HB5347 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 21380 CMG 30494 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5347

Introduced 1/31/2022, by Rep. Thomas M. Bennett

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 5/21B-5
105 ILCS 5/27-1	from Ch. 122, par. 27-1

Amends the School Code. Prohibits the State Board of Education from revising its teaching standards or learning standards without the approval of the General Assembly through adoption of a joint resolution outlining the State Board's specific revisions and granting the State Board the authority to revise those standards. Effective immediately.

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 21B-5 and 27-1 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/21B-5)

Sec. 21B-5. Licensure powers of the State Board of Education.

(a) Recognizing that the education of our citizens is the single most important influence on the prosperity and success of this State and recognizing that new developments in education require a flexible approach to our educational system, the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, shall have the power and authority to do all of the following:

(1) Set standards for teaching, supervising, or otherwise holding licensed employment in the public schools of this State and administer the licensure process as provided in this Article, except that the State Board may not revise its teaching standards without the approval of the General Assembly through adoption of a joint resolution outlining the State Board's specific revisions and granting the State Board the authority to revise the teaching standards.

(2) Approve, evaluate, and sanction educator preparation programs.

(3) Enter into agreements with other states relative to reciprocal approval of educator preparation programs.

(4) Establish standards for the issuance of new types of educator licenses.

(5) Establish a code of ethics for all educators.

(6) Maintain a system of licensure examination aligned with standards determined by the State Board of Education.

(7) Take such other action relating to the improvement of instruction in the public schools as is appropriate and consistent with applicable laws.

(b) Only the State Board of Education, acting in accordance with the applicable provisions of this Article and rules, shall have the authority to issue or endorse any license required for teaching, supervising, or otherwise holding licensed employment in the public schools; and no other State agency shall have any power or authority (i) to establish or prescribe any qualifications or other requirements applicable to the issuance or endorsement of any such license or (ii) to establish or prescribe any licensure or equivalent requirement that must be satisfied in order to teach, supervise, or hold licensed employment in the public schools.

(Source: P.A. 100-596, eff. 7-1-18.)

(105 ILCS 5/27-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 27-1)

Sec. 27-1. Areas of education taught - discrimination on account of sex. The State of Illinois, having the responsibility of defining requirements for elementary and secondary education, establishes that the primary purpose of schooling is the transmission of knowledge and culture through which children learn in areas necessary to their continuing development and entry into the world of work. Such areas include the language arts, mathematics, the biological, physical and social sciences, the fine arts and physical development and health.

Each school district shall give priority in the allocation of resources, including funds, time allocation, personnel, and facilities, to fulfilling the primary purpose of schooling.

The State Board of Education shall establish goals and learning standards consistent with the above purposes and define the knowledge and skills which the State expects students to master and apply as a consequence of their education. However, the State Board may not revise its learning standards without the approval of the General Assembly through adoption of a joint resolution outlining the State Board's specific revisions and granting the State Board the authority to revise the learning standards.

Each school district shall establish learning objectives consistent with the State Board of Education's goals and learning standards for the areas referred to in this Section, shall develop appropriate testing and assessment systems for determining the degree to which students are achieving the objectives, and shall develop reporting systems to apprise the community and State of the assessment results.

Each school district shall make available to all students academic and vocational courses for the attainment of learning objectives.

No student shall be refused admission into or be excluded from any course of instruction offered in the common schools by reason of that person's sex. No student shall, solely by reason of that person's sex, be denied equal access to physical education and interscholastic athletic programs or comparable programs supported from school district funds. This Section is violated when a high school subject to this Act participates in the post-season basketball tournament of any organization or association that does not conduct post-season high school basketball tournaments for both boys and girls, which tournaments are identically structured. Conducting identically structured tournaments includes having the same number of girls' teams as boys' teams playing, in their respective tournaments, at any common location chosen for the final series of games in a tournament; provided, that nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to prohibit the selection for the final series of games in the girls' tournaments of a common location that is different than the common location selected for the final series of games in the boys' tournaments. Except as specifically stated in this Section, equal access to programs supported by school district funds and comparable programs will be defined in rules promulgated by the State Board of Education in consultation with the Illinois High School Association.

(Source: P.A. 94-875, eff. 7-1-06.)

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