Public Act 099-0742
 
SB2840 EnrolledLRB099 19577 NHT 43972 b


  
    AN ACT concerning education.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended  by changing Section 
3-15.12 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/3-15.12)  (from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12)

    Sec. 3-15.12. High school equivalency testing program.   
The 
regional
superintendent of schools shall make available for 
qualified individuals
residing within the region a High School 
Equivalency Testing Program.
For that purpose the regional 
superintendent alone or with other
regional superintendents 
may establish and supervise a testing center or
centers to 
administer the secure forms for high school equivalency testing 
to qualified persons.  Such centers
shall be under the 
supervision of the regional superintendent in whose
region such 
centers are located, subject to the approval
of the
Executive 
Director of the Illinois Community College Board.

    An individual is eligible to apply to the regional 
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
in administering and scoring the 
examination, and next for other educational
programs that are 
developed and designed by the regional superintendent of

schools to assist those who successfully complete high school 
equivalency testing 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.


    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.


    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

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.


    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 
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.


    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:

        (1)  The applicant qualifies as a homeless person, 
    child, or youth as defined in the Education for Homeless 
    Children Act.
        (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.


    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.

(Source: P.A. 98-718, eff. 1-1-15; 98-719, eff. 1-1-15; 99-78, 
eff. 7-20-15.)