Public Act 93-0054

SB1038 Enrolled                      LRB093 10041 NHT 10292 b

    AN ACT regarding schools.

    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
Section 18-12 as follows:

    (105 ILCS 5/18-12) (from Ch. 122, par. 18-12)
    Sec. 18-12.  Dates for  filing  State  aid  claims.   The
school  board of each school district shall require teachers,
principals, or superintendents to furnish from  records  kept
by  them  such  data  as it needs in preparing and certifying
under oath or affirmation to the regional superintendent  its
school district report of claims provided in Sections 18-8.05
18-8  through  18-10  as required on blanks to be provided by
the State Superintendent of Education.   The  district  claim
shall  be  based  on  the latest available equalized assessed
valuation and tax rates, as provided in Section  18-8.05  and
shall  use  the average daily attendance as determined by the
method outlined in Section 18-8.05 and shall be certified and
filed  with  the  regional  superintendent  by  June  21  for
districts with an official school calendar  end  date  before
June  15  or  within  2  weeks  following the official school
calendar end date for districts with a school year  end  date
of  June  15  or  later.  The  regional  superintendent shall
certify and file with the State Superintendent  of  Education
district  State  aid  claims  by July 1 for districts with an
official school calendar end date before June 15 or no  later
than  July  15 for districts with an official school calendar
end date of June 15 or later July 1. Failure to  so  file  by
these  deadlines July 1 constitutes a forfeiture of the right
to receive payment by the State until such claim is filed and
vouchered  for  payment.   The  regional  superintendent   of
schools shall certify the county report of claims by July 15;
and  the  State Superintendent of Education shall voucher for
payment those claims to the State Comptroller as provided  in
Section 18-11.
    Except  as  otherwise  provided  in  this Section, if any
school district fails to  provide  the  minimum  school  term
specified in Section 10-19, the State aid claim for that year
shall  be reduced by the State Superintendent of Education in
an amount equivalent to .56818% for each day  less  than  the
number of days required by this Code.
    If  the State Superintendent of Education determines that
the failure to provide the minimum school term was occasioned
by an act or acts of God, or  was  occasioned  by  conditions
beyond  the  control  of  the  school  district which posed a
hazardous threat to the health  and  safety  of  pupils,  the
State aid claim need not be reduced.
    If  the State Superintendent of Education determines that
the failure to provide the minimum school term was due  to  a
school  being  closed on or after September 11, 2001 for more
than one-half day of attendance  due  to  a  bioterrorism  or
terrorism  threat  that was investigated by a law enforcement
agency, the State aid claim shall not be reduced.
    If, during any school day,  (i)  a  school  district  has
provided  at  least  one  clock  hour of instruction but must
close the schools due to adverse weather conditions or due to
a condition beyond the control of the  school  district  that
poses  a  hazardous threat to the health and safety of pupils
prior to providing the minimum hours of instruction  required
for  a  full  day  of attendance, or (ii) the school district
must delay the start of the school day due to adverse weather
conditions  and  this  delay  prevents  the   district   from
providing  the  minimum  hours  of instruction required for a
full day of attendance, the partial day of attendance may  be
counted  as  a  full  day  of  attendance. The partial day of
attendance and the reasons therefor  shall  be  certified  in
writing within a month of the closing or delayed start by the
local   school   district   superintendent  to  the  Regional
Superintendent  of  Schools  for  forwarding  to  the   State
Superintendent of Education for approval.
    If  a  school  building  is  ordered  to be closed by the
school board, in consultation with a local emergency response
agency, due to a condition that poses a hazardous  threat  to
the  health  and  safety  of pupils, then the school district
shall have a grace period of 4  days  in  which  the  general
State  aid  claim  shall  not  be reduced so that alternative
housing of the pupils may be located.
    No exception to the requirement of  providing  a  minimum
school  term  may  be approved by the State Superintendent of
Education pursuant to this Section unless a  school  district
has first used all emergency days provided for in its regular
calendar.
    If the State Superintendent of Education declares that an
energy shortage exists during any part of the school year for
the  State  or  a designated portion of the State, a district
may operate the school attendance centers within the district
4 days of the  week  during  the  time  of  the  shortage  by
extending  each  existing  school  day  by  one clock hour of
school work, and the State aid claim shall  not  be  reduced,
nor shall the employees of that district suffer any reduction
in  salary  or  benefits  as a result thereof. A district may
operate all attendance centers on this revised  schedule,  or
may apply the schedule to selected attendance centers, taking
into  consideration  such  factors  as  pupil  transportation
schedules  and  patterns and sources of energy for individual
attendance centers.
    No State aid claim may be filed for any  district  unless
the  district superintendent clerk or secretary of the school
board executes and files with  the  State  Superintendent  of
Education,   in   the  method  on  forms  prescribed  by  the
Superintendent, certification  a  sworn  statement  that  the
district  has  complied  with  the  requirements  of  Section
10-22.5  in regard to the nonsegregation of pupils on account
of color, creed, race, sex or nationality.
    No State aid claim may be filed for any  district  unless
the  district superintendent clerk or secretary of the school
board executes and files with  the  State  Superintendent  of
Education,   in   the  method  on  forms  prescribed  by  the
Superintendent, a sworn statement that to the best of his  or
her  knowledge or belief the employing or assigning personnel
have complied with Section 24-4 in all respects.
    Electronically  submitted  State  aid  claims  shall   be
submitted by duly authorized district or regional individuals
over  a  secure  network  that  is  password  protected.  The
electronic   submission   of   a  State  aid  claim  must  be
accompanied with an affirmation that all of the provisions of
Sections 18-8.05 through 18-10, 10-22.5,  and  24-4  of  this
Code are met in all respects.
(Source: P.A. 92-661, eff. 7-16-02.)

    Section  99.   Effective  date.  This Act takes effect on
July 1, 2003.