil grant amount, to be awarded to | ||||||
| 23 | currently enrolled students to reduce their tuition costs. | ||||||
| 24 | However, if the current fiscal year's aggregate appropriations | ||||||
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| 1 | to the university for operations are equal to or less than | ||||||
| 2 | fiscal year 2002's aggregate appropriations for operations, | ||||||
| 3 | then the university is not required to award any grants under | ||||||
| 4 | this subsection (a) in a given academic year.
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| 5 | (b) On or before September 1, 2018 and on or before | ||||||
| 6 | September 1 each year thereafter, each university shall report | ||||||
| 7 | updated estimates of the total amount in grants awarded under | ||||||
| 8 | subsection (a) of this Section in an academic year to the | ||||||
| 9 | Governor and the appropriate committees of the General | ||||||
| 10 | Assembly.
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| 11 | (c) If the General Assembly increases funding for each | ||||||
| 12 | university for 4 consecutive years, the Board of Higher | ||||||
| 13 | Education shall report to the General Assembly on whether or | ||||||
| 14 | not this Act should be repealed.
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| 15 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 16 | becoming law.
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