101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB1288

 

Introduced 2/7/2019, by Sen. Chuck Weaver

 

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

    Amends the School Code. Provides that Peoria Public School District 150 may contract with a third party to provide high school equivalency testing programs. Effective immediately.


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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. The regional
8superintendent of schools and the Illinois Community College
9Board shall make available for qualified individuals residing
10within the region a High School Equivalency Testing Program and
11alternative methods of credentialing, as identified under this
12Section. For that purpose the regional superintendent alone or
13with other regional superintendents may establish and
14supervise a testing center or centers to administer the secure
15forms for high school equivalency testing to qualified persons.
16Such centers shall be under the supervision of the regional
17superintendent in whose region such centers are located,
18subject to the approval of the Executive Director of the
19Illinois Community College Board. The Illinois Community
20College Board shall also establish criteria and make available
21alternative methods of credentialing throughout the State.
22    An individual is eligible to apply to the regional
23superintendent of schools for the region in which he or she

 

 

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1resides if he or she is: (a) a person who is 17 years of age or
2older, has maintained residence in the State of Illinois, and
3is not a high school graduate; (b) a person who is successfully
4completing an alternative education program under Section
52-3.81, Article 13A, or Article 13B; or (c) a person who is
6enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the Illinois
7National Guard. For purposes of this Section, residence is that
8abode which the applicant considers his or her home. Applicants
9may provide as sufficient proof of such residence and as an
10acceptable form of identification a driver's license, valid
11passport, military ID, or other form of government-issued
12national or foreign identification that shows the applicant's
13name, address, date of birth, signature, and photograph or
14other acceptable identification as may be allowed by law or as
15regulated by the Illinois Community College Board. Such
16regional superintendent shall determine if the applicant meets
17statutory and regulatory state standards.
18    If qualified the applicant shall at the time of such
19application pay a fee established by the Illinois Community
20College Board, which fee shall be paid into a special fund
21under the control and supervision of the regional
22superintendent. Such moneys received by the regional
23superintendent shall be used, first, for the expenses incurred
24in administering and scoring the examination, and next for
25other educational programs that are developed and designed by
26the regional superintendent of schools to assist those who

 

 

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

 

 

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1    Credit. A qualified candidate may petition to have his or
2    her high school transcripts evaluated to determine what the
3    candidate needs to meet criteria as established by the
4    Illinois Community College Board.
5        (B) High School Equivalency based on Post-Secondary
6    Credit. A qualified candidate may petition to have his or
7    her post-secondary transcripts evaluated to determine what
8    the candidate needs to meet criteria established by the
9    Illinois Community College Board.
10        (C) High School Equivalency based on a Foreign Diploma.
11    A qualified candidate may petition to have his or her
12    foreign high school or post-secondary transcripts
13    evaluated to determine what the candidate needs to meet
14    criteria established by the Illinois Community College
15    Board.
16        (D) High School Equivalency based on Completion of a
17    Competency-Based Program as approved by the Illinois
18    Community College Board. The Illinois Community College
19    Board shall establish guidelines for competency-based high
20    school equivalency programs.
21    Any applicant who has attained the age of 17 years and
22maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high
23school graduate, any person who has enrolled in a youth
24education program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard, or
25any person who has successfully completed an alternative
26education program under Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article

 

 

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113B is eligible to apply for a high school equivalency
2certificate (if he or she meets the requirements prescribed by
3the Illinois Community College Board) upon showing evidence
4that he or she has completed, successfully, high school
5equivalency testing, administered by the United States Armed
6Forces Institute, official high school equivalency testing
7centers established in other states, Veterans' Administration
8Hospitals, or the office of the State Superintendent of
9Education for the Illinois State Penitentiary System and the
10Department of Corrections. Such applicant shall apply to the
11regional superintendent of the region wherein he or she has
12maintained residence, and, upon payment of a fee established by
13the Illinois Community College Board, the regional
14superintendent shall issue a high school equivalency
15certificate and immediately thereafter certify to the Illinois
16Community College Board the score of the applicant and such
17other and additional information as may be required by the
18Illinois Community College Board.
19    Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any
20applicant who has been out of school for at least one year may
21request the regional superintendent of schools to administer
22restricted high school equivalency testing upon written
23request of: the director of a program who certifies to the
24Chief Examiner of an official high school equivalency testing
25center that the applicant has completed a program of
26instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the

 

 

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

 

 

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1    of the date of the scheduled test.
2        (3) The applicant can verify his or her status as a
3    homeless person, child, or youth. A homeless services
4    provider that is qualified to verify an individual's
5    housing status, as determined by the Illinois Community
6    College Board, and that has knowledge of the applicant's
7    housing status may verify the applicant's status for
8    purposes of this subdivision (3).
9        (4) The applicant has completed a high school
10    equivalency preparation course through an Illinois
11    Community College Board-approved provider.
12        (5) The applicant is taking the test at a testing
13    center operated by a regional superintendent of schools or
14    the Cook County High School Equivalency Office.
15    In counties of over 3,000,000 population, a high school
16equivalency certificate shall contain the signatures of the
17Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board and
18the superintendent, president, or other chief executive
19officer of the institution where high school equivalency
20testing instruction occurred and any other signatures
21authorized by the Illinois Community College Board.
22    Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
23Peoria Public School District 150 may contract with a third
24party to provide high school equivalency testing programs under
25this Section.
26    The regional superintendent of schools shall furnish the

 

 

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1Illinois Community College Board with any information that the
2Illinois Community College Board requests with regard to
3testing and certificates under this Section.
4(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-742, eff. 1-1-17;
5100-130, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.