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1 | AN ACT concerning schools.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Section 5. The Department of State Police Law of the
Civil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by changing Section | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | 2605-325 as follows:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | (20 ILCS 2605/2605-325) (was 20 ILCS 2605/55a in part)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | Sec. 2605-325. Conviction information for school board or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | regional
superintendent. On request of a school board or | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | regional
superintendent of schools,
to conduct an | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | investigation
inquiry pursuant to Section 10-21.9 or 34-18.5 of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | the School
Code to ascertain whether an applicant for | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | employment in a school
district or a charter school governing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | body member has
been convicted of committing or attempting to | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | commit a
any criminal or drug offense specified
offenses | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | enumerated in Section
10-21.9 or 34-18.5 of the School Code. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | The Department shall furnish the
conviction information to the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | president of the school board of the school
district that has | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | requested the information or, if the
information was
requested | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | by the regional superintendent, to that regional | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | superintendent.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | (Source: P.A. 90-18, eff. 7-1-97; 90-130, eff. 1-1-98;
90-372, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | eff. 7-1-98;
90-590, eff. 1-1-00; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98; 90-793, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
24 | eff. 8-14-98;
91-239, eff. 1-1-00.)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
25 | Section 10. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
26 | 10-21.9, 27A-5, 27A-8, and 34-18.5 as follows:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
27 | (105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
28 | Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal background investigations.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
29 | (a) Certified
After August
1, 1985, certified and | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
30 | noncertified applicants for employment with a school
district |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | and charter school governing body members , except school bus | ||||||
2 | driver applicants, are required , as a condition
of employment | ||||||
3 | or membership on a charter school governing body, to authorize | ||||||
4 | an
investigation to determine if such persons
applicants have | ||||||
5 | been convicted of any of
the enumerated criminal or drug | ||||||
6 | offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or
have been | ||||||
7 | convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment | ||||||
8 | with
the
school district, of any other felony under the laws of | ||||||
9 | this State or of any
offense committed or attempted in any | ||||||
10 | other state or against the laws of
the United States that, if | ||||||
11 | committed or attempted in this State, would
have been | ||||||
12 | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
| ||||||
13 | Authorization for the investigation shall be furnished by the | ||||||
14 | person
applicant to
the school district, except that if the | ||||||
15 | person
applicant is a substitute teacher
seeking employment in | ||||||
16 | more than one school district, a teacher seeking
concurrent | ||||||
17 | part-time employment positions with more than one school
| ||||||
18 | district (as a reading specialist, special education teacher or | ||||||
19 | otherwise),
or an educational support personnel employee | ||||||
20 | seeking employment positions
with more than one district, any | ||||||
21 | such district may require the applicant to
furnish | ||||||
22 | authorization for the investigation to the regional | ||||||
23 | superintendent
of the educational service region in which are | ||||||
24 | located the school districts
in which the applicant is seeking | ||||||
25 | employment as a substitute or concurrent
part-time teacher or | ||||||
26 | concurrent educational support personnel employee.
Upon | ||||||
27 | receipt of this authorization, the school district or the | ||||||
28 | appropriate
regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall | ||||||
29 | submit the person's
applicant's
name, sex, race, date of birth | ||||||
30 | and social security number to the Department
of State Police on | ||||||
31 | forms prescribed by the Department. The regional
| ||||||
32 | superintendent submitting the requisite information to the | ||||||
33 | Department of
State Police shall promptly notify the school | ||||||
34 | districts in which the person
applicant is seeking employment | ||||||
35 | as a substitute or concurrent part-time
teacher or concurrent | ||||||
36 | educational support personnel employee that the
investigation |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | of the applicant has been requested. The Department of State
| ||||||
2 | Police shall conduct a search of the Illinois criminal history | ||||||
3 | records
database to ascertain if the person
applicant being
| ||||||
4 | considered for employment has been convicted of committing or | ||||||
5 | attempting to
commit any of the enumerated
criminal or drug | ||||||
6 | offenses in subsection (c) or has been convicted of
committing | ||||||
7 | or attempting to commit, within 7
years
of the application for | ||||||
8 | employment with the
school district or within 7 years of | ||||||
9 | membership on the charter school governing body , any other | ||||||
10 | felony under the laws of this State or of any
offense committed | ||||||
11 | or attempted in any other state or against the laws of
the | ||||||
12 | United States that, if committed or attempted in this State, | ||||||
13 | would
have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this | ||||||
14 | State.
The
Department shall charge
the school district or the | ||||||
15 | appropriate regional superintendent a fee for
conducting such | ||||||
16 | investigation, which fee shall be deposited in the State
Police | ||||||
17 | Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the | ||||||
18 | investigation
inquiry ; and the person
applicant shall not be | ||||||
19 | charged a fee for such investigation by the school
district or | ||||||
20 | by the regional superintendent. The regional superintendent
| ||||||
21 | may seek reimbursement from the State Board of Education or the | ||||||
22 | appropriate
school district or districts for fees paid by the
| ||||||
23 | regional superintendent to the Department for the criminal | ||||||
24 | background
investigations required by this Section.
| ||||||
25 | (b)
If the search of the Illinois criminal history | ||||||
26 | records database
indicates that the person
applicant has been | ||||||
27 | convicted of committing or attempting to
commit any of the | ||||||
28 | enumerated criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or
has | ||||||
29 | been convicted of committing or attempting to commit, within 7 | ||||||
30 | years
before the
application for employment with the school | ||||||
31 | district or within 7 years before membership on the charter | ||||||
32 | school governing body , any other felony under the
laws of this | ||||||
33 | State,
the Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation | ||||||
34 | shall furnish,
pursuant to a fingerprint based background | ||||||
35 | check,
records of convictions, until expunged, to the president | ||||||
36 | of the school board
for the school district which requested the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | investigation, or to the
regional superintendent who requested | ||||||
2 | the investigation. Any information
concerning the record of | ||||||
3 | convictions obtained by the president of the
school board or | ||||||
4 | the regional superintendent shall be confidential and may
only | ||||||
5 | be transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or | ||||||
6 | his
designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the | ||||||
7 | investigation was
requested by the school district, the | ||||||
8 | presidents of the appropriate school
boards if the | ||||||
9 | investigation was requested from the Department of State
Police | ||||||
10 | by the regional superintendent, the State Superintendent of
| ||||||
11 | Education, the State Teacher Certification Board or any other | ||||||
12 | person
necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for | ||||||
13 | employment or allowing the member to be on the charter school | ||||||
14 | governing body . A copy
of the record of convictions obtained | ||||||
15 | from the Department of State Police
shall be provided to the | ||||||
16 | person
applicant for employment . If an investigation of
an | ||||||
17 | applicant for employment as a substitute or concurrent | ||||||
18 | part-time teacher
or concurrent educational support personnel | ||||||
19 | employee in more than one
school district was requested by the | ||||||
20 | regional superintendent, and the
Department of State Police | ||||||
21 | upon investigation ascertains that the applicant
has not been | ||||||
22 | convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses
in | ||||||
23 | subsection (c) or has not been convicted, within 7 years of the
| ||||||
24 | application for
employment with the
school district, of any | ||||||
25 | other felony under the laws of this State or of any
offense | ||||||
26 | committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws | ||||||
27 | of
the United States that, if committed or attempted in this | ||||||
28 | State, would
have been punishable as a felony under the laws of | ||||||
29 | this State
and so notifies the regional
superintendent, then | ||||||
30 | the
regional superintendent shall issue to the applicant a | ||||||
31 | certificate
evidencing that as of the date specified by the | ||||||
32 | Department of State Police
the applicant has not been convicted | ||||||
33 | of any of the enumerated criminal or
drug offenses in | ||||||
34 | subsection (c) or has not been
convicted, within 7 years of the | ||||||
35 | application for employment with the
school district, of any | ||||||
36 | other felony under the laws of this State or of any
offense |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws | ||||||
2 | of
the United States that, if committed or attempted in this | ||||||
3 | State, would
have been punishable as a felony under the laws of | ||||||
4 | this State. The school
board of
any
school district
located in | ||||||
5 | the educational service region served by the regional
| ||||||
6 | superintendent who issues such a certificate to an applicant | ||||||
7 | for employment
as a substitute teacher in more than one such | ||||||
8 | district may rely on the
certificate issued by the regional | ||||||
9 | superintendent to that applicant, or may
initiate its own | ||||||
10 | investigation of the applicant through the Department of
State | ||||||
11 | Police as provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases | ||||||
12 | any
confidential information concerning any criminal | ||||||
13 | convictions of an
applicant for employment or charter school | ||||||
14 | governing body member shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, | ||||||
15 | unless
the release of such information is authorized by this | ||||||
16 | Section.
| ||||||
17 | (c) No school board shall knowingly employ nor charter | ||||||
18 | school knowingly have as a governing body member a person who | ||||||
19 | has been
convicted for committing attempted first degree murder | ||||||
20 | or for committing or
attempting to commit first degree murder | ||||||
21 | or a Class X felony or any one or
more of the
following | ||||||
22 | offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, 11-14, | ||||||
23 | 11-15,
11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, 11-19.2, | ||||||
24 | 11-20, 11-20.1,
11-21, 12-13, 12-14,
12-14.1,
12-15 and 12-16 | ||||||
25 | of the "Criminal Code of 1961"; (ii)
those defined in the | ||||||
26 | "Cannabis Control Act" except those defined in Sections
4(a), | ||||||
27 | 4(b) and 5(a) of that Act; (iii) those defined in the "Illinois
| ||||||
28 | Controlled Substances Act"; and (iv) any
offense committed or | ||||||
29 | attempted in
any other state or against the laws of the United | ||||||
30 | States, which if
committed or attempted in this State, would | ||||||
31 | have been punishable as one or
more of the foregoing offenses.
| ||||||
32 | Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a person who | ||||||
33 | has been found
to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical | ||||||
34 | abuse of any minor under 18 years
of age pursuant to | ||||||
35 | proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
| ||||||
36 | (d) No school board shall knowingly employ nor charter |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | school knowingly have as a governing body member a person for | ||||||
2 | whom a criminal
background investigation has not been | ||||||
3 | initiated.
| ||||||
4 | (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a | ||||||
5 | finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued | ||||||
6 | pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School | ||||||
7 | Code, the appropriate regional superintendent of schools or the
| ||||||
8 | State Superintendent of Education shall initiate the | ||||||
9 | certificate suspension
and revocation proceedings authorized | ||||||
10 | by law.
| ||||||
11 | (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section | ||||||
12 | shall apply
to all employees of persons or firms holding | ||||||
13 | contracts with any school
district including, but not limited | ||||||
14 | to, food service workers, school bus
drivers and other | ||||||
15 | transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact
with | ||||||
16 | the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of | ||||||
17 | criminal
background investigations on employees of persons or | ||||||
18 | firms holding
contracts with more than one school district and | ||||||
19 | assigned to more than one
school district, the regional | ||||||
20 | superintendent of the educational service
region in which the | ||||||
21 | contracting school districts are located may, at the
request of | ||||||
22 | any such school district, be responsible for receiving the
| ||||||
23 | authorization for investigation prepared by each such employee | ||||||
24 | and
submitting the same to the Department of State Police. Any | ||||||
25 | information
concerning the record of conviction of any such | ||||||
26 | employee obtained by the
regional superintendent shall be | ||||||
27 | promptly reported to the president of the
appropriate school | ||||||
28 | board or school boards.
| ||||||
29 | (Source: P.A. 93-418, eff. 1-1-04.)
| ||||||
30 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
| ||||||
31 | Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| ||||||
32 | (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | ||||||
33 | nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | ||||||
34 | school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | ||||||
35 | corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| ||||||
2 | (b) A charter school may be established under this Article | ||||||
3 | by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | ||||||
4 | school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
| ||||||
5 | Beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | ||||||
6 | 93rd General
Assembly, in all new
applications submitted to the | ||||||
7 | State Board or a local school board to establish
a charter
| ||||||
8 | school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000, | ||||||
9 | operation of the
charter
school shall be limited to one campus. | ||||||
10 | The changes made to this Section by this
amendatory Act
of the | ||||||
11 | 93rd General
Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing | ||||||
12 | or approved on or before the
effective date of this
amendatory | ||||||
13 | Act.
| ||||||
14 | (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | ||||||
15 | its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | ||||||
16 | provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
| ||||||
17 | shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | ||||||
18 | Meetings Act.
| ||||||
19 | (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable | ||||||
20 | health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | ||||||
21 | under the laws of the State of
Illinois.
| ||||||
22 | (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | ||||||
23 | charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | ||||||
24 | charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | ||||||
25 | instructional materials, and student activities.
| ||||||
26 | (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | ||||||
27 | management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | ||||||
28 | not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | ||||||
29 | charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | ||||||
30 | outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | ||||||
31 | school.
| ||||||
32 | (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | ||||||
33 | this Article and
its charter. A charter
school is exempt from | ||||||
34 | all other State laws and regulations in the School Code
| ||||||
35 | governing public
schools and local school board policies, | ||||||
36 | except the following:
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of the School Code | ||||||
2 | regarding criminal
background investigations of applicants | ||||||
3 | for employment;
| ||||||
4 | (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of the School Code | ||||||
5 | regarding discipline of
students;
| ||||||
6 | (3) The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | ||||||
7 | Tort Immunity Act;
| ||||||
8 | (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | ||||||
9 | Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | ||||||
10 | officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| ||||||
11 | (5) The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
| ||||||
12 | (6) The Illinois School Student Records Act; and
| ||||||
13 | (7) Section 10-17a of the School Code regarding school | ||||||
14 | report cards ;and .
| ||||||
15 | (8) Section 10-9 of the School Code regarding the | ||||||
16 | interest of board members in school contracts, which shall | ||||||
17 | apply to the interest of charter school governing body | ||||||
18 | members in charter school contracts.
| ||||||
19 | (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | ||||||
20 | school district, the
governing body of a State college or | ||||||
21 | university or public community college, or
any other public or | ||||||
22 | for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | ||||||
23 | school building and grounds or any other real property or | ||||||
24 | facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | ||||||
25 | for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | ||||||
26 | maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | ||||||
27 | activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | ||||||
28 | perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| ||||||
29 | However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after the | ||||||
30 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
| ||||||
31 | Assembly and that operates
in a city having a population | ||||||
32 | exceeding
500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
| ||||||
33 | manage or operate the school during the period that commences | ||||||
34 | on the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd | ||||||
35 | General Assembly and
concludes at the end of the 2004-2005 | ||||||
36 | school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) of this |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | ||||||
2 | reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | ||||||
3 | grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | ||||||
4 | school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by | ||||||
5 | the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school | ||||||
6 | contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | ||||||
7 | of a State college or university or public community college
| ||||||
8 | shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
| ||||||
9 | (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | ||||||
10 | by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | ||||||
11 | charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | ||||||
12 | deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | ||||||
13 | agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | ||||||
14 | costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | ||||||
15 | facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
| ||||||
16 | to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | ||||||
17 | board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| ||||||
18 | (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | ||||||
19 | grade level.
| ||||||
20 | (Source: P.A. 93-3, eff. 4-16-03.)
| ||||||
21 | (105 ILCS 5/27A-8)
| ||||||
22 | Sec. 27A-8. Evaluation of charter proposals.
| ||||||
23 | (a) This Section does not apply to a charter school | ||||||
24 | established by
referendum under
Section 27A-6.5.
In evaluating | ||||||
25 | any charter
school proposal submitted to it, the local school | ||||||
26 | board shall give preference
to proposals that:
| ||||||
27 | (1) demonstrate a high level of local pupil, parental, | ||||||
28 | community,
business, and school personnel support;
| ||||||
29 | (2) set rigorous levels of expected pupil achievement | ||||||
30 | and demonstrate
feasible plans for attaining those levels | ||||||
31 | of achievement; and
| ||||||
32 | (3) are designed to enroll and serve a substantial | ||||||
33 | proportion of at-risk
children; provided that nothing in | ||||||
34 | the Charter Schools Law shall be construed
as intended to
| ||||||
35 | limit the establishment of charter schools to those that |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | serve a substantial
portion of at-risk children or to in | ||||||
2 | any manner restrict, limit, or discourage
the
| ||||||
3 | establishment of charter schools that enroll and serve | ||||||
4 | other pupil populations
under a nonexclusive, | ||||||
5 | nondiscriminatory admissions policy.
| ||||||
6 | (b) In the case of a proposal to establish a charter school | ||||||
7 | by converting an
existing public school or attendance center to | ||||||
8 | charter school status, evidence
that the proposed formation of | ||||||
9 | the charter school has received majority support
from certified | ||||||
10 | teachers and from parents and guardians in the school or
| ||||||
11 | attendance center affected by the proposed charter, and, if | ||||||
12 | applicable, from a
local school council, shall be demonstrated | ||||||
13 | by a petition in support of the
charter school signed by | ||||||
14 | certified teachers and a petition in support of the
charter | ||||||
15 | school signed by parents and guardians and, if applicable, by a | ||||||
16 | vote of
the local school council held at a public meeting. In | ||||||
17 | the case of all other
proposals to establish a charter school, | ||||||
18 | evidence of sufficient support to fill
the number of pupil | ||||||
19 | seats set forth in the proposal may be
demonstrated by a
| ||||||
20 | petition in support of the charter school signed by parents and | ||||||
21 | guardians of
students eligible to attend the charter school.
In | ||||||
22 | all cases, the individuals, organizations, or entities who | ||||||
23 | initiate
the proposal to establish a charter school may elect, | ||||||
24 | in lieu of including any
petition referred to in this | ||||||
25 | subsection as a part of the proposal submitted to
the local | ||||||
26 | school board, to demonstrate that the charter school has
| ||||||
27 | received the support referred to in this subsection by other | ||||||
28 | evidence and
information presented at the public meeting that | ||||||
29 | the local school board is
required to convene under this | ||||||
30 | Section.
| ||||||
31 | (c) Within 45 days of receipt of a charter school proposal, | ||||||
32 | the local school
board shall convene a public meeting to obtain | ||||||
33 | information to assist the board
in its decision to grant or | ||||||
34 | deny the charter school proposal.
| ||||||
35 | (d) Notice of the public meeting required by this Section | ||||||
36 | shall be published
in a community newspaper published in the |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | school district in which the proposed
charter is located and, | ||||||
2 | if there is no such newspaper, then in a newspaper
published in | ||||||
3 | the county and having circulation in the school district. The
| ||||||
4 | notices shall be published not more than 10 days nor less than | ||||||
5 | 5 days before
the meeting and shall state that information | ||||||
6 | regarding a charter school
proposal will be heard at the | ||||||
7 | meeting. Copies of the notice shall also be
posted at | ||||||
8 | appropriate locations in the school or attendance center | ||||||
9 | proposed to
be established as a charter school, the public | ||||||
10 | schools in the school district,
and the local school board | ||||||
11 | office.
| ||||||
12 | (e) Within 30 days of the public meeting, the local school | ||||||
13 | board shall vote,
in a public meeting, to either grant or deny | ||||||
14 | the charter school proposal.
| ||||||
15 | (f) Within 7 days of the public meeting required under | ||||||
16 | subsection (e), the
local school board shall file a report with | ||||||
17 | the State Board
granting or denying the proposal.
A report that | ||||||
18 | at a minimum contains the charter school proposal and the | ||||||
19 | charter agreement must be filed by the local school board with | ||||||
20 | the State Board on or before March 1 in order for the charter | ||||||
21 | school to open for the upcoming school year. Within 30
14 days | ||||||
22 | of receipt of the local school board's
report, the State Board | ||||||
23 | shall determine whether the approved charter
proposal is | ||||||
24 | consistent with the
provisions of this Article and, if the | ||||||
25 | approved proposal
complies,
certify the proposal pursuant to | ||||||
26 | Section 27A-6.
| ||||||
27 | (Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 91-407, eff. 8-3-99.)
| ||||||
28 | (105 ILCS 5/34-18.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5)
| ||||||
29 | Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal background investigations.
| ||||||
30 | (a) Certified
After August 1, 1985, certified and | ||||||
31 | noncertified applicants for
employment with the school | ||||||
32 | district and charter school governing body members are | ||||||
33 | required , as a condition of
employment or membership on a | ||||||
34 | charter school governing body, to authorize an investigation to | ||||||
35 | determine if such persons
applicants
have been convicted of any |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in
subsection (c) | ||||||
2 | of this Section or have been
convicted, within 7 years of the | ||||||
3 | application for employment with the
school district, of any | ||||||
4 | other felony under the laws of this State or of any
offense | ||||||
5 | committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws | ||||||
6 | of
the United States that, if committed or attempted in this | ||||||
7 | State, would
have been punishable as a felony under the laws of | ||||||
8 | this State. Authorization
for the
investigation shall
be | ||||||
9 | furnished by the person
applicant to the school district, | ||||||
10 | except that if the
person
applicant is a substitute teacher | ||||||
11 | seeking employment in more than one
school district, or a | ||||||
12 | teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment
positions with | ||||||
13 | more than one school district (as a reading specialist,
special | ||||||
14 | education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support
| ||||||
15 | personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than | ||||||
16 | one
district, any such district may require the applicant to | ||||||
17 | furnish
authorization for the investigation to the regional | ||||||
18 | superintendent of the
educational service region in which are | ||||||
19 | located the school districts in
which the applicant is seeking | ||||||
20 | employment as a substitute or concurrent
part-time teacher or | ||||||
21 | concurrent educational support personnel employee.
Upon | ||||||
22 | receipt of this authorization, the school district or the | ||||||
23 | appropriate
regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall | ||||||
24 | submit the person's
applicant's
name, sex, race, date of birth | ||||||
25 | and social security number to the Department
of State Police on | ||||||
26 | forms prescribed by the Department. The regional
| ||||||
27 | superintendent submitting the requisite information to the | ||||||
28 | Department of
State Police shall promptly notify the school | ||||||
29 | districts in which the person
applicant is seeking employment | ||||||
30 | as a substitute or concurrent part-time
teacher or concurrent | ||||||
31 | educational support personnel employee that the
investigation | ||||||
32 | of the applicant has been requested. The Department of State
| ||||||
33 | Police shall conduct a search of the Illinois Criminal history | ||||||
34 | record
information database to ascertain if the person
| ||||||
35 | applicant being
considered for employment has been convicted of | ||||||
36 | committing or attempting to
commit any of the enumerated
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or
has been | ||||||
2 | convicted of committing or attempting to commit, within 7 years | ||||||
3 | of
the application for employment with
the
school district or | ||||||
4 | within 7 years of membership on the charter school governing | ||||||
5 | body , any other felony under the laws of this State or any | ||||||
6 | offense committed or attempted in any other state or against | ||||||
7 | the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted | ||||||
8 | in this State, would have been punishable as a felony under the | ||||||
9 | laws of this State . The
Department shall charge
the school | ||||||
10 | district or the appropriate regional superintendent a fee for
| ||||||
11 | conducting such investigation, which fee shall be deposited in | ||||||
12 | the State
Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of | ||||||
13 | the investigation
inquiry ; and the person
applicant shall not | ||||||
14 | be charged a fee for such investigation by the school
district | ||||||
15 | or by the regional superintendent. The regional superintendent
| ||||||
16 | may seek reimbursement from the State Board of Education or the | ||||||
17 | appropriate
school district or districts for fees paid by the
| ||||||
18 | regional superintendent to the Department for the criminal | ||||||
19 | background
investigations required by this Section.
| ||||||
20 | (b) If the search of the Illinois criminal history records | ||||||
21 | database
indicates that the person
applicant has been convicted | ||||||
22 | of committing or attempting to
commit any of the enumerated | ||||||
23 | criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or
has been | ||||||
24 | convicted of committing or attempting to commit, within 7 years | ||||||
25 | of the
application for employment with the school district or | ||||||
26 | within 7 years before membership on the charter school | ||||||
27 | governing body , any other felony under the
laws of this State,
| ||||||
28 | the Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall | ||||||
29 | furnish,
pursuant to a fingerprint based background check,
| ||||||
30 | records of convictions, until expunged, to the president of the | ||||||
31 | board of
education for the school district which requested the | ||||||
32 | investigation, or
to the regional superintendent who requested | ||||||
33 | the investigation. Any
information concerning the record of | ||||||
34 | convictions obtained by the president
of the board of education | ||||||
35 | or the regional superintendent shall be
confidential and may | ||||||
36 | only be transmitted to the general superintendent of
the school |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | district or his designee, the appropriate regional
| ||||||
2 | superintendent if the investigation was requested by the board | ||||||
3 | of education
for the school district, the presidents of the | ||||||
4 | appropriate board of
education or school boards if the | ||||||
5 | investigation was requested from the
Department of State Police | ||||||
6 | by the regional superintendent, the State
Superintendent of | ||||||
7 | Education, the State Teacher Certification Board or any
other | ||||||
8 | person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for
| ||||||
9 | employment or allowing a member to be on the charter school | ||||||
10 | governing body . A copy of the record of convictions obtained | ||||||
11 | from the
Department of State Police shall be provided to the | ||||||
12 | person
applicant for
employment . If an investigation of an | ||||||
13 | applicant for employment as a
substitute or concurrent | ||||||
14 | part-time teacher or concurrent educational
support personnel | ||||||
15 | employee in more than one school district was requested
by the | ||||||
16 | regional superintendent, and the Department of State Police | ||||||
17 | upon
investigation ascertains that the applicant has not been | ||||||
18 | convicted of any
of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in | ||||||
19 | subsection (c) or has not been
convicted,
within 7 years of the | ||||||
20 | application for employment with the
school district, of any | ||||||
21 | other felony under the laws of this State or of any
offense | ||||||
22 | committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws | ||||||
23 | of
the United States that, if committed or attempted in this | ||||||
24 | State, would
have been punishable as a felony under the laws of | ||||||
25 | this State and so
notifies the regional superintendent, then | ||||||
26 | the regional superintendent
shall issue to the applicant a | ||||||
27 | certificate evidencing that as of the date
specified by the | ||||||
28 | Department of State Police the applicant has not been
convicted | ||||||
29 | of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in | ||||||
30 | subsection
(c) or has not been
convicted, within 7 years of the | ||||||
31 | application for employment with the
school district, of any | ||||||
32 | other felony under the laws of this State or of any
offense | ||||||
33 | committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws | ||||||
34 | of
the United States that, if committed or attempted in this | ||||||
35 | State, would
have been punishable as a felony under the laws of | ||||||
36 | this State. The school
board of any school district located
in
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | the educational
service region served by the regional | ||||||
2 | superintendent who issues such a
certificate to an applicant | ||||||
3 | for employment as a substitute or concurrent
part-time teacher | ||||||
4 | or concurrent educational support personnel employee in more
| ||||||
5 | than one such district may rely on the certificate issued by | ||||||
6 | the regional
superintendent to that applicant, or may initiate | ||||||
7 | its own investigation of
the applicant through the Department | ||||||
8 | of State Police as provided in
subsection (a). Any person who | ||||||
9 | releases any confidential information
concerning any criminal | ||||||
10 | convictions of an applicant for employment or charter school | ||||||
11 | governing body member shall be
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, | ||||||
12 | unless the release of such information is
authorized by this | ||||||
13 | Section.
| ||||||
14 | (c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ nor | ||||||
15 | charter school knowingly have as a governing body member a | ||||||
16 | person who has
been convicted for committing attempted first | ||||||
17 | degree murder or for
committing or attempting to commit first | ||||||
18 | degree murder or a Class X felony
or any one or more of the
| ||||||
19 | following offenses: (i) those defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9, | ||||||
20 | 11-14,
11-15, 11-15.1, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 11-19.1, | ||||||
21 | 11-19.2, 11-20,
11-20.1, 11-21, 12-13, 12-14,
12-14.1,
12-15 | ||||||
22 | and 12-16 of the Criminal Code of
1961; (ii) those defined in | ||||||
23 | the Cannabis Control Act,
except those defined in Sections | ||||||
24 | 4(a), 4(b) and 5(a) of that Act; (iii)
those defined in the | ||||||
25 | Illinois Controlled Substances Act;
and (iv) any
offense | ||||||
26 | committed or attempted in any other state or against the laws | ||||||
27 | of
the United States, which if committed or attempted in this | ||||||
28 | State, would
have been punishable as one or more of the | ||||||
29 | foregoing offenses.
Further, the board of education shall not | ||||||
30 | knowingly employ a person who has
been found to be the | ||||||
31 | perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under
18 | ||||||
32 | years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the | ||||||
33 | Juvenile Court
Act of 1987.
| ||||||
34 | (d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ nor | ||||||
35 | charter school knowingly have as a governing body member a | ||||||
36 | person for whom
a criminal background investigation has not |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | been initiated.
| ||||||
2 | (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a | ||||||
3 | finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued | ||||||
4 | pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School | ||||||
5 | Code, the board of education or the State Superintendent of
| ||||||
6 | Education shall initiate the certificate suspension and | ||||||
7 | revocation
proceedings authorized by law.
| ||||||
8 | (f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section | ||||||
9 | shall apply to
all employees of persons or firms holding | ||||||
10 | contracts with any school district
including, but not limited | ||||||
11 | to, food service workers, school bus drivers and
other | ||||||
12 | transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with | ||||||
13 | the
pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of | ||||||
14 | criminal background
investigations on employees of persons or | ||||||
15 | firms holding contracts with more
than one school district and | ||||||
16 | assigned to more than one school district, the
regional | ||||||
17 | superintendent of the educational service region in which the
| ||||||
18 | contracting school districts are located may, at the request of | ||||||
19 | any such
school district, be responsible for receiving the | ||||||
20 | authorization for
investigation prepared by each such employee | ||||||
21 | and submitting the same to the
Department of State Police. Any | ||||||
22 | information concerning the record of
conviction of any such | ||||||
23 | employee obtained by the regional superintendent
shall be | ||||||
24 | promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school | ||||||
25 | board
or school boards.
| ||||||
26 | (Source: P.A. 93-418, eff. 1-1-04.)
| ||||||
27 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
28 | becoming law.
|