(35 ILCS 40/45)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2025)

Sec. 45. State Board responsibilities.

(a) Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, students who have been granted a scholarship under this Act shall be annually assessed at the qualified school where the student attends school in the same manner in which students that attend public schools are annually assessed pursuant to Section 2-3.64a-5 of the School Code. Such qualified school shall pay costs associated with this requirement.

(b) The Board shall select an independent research organization, which may be a public or private entity or university, to which participating qualified schools must report the scores of students who are receiving scholarships and are assessed pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section. Costs associated with the independent research organization shall be paid by the scholarship granting organizations on a per-pupil basis or by gifts, grants, or donations received by the Board under subsection (d) of this Section, as determined by the Board. The independent research organization must annually report to the Board on the year-to-year learning gains of students receiving scholarships on a statewide basis. The report shall also include, to the extent possible, a comparison of these learning gains to the statewide learning gains of public school students with socioeconomic backgrounds similar to those of students receiving scholarships. The annual report shall be delivered to the Board and published on its website.

(c) Beginning within 120 days after the Board first receives the annual report by the independent research organization as provided in subsection (b) of this Section and on an annual basis thereafter, the Board shall submit a written report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives regarding this Act. Such report shall include an evaluation of the academic performance of students receiving scholarships and recommendations for improving student performance.

(d) Subject to the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, the Board may receive and expend gifts, grants, and donations of any kind from any public or private entity to carry out the purposes of this Section, subject to the terms and conditions under which the gifts are given, provided that all such terms and conditions are permissible under law.

(e) The sharing and reporting of student learning gain data under this Section must be in accordance with requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Illinois School Student Records Act. All parties must preserve the confidentiality of such information as required by law. The annual report must not disaggregate data to a level that will disclose the academic level of individual students.

(Source: P.A. 100-465, eff. 8-31-17.)