Bill Text: IL HB1807 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Reinserts the provisions of the engrossed bill with the following changes. In a provision concerning registered professional nursing education programs, provides that no program shall be placed on probation until calendar year 2026 National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) results can be measured. Provides that any program with NCLEX pass rates for calendar year 2026 less than 75% shall receive a written warning of noncompliance from the Division of Professional Regulation of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation pursuant to a specific provision of the Illinois Administrative Code, except the Division may defer the written warning for an additional year if the program is within a public university and 55% or more of the university's total student population received Pell Grants. Removes a provision concerning the rescission of a license of an individual who has been identified by a federal investigation as presenting illegitimate educational credentials that have been flagged by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Effective September 1, 2026.

Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-2)

Status: (Passed) 2026-07-10 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 104-0542 [HB1807 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB1807-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Nurse Practice Act is amended by changing
Sections 60-5 and 60-10 as follows:
(225 ILCS 65/60-5)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
Sec. 60-5. Registered professional nursing education
programs. RN education program requirements; out-of-State
programs.
(a) The purpose of nursing education rules and regulations
is to ensure that graduates of nursing education programs are
prepared for safe and effective nursing practice. Early
intervention when standards are not met assists programs in
making improvements before warning signs are evident and
before sanctions are necessary. The purpose of Board and
Department approval of a registered professional nursing
education program is to do the following:
(1) promote the safe practice of nursing by
implementing standards for individuals seeking licensure
as registered nurses;
(2) grant regulatory recognition to nursing education
programs that the Board and the Department determine have

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met established standards;
(3) ensure graduates meet the educational and legal
requirements for the level of licensure that the graduates
are seeking;
(4) facilitate graduates' endorsement to other states,
territories, and countries as appropriate; and
(5) provide the public and prospective students with a
published list of approved nursing programs that meet the
standards established by law and the Board's rules.
(b) To establish a new registered professional nursing
education program, the proposed program's administrator must
notify the Department of the intention to establish a new
program. The Department may approve the proposed program after
a recommendation from the Board, upon the successful
completion of the following process and a site visit:
(1) The proposed program must provide a feasibility
study that includes the following information to the
Board:
(A) governing institution approval and ongoing
support;
(B) evidence of adequate institutional financial
support that can be provided to the program on an
ongoing basis;
(C) availability of educational resources, such as
human resources, physical resources (including access
to a library), clinical resources, and technical

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learning resources;
(D) evidence of the institution meeting the Board
of Higher Education's requirements and the
accreditation requirements by a national accrediting
body recognized by the United States Department of
Education;
(E) evidence of the nursing program actively
seeking pre-accreditation or candidate accreditation
from a national accrediting body for nursing education
recognized by the United States Department of
Education;
(F) evidence of adequate numbers of clinical
partnerships;
(G) availability of qualified faculty members and
employment of a program director whose qualifications
must meet the requirements set forth by the
Department; and
(H) a proposed timeline for initiating the
program.
(2) After the feasibility study has been submitted to
the Department, the proposed program must complete the
following program components and processes and submit
verification of completion to the Department:
(A) development of a comprehensive program
curriculum;
(B) submission of the program's ongoing systematic

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evaluation plan;
(C) establishment of policies for student
admission, progression, retention, and graduation; and
(D) establishment of policies and strategies to
address students' needs, including those with
documented disabilities.
(c) Nursing education rules must be based on
evidence-based criteria and used to monitor the quality of a
registered professional nursing education program. All
registered professional nursing education programs must meet
the following requirements:
(1) The program must have written and published
criteria for student admission, progression, and
performance.
(2) The written policies and procedures of the program
must be reviewed and approved by the program's identified
governing body and be readily accessible according to
accreditation standards.
(3) The program must have policies in place that hold
students responsible for professional behavior, including
honesty and integrity, as outlined in the program's
policies or student handbook. Such handbook or policies
should be made available to the Department upon request.
(4) The administrator of the program must (i) hold a
graduate degree in nursing, (ii) have a minimum of 2 years
of clinical nursing and nursing education experience,

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(iii) hold a current, active, and unencumbered license as
a registered nurse in this State, (iv) have institutional
authority and administrative responsibility over the
program, and (v) be responsible for submitting the
Department's annual report, consisting of aggregate
program data as determined by the Board, by the provided
deadline.
(d) Faculty members of a registered professional nursing
education program must meet the following criteria:
(1) possess the requisite academic and experiential
qualifications; and
(2) hold either:
(A) a graduate degree in nursing with at least 2
years of practical experience, if the faculty member
teaches didactic nursing courses; or
(B) a current, active, and unencumbered license as
a registered nurse in this State and a graduate degree
in nursing, if the faculty member teaches clinical,
lab, or simulation experience courses.
A faculty member who does not hold a graduate degree in
nursing, but who holds a bachelor's degree in nursing, may
teach didactic nursing, clinical, lab, or simulation
experience courses if the faculty member obtains a waiver from
the Division of Professional Regulation. A faculty member who
does not meet the requirements of paragraph (2) of this
subsection but who obtains a waiver to teach shall be

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supervised by a faculty member with a graduate degree in
nursing. No more than 20% of a program's faculty may have a
waiver at one time.
(e) A registered professional nursing program must meet
the following training and development requirements:
(1) Faculty members must be oriented in accordance
with institutional policies and procedures. Orientation
may include basic instruction in teaching, adult learning
principles, learning assessment, curriculum development,
and other subjects included as appropriate to meet the
diverse needs of students and promote student learning and
success.
(2) Newly hired faculty members must be mentored by
experientially prepared colleagues.
(3) Faculty members must participate in ongoing
professional development.
(4) The program must provide access to faculty
development activities.
(f) To maintain enrollment in a registered professional
nursing program, students must meet health standards, criminal
background requirements, and other compliance standards as
required by the program's clinical affiliation agreements.
(g) The curriculum of a registered professional nursing
program must meet the following requirements:
(1) be built on a foundation of biological, physical,
social, and behavioral sciences;

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(2) have a written systematic evaluation plan in
place;
(3) have didactic and clinical content that prepares
graduates to practice safely, utilize the nursing process
in a variety of clinical settings, and meet the holistic
needs of diverse individuals, families, communities, and
populations across the life span;
(4) combined with clinical experiences, prepare the
graduate to take the NCLEX-RN exam for licensure;
(5) have strategies that are in place to remediate
errors and near-misses in the clinical setting;
(6) meet the standards of the program's accrediting
body;
(7) have clinical affiliation agreements in place for
clinical experiences;
(8) have distance education methods that are
consistent with the accreditation and regulatory
standards; and
(9) provide direct care clinical experiences with
patients, as defined by accrediting and regulatory bodies.
(h) A professional nursing education program shall not use
simulation as a substitute for traditional clinical
experiences for more than 25% of a course's total clinical
hours. Programs may seek an exception to this subsection from
the Board and must follow the requirements set forth in the
"Guidelines for the Use of Simulation by Prelicensure Nursing

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Programs" as published on the Department's website.
(h-5) The program must develop criteria to evaluate the
simulation activities and allow students to evaluate the
simulation experience on an ongoing basis.
(i) The program's resources must be sufficient to support
the program's needs to meet its mission, goals, and outcomes.
The program must provide accessibility resources to all
students, including those enrolled in distance education, and
institutional resources that assist students with academic and
financial challenges.
(j) A registered professional nursing program must be
accredited by a national accrediting body recognized by the
United States Department of Education. If the program has its
accreditation revoked, the program must submit a copy of the
notice of revocation from the accrediting body to the Board
within 30 days after receipt.
(k) If the Department obtains evidence at any time that a
registered professional nursing program does not comply with
this Act, the Department may perform an unannounced site
visit. The Department shall have the discretion to determine
if a complaint is unwarranted and not have to conduct a site
visit. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to, the
following:
(1) complaints from students, faculty, or clinical
agencies;
(2) program administrator turnover of more than 3

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administrators in 5 years, excluding interim appointments;
(3) unexplained nursing faculty turnover or cuts in
the number of nursing faculty;
(4) a pattern of NCLEX pass rates less than 75%, as
defined by rule; and
(5) loss of national programmatic accreditation.
The Department has the discretion to determine if a
complaint is unwarranted and if a site visit must be
conducted.
(l) No program shall be placed on probation until calendar
year 2026 NCLEX results can be measured. Any program with
NCLEX pass rates for calendar year 2026 less than 75% shall
receive a written warning of noncompliance from the Division
of Professional Regulation of the Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation pursuant to Title 68, Part 1300,
Section 340 of the Illinois Administrative Code, except the
Division may defer the written warning for an additional year
if the program is within a public university and 55% or more of
the university's total student population received Pell
Grants.
(a) All registered professional nurse education programs
must be reviewed by the Board and approved by the Department
before the successful completion of such a program may be
applied toward meeting the requirements for registered
professional nurse licensure under this Act. Any program
changing the level of educational preparation or the

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relationship with or to the parent institution or establishing
an extension of an existing program must request a review by
the Board and approval by the Department. The Board shall
review and make a recommendation for the approval or
disapproval of a program by the Department based on the
following criteria:
(1) a feasibility study that describes the need for
the program and the facilities used, the potential of the
program to recruit faculty and students, financial support
for the program, and other criteria, as established by
rule;
(2) program curriculum that meets all State
requirements;
(2.5) measurement of program effectiveness based on a
passage rate of all graduates over the 3 most recent
calendar years without reference to first-time test
takers;
(3) the administration of the program by a Nurse
Administrator and the involvement of a Nurse Administrator
in the development of the program;
(4) the occurrence of a site visit prior to approval;
and
(5) beginning December 31, 2022, obtaining and
maintaining programmatic accreditation by a national
accrediting body for nursing education recognized by the
United States Department of Education and approved by the

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Department.
The Department and Board of Nursing shall be notified
within 30 days if the program loses its accreditation. The
Department may adopt rules regarding a warning process and
reaccreditation.
(b) In order to obtain initial Department approval and to
maintain Department approval, a registered professional
nursing program must meet all of the following requirements:
(1) The institution responsible for conducting the
program and the Nurse Administrator must ensure that
individual faculty members are academically and
professionally competent.
(2) The program curriculum must contain all applicable
requirements established by rule, including both theory
and clinical components.
(3) The passage rates of the program's graduating
classes on the State-approved licensure exam must be
deemed satisfactory by the Department.
(c) Program site visits to an institution conducting or
hosting a professional nursing program may be made at the
discretion of the Nursing Coordinator or upon recommendation
of the Board. Full routine site visits may be conducted by the
Department for periodic evaluation. Such visits shall be used
to determine compliance with this Act. Full routine site
visits must be announced and may be waived at the discretion of
the Department if the program maintains accreditation with an

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accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of
Education and approved by the Department.
(d) Any institution conducting a registered professional
nursing program that wishes to discontinue the program must do
each of the following:
(1) Notify the Department, in writing, of its intent
to discontinue the program.
(2) Continue to meet the requirements of this Act and
the rules adopted thereunder until the official date of
termination of the program.
(3) Notify the Department of the date on which the
last student shall graduate from the program and the
program shall terminate.
(4) Assist remaining students in the continuation of
their education in the event of program termination prior
to the graduation of the program's final student.
(5) Upon the closure of the program, notify the
Department, in writing, of the location of student and
graduate records' storage.
(m) (e) Out-of-State registered professional nursing
education programs planning to offer clinical practice
experiences in this State must meet the requirements set forth
in this Section and must meet the clinical and faculty
requirements for institutions outside of this State, as
established by rule. The institution responsible for
conducting an out-of-State registered professional nursing

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education program and the administrator of the program shall
be responsible for ensuring that the individual faculty and
preceptors overseeing the clinical experience are academically
and professionally competent.
(n) To operate under this Act, a registered professional
nursing education program must maintain approval by the
Department in accordance with the following:
(1) A registered professional nursing education
program must complete and submit an annual evaluation
report to the Department and maintain programmatic
accreditation by a national accrediting body for nursing
education recognized by the United States Department of
Education.
(2) The Board and the Department shall review and
analyze various sources of information regarding program
performance before granting annual approval, including,
but not limited to:
(A) previous Board survey visits and reports;
(B) annual report data;
(C) evidence of accreditation by a national
accrediting body for nursing education recognized by
the United States Department of Education;
(D) Board-recognized national accreditation
visits, reports, and other pertinent national
accreditation documents provided by the program; and
(E) results of ongoing programmatic evaluation.

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(o) The Department shall make the policies and procedures
related to probationary status transparent, and related forms
shall be readily available to program administrators on the
Department's website.
(Source: P.A. 103-533, eff. 1-1-24.)
(225 ILCS 65/60-10)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
Sec. 60-10. RN licensure by examination.
(a) Each applicant who successfully meets the requirements
of this Section is eligible for licensure as a registered
professional nurse.
(b) An applicant for licensure by examination to practice
as a registered professional nurse is eligible for licensure
when the following requirements are met:
(1) the applicant has submitted a completed written
application, on forms provided by the Department, and
fees, as established by the Department;
(2) the applicant has graduated from a professional
nursing education program approved by the Department or
has been granted a certificate of completion of
pre-licensure requirements from another United States
jurisdiction;
(3) the applicant has successfully completed a
licensure examination approved by the Department;
(4) (blank);

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(5) the applicant has submitted to the criminal
history records check required under Section 50-35 of this
Act;
(6) the applicant has submitted, either to the
Department or its designated testing service, a fee
covering the cost of providing the examination; failure to
appear for the examination on the scheduled date at the
time and place specified after the applicant's application
for examination has been received and acknowledged by the
Department or the designated testing service shall result
in the forfeiture of the examination fee; and
(7) the applicant has met all other requirements
established by the Department by rule.
An applicant for licensure by examination may take the
Department-approved examination in another jurisdiction.
(b-3) An applicant who graduates from a professional
nursing program in this State on or after January 1, 2024 (the
effective date of Public Act 103-533) this amendatory Act of
the 103rd General Assembly and does not take the licensure
examination within 180 days after his or her degree is
conferred by the institution of higher education or fails the
licensure examination for a second time shall be required to
demonstrate proof of completion of a National Council
Licensure Examination preparatory class or a comparable test
preparatory program before taking a subsequent licensure
examination or the graduate may return to the institution of

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higher education from which he or she graduated which shall
provide remedial educational resources to the graduate at no
cost to the graduate. Such an applicant must contact the
institution of higher education from which he or she graduated
prior to retesting.
(b-4) (Blank). All professional nursing programs in
probationary status on the effective date of this amendatory
Act of the 103rd General Assembly and subject to a program
revision plan shall be deemed in good standing for a period of
3 years beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 103rd General Assembly. Prior to September 1, 2026, no
professional nursing program shall be placed on probationary
status for failing to reach a passage rate of less than 75%.
(b-5) If an applicant for licensure by examination
neglects, fails, or refuses to take an examination or fails to
pass an examination for a license within 3 years of the date of
initial application, the application shall be denied. When an
applicant's application is denied due to the failure to pass
the examination within the 3-year period, that applicant must
undertake an additional course of education as defined by rule
prior to submitting a new application for licensure. Any new
application must be accompanied by the required fee, evidence
of meeting the requirements in force at the time of the new
application, and evidence of completion of the additional
course of education prescribed by rule.
(c) An applicant for licensure by examination shall have

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one year after the date of notification of the successful
completion of the examination to apply to the Department for a
license. If an applicant fails to apply within one year, the
applicant shall be required to retake and pass the examination
unless licensed in another jurisdiction of the United States.
(d) An applicant for licensure by examination who passes
the Department-approved licensure examination for professional
nursing may obtain employment as a license-pending registered
nurse and practice under the direction of a registered
professional nurse or an advanced practice registered nurse
until such time as he or she receives his or her license to
practice or until the license is denied. In no instance shall
any such applicant practice or be employed in any management
capacity. An individual may be employed as a license-pending
registered nurse if all of the following criteria are met:
(1) He or she has completed and passed the
Department-approved licensure exam and presents to the
employer the official written notification indicating
successful passage of the licensure examination.
(2) He or she has completed and submitted to the
Department an application for licensure under this Section
as a registered professional nurse.
(3) He or she has submitted the required licensure
fee.
(4) He or she has met all other requirements
established by rule, including having submitted to a

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criminal history records check.
(e) The privilege to practice as a license-pending
registered nurse shall terminate with the occurrence of any of
the following:
(1) Six months have passed since the official date of
passing the licensure exam as inscribed on the formal
written notification indicating passage of the exam. The
6-month license-pending period may be extended if more
time is needed by the Department to process the licensure
application.
(2) Receipt of the registered professional nurse
license from the Department.
(3) Notification from the Department that the
application for licensure has been refused.
(4) A request by the Department that the individual
terminate practicing as a license-pending registered nurse
until an official decision is made by the Department to
grant or deny a registered professional nurse license.
(f) (Blank).
(g) (Blank).
(h) (Blank).
(i) (Blank).
(j) (Blank).
(k) All applicants for registered professional nurse
licensure have 3 years after the date of application to
complete the application process. If the process has not been

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completed within 3 years after the date of application, the
application shall be denied, the fee forfeited, and the
applicant must reapply and meet the requirements in effect at
the time of reapplication.
(l) All applicants for registered nurse licensure by
examination who are graduates of practical nursing educational
programs in a country other than the United States and its
territories shall have their nursing education credentials
evaluated by a Department-approved nursing credentialing
evaluation service. No such applicant may be issued a license
under this Act unless the applicant's program is deemed by the
nursing credentialing evaluation service to be equivalent to a
professional nursing education program approved by the
Department. An applicant who has graduated from a nursing
educational program outside of the United States or its
territories and whose first language is not English shall
submit evidence of English proficiency, as defined by rule.
(m) (Blank).
(Source: P.A. 103-533, eff. 1-1-24; 103-686, eff. 1-1-25.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
September 1, 2026.