Public Act 0979 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB3349 Enrolled LRB103 38145 RJT 68277 b

Public Act 103-0979

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 2-3.169 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.169)

Sec. 2-3.169. State Global Scholar Certification.

(a) The State Global Scholar Certification Program is established to recognized public and nonpublic high school graduates who have attained global competence. State Global Scholar Certification shall be awarded beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. School district or nonpublic school participation in this certification is voluntary.

(b) The purposes of State Global Scholar Certification are as follows:

(1) To recognize the value of a global education.

(2) To certify attainment of global competence.

(3) To provide employers with a method of identifying globally competent employees.

(4) To provide colleges and universities with an additional method to recognize applicants seeking admission.

(5) To prepare students with 21st century skills.

(6) To encourage the development of a globally ready workforce in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), manufacturing, agriculture, and service sectors.

(c) State Global Scholar Certification confirms attainment of global competence, sufficient for meaningful use in college and a career, by a graduating public or nonpublic high school student.

(d) The State Board of Education shall adopt such rules as may be necessary to establish the criteria that students must achieve to earn State Global Scholar Certification, which shall minimally include attainment of 6 units of credit in globally focused courses, service learning experiences, global collaboration or and dialogue, and passage of a capstone project demonstrating global competency, as approved by the participating school district or nonpublic school for this purpose.

(e) The State Board of Education shall do both of the following:

(1) Prepare and deliver to participating school districts or nonpublic schools an appropriate mechanism for designating State Global Scholar Certification on the diploma and transcript of a student indicating that the student has been awarded State Global Scholar Certification by the State Board of Education.

(2) Provide other information the State Board of Education deems necessary for school districts or nonpublic schools to successfully participate in the certification.

(f) A school district or nonpublic school that participates in certification under this Section shall do both of the following:

(1) Maintain appropriate records in order to identify students who have earned State Global Scholar Certification.

(2) Make the appropriate designation on the diploma and transcript of each student who earns State Global Scholar Certification.

(g) No fee may be charged to a student to receive the designation pursuant to the Section. Notwithstanding this prohibition, costs may be incurred by the student in demonstrating proficiency.

(h) The State Board of Education shall adopt such rules as may be necessary to provide students attending schools that do not offer State Global Scholar Certification the opportunity to earn State Global Scholar Certification remotely beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. These rules shall include, but are not limited to, a list of all school courses and course codes derived from the State Board of Education's Illinois State Course Catalog and Illinois Virtual Course Catalog that are designated as and qualify as globally focused coursework.

If the provider of the online course determines and can demonstrate that a student meets all of the criteria required to earn State Global Scholar Certification, then the school district or nonpublic school shall designate that the student has earned State Global Scholar Certification on the student's diploma and transcript.

A school district or nonpublic school shall provide, upon the request of a student, evidence to the student that the student has completed at least 6 globally focused courses required to earn State Global Scholar Certification for the student to submit to the provider of the online course.

A student enrolled in a school district or nonpublic school that awarded State Global Scholar Certification prior to the 2026-2027 school year and offered a course to complete the capstone project requirement prior to the 2026-2027 school year may not earn State Global Scholar Certification remotely under this subsection (h).

(Source: P.A. 103-352, eff. 7-28-23.)