Full Text of SB0853 95th General Assembly
SB0853 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008 SB0853
Introduced 2/8/2007, by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford - Emil Jones, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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105 ILCS 5/3-15.12 |
from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12 |
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Amends the School Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning a
high school equivalency testing program.
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A BILL FOR
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SB0853 |
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LRB095 05567 NHT 25657 b |
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| AN ACT concerning education.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 |
| represented in the General Assembly:
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| 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)
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| Sec. 3-15.12. High school equivalency testing program. The
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| The 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
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| 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.
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| An individual is eligible to apply to the regional | 20 |
| superintendent of schools
for the region in which he resides if | 21 |
| he is: (a) a person who is 18 years
of age or older, has | 22 |
| maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is
not a high | 23 |
| school graduate, but whose high school class has graduated; (b)
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LRB095 05567 NHT 25657 b |
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| a member of the armed forces of the United States on active | 2 |
| duty who is 17
years of age or older and who is stationed in | 3 |
| Illinois or is a legal resident
of Illinois; (c) a ward of the | 4 |
| Department of Corrections who is 17 years of age
or older or an | 5 |
| 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
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| 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; (g) a
person who | 14 |
| is
enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the | 15 |
| Illinois National
Guard; or (h) a person who is 17 years of age | 16 |
| or older who has been a dropout
for a period of at least one | 17 |
| year.
For purposes of this Section, residence is that abode | 18 |
| which the applicant
considers his home. Applicants may provide | 19 |
| as sufficient proof of such
residence a picture identification | 20 |
| card and two pieces of correctly addressed
and postmarked mail. | 21 |
| Such regional superintendent shall determine if the
applicant | 22 |
| meets statutory and regulatory state standards. If qualified | 23 |
| the
applicant shall at the time of such application pay a fee | 24 |
| established by the
Illinois Community College Board, which fee | 25 |
| shall be paid into a special
fund
under the control and | 26 |
| supervision of the regional superintendent. Such moneys
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| received by the regional superintendent shall be used, first, | 2 |
| for the
expenses incurred
in administering and scoring the | 3 |
| examination, and next for other educational
programs that are | 4 |
| developed and designed by the regional superintendent of
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| schools to assist those who successfully complete the high | 6 |
| school level test of
General Education Development in | 7 |
| furthering their academic development or
their ability to | 8 |
| secure and retain gainful employment, including programs for
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| the competitive award based on test scores of college or adult | 10 |
| education
scholarship grants or similar educational | 11 |
| incentives. Any excess moneys shall
be paid into the institute | 12 |
| fund.
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| Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing | 14 |
| standards as
established by the
Illinois Community College | 15 |
| Board shall be
notified in writing by the regional | 16 |
| superintendent and shall be
issued a high school equivalency | 17 |
| certificate on the forms provided by the
Illinois Community | 18 |
| College Board. The regional superintendent shall
then certify | 19 |
| to the Illinois Community College Board
the score of the | 20 |
| applicant and such other and additional information
that may be | 21 |
| required by the Illinois Community College Board. The
moneys | 22 |
| received therefrom shall be used in the same manner as provided
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| for in this Section.
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| Any applicant who has attained the age of 18 years and | 25 |
| maintained
residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high | 26 |
| school graduate but
whose high school class has graduated,
any |
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| ward of the Department of
Corrections who has attained the age | 2 |
| of 17 years, any inmate confined in any
branch of the Illinois | 3 |
| State Penitentiary or in a county correctional facility
who has | 4 |
| attained the age of 17 years, any member of the armed forces of | 5 |
| the
United States on active duty who has attained the age of 17 | 6 |
| years and who is
stationed in Illinois or is a legal resident | 7 |
| of Illinois, any female who has
attained the age of 17 years | 8 |
| and is either pregnant or the mother of one or
more children, | 9 |
| any male who has attained the age of 17 years and is the
father | 10 |
| of one or more children, or any person who has successfully | 11 |
| completed
an
alternative education program under Section | 12 |
| 2-3.81,
Article 13A, or Article 13B is eligible to apply for a | 13 |
| high school equivalency
certificate (if he or she meets the | 14 |
| requirements prescribed by the Illinois Community College | 15 |
| Board) upon showing evidence that he or she has completed, | 16 |
| successfully, the high
school level General Educational | 17 |
| Development Tests, administered by the United
States Armed | 18 |
| Forces Institute, official GED Centers established in other
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| states, or at Veterans' Administration Hospitals or the office | 20 |
| of the State
Superintendent of Education administered for the | 21 |
| Illinois State Penitentiary
System and the Department of | 22 |
| Corrections. Such applicant shall apply to the
regional | 23 |
| superintendent of the region wherein he has maintained | 24 |
| residence, and
upon payment of a fee established by the | 25 |
| Illinois Community College Board
the regional superintendent | 26 |
| shall issue a high school
equivalency certificate, and |
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| immediately thereafter certify to the Illinois Community | 2 |
| College Board the score of the applicant and such other and
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| additional information as may be required by the Illinois | 4 |
| Community College Board.
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| Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any | 6 |
| applicant who has
been out of school for at least one year may | 7 |
| request the regional
superintendent of schools to administer | 8 |
| the restricted GED test upon
written request of: The director | 9 |
| of a program who certifies to the Chief
Examiner of an official | 10 |
| GED center that the applicant has completed a
program of | 11 |
| instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the
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| Postal Service Academy or apprenticeship training program; an | 13 |
| employer
or program director for purposes of entry into | 14 |
| apprenticeship programs;
another State Department of Education | 15 |
| in order to meet regulations
established by that Department of | 16 |
| Education, a post high school
educational institution for | 17 |
| purposes of admission, the Department of
Professional | 18 |
| Regulation for licensing purposes, or the Armed Forces
for | 19 |
| induction purposes. The regional superintendent shall | 20 |
| administer
such test and the applicant shall be notified in | 21 |
| writing that he is
eligible to receive the Illinois High School | 22 |
| Equivalency Certificate
upon reaching age 18, provided he meets | 23 |
| the standards established by the Illinois Community College | 24 |
| Board.
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| Any test administered under this Section to an applicant | 26 |
| who does not
speak and understand English may at the discretion |
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| of the administering
agency be given and answered in any | 2 |
| language in which the test is
printed. The regional | 3 |
| superintendent of schools may waive any fees required
by this | 4 |
| Section in case of hardship.
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| In counties of over 3,000,000 population a GED certificate
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| shall contain the signatures of the President of the Illinois | 7 |
| Community College Board, the superintendent, president or | 8 |
| other chief
executive officer of the institution where GED | 9 |
| instruction occurred and any
other signatures authorized by the | 10 |
| Illinois Community College Board.
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| The regional superintendent of schools shall furnish the | 12 |
| Illinois
Community College Board with any information that the | 13 |
| Illinois
Community College Board requests with regard to | 14 |
| testing and certificates under this
Section.
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| (Source: P.A. 94-108, eff. 7-1-05.)
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