HB2985 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB097 07683 NHT 47794 b

97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB2985

Introduced 2/23/2011, by Rep. Jehan A. Gordon

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/3-15.12	from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.12
105 ILCS 5/26-1	from Ch. 122, par. 26-1
105 ILCS 5/26-2	from Ch. 122, par. 26-2
105 ILCS 5/26-14	from Ch. 122, par. 26-14

Amends the School Code. Increases the compulsory school age from 17 to 18 years of age; makes related changes. Effective July 1, 2011.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning 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 Sections 3-15.12, 26-1, 26-2, and 26-14 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.

An individual is eligible to apply to the regional superintendent of schools for the region in which he or she resides if he or she is: (a) a person who is 18 17 years of age or older, has maintained residence in the State of Illinois, and is not a high school graduate; (b) a person who is successfully completing an alternative education program under Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article 13B; or (c) a person who is enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard. For purposes of this Section, residence is that abode which the applicant considers his or her home. Applicants may provide as sufficient proof of such residence and as an acceptable form of identification a driver's license, valid passport, military ID, or other form of government-issued national or foreign identification that shows the applicant's name, address, date of birth, signature, and photograph or other acceptable identification as may be allowed by law or as regulated by the Illinois Community College Board. 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, 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 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. The regional superintendent shall then certify to the Illinois Community College Board the score of the applicant and such other and additional information that may be required by the Illinois Community College Board. 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 17 years and maintained residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high school graduate, any person who has enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard, or any person who has successfully completed an alternative education program under Section 2-3.81, Article 13A, or Article 13B 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 the regional superintendent shall issue a high school equivalency certificate, and immediately thereafter certify to the Illinois Community College Board the score of the applicant and such other and additional information as may be required by the Illinois Community College Board.

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 17, provided he meets the standards established by the Illinois Community College Board.

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 shall contain the signatures of the President of the Illinois Community College Board, 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.

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. 94-108, eff. 7-1-05; 95-609, eff. 6-1-08.)

(105 ILCS 5/26-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)

Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age-Exemptions. Whoever has custody or control of any child between the ages of 7 and 18 17 years (unless the child has already graduated from high school) shall cause such child to attend some public school in the district wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session during the regular school term, except as provided in Section 10-19.1, and during a required summer school program established under Section 10-22.33B; provided, that the following children shall not be required to attend the public schools:

1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school where children are taught the branches of education taught to children of corresponding age and grade in the public schools, and where the instruction of the child in the branches of education is in the English language;

2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to attend school, such disability being certified to the county or district truant officer by a competent physician licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987, an advanced practice nurse who has a written collaborative agreement with a collaborating physician that authorizes the advanced practice nurse to perform health examinations, a physician assistant who has been delegated the authority to perform health examinations by his or her supervising physician, or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this State and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is excused for temporary absence for cause by the principal or teacher of the school which the child attends; the exemptions in this paragraph (2) do not apply to any female who is pregnant or the mother of one or more children, except where a female is unable to attend school due to a complication arising from her pregnancy and the existence of such complication is certified to the county or district truant officer by a competent physician;

3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed according to the provisions of the law regulating child labor may be excused from attendance at school by the county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of the public school which the child should be attending, on certification of the facts by and the recommendation of the school board of the public school district in which the child resides. In districts having part time continuation schools, children so excused shall attend such schools at least 8 hours each week;

4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in attendance at confirmation classes;

5. Any child absent from a public school on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day for the reason that he is unable to attend classes or to participate in any examination, study or work requirements on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day, because the tenets of his religion forbid secular activity on a particular day or days or at a particular time of day. Each school board shall prescribe rules and regulations relative to absences for religious holidays including, but not limited to, a list of religious holidays on which it shall be mandatory to excuse a child; but nothing in this paragraph 5 shall be construed to limit the right of any school board, at its discretion, to excuse an absence on any other day by reason of the observance of a religious holiday. A school board may require the parent or guardian of a child who is to be excused from attending school due to the observance of a religious holiday to give notice, not exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school principal or other school personnel. Any child excused from attending school under this paragraph 5 shall not be required to submit a written excuse for such absence after returning to school; and

6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and (ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative learning opportunities program established pursuant to Article 13B of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 96-367, eff. 8-13-09.)

(105 ILCS 5/26-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-2)

Sec. 26-2. Enrolled pupils below 7 or over 18 17.

(a) Any person having custody or control of a child who is below the age of 7 years or is 18 17 years of age or above and who is enrolled in any of grades kindergarten through 12 in the public school shall cause him to attend the public school in the district wherein he resides when it is in session during the regular school term, unless he is excused under paragraph 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 of Section 26-1.

(b) A school district shall deny reenrollment in its secondary schools to any child 19 years of age or above who has dropped out of school and who could not, because of age and lack of credits, attend classes during the normal school year and graduate before his or her twenty-first birthday. A district may, however, enroll the child in a graduation incentives program under Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative learning opportunities program established under Article 13B. No child shall be denied reenrollment for the above reasons unless the school district first offers the child due process as required in cases of expulsion under Section 10-22.6. If a child is denied reenrollment after being provided with due process, the school district must provide counseling to that child and must direct that child to alternative educational programs, including adult education programs, that lead to graduation or receipt of a GED diploma.

(c) A school or school district may deny enrollment to a student 18 17 years of age or older for one semester for failure to meet minimum academic standards if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The student achieved a grade point average of less than "D" (or its equivalent) in the semester immediately prior to the current semester.

(2) The student and the student's parent or guardian are given written notice warning that the student is failing academically and is subject to denial from enrollment for one semester unless a "D" average (or its equivalent) or better is attained in the current semester.

(3) The parent or guardian is provided with the right to appeal the notice, as determined by the State Board of Education in accordance with due process.

(4) The student is provided with an academic improvement plan and academic remediation services.

(5) The student fails to achieve a "D" average (or its equivalent) or better in the current semester.

A school or school district may deny enrollment to a student 18 17 years of age or older for one semester for failure to meet minimum attendance standards if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The student was absent without valid cause for 20% or more of the attendance days in the semester immediately prior to the current semester.

(2) The student and the student's parent or guardian are given written notice warning that the student is subject to denial from enrollment for one semester unless the student is absent without valid cause less than 20% of the attendance days in the current semester.

(3) The student's parent or guardian is provided with the right to appeal the notice, as determined by the State Board of Education in accordance with due process.

(4) The student is provided with attendance remediation services, including without limitation assessment, counseling, and support services.

(5) The student is absent without valid cause for 20% or more of the attendance days in the current semester.

A school or school district may not deny enrollment to a student (or reenrollment to a dropout) who is at least 18 17 years of age or older but below 19 years for more than one consecutive semester for failure to meet academic or attendance standards.

(d) No child may be denied enrollment or reenrollment under this Section in violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act.

(e) In this subsection (e), "reenrolled student" means a dropout who has reenrolled full-time in a public school. Each school district shall identify, track, and report on the educational progress and outcomes of reenrolled students as a subset of the district's required reporting on all enrollments. A reenrolled student who again drops out must not be counted again against a district's dropout rate performance measure. The State Board of Education shall set performance standards for programs serving reenrolled students.

(f) The State Board of Education shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the changes to this Section made by Public Act 93-803.

(Source: P.A. 95-417, eff. 8-24-07.)

(105 ILCS 5/26-14) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-14)

Sec. 26-14. Truancy programs for dropouts. Any dropout, as defined in Section 26-2a, who is 18 17 years of age may apply to a school district for status as a truant, and the school district shall permit such person to participate in the district's various programs and resources for truants. At the time of the person's application, the district may request documentation of his dropout status for the previous 6 months.

(Source: P.A. 93-858, eff. 1-1-05.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2011.