Bill Text: IL SB3517 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB3517 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB3517-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 SB3517 Introduced 2/13/2020, by Sen. Celina Villanueva SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
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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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
Criminal History in College Applications Act.
Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
"Applicant" means an individual who is seeking admission to
a college.
"College" means any public or private institution of higher
education authorized to confer degrees by the Board of Higher
Education, including a college or university, professional
school, or technical school.
"Conviction" means, with respect to a criminal offense, a
judgment of conviction or sentence entered upon a plea of
guilty or upon a verdict or finding of guilt, rendered by a
legally constituted jury or by a court in a case without a
jury. For purposes of this Act, (i) an order of supervision or
qualified probation, as defined in Section 5.2 of the Criminal
Identification Act, that has been discharged or dismissed, or
(ii) a juvenile adjudication shall not be deemed a conviction.
"Criminal history information" means any record regarding
an applicant's criminal history but does not include arrests,
detentions, criminal charges, or indictments that did not

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result in a conviction.
"Provisional offer of admission" means the decision of a
college to admit an applicant based upon academic performance,
essays, a list of activities, achievements, honors, and other
published criteria but without consideration of criminal
history information or other conduct matters.
Section 10. Criminal history inquiries prior to
provisional offer of admission prohibited. A college may not
inquire about or consider an applicant's criminal history
information until after a provisional offer of admission has
been made to the applicant.
Section 15. Multi-institution applications.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 10 of this Act, a college may
use an application for admission that inquires about an
applicant's criminal history if (i) that application is
administered by a third-party vendor and (ii) the application
allows applicants to apply for admission at multiple
institutions simultaneously.
(b) A college that elects to use a multi-institution
application as described in subsection (a) may not consider any
criminal history information provided on the multi-institution
application until after a provisional offer of admission has
been made to the applicant.
(c) A college that elects to use a multi-institution

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application as described in subsection (a) shall publish a
statement that must be prominently displayed on all of the
college's admission materials and its admission website, that
informs applicants that they are not required to answer a
criminal history inquiry prior to issuance of a provisional
offer of admission by the college.
(d) A college that uses a multi-institution application as
described in subsection (a) may not add additional or optional
questions to the multi-institution application that ask about
criminal history information.
Section 20. Criminal history inquiries after provisional
offer of admission.
(a) After a college has made and communicated its
provisional offer of admission, it may inquire about or
consider an applicant's prior convictions or any criminal
charges that are pending at the time of the inquiry. A college
may withdraw, rescind, or amend its provisional offer of
admission upon a finding that the applicant's prior convictions
demonstrate that admission of the applicant will have a
detrimental impact on campus safety or security, as provided in
subsection (d), but a college may not automatically or
unreasonably deny an applicant's admission or restrict access
to the campus, educational activities, or campus life.
(b) At no time may a college consider criminal history
information that has been sealed, expunged, or impounded under

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applicable laws, nor may it consider information unrelated to a
conviction, including, but not limited to, arrest, complaint,
or indictment information that did not result in a conviction.
(c) A college that chooses to make an inquiry about or
considers an applicant's prior convictions shall (i) inform
applicants that individuals with a prior conviction are
presumed to be eligible for admission and (ii) provide
applicants with an opportunity to provide information about the
conviction, including any mitigating circumstances or
clarifying information.
(d) An applicant with a prior conviction or convictions
shall be presumed to be eligible for admission.
In determining whether an applicant's prior conviction
demonstrates that admission of the applicant will have a
detrimental impact on campus safety or security, a college must
articulate the specific reasons or circumstances surrounding
the applicant's prior convictions that demonstrate that the
applicant may be a threat to campus safety or security.
Categorical denials based on the type of conviction is not
sufficient to rescind, withdraw, or amend a provisional offer.
If the college determines that admission of an applicant
may have a detrimental impact on campus safety or security, it
may not rescind or withdraw a provisional offer of admission if
there are less restrictive measures that the college may
reasonably take to mitigate the perceived risks of admitting
the applicant. Any such measure shall limit the applicant's

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participation in education or campus life only to the degree
necessary to address the specific risks that the college has
determined that the admission of the applicant poses.
Section 25. Appeals.
(a) A college must establish an expedited appeals process
under this Act.
(b) An applicant who is denied admission due to the
applicant's prior conviction or an applicant for whom the
college has limited his or her participation in education or
campus life must be notified of the opportunity to appeal the
decision.
(c) An appeals process must allow for the applicant to
present additional information, including mitigating
circumstances or other information, to show that the applicant
is not a threat to campus safety or security, including an
opportunity for an in-person interview.
(d) A college must inform the applicant of the result of
the appeal in writing and must articulate the reason for its
decision to rescind, withdraw, or amend its provisional offer
of admission or its decision to admit the applicant.
Section 30. Information about education, licensing, or
employment barriers for people with criminal records. A college
may include information on its admission website that informs
prospective applicants that a criminal record may affect an

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individual's ability to obtain certain professional or
occupational licenses or types of employment or to participate
in vertical clinical or other education requirements. A college
may provide a contact for applicants or prospective applicants
to ask questions and seek advice about any restrictions they
may face due to a criminal record. Any information provided by
the applicant to the contact may not be shared with admissions
personnel.