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| Public Act 100-0130 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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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)
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Sec. 3-15.12. High school equivalency testing program.
The | ||||
regional
superintendent of schools and the Illinois Community | ||||
College Board shall make available for qualified individuals
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residing within the region a High School Equivalency Testing | ||||
Program and alternative methods of credentialing, as | ||||
identified under this Section.
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 for high school equivalency testing | ||||
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
Executive | ||||
Director of the Illinois Community College Board.
The Illinois | ||||
Community College Board shall also establish criteria and make | ||||
available alternative methods of credentialing throughout the | ||||
State. | ||||
An individual is eligible to apply to the regional | ||||
superintendent of schools
for the region in which he or she
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resides if he or she is: (a) a person who is 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
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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
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under the control and supervision of the regional | ||
superintendent. Such moneys
received by the regional | ||
superintendent shall be used, first, for the
expenses incurred
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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 high school equivalency testing or meet | ||
the criteria for alternative methods of credentialing in | ||
furthering their academic development or
their ability to | ||
secure and retain gainful employment, including programs for
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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.
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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
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for in this Section.
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The Illinois Community College Board shall establish | ||
alternative methods of credentialing for the issuance of high | ||
school equivalency certification. In addition to high school | ||
equivalency testing, the following alternative methods of | ||
receiving a high school equivalency credential shall be made | ||
available to qualified individuals on or after January 1, 2018: | ||
(A) High School Equivalency based on High School | ||
Credit. A qualified candidate may petition to have his or | ||
her high school transcripts evaluated to determine what the | ||
candidate needs to meet criteria as established by the | ||
Illinois Community College Board. | ||
(B) High School Equivalency based on Post-Secondary | ||
Credit. A qualified candidate may petition to have his or | ||
her post-secondary transcripts evaluated to determine what | ||
the candidate needs to meet criteria established by the | ||
Illinois Community College Board. | ||
(C) High School Equivalency based on a Foreign Diploma. | ||
A qualified candidate may petition to have his or her | ||
foreign high school or post-secondary transcripts | ||
evaluated to determine what the candidate needs to meet | ||
criteria established by the Illinois Community College | ||
Board. | ||
(D) High School Equivalency based on Completion of a | ||
Competency-Based Program as approved by the Illinois | ||
Community College Board. The Illinois Community College | ||
Board shall establish guidelines for competency-based high | ||
school equivalency programs. | ||
Any applicant who has attained the age of 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
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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, high school | ||
equivalency testing, administered by the United
States Armed | ||
Forces Institute, official high school equivalency testing | ||
centers established in other
states, Veterans' Administration | ||
Hospitals, or the office of the State
Superintendent of | ||
Education for the Illinois State Penitentiary
System and the | ||
Department of Corrections. Such applicant shall apply to the
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regional superintendent of the region wherein he or she 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.
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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 | ||
restricted high school equivalency testing upon
written | ||
request of: the director of a program who certifies to the | ||
Chief
Examiner of an official high school equivalency testing | ||
center that the applicant has completed a
program of | ||
instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the
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Postal Service Academy, or an apprenticeship training program; | ||
an employer
or program director for purposes of entry into | ||
apprenticeship programs;
another state's department of | ||
education in order to meet regulations
established by that | ||
department of education; or a post high school
educational | ||
institution for purposes of admission, the Department of | ||
Financial and
Professional Regulation for licensing purposes, | ||
or the Armed Forces
for induction purposes. The regional | ||
superintendent shall administer
such testing, and the | ||
applicant shall be notified in writing that he or she is
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eligible to receive a high school equivalency certificate
upon | ||
reaching age 17, provided he or she meets the standards | ||
established by the Illinois Community College Board.
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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.
The regional superintendent of | ||
schools and the Illinois Community College Board shall waive | ||
any fees required by this Section for an applicant who meets | ||
all of the following criteria:
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(1) The applicant qualifies as a homeless person, | ||
child, or youth as defined in the Education for Homeless | ||
Children Act. | ||
(2) The applicant has not attained 25 years of age as | ||
of the date of the scheduled test. | ||
(3) The applicant can verify his or her status as a | ||
homeless person, child, or youth. A homeless services | ||
provider that is qualified to verify an individual's | ||
housing status, as determined by the Illinois Community | ||
College Board, and that has knowledge of the applicant's | ||
housing status may verify the applicant's status for | ||
purposes of this subdivision (3). | ||
(4) The applicant has completed a high school | ||
equivalency preparation course through an Illinois | ||
Community College Board-approved provider. | ||
(5) The applicant is taking the test at a testing | ||
center operated by a regional superintendent of schools or | ||
the Cook County High School Equivalency Office. | ||
In counties of over 3,000,000 population, a high school | ||
equivalency certificate
shall contain the signatures of the | ||
Executive Director of the Illinois Community College Board and | ||
the superintendent, president, or other chief
executive | ||
officer of the institution where high school equivalency | ||
testing instruction occurred and any
other signatures | ||
authorized by the Illinois Community College Board.
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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.
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(Source: P.A. 98-718, eff. 1-1-15; 98-719, eff. 1-1-15; 99-78, | ||
eff. 7-20-15; 99-742, eff. 1-1-17.)
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