HB 5463 Illinois House · 104th Regular Session

SOCIAL WORK/SCH COUNSEL LOAN

Summary

Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Changes the name of the School and Municipal Social Work Shortage Loan Repayment Program to the Social Worker and School Counselor Shortage Loan Repayment Program. Allows a school counselor to apply for the Program. Provides that the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shall award a grant of up to $8,000 (rather than $6,500) per year for a maximum of 4 years to each qualified applicant. Provides that a grant shall be used for repayment of the recipient's educational loan instead of the Commission encouraging the recipient to use the grant to repay the recipient's educational loan. Makes other and conforming changes. Effective July 1, 2026.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Apr 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Apr 10, 2026 Last action Apr 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Apr 9, 2026

MINOR

The bill was updated from its introduced version to its engrossed version, reflecting final legislative approval. The substantive policy content remains focused on expanding a loan repayment program to include school counselors alongside social workers, increasing the annual grant amount to $8,000, and clarifying that grants must be used for loan repayment rather than just being encouraged for that purpose.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include school counselors as eligible recipients of the loan repayment grant, in addition to school social workers.

FISCAL

The maximum annual grant amount was increased from $6,500 to $8,000.

REQUIREMENT

The language was changed to mandate that grant funds be used for loan repayment, removing the previous phrasing that only encouraged recipients to use the funds for this purpose.

TECHNICAL

The document title was updated to reflect the bill's status as 'Engrossed' rather than 'Introduced', and page headers were adjusted to match the final version.

Floor votes · House Apr 9, 2026

How they voted

74–20

Passed · 22 other

Total votes 116

Apr 9, 2026

D Democratic76

65 Yea 11

85% Yea

R Republican40

9 Yea 20 Nay 11

50% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 16, 2026

Committee

Referred to Assignments

upper

Apr 10, 2026

Introduced

Arrive in Senate

upper

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third Reading - Short Debate - Passed 077-020-000

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Do Pass / Short Debate Higher Education Committee; 008-002-000

lower

Mar 18, 2026

Committee

Assigned to Higher Education Committee

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Rules Committee

lower

2 primary · 6 co-sponsors