State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

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90_HJ0024

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 1                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
 2        WHEREAS, The General Education Development (GED) Test  is
 3    the  avenue  for approximately 35,000 citizens of Illinois to
 4    annually obtain the credentials they need  to  further  their
 5    education  beyond  the  high  school  level  or  to enter the
 6    workforce; and
 7        WHEREAS, One out of every 7  holders  of  a  high  school
 8    diploma  or  its  equivalent earned those credentials through
 9    the GED program; and
10        WHEREAS,  The  average  GED  certificate   holder   earns
11    significantly more in his or her career than a person with no
12    high   school   level   credentials,   thereby   contributing
13    significantly  more  to  the  economy  and to State and local
14    governments, and requiring far less taxpayer supported public
15    services; and
16        WHEREAS, The American Council  of  Education  (ACE),  the
17    not-for-profit  entity  that owns the GED testing program and
18    whose President is former University  of  Illinois  President
19    Stanley  O.  Ikenberry,  informed the Illinois State Board of
20    Education only weeks ago that, effective with  the  start  of
21    Fiscal  Year  1998,  the fees charged for the use of GED test
22    instruments must rise by at least 166%; and
23        WHEREAS, The statewide impact of the ACE fee increase for
24    GED test batteries would be  approximately  $200,000  in  the
25    coming year; and
26        WHEREAS,  The  GED fee structure in Illinois has not been
27    adjusted for several years, with program needs  such  as  GED
28    examiner  training and program outreach suffering as a result
29    of increasing costs combined with static revenue streams; and
30        WHEREAS, Unless the American  Council  of  Education  fee
31    requirements  are  met  in  some way other than by having the
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 1    burden fall on the Regional Offices  of  Education  that  are
 2    responsible  for providing GED program services, GED training
 3    and testing sites in Illinois will be forced to  close  their
 4    doors,   particularly  sites  located  in  the  less  densely
 5    populated and  more  economically  distressed  areas  of  the
 6    State; and
 7        WHEREAS,  A  one-time  only  fiscal remedy is required to
 8    bridge the Illinois GED program through a period in which its
 9    fiscal and program structure can be examined and  a  solution
10    with  more  permanent beneficial impact can be identified and
11    implemented; therefore, be it
12        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
13    NINETIETH  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
14    SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois  State  Board  of
15    Education  is  directed  to  fund,  on a one-time only basis,
16    supplemental GED grants from  moneys  appropriated  expressly
17    for that purpose; and be it further
18        RESOLVED, That the Illinois State Board of Education, the
19    Regional   Offices  of  Education,  and  the  other  agencies
20    involved in the GED program participate in an examination  of
21    the fiscal structure of the GED program with the objective of
22    identifying  a  proposal  for  long term fiscal health of the
23    program; and be it further
24        RESOLVED, That a report and recommendations arising  from
25    the  GED  study  be  delivered by the Illinois State Board of
26    Education to the members of the Illinois General Assembly and
27    the Office of the Governor by December 1, 1997.

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