Amends the State Universities Civil Service Act. Provides that nothing in the Act or any rules adopted under the Act prevents the parties to a collective bargaining agreement from agreeing to a provision that enhances employee rights. Effective immediately.
Creates the Public University Direct Admission Program Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2027-2028 academic year, the Board of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and the State Board of Education, shall establish and administer a direct admission program. Requires each public university in the direct admission program to identify and provide its grade point average standards for general admission for first time admission and for transfer students to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission by March 1 of each year. Provides that, beginning July 1, 2026 and each July 1 thereafter, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall use data collected from school districts to determine which students meet the standards for general admission and provide the data to the Board of Higher Education. Provides that, beginning with the 2027-2028 academic year, the Board of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the State Board of Education, shall develop, in consultation with the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a preselection outreach campaign to encourage qualifying State high school juniors and seniors to apply to the University of Illinois at Chicago or the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Requires the Board of Higher Education to submit a report on the direct admission program and the preselection outreach campaign to the Governor and General Assembly by August 1, 2029 and each August 1 thereafter. Amends the School Code. Requires a school board to provide access to high school student directory information and each student's email address and grade point average to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and each public institution of higher education for the purpose of informing students of educational and career opportunities.
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Creates the Developmental Promise Program to remove barriers to enrollment, academic persistence, and certificate or degree completion for students who need to complete developmental coursework. Provides that, beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year, each institution of higher education in the State shall provide financial assistance to a qualifying student for the remaining balance of the student's total cost of attendance in excess of the amount of any private, State, or federal financial assistance received by the qualifying student during the first 132 semester credit hours or 198 quarter credit hours that the qualifying student is enrolled in the Developmental Assistance Program. Sets forth requirements for qualified students to receive the remaining balance of financial assistance. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and institutions of higher learning to adopt rules and policies for the administration of the Program.
Amends the University of Illinois Act. Provides that the Board of Trustees shall distribute the lump sum appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to each campus of the university in a given fiscal year on a per-student basis based on the previous academic year's enrollment at that campus, as reported to the Board of Higher Education.
Amends the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code. Provides that, by no later than the beginning of a student's third year of high school or by the student's 16th birthday, whichever occurs first, the transition planning process must include a consideration of whether the student is a candidate for graduation. Requires this process to involve discussions with the student's individualized education program team, including the parent and the student. Provides that the discussions must address the implications of graduating with a regular diploma, particularly how it affects the student's right to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Effective immediately.
Creates the Historical Cost of Attendance Disclosure Act. Requires each public or private college or university to post its cost of attendance on its website for each of the 10 academic years immediately preceding the effective date of the Act and for every academic year thereafter. Requires the posted cost of attendance to delineate which expenses are included in the Internal Revenue Service's Form 1098-T and which expenses are not included in Form 1098-T.
Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Provides that any person who has served at least one year in the Army Reserves and who possesses all necessary entrance requirements shall, upon application and proper proof, be awarded a grant to the State-controlled university or community college of his or her choice, consisting of exemption from tuition and fees for not more than the equivalent of 4 years of full-time enrollment in relation to his or her course of study at that State-controlled university or community college while he or she is a member of the Army Reserves. Renames the National Guard and Naval Militia Grant Fund to the National Guard, Naval Militia, and Army Reserves Grant Fund. Makes a conforming change in the State Finance Act.
Makes appropriations for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, as follows: Other State Funds $4,349,000.
Amends the Transportation Article of the School Code. Provides that each school board may provide free transportation for any pupil residing within a one-half mile (rather than one and one-half miles) from the school attended where conditions are such that walking, either to or from the school to which a pupil is assigned for attendance or to or from a pick-up point or bus stop, constitutes a serious hazard to the safety of the pupil due to either vehicular traffic or rail crossings or a course or pattern of criminal activity.
Makes appropriations for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, as follows: General Funds $831,447,600; Other State Funds $30,180,000; Federal Funds $59,461,100; Total $921,088,700.
