Sen. Edward D. Maloney

Filed: 3/21/2007

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 853

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 853 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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,

 

 

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1 subject to the approval of the President of the Illinois
2 Community College Board.
3     An individual is eligible to apply to the regional
4 superintendent of schools for the region in which he or she
5 resides if he or she is: (a) a person who is 17 18 years of age
6 or older, has maintained residence in the State of Illinois,
7 and is not a high school graduate, but whose high school class
8 has graduated; (b) a member of the armed forces of the United
9 States on active duty who is 17 years of age or older and who is
10 stationed in Illinois or is a legal resident of Illinois; (c) a
11 ward of the Department of Corrections who is 17 years of age or
12 older or an inmate confined in any branch of the Illinois State
13 Penitentiary or in a county correctional facility who is 17
14 years of age or older; (d) a female who is 17 years of age or
15 older who is unable to attend school because she is either
16 pregnant or the mother of one or more children; (e) a male 17
17 years of age or older who is unable to attend school because he
18 is a father of one or more children; (f) a person who is
19 successfully completing an alternative education program under
20 Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article 13B; or (c) (g) a
21 person who is enrolled in a youth education program sponsored
22 by the Illinois National Guard; or (h) a person who is 17 years
23 of age or older who has been a dropout for a period of at least
24 one year. For purposes of this Section, residence is that abode
25 which the applicant considers his or her home. Applicants may
26 provide as sufficient proof of such residence and as an

 

 

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1 acceptable form of identification a driver's license, valid
2 passport, military ID, or other form of government-issued
3 national or foreign identification that shows the applicant's
4 name, address, date of birth, signature, and photograph picture
5 identification card and two pieces of correctly addressed and
6 postmarked mail. Such regional superintendent shall determine
7 if the applicant meets statutory and regulatory state
8 standards. If qualified the applicant shall at the time of such
9 application pay a fee established by the Illinois Community
10 College Board, which fee shall be paid into a special fund
11 under the control and supervision of the regional
12 superintendent. Such moneys received by the regional
13 superintendent shall be used, first, for the expenses incurred
14 in administering and scoring the examination, and next for
15 other educational programs that are developed and designed by
16 the regional superintendent of schools to assist those who
17 successfully complete the high school level test of General
18 Education Development in furthering their academic development
19 or their ability to secure and retain gainful employment,
20 including programs for the competitive award based on test
21 scores of college or adult education scholarship grants or
22 similar educational incentives. Any excess moneys shall be paid
23 into the institute fund.
24     Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing
25 standards as established by the Illinois Community College
26 Board shall be notified in writing by the regional

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1 apprenticeship programs; another State Department of Education
2 in order to meet regulations established by that Department of
3 Education, a post high school educational institution for
4 purposes of admission, the Department of Professional
5 Regulation for licensing purposes, or the Armed Forces for
6 induction purposes. The regional superintendent shall
7 administer such test and the applicant shall be notified in
8 writing that he is eligible to receive the Illinois High School
9 Equivalency Certificate upon reaching age 17 18, provided he
10 meets the standards established by the Illinois Community
11 College Board.
12     Any test administered under this Section to an applicant
13 who does not speak and understand English may at the discretion
14 of the administering agency be given and answered in any
15 language in which the test is printed. The regional
16 superintendent of schools may waive any fees required by this
17 Section in case of hardship.
18     In counties of over 3,000,000 population a GED certificate
19 shall contain the signatures of the President of the Illinois
20 Community College Board, the superintendent, president or
21 other chief executive officer of the institution where GED
22 instruction occurred and any other signatures authorized by the
23 Illinois Community College Board.
24     The regional superintendent of schools shall furnish the
25 Illinois Community College Board with any information that the
26 Illinois Community College Board requests with regard to

 

 

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1 testing and certificates under this Section.
2 (Source: P.A. 94-108, eff. 7-1-05.)".