Public Act 094-0108
 
SB0463 Enrolled LRB094 09484 NHT 39735 b

    AN ACT regarding education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
3-15.12 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/3-15.12)  (from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12)
    Sec. 3-15.12. High school equivalency testing program. The
regional superintendent of schools shall make available for
qualified individuals residing within the region a High School
Equivalency Testing Program. For that purpose the regional
superintendent alone or with other regional superintendents
may establish and supervise a testing center or centers to
administer the secure forms of the high school level Test of
General Educational Development to qualified persons. Such
centers shall be under the supervision of the regional
superintendent in whose region such centers are located,
subject to the approval of the President of the Illinois
Community College Board State Superintendent of Education.
    An individual is eligible to apply to the regional
superintendent of schools for the region in which he resides if
he is: (a) a person who is 18 years of age or older, has
maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high
school graduate, but whose high school class has graduated; (b)
a member of the armed forces of the United States on active
duty who is 17 years of age or older and who is stationed in
Illinois or is a legal resident of Illinois; (c) a ward of the
Department of Corrections who is 17 years of age or older or an
inmate confined in any branch of the Illinois State
Penitentiary or in a county correctional facility who is 17
years of age or older; (d) a female who is 17 years of age or
older who is unable to attend school because she is either
pregnant or the mother of one or more children; (e) a male 17
years of age or older who is unable to attend school because he
is a father of one or more children; (f) a person who is
successfully completing an alternative education program under
Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article 13B; (g) a person who
is enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the
Illinois National Guard; or (h) a person who is 17 years of age
or older who has been a dropout for a period of at least one
year. For purposes of this Section, residence is that abode
which the applicant considers his home. Applicants may provide
as sufficient proof of such residence a picture identification
card and two pieces of correctly addressed and postmarked mail.
Such regional superintendent shall determine if the applicant
meets statutory and regulatory state standards. If qualified
the applicant shall at the time of such application pay a fee
established by the Illinois Community College Board State Board
of Education, which fee shall be paid into a special fund under
the control and supervision of the regional superintendent.
Such moneys received by the regional superintendent shall be
used, first, for the expenses incurred in administering and
scoring the examination, and next for other educational
programs that are developed and designed by the regional
superintendent of schools to assist those who successfully
complete the high school level test of General Education
Development in furthering their academic development or their
ability to secure and retain gainful employment, including
programs for the competitive award based on test scores of
college or adult education scholarship grants or similar
educational incentives. Any excess moneys shall be paid into
the institute fund.
    Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing
standards as established by the Illinois Community College
Board State Board of Education shall be notified in writing by
the regional superintendent and shall be issued a high school
equivalency certificate on the forms provided by the Illinois
Community College Board State Superintendent of Education. The
regional superintendent shall then certify to the Illinois
Community College Board Office of the State Superintendent of
Education the score of the applicant and such other and
additional information that may be required by the Illinois
Community College Board State Superintendent of Education. The
moneys received therefrom shall be used in the same manner as
provided for in this Section.
    Any applicant who has attained the age of 18 years and
maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high
school graduate but whose high school class has graduated, or
any ward of the Department of Corrections who has attained the
age of 17 years, any inmate confined in any branch of the
Illinois State Penitentiary or in a county correctional
facility who has attained the age of 17 years, or any member of
the armed forces of the United States on active duty who has
attained the age of 17 years and who is stationed in Illinois
or is a legal resident of Illinois, or any female who has
attained the age of 17 years and is either pregnant or the
mother of one or more children, or any male who has attained
the age of 17 years and is the father of one or more children,
or any person who has successfully completed an alternative
education program under Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article
13B and meets the requirements prescribed by the State Board of
Education, is eligible to apply for a high school equivalency
certificate (if he or she meets the requirements prescribed by
the Illinois Community College Board) upon showing evidence
that he or she has completed, successfully, the high school
level General Educational Development Tests, administered by
the United States Armed Forces Institute, official GED Centers
established in other states, or at Veterans' Administration
Hospitals or the office of the State Superintendent of
Education administered for the Illinois State Penitentiary
System and the Department of Corrections. Such applicant shall
apply to the regional superintendent of the region wherein he
has maintained residence, and upon payment of a fee established
by the Illinois Community College Board State Board of
Education the regional superintendent shall issue a high school
equivalency certificate, and immediately thereafter certify to
the Illinois Community College Board State Superintendent of
Education the score of the applicant and such other and
additional information as may be required by the Illinois
Community College Board State Superintendent of Education.
    Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any
applicant who has been out of school for at least one year may
request the regional superintendent of schools to administer
the restricted GED test upon written request of: The director
of a program who certifies to the Chief Examiner of an official
GED center that the applicant has completed a program of
instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the
Postal Service Academy or apprenticeship training program; an
employer or program director for purposes of entry into
apprenticeship programs; another State Department of Education
in order to meet regulations established by that Department of
Education, a post high school educational institution for
purposes of admission, the Department of Professional
Regulation for licensing purposes, or the Armed Forces for
induction purposes. The regional superintendent shall
administer such test and the applicant shall be notified in
writing that he is eligible to receive the Illinois High School
Equivalency Certificate upon reaching age 18, provided he meets
the standards established by the Illinois Community College
Board State Board of Education.
    Any test administered under this Section to an applicant
who does not speak and understand English may at the discretion
of the administering agency be given and answered in any
language in which the test is printed. The regional
superintendent of schools may waive any fees required by this
Section in case of hardship.
    In counties of over 3,000,000 population a GED certificate
issued on or after July 1, 1994 shall contain the signatures of
the President of the Illinois Community College Board State
Superintendent of Education, the superintendent, president or
other chief executive officer of the institution where GED
instruction occurred and any other signatures authorized by the
Illinois Community College Board State Superintendent of
Education.
    The regional superintendent of schools shall furnish the
Illinois Community College Board with any information that the
Illinois Community College Board requests with regard to
testing and certificates under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 92-42, eff. 1-1-02.)
 
    Section 10. The Public Community College Act is amended by
adding Sections 2-21 and 2-22 as follows:
 
    (110 ILCS 805/2-21 new)
    Sec. 2-21. High school equivalency testing. On the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
Assembly, 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 shall be
transferred to the Illinois Community College Board. Within a
reasonable period of time after that date, all assets,
liabilities, contracts, property, records, pending business,
and unexpended appropriations of the State Board of Education
with regard to high school equivalency testing shall be
transferred to the Illinois Community College Board. The
Illinois Community College Board may adopt any rules necessary
to carry out its responsibilities under the School Code with
regard to high school equivalency testing. All rules,
standards, and procedures adopted by the State Board of
Education under the School Code with regard to high school
equivalency testing shall continue in effect as the rules,
standards, and procedures of the Illinois Community College
Board, until they are modified by the Illinois Community
College Board.
 
    (110 ILCS 805/2-22 new)
    Sec. 2-22. High school equivalency certificates. On the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 94th General
Assembly, all powers and duties of the State Board of Education
and State Superintendent of Education with regard to high
school equivalency certificates under the School Code shall be
transferred to the Illinois Community College Board. Within a
reasonable period of time after that date, all assets,
liabilities, contracts, property, records, pending business,
and unexpended appropriations of the State Board of Education
with regard to high school equivalency certificates shall be
transferred to the Illinois Community College Board. The
Illinois Community College Board may adopt any rules necessary
to carry out its responsibilities under the School Code with
regard to high school equivalency certificates and to carry
into efficient and uniform effect the provisions for the
issuance of high school equivalency certificates in this State.
All rules, standards, and procedures adopted by the State Board
of Education under the School Code with regard to high school
equivalency certificates shall continue in effect as the rules,
standards, and procedures of the Illinois Community College
Board, until they are modified by the Illinois Community
College Board.
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.34 rep.)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.34)
    Section 15. The School Code is amended by repealing Section
2-3.34.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.