Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie
Filed: 5/23/2014
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1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 2729
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 2729 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||
5 | 3-15.12 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/3-15.12) (from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12)
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7 | Sec. 3-15.12. High school equivalency testing program.
The
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8 | The regional
superintendent of schools shall make available for | ||||||
9 | qualified individuals
residing within the region a High School | ||||||
10 | Equivalency Testing Program.
For that purpose the regional | ||||||
11 | superintendent alone or with other
regional superintendents | ||||||
12 | may establish and supervise a testing center or
centers to | ||||||
13 | administer the secure forms of the high school level Test of
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14 | General Educational Development to qualified persons. Such | ||||||
15 | centers
shall be under the supervision of the regional | ||||||
16 | superintendent in whose
region such centers are located, |
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1 | subject to the approval
of the
President of the Illinois | ||||||
2 | Community College Board.
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3 | An individual is eligible to apply to the regional | ||||||
4 | superintendent of schools
for the region in which he or she
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5 | resides if he or she is: (a) a person who is 17 years
of age or | ||||||
6 | older, has maintained residence in the State of Illinois,
and | ||||||
7 | is
not a high school graduate; (b)
a person who is successfully | ||||||
8 | completing an
alternative education program under Section | ||||||
9 | 2-3.81, Article 13A,
or Article 13B; or (c) a
person who is
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10 | enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the Illinois | ||||||
11 | National
Guard.
For purposes of this Section, residence is that | ||||||
12 | abode which the applicant
considers his or her home. Applicants | ||||||
13 | may provide as sufficient proof of such
residence and as an | ||||||
14 | acceptable form of identification a driver's license, valid | ||||||
15 | passport, military ID, or other form of government-issued | ||||||
16 | national or foreign identification that shows the applicant's | ||||||
17 | name, address, date of birth, signature, and photograph or | ||||||
18 | other acceptable identification as may be allowed by law or as | ||||||
19 | regulated by the Illinois Community College Board. Such | ||||||
20 | regional superintendent shall determine if the
applicant meets | ||||||
21 | statutory and regulatory state standards. If qualified the
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22 | applicant shall at the time of such application pay a fee | ||||||
23 | established by the
Illinois Community College Board, which fee | ||||||
24 | shall be paid into a special
fund
under the control and | ||||||
25 | supervision of the regional superintendent. Such moneys
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26 | received by the regional superintendent shall be used, first, |
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1 | for the
expenses incurred
in administering and scoring the | ||||||
2 | examination, and next for other educational
programs that are | ||||||
3 | developed and designed by the regional superintendent of
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4 | schools to assist those who successfully complete the high | ||||||
5 | school level test of
General Education Development in | ||||||
6 | furthering their academic development or
their ability to | ||||||
7 | secure and retain gainful employment, including programs for
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8 | the competitive award based on test scores of college or adult | ||||||
9 | education
scholarship grants or similar educational | ||||||
10 | incentives. Any excess moneys shall
be paid into the institute | ||||||
11 | fund.
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12 | Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing | ||||||
13 | standards as
established by the
Illinois Community College | ||||||
14 | Board shall be
notified in writing by the regional | ||||||
15 | superintendent and shall be
issued a high school equivalency | ||||||
16 | certificate on the forms provided by the
Illinois Community | ||||||
17 | College Board. The regional superintendent shall
then certify | ||||||
18 | to the Illinois Community College Board
the score of the | ||||||
19 | applicant and such other and additional information
that may be | ||||||
20 | required by the Illinois Community College Board. The
moneys | ||||||
21 | received therefrom shall be used in the same manner as provided
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22 | for in this Section.
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23 | Any applicant who has attained the age of 17 years and | ||||||
24 | maintained
residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high | ||||||
25 | school graduate, any person who has enrolled in a youth | ||||||
26 | education program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard, or |
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1 | any person who has successfully completed
an
alternative | ||||||
2 | education program under Section 2-3.81,
Article 13A, or Article | ||||||
3 | 13B is eligible to apply for a high school equivalency
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4 | certificate (if he or she meets the requirements prescribed by | ||||||
5 | the Illinois Community College Board) upon showing evidence | ||||||
6 | that he or she has completed, successfully, the high
school | ||||||
7 | level General Educational Development Tests, administered by | ||||||
8 | the United
States Armed Forces Institute, official GED Centers | ||||||
9 | established in other
states, or at Veterans' Administration | ||||||
10 | Hospitals or the office of the State
Superintendent of | ||||||
11 | Education administered for the Illinois State Penitentiary
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12 | System and the Department of Corrections. Such applicant shall | ||||||
13 | apply to the
regional superintendent of the region wherein he | ||||||
14 | has maintained residence, and
upon payment of a fee established | ||||||
15 | by the Illinois Community College Board
the regional | ||||||
16 | superintendent shall issue a high school
equivalency | ||||||
17 | certificate, and immediately thereafter certify to the | ||||||
18 | Illinois Community College Board the score of the applicant and | ||||||
19 | such other and
additional information as may be required by the | ||||||
20 | Illinois Community College Board.
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21 | Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any | ||||||
22 | applicant who has
been out of school for at least one year may | ||||||
23 | request the regional
superintendent of schools to administer | ||||||
24 | the restricted GED test upon
written request of: The director | ||||||
25 | of a program who certifies to the Chief
Examiner of an official | ||||||
26 | GED center that the applicant has completed a
program of |
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1 | instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the
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2 | Postal Service Academy or apprenticeship training program; an | ||||||
3 | employer
or program director for purposes of entry into | ||||||
4 | apprenticeship programs;
another State Department of Education | ||||||
5 | in order to meet regulations
established by that Department of | ||||||
6 | Education, a post high school
educational institution for | ||||||
7 | purposes of admission, the Department of
Professional | ||||||
8 | Regulation for licensing purposes, or the Armed Forces
for | ||||||
9 | induction purposes. The regional superintendent shall | ||||||
10 | administer
such test and the applicant shall be notified in | ||||||
11 | writing that he is
eligible to receive the Illinois High School | ||||||
12 | Equivalency Certificate
upon reaching age 17, provided he meets | ||||||
13 | the standards established by the Illinois Community College | ||||||
14 | Board.
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15 | Any test administered under this Section to an applicant | ||||||
16 | who does not
speak and understand English may at the discretion | ||||||
17 | of the administering
agency be given and answered in any | ||||||
18 | language in which the test is
printed. The regional | ||||||
19 | superintendent of schools may waive any fees required
by this | ||||||
20 | Section in case of hardship.
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21 | In counties of over 3,000,000 population a GED certificate
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22 | shall contain the signatures of the President of the Illinois | ||||||
23 | Community College Board, the superintendent, president or | ||||||
24 | other chief
executive officer of the institution where GED | ||||||
25 | instruction occurred and any
other signatures authorized by the | ||||||
26 | Illinois Community College Board.
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1 | The regional superintendent of schools shall furnish the | ||||||
2 | Illinois
Community College Board with any information that the | ||||||
3 | Illinois
Community College Board requests with regard to | ||||||
4 | testing and certificates under this
Section.
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5 | (Source: P.A. 94-108, eff. 7-1-05; 95-609, eff. 6-1-08 .)".
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