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Last Updated 06/01/2006 ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE EASES LICENSING REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREIGN-EDUCATED NURSES By: Vide M. Vizgirda, R.N., J.D. Of the many challenges facing health care institutions today, perhaps one of the most pressing is the nursing shortage. In Illinois, the legislature’s recent answer to that shortage is an amendment easing the licensure requirements for foreign-educated applicants. This article reviews the previous requirements and the most recent legislative change. On January 1, 1984, Illinois adopted a two-step licensing process for applicants who received their nursing education in a country other than the United States or its territories. All applicants were required to take and pass the National Counsel Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) as a prerequisite to licensure as a registered professional nurse (R.N.) allowed to practice in Illinois. Foreign-educated nurses, however, had to first pass the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) examination, which tested both English proficiency and nursing knowledge, in addition to taking and passing the NCLEX-RN. Romero v. Selcke, 576 N.E.2d 276, 277 (1st Dist 1991); Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 111, par. 3428.1). The two-tiered requirement for foreign-educated nurses was challenged on constitutional grounds in Romero v. Selcke, 216 Ill. App. 3d 138 (1st Dist. 1991). Several nurses argued that the double-testing requirement violated their constitutional right to due process. 216 Ill. App. 3d at 143. All of them had passed the state licensing exam and been provisionally licensed pending a challenge to the requirement. When that challenge was dismissed as moot, the Romero plaintiffs were required to take the CGFNS exam or lose their provisional licenses. Id. at 142. The Appellate Court ruled against the nurses’ due process argument, reasoning that the state had a legitimate interest in regulating the licensure of nursing professionals. Id. at 138. Examination for licensure was a means of assuring that the applicant was competent to provide safe care to the public. Id. Because the CGFNS examination tested both English proficiency and nursing knowledge, the Court found that this prerequisite was reasonably related to the state’s legitimate interest in securing the public health and welfare as it related to individuals practicing nursing in Illinois. Id. The Court declined to sit in judgment on the question of whether one, two or more tests would adequately test English proficiency or knowledge of nursing. Id. at 146. Indeed, as the Court noted, it would be an almost impossible task for one or even a panel of judges to examine whether the NCLEX examination tested exactly the same material as the CGFNS examination, much less to evaluate the potential risks that the public might encounter if cared by inadequately tested applicants. Id. at 146-47. It therefore left the burden of analyzing this information to the legislature, even while noting that “[p]erhaps the Department [of Professional Regulation] could in fact institute a wiser or better means of guaranteeing that these plaintiffs are qualified to receive a license.” Id. at 147. In 2005, the Illinois legislature again took up the issue with Senate Bill 2064. That bill passed both Houses as Public Act 94-352 on May 24, 2005 and Governor Blagojevich signed it on July 28, 2005. (http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/Billstatus.asp?DocNum=2064.) The Act became effective on July 28, 2005, and is now codified at 225 ILCS 65/10-30 (West 2005). Amended Section 10-30 still requires that all applicants successfully pass the NCLEX-RN examination. It has dropped, however, the requirement that foreign-educated nurses also pas the CGFNS examination. Instead, Section 1-30 now requires that the credentials of applicants who received their nursing education in a country other than the United States or its territories be evaluated by a nursing credential evaluation service approved by the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. A license will not be issued unless the evaluation service considers the applicant’s educational program equivalent to a Department-approved professional nursing education program. 225 ILCS 65/10-30(d). The Department has approved the certificate program of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing as its credential evaluation service and accepts its Healthcare Profession & Science Course by Course report as proof of equivalency. (http://www.idfpr;http://www.cgfns.org/sections/press/news/2005/09-06-05_illinois.shtml). Amended Section 10-30 also now requires that foreign-educated applicants whose first language is other than English submit certification that they have passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The TOEFL requirement may be waived upon CGFNS’s recommendation if the applicant also submits verification of having successfully completed a nursing education program conducted in English or having passed an approved licensing examination given in English. 225 ILCS 65/10-30(a). In sum, the legislature has eliminated the requirement that foreign-educated applicants successfully pass two tests of their nursing knowledge, while at the same time retaining the requirement that they demonstrate competency in English as a prerequisite to Illinois licensure. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Previous Page |
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