HB5042 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 18964 NHT 68423 b

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB5042

Introduced 2/18/2020, by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/2-3.161
105 ILCS 5/2-3.164
105 ILCS 5/27-6.5
105 ILCS 5/34-18.43
105 ILCS 5/2-3.11 rep.
105 ILCS 5/2-3.168 rep.

Amends the School Code. Removes language concerning a reading instruction advisory group, a reference to the chairperson of the State Charter School Commission in language creating the Attendance Commission, a physical fitness assessment task force, and an annual meeting of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force. Repeals Sections concerning a report on the condition of schools and the Advisory Council on At-Risk Students. Effective July 1, 2020.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections 2-3.161, 2-3.164, 27-6.5, and 34-18.43 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.161)

Sec. 2-3.161. Definition of dyslexia; reading instruction advisory group; handbook.

(a) The State Board of Education shall incorporate, in both general education and special education, the following definition of dyslexia:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

(b) (Blank). Subject to specific State appropriation or the availability of private donations, the State Board of Education shall establish an advisory group to develop a training module or training modules to provide education and professional development to teachers, school administrators, and other education professionals regarding multi-sensory, systematic, and sequential instruction in reading. This advisory group shall complete its work before December 15, 2015 and is abolished on December 15, 2015. The State Board of Education shall reestablish the advisory group abolished on December 15, 2015 to complete the abolished group's work. The reestablished advisory group shall complete its work before December 31, 2016 and is abolished on December 31, 2016. The provisions of this subsection (b), other than this sentence, are inoperative after December 31, 2016.

(c) The State Board of Education shall develop and maintain a handbook to be made available on its Internet website that provides guidance for pupils, parents or guardians, and teachers on the subject of dyslexia. The handbook shall include, but is not limited to:

(1) guidelines for teachers and parents or guardians on how to identify signs of dyslexia;

(2) a description of educational strategies that have been shown to improve the academic performance of pupils with dyslexia; and

(3) a description of resources and services available to pupils with dyslexia, parents or guardians of pupils with dyslexia, and teachers.

The State Board shall review the handbook once every 4 years to update, if necessary, the guidelines, educational strategies, or resources and services made available in the handbook.

(Source: P.A. 99-65, eff. 7-16-15; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-602, eff. 7-22-16; 99-603, eff. 7-22-16; 100-201, eff. 8-18-17; 100-617, eff. 7-20-18.)

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.164)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on December 16, 2020)

Sec. 2-3.164. Attendance Commission.

(a) The Attendance Commission is created within the State Board of Education to study the issue of chronic absenteeism in this State and make recommendations for strategies to prevent chronic absenteeism. The Commission shall consist of all of the following members:

(1) The Director of the Department of Children and Family Services or his or her designee.

(2) The Chairperson of the State Board of Education or his or her designee.

(3) The Chairperson of the Board of Higher Education or his or her designee.

(4) The Secretary of the Department of Human Services or his or her designee.

(5) The Director of the Department of Public Health or his or her designee.

(6) The Chairperson of the Illinois Community College Board or his or her designee.

(7) (Blank). The Chairperson of the State Charter School Commission or his or her designee.

(8) An individual that deals with children's disabilities, impairments, and social emotional issues, appointed by the State Superintendent of Education.

(9) One member from each of the following organizations, appointed by the State Superintendent of Education:

(A) A non-profit organization that advocates for students in temporary living situations.

(B) An Illinois-focused, non-profit organization that advocates for the well-being of all children and families in this State.

(C) An Illinois non-profit, anti-crime organization of law enforcement that researches and recommends early learning and youth development strategies to reduce crime.

(D) An Illinois non-profit organization that conducts community-organizing around family issues.

(E) A statewide professional teachers' organization.

(F) A different statewide professional teachers' organization.

(G) A professional teachers' organization in a city having a population exceeding 500,000.

(H) An association representing school administrators.

(I) An association representing school board members.

(J) An association representing school principals.

(K) An association representing regional superintendents of schools.

(L) An association representing parents.

(M) An association representing high school districts.

(N) An association representing large unit districts.

(O) An organization that advocates for healthier school environments in Illinois.

(P) An organization that advocates for the health and safety of Illinois youth and families by providing capacity building services.

(Q) A statewide association of local philanthropic organizations that advocates for effective educational, health, and human service policies to improve this State's communities.

(R) A statewide organization that advocates for partnerships among schools, families, and the community that provide access to support and remove barriers to learning and development, using schools as hubs.

(S) An organization representing statewide programs actively involved in truancy intervention.

Attendance Commission members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their travel expenses from appropriations to the State Board of Education available for that purpose and subject to the rules of the appropriate travel control board.

(b) The Attendance Commission shall meet initially at the call of the State Superintendent of Education. The members shall elect a chairperson at their initial meeting. Thereafter, the Attendance Commission shall meet at the call of the chairperson. The Attendance Commission shall hold hearings on a periodic basis to receive testimony from the public regarding attendance.

(c) The Attendance Commission shall identify strategies, mechanisms, and approaches to help parents, educators, principals, superintendents, and the State Board of Education address and prevent chronic absenteeism and shall recommend to the General Assembly and State Board of Education:

(1) a standard for attendance and chronic absenteeism, defining attendance as a calculation of standard clock hours in a day that equal a full day based on instructional minutes for both a half day and a full day per learning environment;

(2) mechanisms to improve data systems to monitor and track chronic absenteeism across this State in a way that identifies trends from prekindergarten through grade 12 and allows the identification of students who need individualized chronic absenteeism prevention plans;

(3) mechanisms for reporting and accountability for schools and districts across this State, including creating multiple measure indexes for reporting;

(4) best practices for utilizing attendance and chronic absenteeism data to create multi-tiered systems of support and prevention that will result in students being ready for college and career; and

(5) new initiatives and responses to ongoing challenges presented by chronic absenteeism.

(d) The State Board of Education shall provide administrative support to the Commission. The Attendance Commission shall submit an initial report to the General Assembly and the State Board of Education no later than March 15, 2016. The Attendance Commission shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly and the State Board of Education no later than December 15, 2016 and each December 15 thereafter.

(e) The Attendance Commission is abolished and this Section is repealed on December 16, 2020.

(Source: P.A. 99-432, eff. 8-21-15; 99-601, eff. 7-22-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-6.5)

Sec. 27-6.5. Physical fitness assessments in schools.

(a) As used in this Section, "physical fitness assessment" means a series of assessments to measure aerobic capacity, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility.

(b) To measure the effectiveness of State Goal 20 of the Illinois Learning Standards for Physical Development and Health, beginning with the 2016-2017 school year and every school year thereafter, the State Board of Education shall require all public schools to use a scientifically-based, health-related physical fitness assessment for grades 3 through 12 and periodically report fitness information to the State Board of Education, as set forth in subsection subsections (c) and (e) of this Section, to assess student fitness indicators.

Public schools shall integrate health-related fitness testing into the curriculum as an instructional tool, except in grades before the 3rd grade. Fitness tests must be appropriate to students' developmental levels and physical abilities. The testing must be used to teach students how to assess their fitness levels, set goals for improvement, and monitor progress in reaching their goals. Fitness scores shall not be used for grading students or evaluating teachers.

(c) (Blank). On or before October 1, 2014, the State Superintendent of Education shall appoint a 15-member stakeholder and expert task force, including members representing organizations that represent physical education teachers, school officials, principals, health promotion and disease prevention advocates and experts, school health advocates and experts, and other experts with operational and academic expertise in the measurement of fitness. The task force shall make recommendations to the State Board of Education on the following:

(1) methods for ensuring the validity and uniformity of reported physical fitness assessment scores, including assessment administration protocols and professional development approaches for physical education teachers;

(2) how often physical fitness assessment scores should be reported to the State Board of Education;

(3) the grade levels within elementary, middle, and high school categories for which physical fitness assessment scores should be reported to the State Board of Education;

(4) the minimum fitness indicators that should be reported to the State Board of Education, including, but not limited to, a score for aerobic capacity (for grades 4 through 12); muscular strength; endurance; and flexibility;

(5) the demographic information that should accompany the scores, including, but not limited to, grade and gender;

(6) the development of protocols regarding the protection of students' confidentiality and individual information and identifiers; and

(7) how physical fitness assessment data should be reported by the State Board of Education to the public, including potential correlations with student academic achievement, attendance, and discipline data and other recommended uses of the reported data.

The State Board of Education shall provide administrative and other support to the task force.

The task force shall submit its recommendations on physical fitness assessments on or before April 1, 2015. The task force may also recommend methods for assessing student progress on State Goals 19 and 21 through 24 of the Illinois Learning Standards for Physical Development and Health. The task force is dissolved on April 30, 2015.

The provisions of this subsection (c), other than this sentence, are inoperative after March 31, 2016.

(d) The State Board of Education must On or before December 31, 2015, the State Board of Education shall use the recommendations of the task force under subsection (c) of this Section to adopt rules for the implementation of physical fitness assessments under this Section by each public school for the 2016-2017 school year and every school year thereafter.

(e) The On or before September 1, 2016, the State Board of Education shall adopt rules for data submission by school districts and develop a system for collecting and reporting the aggregated fitness information from the physical fitness assessments. This system shall also support the collection of data from school districts that use a fitness testing software program.

(f) School districts may report the aggregate findings of physical fitness assessments by grade level and school to parents and members of the community through typical communication channels, such as Internet websites, school newsletters, school board reports, and presentations. Districts may also provide individual fitness assessment reports to students' parents.

(g) Nothing in this Section precludes schools from implementing a physical fitness assessment before the 2016-2017 school year or from implementing more robust forms of a physical fitness assessment.

(Source: P.A. 98-859, eff. 8-4-14.)

(105 ILCS 5/34-18.43)

Sec. 34-18.43. Establishing an equitable and effective school facility development process.

(a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:

(1) The Illinois Constitution recognizes that a "fundamental goal of the People of the State is the educational development of all persons to the limits of their capacities".

(2) Quality educational facilities are essential for fostering the maximum educational development of all persons through their educational experience from pre-kindergarten through high school.

(3) The public school is a major institution in our communities. Public schools offer resources and opportunities for the children of this State who seek and deserve quality education, but also benefit the entire community that seeks improvement through access to education.

(4) The equitable and efficient use of available facilities-related resources among different schools and among racial, ethnic, income, and disability groups is essential to maximize the development of quality public educational facilities for all children, youth, and adults. The factors that impact the equitable and efficient use of facility-related resources vary according to the needs of each school community. Therefore, decisions that impact school facilities should include the input of the school community to the greatest extent possible.

(5) School openings, school closings, school consolidations, school turnarounds, school phase-outs, school construction, school repairs, school modernizations, school boundary changes, and other related school facility decisions often have a profound impact on education in a community. In order to minimize the negative impact of school facility decisions on the community, these decisions should be implemented according to a clear system-wide criteria and with the significant involvement of local school councils, parents, educators, and the community in decision-making.

(6) The General Assembly has previously stated that it intended to make the individual school in the City of Chicago the essential unit for educational governance and improvement and to place the primary responsibility for school governance and improvement in the hands of parents, teachers, and community residents at each school. A school facility policy must be consistent with these principles.

(b) In order to ensure that school facility-related decisions are made with the input of the community and reflect educationally sound and fiscally responsible criteria, a Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall be established within 15 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly.

(c) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall consist of all of the following members:

(1) Two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, at least one of whom shall be a member of the Elementary & Secondary Education Committee.

(2) Two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Minority Leader of the House, at least one of whom shall be a member of the Elementary & Secondary Education Committee.

(3) Two members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, at least one of whom shall be a member of the Education Committee.

(4) Two members of the Senate appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, at least one of whom shall be a member of the Education Committee.

(5) Two representatives of school community organizations with past involvement in school facility issues appointed by the Speaker of the House.

(6) Two representatives of school community organizations with past involvement in school facility issues appointed by the President of the Senate.

(7) The chief executive officer of the school district or his or her designee.

(8) The president of the union representing teachers in the schools of the district or his or her designee.

(9) The president of the association representing principals in the schools of the district or his or her designee.

(d) The Speaker of the House shall appoint one of the appointed House members as a co-chairperson of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force. The President of the Senate shall appoint one of the appointed Senate members as a co-chairperson of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force. Members appointed by the legislative leaders shall be appointed for the duration of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force; in the event of a vacancy, the appointment to fill the vacancy shall be made by the legislative leader of the same chamber and party as the leader who made the original appointment.

(e) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall call on independent experts, as needed, to gather and analyze pertinent information on a pro bono basis, provided that these experts have no previous or on-going financial interest in school facility issues related to the school district. The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall secure pro bono expert assistance within 15 days after the establishment of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force.

(f) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall be empowered to gather further evidence in the form of testimony or documents or other materials.

(g) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force, with the help of the independent experts, shall analyze past Chicago experiences and data with respect to school openings, school closings, school consolidations, school turnarounds, school phase-outs, school construction, school repairs, school modernizations, school boundary changes, and other related school facility decisions on students. The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall consult widely with stakeholders, including public officials, about these facility issues and their related costs and shall examine relevant best practices from other school systems for dealing with these issues systematically and equitably. These initial investigations shall include opportunities for input from local stakeholders through hearings, focus groups, and interviews.

(h) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall prepare recommendations describing how the issues set forth in subsection (g) of this Section can be addressed effectively based upon educationally sound and fiscally responsible practices.

(i) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall hold hearings in separate areas of the school district at times that shall maximize school community participation to obtain comments on draft recommendations. The final hearing shall take place no later than 15 days prior to the completion of the final recommendations.

(j) The Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall prepare final proposed policy and legislative recommendations for the General Assembly, the Governor, and the school district. The recommendations may address issues, standards, and procedures set forth in this Section. The final recommendations shall be made available to the public through posting on the school district's Internet website and other forms of publication and distribution in the school district at least 7 days before the recommendations are submitted to the General Assembly, the Governor, and the school district.

(k) The recommendations may address issues of system-wide criteria for ensuring clear priorities, equity, and efficiency.

Without limitation, the final recommendations may propose significant decision-making roles for key stakeholders, including the individual school and community; recommend clear criteria or processes for establishing criteria for making school facility decisions; and include clear criteria for setting priorities with respect to school openings, school closings, school consolidations, school turnarounds, school phase-outs, school construction, school repairs, school modernizations, school boundary changes, and other related school facility decisions, including the encouragement of multiple community uses for school space.

Without limitation, the recommendations may propose criteria for student mobility; the transferring of students to lower performing schools; teacher mobility; insufficient notice to and the lack of inclusion in decision-making of local school councils, parents, and community members about school facility decisions; and costly facilities-related expenditures due to poor educational and facilities planning.

(l) The State Board of Education and the school district shall provide administrative support to the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force.

(m) After recommendations have been issued, the Chicago Educational Facilities Task Force shall meet at least once annually, upon the call of the chairs, for the purpose of reviewing Chicago public schools' compliance with the provisions of Sections 34-200 through 34-235 of this Code concerning school action and facility master planning. The Task Force shall prepare a report to the General Assembly, the Governor's Office, the Mayor of the City of Chicago, and the Chicago Board of Education indicating how the district has met the requirements of the provisions of Sections 34-200 through 34-235 of this Code concerning school action and facility master planning.

(Source: P.A. 96-803, eff. 10-30-09; 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 97-473, eff. 1-1-12; 97-474, eff. 8-22-11.)

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.11 rep.)

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.168 rep.)

Section 10. The School Code is amended by repealing Sections 2-3.11 and 2-3.168.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2020.