HB5188 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 24778 CMG 34021 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5188

Introduced 1/31/2022, by Rep. William Davis

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/1B-8	from Ch. 122, par. 1B-8
105 ILCS 5/1F-25
105 ILCS 5/1F-90
105 ILCS 5/2-3.146
105 ILCS 5/10-21.9	from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9
105 ILCS 5/34-18.5	from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5
105 ILCS 5/1F-62 rep.
105 ILCS 5/2-3.33a rep.
105 ILCS 5/2-3.123 rep.
105 ILCS 5/2-3.128 rep.
105 ILCS 5/2-3.171 rep.
105 ILCS 5/2-3.172 rep.
105 ILCS 5/18-8.10 rep.
105 ILCS 5/21-5e rep.
105 ILCS 5/34-83 rep.
115 ILCS 5/2	from Ch. 48, par. 1702

Amends the School Code. Repeals provisions concerning the School District Emergency Financial Assistance Fund, audit adjustments to State aid claims for alternative education programs, the Giant Steps Autism Center for Excellence pilot program, job training programs, posting of entrepreneurial skills teaching resources, posting of high-skilled manufacturing teaching resources, fast growth grants, the Alternative Route to Administrative Certification for National Board Certified Teachers, and the board of examiners. Makes conforming changes in the School Code and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. Effective immediately.

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 1B-8, 1F-25, 1F-90, 2-3.146, 10-21.9, and 34-18.5 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/1B-8) (from Ch. 122, par. 1B-8)

Sec. 1B-8. There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the School District Emergency Financial Assistance Fund (the "Fund"). The School District Emergency Financial Assistance Fund shall consist of appropriations, loan repayments, grants from the federal government, and donations from any public or private source. Moneys in the Fund may be appropriated only to the Illinois Finance Authority and the State Board for those purposes authorized under this Article and Articles 1F and 1H of this Code. The appropriation may be allocated and expended by the State Board for contractual services to provide technical assistance or consultation to school districts to assess their financial condition and to Financial Oversight Panels that petition for emergency financial assistance grants. The Illinois Finance Authority may provide loans to school districts which are the subject of an approved petition for emergency financial assistance under Section 1B-4, 1F-62, or 1H-65 of this Code. Neither the State Board of Education nor the Illinois Finance Authority may collect any fees for providing these services.

From the amount allocated to each such school district under this Article the State Board shall identify a sum sufficient to cover all approved costs of the Financial Oversight Panel established for the respective school district. If the State Board and State Superintendent of Education have not approved emergency financial assistance in conjunction with the appointment of a Financial Oversight Panel, the Panel's approved costs shall be paid from deductions from the district's general State aid or evidence-based funding.

The Financial Oversight Panel may prepare and file with the State Superintendent a proposal for emergency financial assistance for the school district and for its operations budget. No expenditures from the Fund shall be authorized by the State Superintendent until he or she has approved the request of the Panel, either as submitted or in such lesser amount determined by the State Superintendent.

The maximum amount of an emergency financial assistance loan which may be allocated to any school district under this Article, including moneys necessary for the operations of the Panel, shall not exceed $4,000 times the number of pupils enrolled in the school district during the school year ending June 30 prior to the date of approval by the State Board of the petition for emergency financial assistance, as certified to the local board and the Panel by the State Superintendent. An emergency financial assistance grant shall not exceed $1,000 times the number of such pupils. A district may receive both a loan and a grant.

The payment of an emergency State financial assistance grant or loan shall be subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Payment of the emergency State financial assistance loan is subject to the applicable provisions of the Illinois Finance Authority Act. Emergency State financial assistance allocated and paid to a school district under this Article may be applied to any fund or funds from which the local board of education of that district is authorized to make expenditures by law.

Any emergency financial assistance grant proposed by the Financial Oversight Panel and approved by the State Superintendent may be paid in its entirety during the initial year of the Panel's existence or spread in equal or declining amounts over a period of years not to exceed the period of the Panel's existence. An emergency financial assistance loan proposed by the Financial Oversight Panel and approved by the Illinois Finance Authority may be paid in its entirety during the initial year of the Panel's existence or spread in equal or declining amounts over a period of years not to exceed the period of the Panel's existence. All loans made by the Illinois Finance Authority for a school district shall be required to be repaid, with simple interest over the term of the loan at a rate equal to 50% of the one-year Constant Maturity Treasury (CMT) yield as last published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System before the date on which the district's loan is approved by the Illinois Finance Authority, not later than the date the Financial Oversight Panel ceases to exist. The Panel shall establish and the Illinois Finance Authority shall approve the terms and conditions, including the schedule, of repayments. The schedule shall provide for repayments commencing July 1 of each year or upon each fiscal year's receipt of moneys from a tax levy for emergency financial assistance. Repayment shall be incorporated into the annual budget of the school district and may be made from any fund or funds of the district in which there are moneys available. An emergency financial assistance loan to the Panel or district shall not be considered part of the calculation of a district's debt for purposes of the limitation specified in Section 19-1 of this Code. Default on repayment is subject to the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act. When moneys are repaid as provided herein they shall not be made available to the local board for further use as emergency financial assistance under this Article at any time thereafter. All repayments required to be made by a school district shall be received by the State Board and deposited in the School District Emergency Financial Assistance Fund.

In establishing the terms and conditions for the repayment obligation of the school district the Panel shall annually determine whether a separate local property tax levy is required. The board of any school district with a tax rate for educational purposes for the prior year of less than 120% of the maximum rate for educational purposes authorized by Section 17-2 shall provide for a separate tax levy for emergency financial assistance repayment purposes. Such tax levy shall not be subject to referendum approval. The amount of the levy shall be equal to the amount necessary to meet the annual repayment obligations of the district as established by the Panel, or 20% of the amount levied for educational purposes for the prior year, whichever is less. However, no district shall be required to levy the tax if the district's operating tax rate as determined under Section 18-8, 18-8.05, or 18-8.15 exceeds 200% of the district's tax rate for educational purposes for the prior year.

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

(105 ILCS 5/1F-25)

(This Section scheduled to be repealed in accordance with 105 ILCS 5/1F-165)

Sec. 1F-25. General powers. The purposes of the Authority shall be to exercise financial control over the district and to furnish financial assistance so that the district can provide public education within the district's jurisdiction while permitting the district to meet its obligations to its creditors and the holders of its debt. Except as expressly limited by this Article, the Authority shall have all powers granted to a voluntary or involuntary Financial Oversight Panel and to a Financial Administrator under Article 1B of this Code and all other powers necessary to meet its responsibilities and to carry out its purposes and the purposes of this Article, including without limitation all of the following powers, provided that the Authority shall have no power to terminate any employee without following the statutory procedures for such terminations set forth in this Code:

(1) To sue and to be sued.

(2) To make, cancel, modify, and execute contracts, leases, subleases, and all other instruments or agreements necessary or convenient for the exercise of the powers and functions granted by this Article, subject to Section 1F-45 of this Code. The Authority may at a regular or special meeting find that the district has insufficient or inadequate funds with respect to any contract, other than collective bargaining agreements.

(3) To purchase real or personal property necessary or convenient for its purposes; to execute and deliver deeds for real property held in its own name; and to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of such of its property as, in the judgment of the Authority, is no longer necessary for its purposes.

(4) To appoint officers, agents, and employees of the Authority, including a chief executive officer, a chief fiscal officer, and a chief educational officer; to define their duties and qualifications; and to fix their compensation and employee benefits.

(5) To transfer to the district such sums of money as are not required for other purposes.

(6) To borrow money, including without limitation accepting State loans, and to issue obligations pursuant to this Article; to fund, refund, or advance refund the same; to provide for the rights of the holders of its obligations; and to repay any advances.

(6.5) To levy all property tax levies that otherwise could be levied by the district, and to make levies pursuant to Section 1F-62 of this Code. This levy or levies shall be exempt from the Truth in Taxation Law and the Cook County Truth in Taxation Law.

(7) Subject to the provisions of any contract with or for the benefit of the holders of its obligations, to purchase or redeem its obligations.

(8) To procure all necessary goods and services for the Authority in compliance with the purchasing laws and requirements applicable to the district.

(9) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given to it by this Article.

(10) To recommend annexation, consolidation, dissolution, or reorganization of the district, in whole or in part, to the State Board if in the Authority's judgment the circumstances so require. No such proposal for annexation, consolidation, dissolution, or reorganization shall occur unless the Authority and the school boards of all other districts directly affected by the annexation, consolidation, dissolution, or reorganization have each approved by majority vote the annexation, consolidation, dissolution, or reorganization. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, upon approval of the proposal by the State Board, the State Board and all other affected entities shall forthwith implement the proposal. When a dissolution and annexation becomes effective for purposes of administration and attendance, the positions of teachers in contractual continued service in the district being dissolved shall be transferred to the annexing district or districts, pursuant to the provisions of Section 24-12 of this Code. In the event that the territory is added to 2 or more districts, the decision on which positions shall be transferred to which annexing districts shall be made by giving consideration to the proportionate percentage of pupils transferred and the annexing districts' staffing needs, and the transfer of teachers in contractual continued service into positions shall be based upon the request of those teachers in contractual continued service in order of seniority in the dissolving district. The status of all teachers in contractual continued service transferred to an annexing district shall not be lost, and the board of the annexing district is subject to this Code with respect to teachers in contractual continued service who are transferred in the same manner as if the person were the annexing district's employee and had been its employee during the time the person was actually employed by the board of the dissolving district from which the position was transferred.

(Source: P.A. 92-855, eff. 12-6-02.)

(105 ILCS 5/1F-90)

(This Section scheduled to be repealed in accordance with 105 ILCS 5/1F-165)

Sec. 1F-90. Tax anticipation warrants. An Authority shall have the same power to issue tax anticipation warrants as a school board under Section 17-16 of this Code. Tax anticipation warrants are considered borrowing from sources other than the State and are subject to Section 1F-62 of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 92-855, eff. 12-6-02.)

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.146)

Sec. 2-3.146. Severely overcrowded schools grant program. There is created a grant program, subject to appropriation, for severely overcrowded schools. The State Board of Education shall administer the program. Grant funds may be used for purposes of relieving overcrowding. In order for a school district to be eligible for a grant under this Section, (i) the main administrative office of the district must be located in a city of 85,000 or more in population, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, and (ii) the school district must have a district-wide percentage of low-income students of 70% or more, as identified by the 2005-2006 School Report Cards published by the State Board of Education, and (iii) the school district must not be eligible for a fast growth grant under Section 18-8.10 of this Code. The State Board of Education shall distribute the funds on a proportional basis with no single district receiving more than 75% of the funds in any given year. The State Board of Education may adopt rules as needed for the implementation and distribution of grants under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 95-707, eff. 1-11-08.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)

Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database.

(a) Licensed and nonlicensed applicants for employment with a school district, except school bus driver applicants, are required as a condition of employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine if such applicants have been convicted of any disqualifying, enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the applicant to the school district, except that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one school district, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more than one school district (as a reading specialist, special education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than one district, any such district may require the applicant to furnish authorization for the check to the regional superintendent of the educational service region in which are located the school districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee. Upon receipt of this authorization, the school district or the appropriate regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to the Illinois State Police. The regional superintendent submitting the requisite information to the Illinois State Police shall promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee that the check of the applicant has been requested. The Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of convictions, forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of the school board for the school district that requested the check, or to the regional superintendent who requested the check. The Illinois State Police shall charge the school district or the appropriate regional superintendent a fee for conducting such check, which fee shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant shall not be charged a fee for such check by the school district or by the regional superintendent, except that those applicants seeking employment as a substitute teacher with a school district may be charged a fee not to exceed the cost of the inquiry. Subject to appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse school districts and regional superintendents for fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this Section.

(a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, for each applicant. The check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database must be conducted by the school district or regional superintendent once for every 5 years that an applicant remains employed by the school district.

(a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law, for each applicant. The check of the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database must be conducted by the school district or regional superintendent once for every 5 years that an applicant remains employed by the school district.

(b) Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained by the president of the school board or the regional superintendent shall be confidential and may only be transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the check was requested by the school district, the presidents of the appropriate school boards if the check was requested from the Illinois State Police by the regional superintendent, the State Board of Education and a school district as authorized under subsection (b-5), the State Superintendent of Education, the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, any other person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for employment, or for clarification purposes the Illinois State Police or Statewide Sex Offender Database, or both. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the Illinois State Police shall be provided to the applicant for employment. Upon the check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, the school district or regional superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether or not the applicant has been identified in the Database. If a check of an applicant for employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee in more than one school district was requested by the regional superintendent, and the Illinois State Police upon a check ascertains that the applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has not been identified in the Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date specified by the Illinois State Police the applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, the applicant has not been identified in the Database. The school board of any school district may rely on the certificate issued by any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational support personnel employee or may initiate its own criminal history records check of the applicant through the Illinois State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as provided in this Section. Any unauthorized release of confidential information may be a violation of Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.

(b-5) If a criminal history records check or check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database is performed by a regional superintendent for an applicant seeking employment as a substitute teacher with a school district, the regional superintendent may disclose to the State Board of Education whether the applicant has been issued a certificate under subsection (b) based on those checks. If the State Board receives information on an applicant under this subsection, then it must indicate in the Educator Licensure Information System for a 90-day period that the applicant has been issued or has not been issued a certificate.

(c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as provided under subsection (b) of Section 21B-80. Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a person who has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. As a condition of employment, each school board must consider the status of a person who has been issued an indicated finding of abuse or neglect of a child by the Department of Children and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or by a child welfare agency of another jurisdiction.

(d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for whom a criminal history records check and a Statewide Sex Offender Database check have not been initiated.

(e) Within 10 days after a superintendent, regional office of education, or entity that provides background checks of license holders to public schools receives information of a pending criminal charge against a license holder for an offense set forth in Section 21B-80 of this Code, the superintendent, regional office of education, or entity must notify the State Superintendent of Education of the pending criminal charge.

If permissible by federal or State law, no later than 15 business days after receipt of a record of conviction or of checking the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database or the Statewide Sex Offender Database and finding a registration, the superintendent of the employing school board or the applicable regional superintendent shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of any license holder who has been convicted of a crime set forth in Section 21B-80 of this Code. Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a finding of child abuse by a holder of any license issued pursuant to Article 21B or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of this the School Code, the State Superintendent of Education may initiate licensure suspension and revocation proceedings as authorized by law. If the receipt of the record of conviction or finding of child abuse is received within 6 months after the initial grant of or renewal of a license, the State Superintendent of Education may rescind the license holder's license.

(e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any license holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect with the result of making a child an abused child or a neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the license holder's dismissal or resignation from the school district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days after the dismissal or resignation and must include the Illinois Educator Identification Number (IEIN) of the license holder and a brief description of the misconduct alleged. The license holder must also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other information so received by the regional superintendent of schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board of Education, or the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board under this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21B of this Code, (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the license holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5) shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such action.

(f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding contracts with any school district including, but not limited to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding contracts with more than one school district and assigned to more than one school district, the regional superintendent of the educational service region in which the contracting school districts are located may, at the request of any such school district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a criminal history records check prepared by each such employee and submitting the same to the Illinois State Police and for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database for each employee. Any information concerning the record of conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school board or school boards.

(f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any information obtained by a school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be made available to the requesting school or school district.

(g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching experience or required internship (which is referred to as student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student teacher to the school district where the student teaching is to be completed. Upon receipt of this authorization and payment, the school district shall submit the student teacher's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to the Illinois State Police. The Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of convictions, forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of the school board for the school district that requested the check. The Illinois State Police shall charge the school district a fee for conducting the check, which fee must not exceed the cost of the inquiry and must be deposited into the State Police Services Fund. The school district shall further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. No school board may knowingly allow a person to student teach for whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex Offender Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database check have not been completed and reviewed by the district.

A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the Illinois State Police must be provided to the student teacher. Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained by the president of the school board is confidential and may only be transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his or her designee, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, or, for clarification purposes, the Illinois State Police or the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized release of confidential information may be a violation of Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.

No school board shall knowingly allow a person to student teach who has been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as provided under subsection (b) of Section 21B-80. Further, no school board shall allow a person to student teach if he or she has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Each school board must consider the status of a person to student teach who has been issued an indicated finding of abuse or neglect of a child by the Department of Children and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or by a child welfare agency of another jurisdiction.

(h) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 101-72, eff. 7-12-19; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19; 101-643, eff. 6-18-20; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-552, eff. 1-1-22; revised 10-6-21.)

(105 ILCS 5/34-18.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5)

Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database.

(a) Licensed and nonlicensed applicants for employment with the school district are required as a condition of employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine if such applicants have been convicted of any disqualifying, enumerated criminal or drug offense in subsection (c) of this Section or have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State. Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the applicant to the school district, except that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one school district, or a teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more than one school district (as a reading specialist, special education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than one district, any such district may require the applicant to furnish authorization for the check to the regional superintendent of the educational service region in which are located the school districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee. Upon receipt of this authorization, the school district or the appropriate regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to the Illinois State Police. The regional superintendent submitting the requisite information to the Illinois State Police shall promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee that the check of the applicant has been requested. The Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of convictions, forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of the school board for the school district that requested the check, or to the regional superintendent who requested the check. The Illinois State Police shall charge the school district or the appropriate regional superintendent a fee for conducting such check, which fee shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant shall not be charged a fee for such check by the school district or by the regional superintendent. Subject to appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse the school district and regional superintendent for fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this Section.

(a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, for each applicant. The check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database must be conducted by the school district or regional superintendent once for every 5 years that an applicant remains employed by the school district.

(a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law, for each applicant. The check of the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database must be conducted by the school district or regional superintendent once for every 5 years that an applicant remains employed by the school district.

(b) Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained by the president of the board of education or the regional superintendent shall be confidential and may only be transmitted to the general superintendent of the school district or his designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the check was requested by the board of education for the school district, the presidents of the appropriate board of education or school boards if the check was requested from the Illinois State Police by the regional superintendent, the State Board of Education and the school district as authorized under subsection (b-5), the State Superintendent of Education, the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board or any other person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the Illinois State Police shall be provided to the applicant for employment. Upon the check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, the school district or regional superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether or not the applicant has been identified in the Database. If a check of an applicant for employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee in more than one school district was requested by the regional superintendent, and the Illinois State Police upon a check ascertains that the applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has not been identified in the Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date specified by the Illinois State Police the applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, the applicant has not been identified in the Database. The school board of any school district may rely on the certificate issued by any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational support personnel employee or may initiate its own criminal history records check of the applicant through the Illinois State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database as provided in this Section. Any unauthorized release of confidential information may be a violation of Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.

(b-5) If a criminal history records check or check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database is performed by a regional superintendent for an applicant seeking employment as a substitute teacher with the school district, the regional superintendent may disclose to the State Board of Education whether the applicant has been issued a certificate under subsection (b) based on those checks. If the State Board receives information on an applicant under this subsection, then it must indicate in the Educator Licensure Information System for a 90-day period that the applicant has been issued or has not been issued a certificate.

(c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a person who has been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as provided under subsection (b) of 21B-80. Further, the board of education shall not knowingly employ a person who has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. As a condition of employment, the board of education must consider the status of a person who has been issued an indicated finding of abuse or neglect of a child by the Department of Children and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or by a child welfare agency of another jurisdiction.

(d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a person for whom a criminal history records check and a Statewide Sex Offender Database check have not been initiated.

(e) Within 10 days after the general superintendent of schools, a regional office of education, or an entity that provides background checks of license holders to public schools receives information of a pending criminal charge against a license holder for an offense set forth in Section 21B-80 of this Code, the superintendent, regional office of education, or entity must notify the State Superintendent of Education of the pending criminal charge.

No later than 15 business days after receipt of a record of conviction or of checking the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database or the Statewide Sex Offender Database and finding a registration, the general superintendent of schools or the applicable regional superintendent shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of any license holder who has been convicted of a crime set forth in Section 21B-80 of this Code. Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a finding of child abuse by a holder of any license issued pursuant to Article 21B or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of this Code, the State Superintendent of Education may initiate licensure suspension and revocation proceedings as authorized by law. If the receipt of the record of conviction or finding of child abuse is received within 6 months after the initial grant of or renewal of a license, the State Superintendent of Education may rescind the license holder's license.

(e-5) The general superintendent of schools shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of any license holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect with the result of making a child an abused child or a neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the license holder's dismissal or resignation from the school district and must include the Illinois Educator Identification Number (IEIN) of the license holder and a brief description of the misconduct alleged. This notification must be submitted within 30 days after the dismissal or resignation. The license holder must also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other information so received by the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board of Education, or the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board under this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21B of this Code, (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the license holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5) shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such action.

(f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding contracts with any school district including, but not limited to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding contracts with more than one school district and assigned to more than one school district, the regional superintendent of the educational service region in which the contracting school districts are located may, at the request of any such school district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a criminal history records check prepared by each such employee and submitting the same to the Illinois State Police and for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database for each employee. Any information concerning the record of conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school board or school boards.

(f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any information obtained by the school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be made available to the requesting school or school district.

(g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching experience or required internship (which is referred to as student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student teacher to the school district. Upon receipt of this authorization and payment, the school district shall submit the student teacher's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to the Illinois State Police. The Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of convictions, forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of the board. The Illinois State Police shall charge the school district a fee for conducting the check, which fee must not exceed the cost of the inquiry and must be deposited into the State Police Services Fund. The school district shall further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. The board may not knowingly allow a person to student teach for whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex Offender Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database check have not been completed and reviewed by the district.

A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the Illinois State Police must be provided to the student teacher. Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained by the president of the board is confidential and may only be transmitted to the general superintendent of schools or his or her designee, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, or, for clarification purposes, the Illinois State Police or the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized release of confidential information may be a violation of Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.

The board may not knowingly allow a person to student teach who has been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 21B-80 of this Code, except as provided under subsection (b) of Section 21B-80. Further, the board may not allow a person to student teach if he or she has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The board must consider the status of a person to student teach who has been issued an indicated finding of abuse or neglect of a child by the Department of Children and Family Services under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act or by a child welfare agency of another jurisdiction.

(h) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 101-72, eff. 7-12-19; 101-531, eff. 8-23-19; 101-643, eff. 6-18-20; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-552, eff. 1-1-22; revised 10-18-21.)

(105 ILCS 5/1F-62 rep.)

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.33a rep.)

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.123 rep.)

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.128 rep.)

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.171 rep.)

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.172 rep.)

(105 ILCS 5/18-8.10 rep.)

(105 ILCS 5/21-5e rep.)

(105 ILCS 5/34-83 rep.)

Section 10. The School Code is amended by repealing Sections 1F-62, 2-3.33a, 2-3.123, 2-3.128, 2-3.171, 2-3.172, 18-8.10, 21-5e, and 34-83.

Section 15. The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act is amended by changing Section 2 as follows:

(115 ILCS 5/2) (from Ch. 48, par. 1702)

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(a) "Educational employer" or "employer" means the governing body of a public school district, including the governing body of a charter school established under Article 27A of the School Code or of a contract school or contract turnaround school established under paragraph 30 of Section 34-18 of the School Code, combination of public school districts, including the governing body of joint agreements of any type formed by 2 or more school districts, public community college district or State college or university, a subcontractor of instructional services of a school district (other than a school district organized under Article 34 of the School Code), combination of school districts, charter school established under Article 27A of the School Code, or contract school or contract turnaround school established under paragraph 30 of Section 34-18 of the School Code, an Independent Authority created under Section 2-3.25f-5 of the School Code, and any State agency whose major function is providing educational services. "Educational employer" or "employer" does not include (1) a Financial Oversight Panel created pursuant to Section 1A-8 of the School Code due to a district violating a financial plan or (2) an approved nonpublic special education facility that contracts with a school district or combination of school districts to provide special education services pursuant to Section 14-7.02 of the School Code, but does include a School Finance Authority created under Article 1E or 1F of the School Code and a Financial Oversight Panel created under Article 1B or 1H of the School Code. The change made by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly to this paragraph (a) to make clear that the governing body of a charter school is an "educational employer" is declaratory of existing law.

(b) "Educational employee" or "employee" means any individual, excluding supervisors, managerial, confidential, short term employees, student, and part-time academic employees of community colleges employed full or part time by an educational employer, but shall not include elected officials and appointees of the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, firefighters as defined by subsection (g-1) of Section 3 of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, and peace officers employed by a State university. For the purposes of this Act, part-time academic employees of community colleges shall be defined as those employees who provide less than 3 credit hours of instruction per academic semester. In this subsection (b), the term "student" does not include graduate students who are research assistants primarily performing duties that involve research, graduate assistants primarily performing duties that are pre-professional, graduate students who are teaching assistants primarily performing duties that involve the delivery and support of instruction, or any other graduate assistants.

(c) "Employee organization" or "labor organization" means an organization of any kind in which membership includes educational employees, and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, employee-employer disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work, but shall not include any organization which practices discrimination in membership because of race, color, creed, age, gender, national origin or political affiliation.

(d) "Exclusive representative" means the labor organization which has been designated by the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board as the representative of the majority of educational employees in an appropriate unit, or recognized by an educational employer prior to January 1, 1984 as the exclusive representative of the employees in an appropriate unit or, after January 1, 1984, recognized by an employer upon evidence that the employee organization has been designated as the exclusive representative by a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit.

(e) "Board" means the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.

(f) "Regional Superintendent" means the regional superintendent of schools provided for in Articles 3 and 3A of The School Code.

(g) "Supervisor" means any individual having authority in the interests of the employer to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, reward or discipline other employees within the appropriate bargaining unit and adjust their grievances, or to effectively recommend such action if the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature but requires the use of independent judgment. The term "supervisor" includes only those individuals who devote a preponderance of their employment time to such exercising authority.

(h) "Unfair labor practice" or "unfair practice" means any practice prohibited by Section 14 of this Act.

(i) "Person" includes an individual, educational employee, educational employer, legal representative, or employee organization.

(j) "Wages" means salaries or other forms of compensation for services rendered.

(k) "Professional employee" means, in the case of a public community college, State college or university, State agency whose major function is providing educational services, the Illinois School for the Deaf, and the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, (1) any employee engaged in work (i) predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work; (ii) involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance; (iii) of such character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time; and (iv) requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training in the performance of routine mental, manual, or physical processes; or (2) any employee, who (i) has completed the courses of specialized intellectual instruction and study described in clause (iv) of paragraph (1) of this subsection, and (ii) is performing related work under the supervision of a professional person to qualify himself or herself to become a professional as defined in paragraph (l).

(l) "Professional employee" means, in the case of any public school district, or combination of school districts pursuant to joint agreement, any employee who has a certificate issued under Article 21 or Section 34-83 of the School Code, as now or hereafter amended.

(m) "Unit" or "bargaining unit" means any group of employees for which an exclusive representative is selected.

(n) "Confidential employee" means an employee, who (i) in the regular course of his or her duties, assists and acts in a confidential capacity to persons who formulate, determine and effectuate management policies with regard to labor relations or who (ii) in the regular course of his or her duties has access to information relating to the effectuation or review of the employer's collective bargaining policies.

(o) "Managerial employee" means an individual who is engaged predominantly in executive and management functions and is charged with the responsibility of directing the effectuation of such management policies and practices.

(p) "Craft employee" means a skilled journeyman, craft person, and his or her apprentice or helper.

(q) "Short-term employee" is an employee who is employed for less than 2 consecutive calendar quarters during a calendar year and who does not have a reasonable expectation that he or she will be rehired by the same employer for the same service in a subsequent calendar year. Nothing in this subsection shall affect the employee status of individuals who were covered by a collective bargaining agreement on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991.

(Source: P.A. 101-380, eff. 1-1-20.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.