ISAC’s Davis Praises Stimulus Plan Benefits to Illinois Students & Families

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes education assistance

CHICAGO - Illinois Student Assistance Commission Executive Director Andrew Davis offered praise for the $787 billion economic stimulus bill signed Tuesday by President Barack Obama, citing its provisions for education funding.

The new law provides roughly $17 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant award and eliminates the program's shortfall from passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) in 2007, nearly $14 billion for a temporary, partially refundable tax credit and $200 million for the Federal Work Study program.

“We salute this legislation benefiting our nation’s students,” said Executive Director Andrew Davis. “Here in Illinois, we recognize that investing in our students today results in a better future for all of us.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) increases college affordability for seven million students - including approximately 250,000 Pell recipients in Illinois--by funding the shortfall in Pell Grants and increasing the maximum award level by $500 for 2009-10. The funding will increase the maximum Pell to $5,350 in 2009-10. Pell is the federal partner of the State of Illinois’ Monetary Award Program (MAP). Together, this federal-state partnership provides individual grants in excess of  $10,000 per year to the highest need students.

The Act also provides a new higher education tax cut that could impact approximately 800,000 Illinois students and families and nearly four million nationwide. The allocation of nearly $14 billion temporarily replaces the Hope Scholarship with a new $2,500 tax credit - the American Opportunity Tax Credit - for tuition and other expenses, including textbooks. The new credit will benefit lower-income families who do not pay taxes because 40 percent ($1,000) is refundable. It is also available to families with higher incomes as it is phased out for people making $80,000 ($160,000 for families with a joint income).

Davis continued:  “It is refreshing to see changes in the tax code that benefit both lower-income and middle-income families.”

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) provides students of all ages and backgrounds with the resources and support to obtain financial aid for higher education. This spring, ISAC has committed to participate in 282 such workshops and presentations throughout the state.

A state agency, ISAC has paved the path to post-secondary education with innovative programs for more than 50 years. Last year alone, ISAC continued its mission to make college affordable for Illinois students by issuing 185,000 grants and scholarships totaling more than $448 million. 

The Commission coordinates educational funding with student loans, as a loan guarantor and via numerous public programs such as the successful Monetary Award Program (MAP), the Illinois Veteran Grant and College Illinois!(SM) the Commission’s groundbreaking 529 prepaid college tuition program. Students and families have free access to a wealth of financial aid and college planning information at ISAC’s family of websites available at: http://www.knowhow2goillinois.org/.