IL HB3974

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act to establish new eligibility requirements for the Monetary Award Program beginning with the 2016-2017 academic year.

Requires freshman dependent college students to achieve either an ACT composite score of at least 18 or a 3.0 cumulative high school grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) to qualify for grant assistance.

Defines "dependent college student" as a traditional student attending an institution of higher learning who depends on family for financial support, and "independent college student" as a non-traditional student who does not depend on family support.

Requires the Commission to give additional consideration to dislocated workers during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years to allow them an opportunity to secure financial assistance even if applying later than the general applicant pool.

Moves the definition of "tuition and other necessary fees" from subsection (c) to subsection (a) as part of the definitional section.