93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4852

 

Introduced 02/04/04, by James H. Meyer

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/10-17a   from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a

    Amends the School Code with regard to a school district's school report card assessing the performance of its schools and students. Makes a technical change.


LRB093 19935 LRD 46867 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4852 LRB093 19935 LRD 46867 b

1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
5 10-17a as follows:
 
6     (105 ILCS 5/10-17a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a)
7     Sec. 10-17a. Better schools accountability.
8     (1) Policy and Purpose. It is shall be the policy of the
9 State of Illinois that each school district in this State,
10 including special charter districts and districts subject to
11 the provisions of Article 34, shall submit to parents,
12 taxpayers of such district, the Governor, the General Assembly,
13 and the State Board of Education a school report card assessing
14 the performance of its schools and students. The report card
15 shall be an index of school performance measured against
16 statewide and local standards and will provide information to
17 make prior year comparisons and to set future year targets
18 through the school improvement plan.
19     (2) Reporting Requirements. Each school district shall
20 prepare a report card in accordance with the guidelines set
21 forth in this Section which describes the performance of its
22 students by school attendance centers and by district and the
23 district's financial resources and use of financial resources.
24 Such report card shall be presented at a regular school board
25 meeting subject to applicable notice requirements, posted on
26 the school district's Internet web site, if the district
27 maintains an Internet web site, made available to a newspaper
28 of general circulation serving the district, and, upon request,
29 sent home to a parent (unless the district does not maintain an
30 Internet web site, in which case the report card shall be sent
31 home to parents without request). If the district posts the
32 report card on its Internet web site, the district shall send a

 

 

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1 written notice home to parents stating (i) that the report card
2 is available on the web site, (ii) the address of the web site,
3 (iii) that a printed copy of the report card will be sent to
4 parents upon request, and (iv) the telephone number that
5 parents may call to request a printed copy of the report card.
6 In addition, each school district shall submit the completed
7 report card to the office of the district's Regional
8 Superintendent which shall make copies available to any
9 individuals requesting them.
10     The report card shall be completed and disseminated prior
11 to October 31 in each school year. The report card shall
12 contain, but not be limited to, actual local school attendance
13 center, school district and statewide data indicating the
14 present performance of the school, the State norms and the
15 areas for planned improvement for the school and school
16 district.
17     (3) (a) The report card shall include the following
18 applicable indicators of attendance center, district, and
19 statewide student performance: percent of students who exceed,
20 meet, or do not meet standards established by the State Board
21 of Education pursuant to Section 2-3.25a; composite and subtest
22 means on nationally normed achievement tests for college bound
23 students; student attendance rates; chronic truancy rate;
24 dropout rate; graduation rate; and student mobility, turnover
25 shown as a percent of transfers out and a percent of transfers
26 in.
27     (b) The report card shall include the following
28 descriptions for the school, district, and State: average class
29 size; amount of time per day devoted to mathematics, science,
30 English and social science at primary, middle and junior high
31 school grade levels; number of students taking the Prairie
32 State Achievement Examination under subsection (c) of Section
33 2-3.64, the number of those students who received a score of
34 excellent, and the average score by school of students taking
35 the examination; pupil-teacher ratio; pupil-administrator
36 ratio; operating expenditure per pupil; district expenditure

 

 

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1 by fund; average administrator salary; and average teacher
2 salary. The report card shall also specify the amount of money
3 that the district receives from all sources, including without
4 limitation subcategories specifying the amount from local
5 property taxes, the amount from general State aid, the amount
6 from other State funding, and the amount from other income.
7     (c) The report card shall include applicable indicators of
8 parental involvement in each attendance center. The parental
9 involvement component of the report card shall include the
10 percentage of students whose parents or guardians have had one
11 or more personal contacts with the students' teachers during
12 the school year concerning the students' education, and such
13 other information, commentary, and suggestions as the school
14 district desires. For the purposes of this paragraph, "personal
15 contact" includes, but is not limited to, parent-teacher
16 conferences, parental visits to school, school visits to home,
17 telephone conversations, and written correspondence. The
18 parental involvement component shall not single out or identify
19 individual students, parents, or guardians by name.
20     (d) The report card form shall be prepared by the State
21 Board of Education and provided to school districts by the most
22 efficient, economic, and appropriate means.
23 (Source: P.A. 92-604, eff. 7-1-02; 92-631, eff. 7-11-02;
24 revised 7-26-02.)