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90_HB3481enr
105 ILCS 5/3-15.12 from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12
Amends the School Code. Eliminates provisions that set
specific fees for taking or retaking the high school level
Test of General Educational Development and the specific fee
for issuance of a high school equivalency certificate.
Provides instead that those fees shall be established by the
State Board of Education. Effective immediately.
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1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Section
2 3-15.12.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
6 Section 3-15.12 as follows:
7 (105 ILCS 5/3-15.12) (from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12)
8 Sec. 3-15.12. High school equivalency testing program.
9 The regional superintendent of schools shall make available
10 for qualified individuals residing within the region a High
11 School Equivalency Testing Program. For that purpose the
12 regional superintendent alone or with other regional
13 superintendents may establish and supervise a testing center
14 or centers to administer the secure forms of the high school
15 level Test of General Educational Development to qualified
16 persons. Such centers shall be under the supervision of the
17 regional superintendent in whose region such centers are
18 located, subject to the approval of the State Superintendent
19 of Education.
20 An individual is eligible to apply to the regional
21 superintendent of schools for the region in which he resides
22 if 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
24 high school graduate, but whose high school class has
25 graduated; (b) a member of the armed forces of the United
26 States on active duty who is 17 years of age or older and who
27 is stationed in Illinois or is a legal resident of Illinois;
28 (c) a ward of the Department of Corrections who is 17 years
29 of age or older or an inmate confined in any branch of the
30 Illinois State Penitentiary or in a county correctional
31 facility who is 17 years of age or older; (d) a female who is
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1 17 years of age or older who is unable to attend school
2 because she is either pregnant or the mother of one or more
3 children; (e) a male 17 years of age or older who is unable
4 to attend school because he is a father of one or more
5 children; (f) a person who is successfully completing an
6 alternative education program under Section 2-3.81 or Article
7 13A; (g) a person who is enrolled in a youth education
8 program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard; or (h) a
9 person who is 17 years of age or older who has been a dropout
10 for a period of at least one year. For purposes of this
11 Section, residence is that abode which the applicant
12 considers his home. Applicants may provide as sufficient
13 proof of such residence a picture identification card and two
14 pieces of correctly addressed and postmarked mail. Such
15 regional superintendent shall determine if the applicant
16 meets statutory and regulatory state standards. If qualified
17 the applicant shall at the time of such application pay a fee
18 established by the State Board of Education of $10 for tests
19 to be taken through June 30, 1988 and $15 for tests to be
20 taken thereafter, and when making application for
21 reexamination a fee of $2 shall be paid for each test to be
22 retaken, except that after June 30, 1988 a fee of $7 shall be
23 paid for each essay test to be retaken, which fee shall be
24 paid into a special fund under the control and supervision of
25 the regional superintendent. Such moneys received by the
26 regional superintendent shall be used, first, for the
27 expenses incurred in administering and scoring the
28 examination, and next for other educational programs that are
29 developed and designed by the regional superintendent of
30 schools to assist those who successfully complete the high
31 school level test of General Education Development in
32 furthering their academic development or their ability to
33 secure and retain gainful employment, including programs for
34 the competitive award based on test scores of college or
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1 adult education scholarship grants or similar educational
2 incentives. Any excess moneys shall be paid into the
3 institute fund.
4 Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing
5 standards as established by the State Board of Education
6 shall be notified in writing by the regional superintendent
7 and upon the payment of an additional $10 by the applicant
8 the regional superintendent shall be issued issue a high
9 school equivalency certificate on the forms provided by the
10 State Superintendent of Education. The regional
11 superintendent shall then certify to the Office of the State
12 Superintendent of Education the score of the applicant and
13 such other and additional information that may be required by
14 the State Superintendent of Education. The moneys received
15 therefrom shall be used in the same manner as provided for in
16 this Section.
17 Any applicant who has attained the age of 18 years and
18 maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is not a
19 high school graduate but whose high school class has
20 graduated or any ward of the Department of Corrections who
21 has attained the age of 17 years, any inmate confined in any
22 branch of the Illinois State Penitentiary or in a county
23 correctional facility who has attained the age of 17 years,
24 or any member of the armed forces of the United States on
25 active duty who has attained the age of 17 years and who is
26 stationed in Illinois or is a legal resident of Illinois, or
27 any female who has attained the age of 17 years and is either
28 pregnant or the mother of one or more children, or any male
29 who has attained the age of 17 years and is the father of one
30 or more children, or any person who has successfully
31 completed an alternative education program under Section
32 2-3.81 or Article 13A, and meets the requirements prescribed
33 by the State Board of Education, is eligible to apply for a
34 high school equivalency certificate upon showing evidence
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1 that he has completed, successfully, the high school level
2 General Educational Development Tests, administered by the
3 United States Armed Forces Institute, official GED Centers
4 established in other states, or at Veterans' Administration
5 Hospitals or the office of the State Superintendent of
6 Education administered for the Illinois State Penitentiary
7 System and the Department of Corrections. Such applicant
8 shall apply to the regional superintendent of the region
9 wherein he has maintained residence, and upon payment of a
10 $10 fee established by the State Board of Education the
11 regional superintendent shall issue a high school equivalency
12 certificate, and immediately thereafter certify to the State
13 Superintendent of Education the score of the applicant and
14 such other and additional information as may be required by
15 the State Superintendent of Education.
16 Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any
17 applicant who has been out of school for at least one year
18 may request the regional superintendent of schools to
19 administer the restricted GED test upon written request of:
20 The director of a program who certifies to the Chief Examiner
21 of an official GED center that the applicant has completed a
22 program of instruction provided by such agencies as the Job
23 Corps, the Postal Service Academy or apprenticeship training
24 program; an employer or program director for purposes of
25 entry into apprenticeship programs; another State Department
26 of Education in order to meet regulations established by that
27 Department of Education, a post high school educational
28 institution for purposes of admission, the Department of
29 Professional Regulation for licensing purposes, or the Armed
30 Forces for induction purposes. The regional superintendent
31 shall administer such test and the applicant shall be
32 notified in writing that he is eligible to receive the
33 Illinois High School Equivalency Certificate upon reaching
34 age 18, provided he meets the standards established by the
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1 State Board of Education.
2 Any test administered under this Section to an applicant
3 who does not speak and understand English may at the
4 discretion of the administering agency be given and answered
5 in any language in which the test is printed. The regional
6 superintendent of schools may waive any fees required by this
7 Section in case of hardship.
8 In counties of over 3,000,000 population a GED
9 certificate issued on or after July 1, 1994 shall contain the
10 signatures of the State Superintendent of Education, the
11 superintendent, president or other chief executive officer of
12 the institution where GED instruction occurred and any other
13 signatures authorized by the State Superintendent of
14 Education.
15 (Source: P.A. 88-67; 88-386; 88-670, eff. 12-2-94; 89-273,
16 eff. 1-1-96; 89-358, eff. 1-1-96; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96;
17 89-629, eff. 8-9-96.)
18 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19 becoming law.