Definitions

Definitions. As used in this Act: "Institution of higher education" or "institution" means any publicly or privately operated university, college, community college, business, technical, or vocational school, or other educational institution in this State offering degrees and instruction beyond the secondary school level. "Student experiencing homelessness" or "homeless student" means an individual enrolled in an institution who lacks or is at imminent risk of lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence or whose parent or legal guardian is unable or unwilling to provide shelter and care and includes a homeless individual as defined under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. For the purposes of this definition, the term "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" does not include residence in an institution of higher education's on-campus housing. "Student in care" means any person, regardless of age, who is or was under the care and legal custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, including youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a subsidized guardianship agreement. (Source: P.A. 102-83, eff. 8-1-22; 103-288, eff. 7-28-23.)