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superintendent of schools
for the region in which he or she
|
resides if he or she is: (a) a person who is 17 years
of age or |
older, has maintained residence in the State of Illinois,
and |
is
not a high school graduate; (b)
a person who is successfully |
completing an
alternative education program under Section |
2-3.81, Article 13A,
or Article 13B; or (c) a
person who is
|
enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the Illinois |
National
Guard.
For purposes of this Section, residence is that |
abode which the applicant
considers his or her home. Applicants |
may provide as sufficient proof of such
residence and as an |
acceptable form of identification a driver's license, valid |
passport, military ID, or other form of government-issued |
national or foreign identification that shows the applicant's |
name, address, date of birth, signature, and photograph or |
other acceptable identification as may be allowed by law or as |
regulated by the Illinois Community College Board. Such |
regional superintendent shall determine if the
applicant meets |
statutory and regulatory state standards. |
If qualified the
applicant shall at the time of such |
application pay a fee established by the
Illinois Community |
College Board, which fee shall be paid into a special
fund
|
under the control and supervision of the regional |
superintendent. Such moneys
received by the regional |
superintendent shall be used, first, for the
expenses incurred
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in administering and scoring the examination, and next for |
other educational
programs that are developed and designed by |
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the regional superintendent of
schools to assist those who |
successfully complete high school equivalency testing or meet |
the criteria for alternative methods of credentialing in |
furthering their academic development or
their ability to |
secure and retain gainful employment, including programs for
|
the competitive award based on test scores of college or adult |
education
scholarship grants or similar educational |
incentives. Any excess moneys shall
be paid into the institute |
fund.
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Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing |
standards as
established by the
Illinois Community College |
Board shall be
notified in writing by the regional |
superintendent and shall be
issued a high school equivalency |
certificate on the forms provided by the
Illinois Community |
College Board. The regional superintendent shall
then certify |
to the Illinois Community College Board
the score of the |
applicant and such other and additional information
that may be |
required by the Illinois Community College Board. The
moneys |
received therefrom shall be used in the same manner as provided
|
for in this Section.
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The Illinois Community College Board shall establish |
alternative methods of credentialing for the issuance of high |
school equivalency certification. In addition to high school |
equivalency testing, the following alternative methods of |
receiving a high school equivalency credential shall be made |
available to qualified individuals on or after January 1, 2018: |
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(A) High School Equivalency based on High School |
Credit. A qualified candidate may petition to have his or |
her high school transcripts evaluated to determine what the |
candidate needs to meet criteria as established by the |
Illinois Community College Board. |
(B) High School Equivalency based on Post-Secondary |
Credit. A qualified candidate may petition to have his or |
her post-secondary transcripts evaluated to determine what |
the candidate needs to meet criteria established by the |
Illinois Community College Board. |
(C) High School Equivalency based on a Foreign Diploma. |
A qualified candidate may petition to have his or her |
foreign high school or post-secondary transcripts |
evaluated to determine what the candidate needs to meet |
criteria established by the Illinois Community College |
Board. |
(D) High School Equivalency based on Completion of a |
Competency-Based Program as approved by the Illinois |
Community College Board. The Illinois Community College |
Board shall establish guidelines for competency-based high |
school equivalency programs. |
Any applicant who has attained the age of 17 years and |
maintained
residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high |
school graduate, any person who has enrolled in a youth |
education program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard, or |
any person who has successfully completed
an
alternative |
|
education program under Section 2-3.81,
Article 13A, or Article |
13B is eligible to apply for a high school equivalency
|
certificate (if he or she meets the requirements prescribed by |
the Illinois Community College Board) upon showing evidence |
that he or she has completed, successfully, high school |
equivalency testing, administered by the United
States Armed |
Forces Institute, official high school equivalency testing |
centers established in other
states, Veterans' Administration |
Hospitals, or the office of the State
Superintendent of |
Education for the Illinois State Penitentiary
System and the |
Department of Corrections. Such applicant shall apply to the
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regional superintendent of the region wherein he or she has |
maintained residence, and,
upon payment of a fee established by |
the Illinois Community College Board,
the regional |
superintendent shall issue a high school
equivalency |
certificate and immediately thereafter certify to the Illinois |
Community College Board the score of the applicant and such |
other and
additional information as may be required by the |
Illinois Community College Board.
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Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any |
applicant who has
been out of school for at least one year may |
request the regional
superintendent of schools to administer |
restricted high school equivalency testing upon
written |
request of: the director of a program who certifies to the |
Chief
Examiner of an official high school equivalency testing |
center that the applicant has completed a
program of |
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instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the
|
Postal Service Academy, or an apprenticeship training program; |
an employer
or program director for purposes of entry into |
apprenticeship programs;
another state's department of |
education in order to meet regulations
established by that |
department of education; or a post high school
educational |
institution for purposes of admission, the Department of |
Financial and
Professional Regulation for licensing purposes, |
or the Armed Forces
for induction purposes. The regional |
superintendent shall administer
such testing, and the |
applicant shall be notified in writing that he or she is
|
eligible to receive a high school equivalency certificate
upon |
reaching age 17, provided he or she meets the standards |
established by the Illinois Community College Board.
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Any test administered under this Section to an applicant |
who does not
speak and understand English may at the discretion |
of the administering
agency be given and answered in any |
language in which the test is
printed. The regional |
superintendent of schools may waive any fees required
by this |
Section in case of hardship.
The regional superintendent of |
schools and the Illinois Community College Board shall waive |
any fees required by this Section for an applicant who meets |
all of the following criteria:
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(1) The applicant qualifies as a homeless person, |
child, or youth as defined in the Education for Homeless |
Children Act. |
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(2) The applicant has not attained 25 years of age as |
of the date of the scheduled test. |
(3) The applicant can verify his or her status as a |
homeless person, child, or youth. A homeless services |
provider that is qualified to verify an individual's |
housing status, as determined by the Illinois Community |
College Board, and that has knowledge of the applicant's |
housing status may verify the applicant's status for |
purposes of this subdivision (3). |
(4) The applicant has completed a high school |
equivalency preparation course through an Illinois |
Community College Board-approved provider. |
(5) The applicant is taking the test at a testing |
center operated by a regional superintendent of schools or |
the Cook County High School Equivalency Office. |
In counties of over 3,000,000 population, a high school |
equivalency certificate
shall contain the signatures of the |
Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board and |
the superintendent, president, or other chief
executive |
officer of the institution where high school equivalency |
testing instruction occurred and any
other signatures |
authorized by the Illinois Community College Board.
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The regional superintendent of schools shall furnish the |
Illinois
Community College Board with any information that the |
Illinois
Community College Board requests with regard to |
testing and certificates under this
Section.
|