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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Criminal History in College Applications Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Admission decision-making process" means the submission
8of a college application and all aspects of the college
9application process through admission.
10    "Applicant" means an individual who is seeking admission to
11a college.
12    "College" means any public or private institution of higher
13education authorized to confer degrees by the Board of Higher
14Education, including a college or university, professional
15school, or technical school.
16    "Criminal history information" means any record regarding
17an applicant's criminal history, including, but not limited to,
18records of (1) arrests and detentions, (2) criminal charges or
19indictments and the nature of any disposition arising therefrom
20that does not result in a conviction, and (3) convictions.
 
21    Section 10. Inquiry about and consideration of criminal
22history information during the admission process.

 

 

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1    (a) A college may not inquire about or consider an
2applicant's criminal history information at any time during the
3admission decision-making process.
4    (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of
5this Section, a college may make inquiry about or consider an
6applicant's criminal history information if such inquiry or
7consideration is required by federal law or pursuant to Section
82605-327 of the Department of State Police Law of the Civil
9Administrative Code of Illinois or Section 10, 15, or 20 of the
10Medical School Matriculant Criminal History Records Check Act,
11if applicable. Any inquiry or consideration shall be limited to
12that which is necessary to comply with the applicable State or
13federal law. Inquiry about or consideration of criminal history
14information outside the scope of that required by applicable
15State or federal law is prohibited.
 
16    Section 15. Multi-institution applications.
17    (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 10 of this
18Act, a college may use an application for admission that
19inquires about an applicant's criminal history if (1) that
20application is administered by a third-party vendor and (2) the
21application allows applicants to apply for admission at
22multiple institutions simultaneously.
23    (b) A college that elects to use a multi-institution
24application as described in subsection (a) of this Section may
25not consider any criminal history information provided on the

 

 

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1multi-institution application at any point during the
2admission decision-making process and may not make any further
3inquiries about an applicant's criminal history information
4during the admission decision-making process. If State or
5federal law requires inquiry or consideration of an applicant's
6criminal history information, any consideration of that
7criminal history information shall be limited to that which is
8necessary to comply with applicable State or federal law, as
9set forth in Section 10 of this Act.
10    (c) Except when inquiry or consideration of criminal
11history information is required by State or federal law, a
12college that elects to use a multi-institution application that
13inquires into criminal history information pursuant to
14subsection (a) of this Section shall publish a statement,
15prominently displayed on all of the college's admission
16materials and its admission website, that informs applicants
17that (1) the college is prohibited from considering an
18applicant's criminal history information pursuant to Illinois
19law and (2) an applicant using the multi-institution
20application will not be penalized for failing to answer
21questions about his or her criminal history information.
 
22    Section 20. Permitted inquiries.
23    (a) After an individual has been admitted as a student, a
24college may, but is not required to, make inquiries about and
25consider an individual's criminal history information for the

 

 

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1purposes of offering the individual counseling, services, or
2other guidance.
3    (b) After an individual has been admitted as a student and
4subject to any applicable federal or State law or local
5ordinance, a college may, but is not required to, make
6inquiries about or consider an individual's past criminal
7conviction history for the purposes of making decisions about
8participation in activities and aspects of campus life
9associated with the individual's status as a student,
10including, but not limited to, housing. At no time may a
11college inquire about criminal history information that is
12sealed or expunged or that did not result in conviction,
13including inquiring about any arrests or detentions or any
14criminal charges and the nature of any disposition arising
15therefrom that does not result in a conviction.
16    (c) A college may not use the information gathered in
17making an inquiry under this Section to rescind an offer of
18admission.
 
19    Section 25. Information about educational, licensing, or
20employment barriers for people with criminal records. A college
21may include information on its admission materials and website
22that informs prospective applicants that a criminal record may
23affect an individual's ability to obtain certain professional
24or occupational licenses or types of employment or to
25participate in certain clinical or other educational

 

 

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1requirements. A college may provide a contact for applicants or
2prospective applicants to ask questions and seek advice about
3any restrictions they may face due to a criminal record. Any
4information obtained by a college pursuant to this Section may
5not be considered during the admission decision-making process
6and its use is otherwise subject to the provisions of Section
720 of this Act and any confidentiality or similar provisions
8under State or federal law.
 
9    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10becoming law.