93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB6625

 

Introduced 02/09/04, by William B. Black

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/3-15.12   from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12
110 ILCS 805/2-21 new

    Amends the School Code and the Public Community College Act. Transfers all powers and duties of the State Board of Education and State Superintendent of Education with regard to high school equivalency testing under the School Code to the Illinois Community College Board.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT regarding education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5 3-15.12 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
8 regional superintendent of schools shall make available for
9 qualified individuals residing within the region a High School
10 Equivalency Testing Program. For that purpose the regional
11 superintendent alone or with other regional superintendents
12 may establish and supervise a testing center or centers to
13 administer the secure forms of the high school level Test of
14 General Educational Development to qualified persons. Such
15 centers shall be under the supervision of the regional
16 superintendent in whose region such centers are located,
17 subject to the approval of the Executive Director of the
18 Illinois Community College Board State Superintendent of
19 Education.
20     An individual is eligible to apply to the regional
21 superintendent of schools for the region in which he resides if
22 he is: (a) a person who is 18 years of age or older, has
23 maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high
24 school graduate, but whose high school class has graduated; (b)
25 a member of the armed forces of the United States on active
26 duty who is 17 years of age or older and who is stationed in
27 Illinois or is a legal resident of Illinois; (c) a ward of the
28 Department of Corrections who is 17 years of age or older or an
29 inmate confined in any branch of the Illinois State
30 Penitentiary or in a county correctional facility who is 17
31 years of age or older; (d) a female who is 17 years of age or
32 older who is unable to attend school because she is either

 

 

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1 pregnant or the mother of one or more children; (e) a male 17
2 years of age or older who is unable to attend school because he
3 is a father of one or more children; (f) a person who is
4 successfully completing an alternative education program under
5 Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article 13B; (g) a person who
6 is enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the
7 Illinois National Guard; or (h) a person who is 17 years of age
8 or older who has been a dropout for a period of at least one
9 year. For purposes of this Section, residence is that abode
10 which the applicant considers his home. Applicants may provide
11 as sufficient proof of such residence a picture identification
12 card and two pieces of correctly addressed and postmarked mail.
13 Such regional superintendent shall determine if the applicant
14 meets statutory and regulatory state standards. If qualified
15 the applicant shall at the time of such application pay a fee
16 established by the Illinois Community College Board State Board
17 of Education, which fee shall be paid into a special fund under
18 the control and supervision of the regional superintendent.
19 Such moneys received by the regional superintendent shall be
20 used, first, for the expenses incurred in administering and
21 scoring the examination, and next for other educational
22 programs that are developed and designed by the regional
23 superintendent of schools to assist those who successfully
24 complete the high school level test of General Education
25 Development in furthering their academic development or their
26 ability to secure and retain gainful employment, including
27 programs for the competitive award based on test scores of
28 college or adult education scholarship grants or similar
29 educational incentives. Any excess moneys shall be paid into
30 the institute fund.
31     Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing
32 standards as established by the Illinois Community College
33 Board State Board of Education shall be notified in writing by
34 the regional superintendent and shall be issued a high school
35 equivalency certificate on the forms provided by the State
36 Superintendent of Education. The regional superintendent shall

 

 

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1 then certify to the Office of the State Superintendent of
2 Education the score of the applicant and such other and
3 additional information that may be required by the State
4 Superintendent of Education. The moneys received therefrom
5 shall be used in the same manner as provided for in this
6 Section.
7     Any applicant who has attained the age of 18 years and
8 maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high
9 school graduate but whose high school class has graduated or
10 any ward of the Department of Corrections who has attained the
11 age of 17 years, any inmate confined in any branch of the
12 Illinois State Penitentiary or in a county correctional
13 facility who has attained the age of 17 years, or any member of
14 the armed forces of the United States on active duty who has
15 attained the age of 17 years and who is stationed in Illinois
16 or is a legal resident of Illinois, or any female who has
17 attained the age of 17 years and is either pregnant or the
18 mother of one or more children, or any male who has attained
19 the age of 17 years and is the father of one or more children,
20 or any person who has successfully completed an alternative
21 education program under Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article
22 13B and meets the requirements prescribed by the State Board of
23 Education, is eligible to apply for a high school equivalency
24 certificate upon showing evidence that he has completed,
25 successfully, the high school level General Educational
26 Development Tests, administered by the United States Armed
27 Forces Institute, official GED Centers established in other
28 states, or at Veterans' Administration Hospitals or the office
29 of the State Superintendent of Education administered for the
30 Illinois State Penitentiary System and the Department of
31 Corrections. Such applicant shall apply to the regional
32 superintendent of the region wherein he has maintained
33 residence, and upon payment of a fee established by the State
34 Board of Education the regional superintendent shall issue a
35 high school equivalency certificate, and immediately
36 thereafter certify to the State Superintendent of Education the

 

 

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1 score of the applicant and such other and additional
2 information as may be required by the State Superintendent of
3 Education.
4     Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any
5 applicant who has been out of school for at least one year may
6 request the regional superintendent of schools to administer
7 the restricted GED test upon written request of: The director
8 of a program who certifies to the Chief Examiner of an official
9 GED center that the applicant has completed a program of
10 instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the
11 Postal Service Academy or apprenticeship training program; an
12 employer or program director for purposes of entry into
13 apprenticeship programs; another State Department of Education
14 in order to meet regulations established by that Department of
15 Education, a post high school educational institution for
16 purposes of admission, the Department of Professional
17 Regulation for licensing purposes, or the Armed Forces for
18 induction purposes. The regional superintendent shall
19 administer such test and the applicant shall be notified in
20 writing that he is eligible to receive the Illinois High School
21 Equivalency Certificate upon reaching age 18, provided he meets
22 the standards established by the State Board of Education.
23     Any test administered under this Section to an applicant
24 who does not speak and understand English may at the discretion
25 of the administering agency be given and answered in any
26 language in which the test is printed. The regional
27 superintendent of schools may waive any fees required by this
28 Section in case of hardship.
29     In counties of over 3,000,000 population a GED certificate
30 issued on or after July 1, 1994 shall contain the signatures of
31 the State Superintendent of Education, the superintendent,
32 president or other chief executive officer of the institution
33 where GED instruction occurred and any other signatures
34 authorized by the State Superintendent of Education.
35     The regional superintendent of schools shall furnish the
36 Illinois Community College Board with any information that the

 

 

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1 Illinois Community College Board requests with regard to
2 testing under this Section.
3 (Source: P.A. 92-42, eff. 1-1-02.)
 
4     Section 10. The Public Community College Act is amended by
5 adding Section 2-21 as follows:
 
6     (110 ILCS 805/2-21 new)
7     Sec. 2-21. High school equivalency testing. On the
8 effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
9 Assembly, all powers and duties of the State Board of Education
10 and State Superintendent of Education with regard to high
11 school equivalency testing under the School Code shall be
12 transferred to the Illinois Community College Board. The
13 Illinois Community College Board may adopt any rules necessary
14 to carry out its responsibilities under the School Code with
15 regard to high school equivalency testing. All rules,
16 standards, and procedures adopted by the State Board of
17 Education under the School Code with regard to high school
18 equivalency testing shall continue in effect as the rules,
19 standards, and procedures of the Illinois Community College
20 Board, until they are modified by the Illinois Community
21 College Board.