Bill Text: IL HB0026 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the introduced bill with the following changes. Removes from the applicability of the Act the University of Illinois, Illinois State University, Governors State University, Northeastern Illinois University, and Chicago State University; makes conforming changes. Provides that, beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, each institution shall create a 4-year uniform admission system pilot program under the Act (rather than create a permanent uniform admission system). Makes other changes. Repeals the Act on July 1, 2025.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2019-08-23 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 101-0448 [HB0026 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HB0026-Chaptered.html

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Public Act 101-0448
HB0026 Enrolled LRB101 03315 AXK 48323 b
AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Public
University Uniform Admission Pilot Program Act.
Section 5. Definition. In this Act, "institution" means,
except for the University of Illinois, Illinois State
University, Governors State University, Northeastern Illinois
University, and Chicago State University, a public university
in this State.
Section 10. Uniform admission system pilot program.
Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, each institution
shall create a 4-year uniform admission system pilot program
under this Act to admit first-time freshman students for each
semester of the pilot program.
Section 15. Automatic admission.
(a) Each institution shall admit an applicant for general
admission to the institution as an undergraduate student if the
applicant graduated with a grade point average in the top 10%
or was certified to be in the top 10% of the student's high
school graduating class in one of the 2 school years preceding

the academic year for which the applicant is applying for
admission and:
(1) the applicant graduated from a public or private
high school in this State accredited by a generally
recognized accrediting organization or from a high school
operated by the United States Department of Defense;
(2) the applicant:
(A) successfully completed the minimum college
preparatory curriculum requirements established by law
for admission to the institution; and
(B) satisfied the ACT college admission assessment
or the SAT college admission assessment composite
score and subscores required for admission to the
institution to which the applicant applied as well as
any composite scores or subscores for colleges within
that institution; and
(3) if the applicant graduated from a high school
operated by the United States Department of Defense, the
applicant is a State resident or is entitled to pay tuition
fees at the rate provided for State residents for the term
or semester to which admitted.
(b) An applicant who does not satisfy the curriculum
requirements prescribed by item (A) of subdivision (2) of
subsection (a) of this Section is considered to have satisfied
those requirements for the purposes of this Act if the student
completed the portion of the college preparatory curriculum

that was available to the student but was unable to complete
the remainder of the curriculum solely because courses
necessary to complete the remainder were unavailable to the
student at the appropriate times in the student's high school
career as a result of course scheduling, lack of enrollment
capacity, or another cause not within the student's control. An
institution may require a student's successful completion of
such curriculum requirements prior to or concurrently with
enrollment at the institution.
(c) An applicant who graduates in a graduating class of a
school, whether public or non-public, that has so few students
that class rank does not make a reliable contribution toward
assessing the student's college readiness is considered to have
satisfied the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section if
the student has a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a
4-point scale and has met the requirements of items (A) and (B)
of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this Section.
Section 20. Admission requirements.
(a) To qualify for admission under this Act, an applicant
must:
(1) submit an application before the expiration of any
application filing deadline established by the
institution; and
(2) provide a high school transcript or diploma that
satisfies the requirements of subsection (b) of this

Section.
(b) For purposes of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of
this Section, a student's official transcript or diploma must,
not later than the end of the student's junior year, indicate:
(1) whether the student has satisfied or is on schedule
to satisfy the requirements of item (A) of subdivision (2)
of subsection (a) of Section 15 of this Act; or
(2) if subsection (b) of Section 15 of this Act applies
to the student, whether the student has completed the
portion of the college preparatory curriculum that was
available to the student.
Section 25. Graduates of nonaccredited private schools.
(a) As used in this Section, "nonaccredited secondary
education" means a course of study at the secondary school
level in a nonaccredited private school setting.
(b) Because the State of Illinois considers successful
completion of a nonaccredited secondary education to be
equivalent to graduation from a public high school, an
institution, in complying with this Act and for all other
purposes, must treat an applicant for admission to the
institution as an undergraduate student who presents evidence
that he or she has successfully completed a nonaccredited
secondary education according to the same general standards,
including specific standardized testing score requirements, as
other applicants for undergraduate admission who have

graduated from a public high school.
(c) An institution may not require an applicant for
admission to the institution as an undergraduate student who
presents evidence that he or she has successfully completed a
nonaccredited secondary education to:
(1) obtain or submit evidence that the person has
obtained a general educational development certificate,
certificate of high school equivalency, or other
credentials equivalent to a public high school degree; or
(2) take an examination or comply with any other
application or admission requirement not generally
applicable to other applicants for undergraduate admission
to the institution.
(d) In complying with this Act or otherwise, when an
institution in its undergraduate admission review process
sorts or is required to sort applicants by high school
graduating class rank, the institution shall place any
applicant who presents evidence that the applicant has
successfully completed a nonaccredited secondary education
that does not include a high school graduating class ranking at
the average high school graduating class rank of undergraduate
applicants to the institution who have equivalent standardized
testing scores as the applicant.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, with
respect to admission into the institution or any program within
the institution, with respect to scholarship programs, and with

respect to other terms and conditions, and in complying with
this Act, an institution may not treat an applicant who has
successfully completed a nonaccredited secondary education
that does not include a high school graduating class ranking
differently than an applicant who graduated from an accredited
public school.
Section 30. Admission for child of fallen police officer,
firefighter, or Department of Corrections employee. Each
institution shall admit an applicant for admission to the
institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant:
(1) is the child of a police officer or firefighter
employed by or in the voluntary service of this State or
any local public entity in this State who was killed or
sustained a fatal injury in the line of duty or is the
child of an employee of the Department of Corrections who
was assigned to a security position with the Department
with responsibility for inmates of a correctional
institution under the jurisdiction of the Department and
who was killed or sustained a fatal injury in the line of
duty;
(2) meets the minimum requirements, if any,
established for purposes of this Section by the governing
board of the institution for high school or prior
college-level grade point average and performance on
standardized tests; and

(3) satisfies the ACT college admission assessment or
the SAT college admission assessment composite score and
subscores required for admission to the institution to
which the applicant applied as well as any composite scores
or subscores for colleges within that institution.
Section 35. Additional preparation for college. After
admitting an applicant under this Act, the institution shall
review the applicant's record and any other factor the
institution considers appropriate to determine whether the
applicant may require additional preparation for college-level
work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention program.
The institution may require a student so identified to enroll
during the summer immediately after the student is admitted
under this Act to participate in appropriate enrichment courses
and orientation programs. This Act does not prohibit a student
who is not determined to need additional preparation for
college-level work from enrolling, if the student chooses,
during the summer immediately after the student is admitted
under this Act.
Section 40. Student outreach program. The Illinois Student
Assistance Commission, by rule, shall develop and implement a
program to increase and enhance the efforts of institutions in
conducting outreach to academically high-performing high
school seniors in this State who are likely to be eligible for

automatic admission under Section 15 of this Act to provide to
those students information and counseling regarding the
operation of this Act and other opportunities, including
financial assistance, available to those students for success
at institutions.
Section 45. Fall or summer enrollment. An institution that
admits, under this Act, an applicant qualified for automatic
admission under Section 15 of this Act may admit the applicant
for either the fall semester of the academic year for which the
applicant applies or for the summer session preceding that fall
semester, as determined by the institution.
Section 50. Admissions denial; reference to Act. If an
institution denies admission to an applicant for an academic
year, then, in any letter or other communication the
institution provides to the applicant notifying the applicant
of that denial, the institution may not reference the
provisions of this Act, including using a description of a
provision of this Act such as "the top 10% automatic admissions
law", as a reason the institution is unable to offer admission
to the applicant, unless the number of applicants for admission
to the institution for that academic year who qualify for
automatic admission under Section 15 of this Act is sufficient
to fill 100% of the institution's enrollment capacity
designated for first-time resident undergraduate students.

Section 90. Rules. The Board of Higher Education and the
Illinois Student Assistance Commission may adopt any rules
necessary to implement this Act.