Lawyers for Warriors: Illinois: Military Education & Training Applies to Professional Licensing Standards

On February 6, 2013, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn ordered that his state's licensing boards consider military training & education in issuing professional licenses:

"Executive Order Applying Relevent Military Education and Training Obtained by Illinois Service Members to Professional Licensing Standards

WHEREAS, the veterans’ unemployment rate in Illinois runs consistently higher than the national average, and the unemployment rate for female veterans in Illinois in the 18 to 24 year-old age range is twice that of non-veteran women in the same age range; and

WHEREAS, approximately 35,000 Illinois service members will leave the military between now and 2016, returning to civilian life to face a difficult transition in a recovering economy; and

WHEREAS, Public Act 097-0710, the Expedited Licensure for Service Members and Spouses Act (the “Act”) requires that “[a]ll relevant training provided by the military and completed by a service member shall be credited to that service member as meeting any training or education requirement under any applicable occupational or professional licensing Act, provided that the training or education is determined . . . to be substantially equivalent to that required under any applicable Act and is not otherwise contrary to any other licensure requirement”; and

WHEREAS, as the Act recognizes, training and education acquired during military service may be relevant to requirements for professional and occupational licensure, but, to date, there has not been a process or mechanism that would allow such training and education to be considered for purposes of state licensure requirements; and

WHEREAS, further review and clarification of gaps between, on the one hand, military training and education, and, on the other hand, requirements for state professional and occupational licensure to which such training and education may be relevant, will allow educational institutions throughout Illinois to design programs that will enable service members to bridge such gaps;

THEREFORE, I, Pat Quinn, Governor of the State of Illinois, pursuant to the supreme executive authority vested in me by Article V of the Illinois Constitution, do hereby order as follows:

Definitions

“State licensing agency” means any department of the state that issues occupational or professional licenses.

“Service member” means any person who, at the time of application for licensure to any state licensing agency, is an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces or any reserve component of the United States Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state, commonwealth, or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, and shall also include any veteran whose active duty service concluded within the preceding two years before submitting his or her application for licensure.

Creation

There is hereby established an assessment process for applying military training and education to state licensure requirements in the State of Illinois.

Purpose

It is the intent of this Order to establish a statewide mechanism and process for determining how training and education acquired by service members during service in the military may be applied towards requirements for state licensure in certain civilian fields when they transition back into our communities as veterans. As set forth herein, all state licensing agencies are directed to assist in identifying gaps between, on the one hand, military education and training that is potentially relevant to a civilian field for which licensure is required, and, on the other hand, state licensure requirements in that field. Identifying such gaps will enable educational institutions to design programs (for subsequent approval by the relevant state licensing agency), through which service members may obtain any additional training and education necessary to obtain state licensure in the relevant field.

Duties

In addition to the state licensing agencies, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, (“DVA”), the Illinois Department of Military Affairs (“DMA”), and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (“IDES”) are directed to participate in implementing this Order. The Director of DVA shall be responsible for coordinating efforts to implement this Order.

Within 90 days of the effective date of this Order, DVA, DMA, IDES and all state licensing agencies shall collaborate to compile a list of professional and occupational fields requiring state licensure whose requirements for licensure may overlap with training and education acquired by service members during military service. To the extent possible, the list shall include information relevant to bridging the gap between military training and education relevant to each listed field and state licensure requirements relevant to that field, including but not limited to: the extent to which service members are likely to have obtained education and training in the military that is relevant to the listed field; statewide demand for professional or occupational services in the listed field; and the availability of resources to bridge gaps between relevant military training and education and state licensure in the listed field.

Additionally, within 90 days of obtaining or receiving information detailing military training or education potentially relevant to a given career field from the Director of DVA or either directly or indirectly from the U.S. Department of Defense, any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, and/or DMA, the relevant state licensing agency shall either: (i) independently identify any gaps between the military training and education identified as potentially relevant to the field and the Illinois state licensing requirements for that career field; (ii) submit documentation to the relevant governing board to identify any such gaps; or (iii) identify the specific need for additional information required in order to make a final determination as to any such gaps.

Finally, within 30 days of its determination with regard to the gap between military training and education relevant to a given career field and the requirements for licensure in that field, the relevant state licensing agency shall submit to the Director of DVA information detailing any additional training that must be completed by a service member in order to bridge the gap to obtain a state license. Such information shall be posted on DVA’s website in order to aid educational institutions in building and obtaining approval for gap-bridging programs, as well as to aid service members in identifying outstanding requirements for licensure in that field...."