Full Text of SB2185 102nd General Assembly
SB2185 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 SB2185 Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr. SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Creates the Criminal History in College Applications Act. Prohibits a college from inquiring about or considering an applicant's criminal history information until after a provisional offer of admission has been made. Sets forth provisions concerning multi-institution applications, criminal history inquiries after a provisional offer of admission, an appeals process, and the provision of information about education, licensing, and employment barriers for people with criminal records.
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| | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | | STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT |
| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 | | Criminal History in College Applications Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | 7 | | "Applicant" means an individual who is seeking admission | 8 | | to a college. | 9 | | "College" means any public or private institution of | 10 | | higher education authorized to confer degrees by the Board of | 11 | | Higher Education, including a college or university, | 12 | | professional school, or technical school. | 13 | | "Conviction" means, with respect to a criminal offense, a | 14 | | judgment of conviction or sentence entered upon a plea of | 15 | | guilty or upon a verdict or finding of guilt, rendered by a | 16 | | legally constituted jury or by a court in a case without a | 17 | | jury. For purposes of this Act, (i) an order of supervision or | 18 | | qualified probation, as defined in Section 5.2 of the Criminal | 19 | | Identification Act, that has been discharged or dismissed, or | 20 | | (ii) a juvenile adjudication shall not be deemed a conviction. | 21 | | "Criminal history information" means any record regarding | 22 | | an applicant's criminal history but does not include arrests, | 23 | | detentions, criminal charges, or indictments that did not |
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| 1 | | result in a conviction. | 2 | | "Provisional offer of admission" means the decision of a | 3 | | college to admit an applicant based upon academic performance, | 4 | | essays, a list of activities, achievements, honors, and other | 5 | | published criteria but without consideration of criminal | 6 | | history information or other conduct matters. | 7 | | Section 10. Criminal history inquiries prior to | 8 | | provisional offer of admission prohibited. A college may not | 9 | | inquire about or consider an applicant's criminal history | 10 | | information until after a provisional offer of admission has | 11 | | been made to the applicant. | 12 | | Section 15. Multi-institution applications. | 13 | | (a) Notwithstanding Section 10 of this Act, a college may | 14 | | use an application for admission that inquires about an | 15 | | applicant's criminal history if (i) that application is | 16 | | administered by a third-party vendor and (ii) the application | 17 | | allows applicants to apply for admission at multiple | 18 | | institutions simultaneously. | 19 | | (b) A college that elects to use a multi-institution | 20 | | application as described in subsection (a) may not consider | 21 | | any criminal history information provided on the | 22 | | multi-institution application until after a provisional offer | 23 | | of admission has been made to the applicant. | 24 | | (c) A college that elects to use a multi-institution |
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| 1 | | application as described in subsection (a) shall publish a | 2 | | statement that must be prominently displayed on all of the | 3 | | college's admission materials and its admission website, that | 4 | | informs applicants that they are not required to answer a | 5 | | criminal history inquiry prior to issuance of a provisional | 6 | | offer of admission by the college. | 7 | | (d) A college that uses a multi-institution application as | 8 | | described in subsection (a) may not add additional or optional | 9 | | questions to the multi-institution application that ask about | 10 | | criminal history information. | 11 | | Section 20. Criminal history inquiries after provisional | 12 | | offer of admission. | 13 | | (a) After a college has made and communicated its | 14 | | provisional offer of admission, it may inquire about or | 15 | | consider an applicant's prior convictions or any criminal | 16 | | charges that are pending at the time of the inquiry. A college | 17 | | may withdraw, rescind, or amend its provisional offer of | 18 | | admission upon a finding that the applicant's prior | 19 | | convictions demonstrate that admission of the applicant will | 20 | | have a detrimental impact on campus safety or security, as | 21 | | provided in subsection (d), but a college may not | 22 | | automatically or unreasonably deny an applicant's admission or | 23 | | restrict access to the campus, educational activities, or | 24 | | campus life. | 25 | | (b) At no time may a college consider criminal history |
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| 1 | | information that has been sealed, expunged, or impounded under | 2 | | applicable laws, nor may it consider information unrelated to | 3 | | a conviction, including, but not limited to, arrest, | 4 | | complaint, or indictment information that did not result in a | 5 | | conviction. | 6 | | (c) A college that chooses to make an inquiry about or | 7 | | considers an applicant's prior convictions shall (i) inform | 8 | | applicants that individuals with a prior conviction are | 9 | | presumed to be eligible for admission and (ii) provide | 10 | | applicants with an opportunity to provide information about | 11 | | the conviction, including any mitigating circumstances or | 12 | | clarifying information. | 13 | | (d) An applicant with a prior conviction or convictions | 14 | | shall be presumed to be eligible for admission. | 15 | | In determining whether an applicant's prior conviction | 16 | | demonstrates that admission of the applicant will have a | 17 | | detrimental impact on campus safety or security, a college | 18 | | must articulate the specific reasons or circumstances | 19 | | surrounding the applicant's prior convictions that demonstrate | 20 | | that the applicant may be a threat to campus safety or | 21 | | security. Categorical denials based on the type of conviction | 22 | | is not sufficient to rescind, withdraw, or amend a provisional | 23 | | offer. | 24 | | If the college determines that admission of an applicant | 25 | | may have a detrimental impact on campus safety or security, it | 26 | | may not rescind or withdraw a provisional offer of admission |
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| 1 | | if there are less restrictive measures that the college may | 2 | | reasonably take to mitigate the perceived risks of admitting | 3 | | the applicant. Any such measure shall limit the applicant's | 4 | | participation in education or campus life only to the degree | 5 | | necessary to address the specific risks that the college has | 6 | | determined that the admission of the applicant poses. | 7 | | Section 25. Appeals. | 8 | | (a) A college must establish an expedited appeals process | 9 | | under this Act. | 10 | | (b) An applicant who is denied admission due to the | 11 | | applicant's prior conviction or an applicant for whom the | 12 | | college has limited his or her participation in education or | 13 | | campus life must be notified of the opportunity to appeal the | 14 | | decision. | 15 | | (c) An appeals process must allow for the applicant to | 16 | | present additional information, including mitigating | 17 | | circumstances or other information, to show that the applicant | 18 | | is not a threat to campus safety or security, including an | 19 | | opportunity for an in-person interview. | 20 | | (d) A college must inform the applicant of the result of | 21 | | the appeal in writing and must articulate the reason for its | 22 | | decision to rescind, withdraw, or amend its provisional offer | 23 | | of admission or its decision to admit the applicant. | 24 | | Section 30. Information about education, licensing, or |
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| 1 | | employment barriers for people with criminal records. A | 2 | | college may include information on its admission website that | 3 | | informs prospective applicants that a criminal record may | 4 | | affect an individual's ability to obtain certain professional | 5 | | or occupational licenses or types of employment or to | 6 | | participate in vertical clinical or other education | 7 | | requirements. A college may provide a contact for applicants | 8 | | or prospective applicants to ask questions and seek advice | 9 | | about any restrictions they may face due to a criminal record. | 10 | | Any information provided by the applicant to the contact may | 11 | | not be shared with admissions personnel.
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