Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado
Filed: 3/27/2024
 
 
 




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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5155 


2 AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5155 by replacing 
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:

4 "Section 5. The Nurse Practice Act is amended by changing 
5Sections 60-5 and 60-10 and by adding Section 60-7 as follows:

6 (225 ILCS 65/60-5)
7 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
8 Sec. 60-5. RN education program requirements; out-of-State 
9programs.
10 (a) All registered professional nurse education programs 
11must be reviewed by the Board and approved by the Department 
12before the successful completion of such a program may be 
13applied toward meeting the requirements for registered 
14professional nurse licensure under this Act. Any program 
15changing the level of educational preparation or the 
16relationship with or to the parent institution or establishing 
 
 
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1an extension of an existing program must request a review by 
2the Board and approval by the Department. The Board shall 
3review and make a recommendation for the approval or 
4disapproval of a program by the Department based on the 
5following criteria:
6  (1) a feasibility study that describes the need for 
7 the program and the facilities used, the potential of the 
8 program to recruit faculty and students, financial support 
9 for the program, and other criteria, as established by 
10 rule;
11  (2) program curriculum that meets all State 
12 requirements;
13  (2.5) whether the program satisfies one of the 
14 criteria for program effectiveness set forth in subsection 
15 (a) of Section 60-7 measurement of program effectiveness 
16 based on a passage rate of all graduates over the 3 most 
17 recent calendar years without reference to first-time test 
18 takers; 
19  (3) the administration of the program by a Nurse 
20 Administrator and the involvement of a Nurse Administrator 
21 in the development of the program;
22  (4) the occurrence of a site visit prior to approval; 
23 and
24  (5) beginning December 31, 2022, obtaining and 
25 maintaining programmatic accreditation by a national 
26 accrediting body for nursing education recognized by the 
 
 
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1 United States Department of Education and approved by the 
2 Department.
3 The Department and Board of Nursing shall be notified 
4within 30 days if the program loses its accreditation. The 
5Department may adopt rules regarding a warning process and 
6reaccreditation. 
7 (b) In order to obtain initial Department approval and to 
8maintain Department approval, a registered professional 
9nursing program must meet all of the following requirements:
10  (1) The institution responsible for conducting the 
11 program and the Nurse Administrator must ensure that 
12 individual faculty members are academically and 
13 professionally competent.
14  (2) The program curriculum must contain all applicable 
15 requirements established by rule, including both theory 
16 and clinical components.
17  (3) The passage rates of the program's graduating 
18 classes on the State-approved licensure exam must meet one 
19 of the measurements of program effectiveness set forth in 
20 subsection (a) of Section 60-7 be deemed satisfactory by 
21 the Department.
22 On and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 
23the 103rd General Assembly, a registered professional nurse 
24education program meeting one of the measurements of program 
25effectiveness referenced in subsection (a) of Section 60-7 of 
26this Act, as submitted to the Board each February 15 shall be 
 
 
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1deemed to be in good standing. 
2 (c) Program site visits to an institution conducting or 
3hosting a professional nursing program may be made at the 
4discretion of the Nursing Coordinator or upon recommendation 
5of the Board. Full routine site visits may be conducted by the 
6Department for periodic evaluation. Such visits shall be used 
7to determine compliance with this Act. Full routine site 
8visits must be announced and may be waived at the discretion of 
9the Department if the program maintains accreditation with an 
10accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of 
11Education and approved by the Department.
12 (d) Any institution conducting a registered professional 
13nursing program that wishes to discontinue the program must do 
14each of the following:
15  (1) Notify the Department, in writing, of its intent 
16 to discontinue the program.
17  (2) Continue to meet the requirements of this Act and 
18 the rules adopted thereunder until the official date of 
19 termination of the program.
20  (3) Notify the Department of the date on which the 
21 last student shall graduate from the program and the 
22 program shall terminate.
23  (4) Assist remaining students in the continuation of 
24 their education in the event of program termination prior 
25 to the graduation of the program's final student.
26  (5) Upon the closure of the program, notify the 
 
 
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1 Department, in writing, of the location of student and 
2 graduate records' storage.
3 (e) Out-of-State registered professional nursing education 
4programs planning to offer clinical practice experiences in 
5this State must meet the requirements set forth in this 
6Section and must meet the clinical and faculty requirements 
7for institutions outside of this State, as established by 
8rule. The institution responsible for conducting an 
9out-of-State registered professional nursing education program 
10and the administrator of the program shall be responsible for 
11ensuring that the individual faculty and preceptors overseeing 
12the clinical experience are academically and professionally 
13competent. 
14(Source: P.A. 103-533, eff. 1-1-24.)

15 (225 ILCS 65/60-7 new)
16 Sec. 60-7. Registered professional nurse education program 
17effectiveness.
18 (a) The measurement of a registered professional nurse 
19education program's effectiveness is determined by whether the 
20program's: 
21  (1) most recent annual pass rate on a State-approved 
22 licensure examination is 75% or greater for all first-time 
23 test-takers; or
24  (2) average pass rate on a State-approved licensure 
25 examination for the 3 most recent years is 75% or greater 
 
 
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1 for all first-time test-takers.
2 (b) Outliers may be removed when calculating 
3State-approved licensure examination pass rates. A registered 
4professional nurse education program shall be responsible for 
5tracking outliers. If a professional nurse education program 
6elects to remove outliers when calculating State-approved 
7licensure examination pass rates, then the professional nurse 
8education program must provide the Department with a roster of 
9removed outliers and the documentation necessary to confirm 
10each outlier's status as an outlier.
11 In this subsection, "outlier" means a graduate of a 
12professional nurse education program who does not take a 
13State-approved licensure examination within 180 days of 
14graduating a professional nurse education program.
15 (c) A registered professional nurse education program is 
16responsible for calculating the passage rate of the program's 
17graduates. The registered professional nurse education program 
18must submit a calculation of the passage rate of the program's 
19graduates and supporting documentation, which includes an 
20attestation of how the program arrived at its passage rate, to 
21the Board and the Department on February 15 of each year. 

22 (225 ILCS 65/60-10)
23 (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
24 Sec. 60-10. RN licensure by examination.
25 (a) Each applicant who successfully meets the requirements 
 
 
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1of this Section is eligible for licensure as a registered 
2professional nurse.
3 (b) An applicant for licensure by examination to practice 
4as a registered professional nurse is eligible for licensure 
5when the following requirements are met:
6  (1) the applicant has submitted a completed written 
7 application, on forms provided by the Department, and 
8 fees, as established by the Department;
9  (2) the applicant has graduated from a professional 
10 nursing education program approved by the Department or 
11 has been granted a certificate of completion of 
12 pre-licensure requirements from another United States 
13 jurisdiction;
14  (3) the applicant has successfully completed a 
15 licensure examination approved by the Department;
16  (4) (blank);
17  (5) the applicant has submitted to the criminal 
18 history records check required under Section 50-35 of this 
19 Act;
20  (6) the applicant has submitted, either to the 
21 Department or its designated testing service, a fee 
22 covering the cost of providing the examination; failure to 
23 appear for the examination on the scheduled date at the 
24 time and place specified after the applicant's application 
25 for examination has been received and acknowledged by the 
26 Department or the designated testing service shall result 
 
 
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1 in the forfeiture of the examination fee; and
2  (7) the applicant has met all other requirements 
3 established by the Department by rule. 
4 An applicant for licensure by examination may take the 
5Department-approved examination in another jurisdiction.
6 (b-3) An applicant who graduates from a professional 
7nursing program in this State on or after January 1, 2024 (the 
8effective date of Public Act 103-533) this amendatory Act of 
9the 103rd General Assembly and does not take the licensure 
10examination within 180 days after his or her degree is 
11conferred by the institution of higher education or fails the 
12licensure examination for a second time shall be required to 
13demonstrate proof of completion of a National Council 
14Licensure Examination preparatory class or a comparable test 
15preparatory program before taking a subsequent licensure 
16examination or the graduate may return to the institution of 
17higher education from which he or she graduated which shall 
18provide remedial educational resources to the graduate at no 
19cost to the graduate. Such an applicant must contact the 
20institution of higher education from which he or she graduated 
21prior to retesting. 
22 (b-4) (Blank)
. All professional nursing programs in 
23probationary status on the effective date of this amendatory 
24Act of the 103rd General Assembly and subject to a program 
25revision plan shall be deemed in good standing for a period of 
263 years beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act 
 
 
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1of the 103rd General Assembly. Prior to September 1, 2026, no 
2professional nursing program shall be placed on probationary 
3status for failing to reach a passage rate of less than 75%. 
4 (b-5) If an applicant for licensure by examination 
5neglects, fails, or refuses to take an examination or fails to 
6pass an examination for a license within 3 years of the date of 
7initial application, the application shall be denied. When an 
8applicant's application is denied due to the failure to pass 
9the examination within the 3-year period, that applicant must 
10undertake an additional course of education as defined by rule 
11prior to submitting a new application for licensure. Any new 
12application must be accompanied by the required fee, evidence 
13of meeting the requirements in force at the time of the new 
14application, and evidence of completion of the additional 
15course of education prescribed by rule.
16 (c) An applicant for licensure by examination shall have 
17one year after the date of notification of the successful 
18completion of the examination to apply to the Department for a 
19license. If an applicant fails to apply within one year, the 
20applicant shall be required to retake and pass the examination 
21unless licensed in another jurisdiction of the United States.
22 (d) An applicant for licensure by examination who passes 
23the Department-approved licensure examination for professional 
24nursing may obtain employment as a license-pending registered 
25nurse and practice under the direction of a registered 
26professional nurse or an advanced practice registered nurse 
 
 
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1until such time as he or she receives his or her license to 
2practice or until the license is denied. In no instance shall 
3any such applicant practice or be employed in any management 
4capacity. An individual may be employed as a license-pending 
5registered nurse if all of the following criteria are met:
6  (1) He or she has completed and passed the 
7 Department-approved licensure exam and presents to the 
8 employer the official written notification indicating 
9 successful passage of the licensure examination.
10  (2) He or she has completed and submitted to the 
11 Department an application for licensure under this Section 
12 as a registered professional nurse.
13  (3) He or she has submitted the required licensure 
14 fee.
15  (4) He or she has met all other requirements 
16 established by rule, including having submitted to a 
17 criminal history records check.
18 (e) The privilege to practice as a license-pending 
19registered nurse shall terminate with the occurrence of any of 
20the following:
21  (1) Three months have passed since the official date 
22 of passing the licensure exam as inscribed on the formal 
23 written notification indicating passage of the exam. The 
24 3-month license pending period may be extended if more 
25 time is needed by the Department to process the licensure 
26 application.
 
 
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1  (2) Receipt of the registered professional nurse 
2 license from the Department.
3  (3) Notification from the Department that the 
4 application for licensure has been refused.
5  (4) A request by the Department that the individual 
6 terminate practicing as a license-pending registered nurse 
7 until an official decision is made by the Department to 
8 grant or deny a registered professional nurse license.
9 (f) (Blank).
10 (g) (Blank).
11 (h) (Blank).
12 (i) (Blank).
13 (j) (Blank).
14 (k) All applicants for registered professional nurse 
15licensure have 3 years after the date of application to 
16complete the application process. If the process has not been 
17completed within 3 years after the date of application, the 
18application shall be denied, the fee forfeited, and the 
19applicant must reapply and meet the requirements in effect at 
20the time of reapplication.
21 (l) All applicants for registered nurse licensure by 
22examination who are graduates of practical nursing educational 
23programs in a country other than the United States and its 
24territories shall have their nursing education credentials 
25evaluated by a Department-approved nursing credentialing 
26evaluation service. No such applicant may be issued a license 
 
 
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