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| 1 |  | subject to the approval
of the
President of the Illinois  | 
| 2 |  | Community College Board.
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| 3 |  |  An individual is eligible to apply to the regional  | 
| 4 |  | superintendent of schools
for the region in which he or she
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| 5 |  | resides if he or she is: (a) a person who is 17 years
of age or  | 
| 6 |  | older, has maintained residence in the State of Illinois,
and  | 
| 7 |  | is
not a high school graduate; (b)
a person who is successfully  | 
| 8 |  | completing an
alternative education program under Section  | 
| 9 |  | 2-3.81, Article 13A,
or Article 13B; or (c) a
person who is
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| 10 |  | enrolled in a youth education program sponsored by the Illinois  | 
| 11 |  | National
Guard.
For purposes of this Section, residence is that  | 
| 12 |  | abode which the applicant
considers his or her home. Applicants  | 
| 13 |  | may provide as sufficient proof of such
residence and as an  | 
| 14 |  | acceptable form of identification a driver's license, valid  | 
| 15 |  | passport, military ID, or other form of government-issued  | 
| 16 |  | national or foreign identification that shows the applicant's  | 
| 17 |  | name, address, date of birth, signature, and photograph or  | 
| 18 |  | other acceptable identification as may be allowed by law or as  | 
| 19 |  | regulated by the Illinois Community College Board. Such  | 
| 20 |  | regional superintendent shall determine if the
applicant meets  | 
| 21 |  | statutory and regulatory state standards. If qualified the
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| 22 |  | applicant shall at the time of such application pay a fee  | 
| 23 |  | established by the
Illinois Community College Board, which fee  | 
| 24 |  | shall be paid into a special
fund
under the control and  | 
| 25 |  | supervision of the regional superintendent. Such moneys
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| 26 |  | received by the regional superintendent shall be used, first,  | 
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| 1 |  | for the
expenses incurred
in administering and scoring the  | 
| 2 |  | examination, and next for other educational
programs that are  | 
| 3 |  | developed and designed by the regional superintendent of
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| 4 |  | schools to assist those who successfully complete the high  | 
| 5 |  | school level test of
General Education Development in  | 
| 6 |  | furthering their academic development or
their ability to  | 
| 7 |  | secure and retain gainful employment, including programs for
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| 8 |  | the competitive award based on test scores of college or adult  | 
| 9 |  | education
scholarship grants or similar educational  | 
| 10 |  | incentives. Any excess moneys shall
be paid into the institute  | 
| 11 |  | fund.
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| 12 |  |  Any applicant who has achieved the minimum passing  | 
| 13 |  | standards as
established by the
Illinois Community College  | 
| 14 |  | Board shall be
notified in writing by the regional  | 
| 15 |  | superintendent and shall be
issued a high school equivalency  | 
| 16 |  | certificate on the forms provided by the
Illinois Community  | 
| 17 |  | College Board. The regional superintendent shall
then certify  | 
| 18 |  | to the Illinois Community College Board
the score of the  | 
| 19 |  | applicant and such other and additional information
that may be  | 
| 20 |  | required by the Illinois Community College Board. The
moneys  | 
| 21 |  | received therefrom shall be used in the same manner as provided
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| 22 |  | for in this Section.
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| 23 |  |  Any applicant who has attained the age of 17 years and  | 
| 24 |  | maintained
residence in the State of Illinois and is not a high  | 
| 25 |  | school graduate, any person who has enrolled in a youth  | 
| 26 |  | education program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard, or  | 
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| 1 |  | any person who has successfully completed
an
alternative  | 
| 2 |  | education program under Section 2-3.81,
Article 13A, or Article  | 
| 3 |  | 13B is eligible to apply for a high school equivalency
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| 4 |  | certificate (if he or she meets the requirements prescribed by  | 
| 5 |  | the Illinois Community College Board) upon showing evidence  | 
| 6 |  | that he or she has completed, successfully, the high
school  | 
| 7 |  | level General Educational Development Tests, administered by  | 
| 8 |  | the United
States Armed Forces Institute, official GED Centers  | 
| 9 |  | established in other
states, or at Veterans' Administration  | 
| 10 |  | Hospitals or the office of the State
Superintendent of  | 
| 11 |  | Education administered for the Illinois State Penitentiary
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| 12 |  | System and the Department of Corrections. Such applicant shall  | 
| 13 |  | apply to the
regional superintendent of the region wherein he  | 
| 14 |  | has maintained residence, and
upon payment of a fee established  | 
| 15 |  | by the Illinois Community College Board
the regional  | 
| 16 |  | superintendent shall issue a high school
equivalency  | 
| 17 |  | certificate, and immediately thereafter certify to the  | 
| 18 |  | Illinois Community College Board the score of the applicant and  | 
| 19 |  | such other and
additional information as may be required by the  | 
| 20 |  | Illinois Community College Board.
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| 21 |  |  Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, any  | 
| 22 |  | applicant who has
been out of school for at least one year may  | 
| 23 |  | request the regional
superintendent of schools to administer  | 
| 24 |  | the restricted GED test upon
written request of: The director  | 
| 25 |  | of a program who certifies to the Chief
Examiner of an official  | 
| 26 |  | GED center that the applicant has completed a
program of  | 
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| 1 |  | instruction provided by such agencies as the Job Corps, the
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| 2 |  | Postal Service Academy or apprenticeship training program; an  | 
| 3 |  | employer
or program director for purposes of entry into  | 
| 4 |  | apprenticeship programs;
another State Department of Education  | 
| 5 |  | in order to meet regulations
established by that Department of  | 
| 6 |  | Education, a post high school
educational institution for  | 
| 7 |  | purposes of admission, the Department of
Professional  | 
| 8 |  | Regulation for licensing purposes, or the Armed Forces
for  | 
| 9 |  | induction purposes. The regional superintendent shall  | 
| 10 |  | administer
such test and the applicant shall be notified in  | 
| 11 |  | writing that he is
eligible to receive the Illinois High School  | 
| 12 |  | Equivalency Certificate
upon reaching age 17, provided he meets  | 
| 13 |  | the standards established by the Illinois Community College  | 
| 14 |  | Board.
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| 15 |  |  Any test administered under this Section to an applicant  | 
| 16 |  | who does not
speak and understand English may at the discretion  | 
| 17 |  | of the administering
agency be given and answered in any  | 
| 18 |  | language in which the test is
printed. The regional  | 
| 19 |  | superintendent of schools may waive any fees required
by this  | 
| 20 |  | Section in case of hardship.
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| 21 |  |  In counties of over 3,000,000 population a GED certificate
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| 22 |  | shall contain the signatures of the President of the Illinois  | 
| 23 |  | Community College Board, the superintendent, president or  | 
| 24 |  | other chief
executive officer of the institution where GED  | 
| 25 |  | instruction occurred and any
other signatures authorized by the  | 
| 26 |  | Illinois Community College Board.
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