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1     AN ACT concerning 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 President of the Illinois
18 Community College Board.
19     An individual is eligible to apply to the regional
20 superintendent of schools for the region in which he or she
21 resides if he or she is: (a) a person who is 17 18 years of age
22 or older, has maintained residence in the State of Illinois,
23 and is not a high school graduate, but whose high school class

 

 

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1 has graduated; (b) a member of the armed forces of the United
2 States on active duty who is 17 years of age or older and who is
3 stationed in Illinois or is a legal resident of Illinois; (c) a
4 ward of the Department of Corrections who is 17 years of age or
5 older or an inmate confined in any branch of the Illinois State
6 Penitentiary or in a county correctional facility who is 17
7 years of age or older; (d) a female who is 17 years of age or
8 older who is unable to attend school because she is either
9 pregnant or the mother of one or more children; (e) a male 17
10 years of age or older who is unable to attend school because he
11 is a father of one or more children; (f) a person who is
12 successfully completing an alternative education program under
13 Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article 13B; or (c) (g) a
14 person who is enrolled in a youth education program sponsored
15 by the Illinois National Guard; or (h) a person who is 17 years
16 of age or older who has been a dropout for a period of at least
17 one year. For purposes of this Section, residence is that abode
18 which the applicant considers his or her home. Applicants may
19 provide as sufficient proof of such residence and as an
20 acceptable form of identification a driver's license, valid
21 passport, military ID, or other form of government-issued
22 national or foreign identification that shows the applicant's
23 name, address, date of birth, signature, and photograph or
24 other acceptable identification as may be allowed by law or as
25 regulated by the Illinois Community College Board picture
26 identification card and two pieces of correctly addressed and

 

 

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1 postmarked mail. Such regional superintendent shall determine
2 if the applicant meets statutory and regulatory state
3 standards. If qualified the applicant shall at the time of such
4 application pay a fee established by the Illinois Community
5 College Board, which fee shall be paid into a special fund
6 under the control and supervision of the regional
7 superintendent. Such moneys received by the regional
8 superintendent shall be used, first, for the expenses incurred
9 in administering and scoring the examination, and next for
10 other educational programs that are developed and designed by
11 the regional superintendent of schools to assist those who
12 successfully complete the high school level test of General
13 Education Development in furthering their academic development
14 or their ability to secure and retain gainful employment,
15 including programs for the competitive award based on test
16 scores of college or adult education scholarship grants or
17 similar educational incentives. Any excess moneys shall be paid
18 into the institute fund.
19     Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing
20 standards as established by the Illinois Community College
21 Board shall be notified in writing by the regional
22 superintendent and shall be issued a high school equivalency
23 certificate on the forms provided by the Illinois Community
24 College Board. The regional superintendent shall then certify
25 to the Illinois Community College Board the score of the
26 applicant and such other and additional information that may be

 

 

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1 required by the Illinois Community College Board. The moneys
2 received therefrom shall be used in the same manner as provided
3 for in this Section.
4     Any applicant who has attained the age of 17 18 years and
5 maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high
6 school graduate, any person who has enrolled in a youth
7 education program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard, but
8 whose high school class has graduated, any ward of the
9 Department of Corrections who has attained the age of 17 years,
10 any inmate confined in any branch of the Illinois State
11 Penitentiary or in a county correctional facility who has
12 attained the age of 17 years, any member of the armed forces of
13 the United States on active duty who has attained the age of 17
14 years and who is stationed in Illinois or is a legal resident
15 of Illinois, any female who has attained the age of 17 years
16 and is either pregnant or the mother of one or more children,
17 any male who has attained the age of 17 years and is the father
18 of one or more children, or any person who has successfully
19 completed an alternative education program under Section
20 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article 13B is eligible to apply for a
21 high school equivalency certificate (if he or she meets the
22 requirements prescribed by the Illinois Community College
23 Board) upon showing evidence that he or she has completed,
24 successfully, the high school level General Educational
25 Development Tests, administered by the United States Armed
26 Forces Institute, official GED Centers established in other

 

 

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1 states, or at Veterans' Administration Hospitals or the office
2 of the State Superintendent of Education administered for the
3 Illinois State Penitentiary System and the Department of
4 Corrections. Such applicant shall apply to the regional
5 superintendent of the region wherein he has maintained
6 residence, and upon payment of a fee established by the
7 Illinois Community College Board the regional superintendent
8 shall issue a high school equivalency certificate, and
9 immediately thereafter certify to the Illinois Community
10 College Board the score of the applicant and such other and
11 additional information as may be required by the Illinois
12 Community College Board.
13     Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any
14 applicant who has been out of school for at least one year may
15 request the regional superintendent of schools to administer
16 the restricted GED test upon written request of: The director
17 of a program who certifies to the Chief Examiner of an official
18 GED center that the applicant has completed a program of
19 instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the
20 Postal Service Academy or apprenticeship training program; an
21 employer or program director for purposes of entry into
22 apprenticeship programs; another State Department of Education
23 in order to meet regulations established by that Department of
24 Education, a post high school educational institution for
25 purposes of admission, the Department of Professional
26 Regulation for licensing purposes, or the Armed Forces for

 

 

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1 induction purposes. The regional superintendent shall
2 administer such test and the applicant shall be notified in
3 writing that he is eligible to receive the Illinois High School
4 Equivalency Certificate upon reaching age 17 18, provided he
5 meets the standards established by the Illinois Community
6 College Board.
7     Any test administered under this Section to an applicant
8 who does not speak and understand English may at the discretion
9 of the administering agency be given and answered in any
10 language in which the test is printed. The regional
11 superintendent of schools may waive any fees required by this
12 Section in case of hardship.
13     In counties of over 3,000,000 population a GED certificate
14 shall contain the signatures of the President of the Illinois
15 Community College Board, the superintendent, president or
16 other chief executive officer of the institution where GED
17 instruction occurred and any other signatures authorized by the
18 Illinois Community College Board.
19     The regional superintendent of schools shall furnish the
20 Illinois Community College Board with any information that the
21 Illinois Community College Board requests with regard to
22 testing and certificates under this Section.
23 (Source: P.A. 94-108, eff. 7-1-05.)