100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB1428

 

Introduced 2/9/2017, by Sen. Sue Rezin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/3-15.12  from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12

    Amends the School Code. Provides that the Illinois Community College Board shall establish alternative methods of credentialing for the issuance of high school equivalency certification throughout the State. Allows the Board to offer the credentialing on or after January 1, 2018 based on high school credit, post-secondary credit, foreign diplomas, and completion of a competency-based program as approved by the Board. Makes technical and conforming changes.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
53-15.12 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/3-15.12)  (from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12)
7    Sec. 3-15.12. High school equivalency testing program. The
8regional superintendent of schools and the Illinois Community
9College Board shall make available for qualified individuals
10residing within the region a High School Equivalency Testing
11Program and alternative methods of credentialing, as
12identified under this Section. For that purpose the regional
13superintendent alone or with other regional superintendents
14may establish and supervise a testing center or centers to
15administer the secure forms for high school equivalency testing
16to qualified persons. Such centers shall be under the
17supervision of the regional superintendent in whose region such
18centers are located, subject to the approval of the Executive
19Director of the Illinois Community College Board. The Illinois
20Community College Board shall also establish criteria and make
21available alternative methods of credentialing throughout the
22State.
23    An individual is eligible to apply to the regional

 

 

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1superintendent of schools for the region in which he or she
2resides if he or she is: (a) a person who is 17 years of age or
3older, has maintained residence in the State of Illinois, and
4is not a high school graduate; (b) a person who is successfully
5completing an alternative education program under Section
62-3.81, Article 13A, or Article 13B; or (c) a person who is
7enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the Illinois
8National Guard. For purposes of this Section, residence is that
9abode which the applicant considers his or her home. Applicants
10may provide as sufficient proof of such residence and as an
11acceptable form of identification a driver's license, valid
12passport, military ID, or other form of government-issued
13national or foreign identification that shows the applicant's
14name, address, date of birth, signature, and photograph or
15other acceptable identification as may be allowed by law or as
16regulated by the Illinois Community College Board. Such
17regional superintendent shall determine if the applicant meets
18statutory and regulatory state standards.
19    If qualified the applicant shall at the time of such
20application pay a fee established by the Illinois Community
21College Board, which fee shall be paid into a special fund
22under the control and supervision of the regional
23superintendent. Such moneys received by the regional
24superintendent shall be used, first, for the expenses incurred
25in administering and scoring the examination, and next for
26other educational programs that are developed and designed by

 

 

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1the regional superintendent of schools to assist those who
2successfully complete high school equivalency testing or meet
3the criteria for alternative methods of credentialing in
4furthering their academic development or their ability to
5secure and retain gainful employment, including programs for
6the competitive award based on test scores of college or adult
7education scholarship grants or similar educational
8incentives. Any excess moneys shall be paid into the institute
9fund.
10    Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing
11standards as established by the Illinois Community College
12Board shall be notified in writing by the regional
13superintendent and shall be issued a high school equivalency
14certificate on the forms provided by the Illinois Community
15College Board. The regional superintendent shall then certify
16to the Illinois Community College Board the score of the
17applicant and such other and additional information that may be
18required by the Illinois Community College Board. The moneys
19received therefrom shall be used in the same manner as provided
20for in this Section.
21    The Illinois Community College Board shall establish
22alternative methods of credentialing for the issuance of high
23school equivalency certification. In addition to high school
24equivalency testing, the following alternative methods of
25receiving a high school equivalency credential shall be made
26available to qualified individuals on or after January 1, 2018:

 

 

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1        (A) High School Equivalency based on High School
2    Credit. A qualified candidate may petition to have his or
3    her high school transcripts evaluated to determine what the
4    candidate needs to meet criteria as established by the
5    Illinois Community College Board.
6        (B) High School Equivalency based on Post-Secondary
7    Credit. A qualified candidate may petition to have his or
8    her post-secondary transcripts evaluated to determine what
9    the candidate needs to meet criteria established by the
10    Illinois Community College Board.
11        (C) High School Equivalency based on a Foreign Diploma.
12    A qualified candidate may petition to have his or her
13    foreign high school or post-secondary transcripts
14    evaluated to determine what the candidate needs to meet
15    criteria established by the Illinois Community College
16    Board.
17        (D) High School Equivalency based on Completion of a
18    Competency-Based Program as approved by the Illinois
19    Community College Board. The Illinois Community College
20    Board shall establish guidelines for competency-based high
21    school equivalency programs.
22    Any applicant who has attained the age of 17 years and
23maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high
24school graduate, any person who has enrolled in a youth
25education program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard, or
26any person who has successfully completed an alternative

 

 

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1education program under Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article
213B is eligible to apply for a high school equivalency
3certificate (if he or she meets the requirements prescribed by
4the Illinois Community College Board) upon showing evidence
5that he or she has completed, successfully, high school
6equivalency testing, administered by the United States Armed
7Forces Institute, official high school equivalency testing
8centers established in other states, Veterans' Administration
9Hospitals, or the office of the State Superintendent of
10Education for the Illinois State Penitentiary System and the
11Department of Corrections. Such applicant shall apply to the
12regional superintendent of the region wherein he or she has
13maintained residence, and, upon payment of a fee established by
14the Illinois Community College Board, the regional
15superintendent shall issue a high school equivalency
16certificate and immediately thereafter certify to the Illinois
17Community College Board the score of the applicant and such
18other and additional information as may be required by the
19Illinois Community College Board.
20    Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any
21applicant who has been out of school for at least one year may
22request the regional superintendent of schools to administer
23restricted high school equivalency testing upon written
24request of: the director of a program who certifies to the
25Chief Examiner of an official high school equivalency testing
26center that the applicant has completed a program of

 

 

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1instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the
2Postal Service Academy, or an apprenticeship training program;
3an employer or program director for purposes of entry into
4apprenticeship programs; another state's department of
5education in order to meet regulations established by that
6department of education; or a post high school educational
7institution for purposes of admission, the Department of
8Financial and Professional Regulation for licensing purposes,
9or the Armed Forces for induction purposes. The regional
10superintendent shall administer such testing, and the
11applicant shall be notified in writing that he or she is
12eligible to receive a high school equivalency certificate upon
13reaching age 17, provided he or she meets the standards
14established by the Illinois Community College Board.
15    Any test administered under this Section to an applicant
16who does not speak and understand English may at the discretion
17of the administering agency be given and answered in any
18language in which the test is printed. The regional
19superintendent of schools may waive any fees required by this
20Section in case of hardship. The regional superintendent of
21schools and the Illinois Community College Board shall waive
22any fees required by this Section for an applicant who meets
23all of the following criteria:
24        (1) The applicant qualifies as a homeless person,
25    child, or youth as defined in the Education for Homeless
26    Children Act.

 

 

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1        (2) The applicant has not attained 25 years of age as
2    of the date of the scheduled test.
3        (3) The applicant can verify his or her status as a
4    homeless person, child, or youth. A homeless services
5    provider that is qualified to verify an individual's
6    housing status, as determined by the Illinois Community
7    College Board, and that has knowledge of the applicant's
8    housing status may verify the applicant's status for
9    purposes of this subdivision (3).
10        (4) The applicant has completed a high school
11    equivalency preparation course through an Illinois
12    Community College Board-approved provider.
13        (5) The applicant is taking the test at a testing
14    center operated by a regional superintendent of schools or
15    the Cook County High School Equivalency Office.
16    In counties of over 3,000,000 population, a high school
17equivalency certificate shall contain the signatures of the
18Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board and
19the superintendent, president, or other chief executive
20officer of the institution where high school equivalency
21testing instruction occurred and any other signatures
22authorized by the Illinois Community College Board.
23    The regional superintendent of schools shall furnish the
24Illinois Community College Board with any information that the
25Illinois Community College Board requests with regard to
26testing and certificates under this Section.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 98-718, eff. 1-1-15; 98-719, eff. 1-1-15; 99-78,
2eff. 7-20-15; 99-742, eff. 1-1-17.)