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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | 10-17a, 10-19, and 10-21.3a as follows:
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6 | (105 ILCS 5/10-17a) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a)
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7 | Sec. 10-17a. Better schools accountability.
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8 | (1) Policy and
Purpose. It shall be the policy of the State | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9 | of Illinois that each school
district in this State, including | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | special charter districts and districts
subject to the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11 | provisions of Article 34, shall submit to parents, taxpayers
of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | such district, the Governor, the General Assembly, and the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | State
Board of Education a school report card assessing the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | performance of its
schools and students. The report card shall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | be an index of school
performance measured against statewide | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | and local standards and will provide
information to make prior | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | year comparisons and to set future year targets
through the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | school improvement plan.
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19 | (2) Reporting Requirements. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | (a) Each school district shall prepare a report
card in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21 | accordance with the guidelines set forth in this Section which
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22 | describes the performance of its students by school attendance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | centers and
by district and the district's financial resources |
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1 | and use of financial
resources. Such report
card shall be | ||||||
2 | presented at a regular school board meeting subject to
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3 | applicable notice requirements,
posted on the
school | ||||||
4 | district's Internet web site, if the district maintains an | ||||||
5 | Internet web
site,
made available
to a newspaper of general | ||||||
6 | circulation serving the district, and, upon
request, sent
home | ||||||
7 | to a parent (unless the district does not maintain an Internet | ||||||
8 | web site,
in which case
the report card shall be sent home to | ||||||
9 | parents without request or unless subdivision (b) of this | ||||||
10 | subsection (1) applies ). If the
district posts the report card | ||||||
11 | on its Internet web
site, the district
shall send a
written | ||||||
12 | notice home to parents stating (i) that the report card is | ||||||
13 | available on
the web site,
(ii) the address of the web site, | ||||||
14 | (iii) that a printed copy of the report card
will be sent to
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15 | parents upon request, and (iv) the telephone number that | ||||||
16 | parents may
call to
request a printed copy of the report card.
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17 | In addition, each school district shall submit the
completed | ||||||
18 | report card to the office of the district's Regional
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19 | Superintendent which shall make copies available to any | ||||||
20 | individuals
requesting them.
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21 | (b) If a school is not making adequate yearly progress, as | ||||||
22 | defined in the Illinois Accountability Workbook, the report | ||||||
23 | card must be mailed to the registered parent or guardian of | ||||||
24 | each student enrolled in the school. The mailing shall include | ||||||
25 | an explanation as to why the school failed to meet adequate | ||||||
26 | yearly progress and a clear explanation of options available to |
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1 | the students under the law, including transferring to another | ||||||
2 | school under subsection (a) of Section 10-21.3a of this Code.
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3 | The report card shall be completed and disseminated prior | ||||||
4 | to August 1
October 31
in each school year. The report card | ||||||
5 | shall contain, but
not be limited to, actual local school | ||||||
6 | attendance center, school district
and statewide data | ||||||
7 | indicating the present performance of the school, the
State | ||||||
8 | norms and the areas for planned improvement for the school and | ||||||
9 | school
district.
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10 | (3) (a) The report card shall include the following | ||||||
11 | applicable
indicators of attendance center, district, and | ||||||
12 | statewide student
performance: percent of students who exceed, | ||||||
13 | meet, or do not meet
standards established by the
State Board | ||||||
14 | of Education pursuant to Section 2-3.25a; composite and subtest
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15 | means on
nationally normed achievement tests for
college bound | ||||||
16 | students; student attendance rates; chronic
truancy rate; | ||||||
17 | dropout rate;
graduation rate;
and student
mobility, turnover
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18 | shown as a percent of transfers out and a percent of transfers | ||||||
19 | in.
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20 | (b) The report card shall include the following | ||||||
21 | descriptions for the
school,
district, and State: average
class | ||||||
22 | size; amount of time per day devoted to mathematics, science,
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23 | English and social science at primary,
middle and junior high | ||||||
24 | school grade levels;
number of students taking the Prairie | ||||||
25 | State Achievement Examination under
subsection (c) of
Section | ||||||
26 | 2-3.64, the number of those students who received a score of |
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1 | excellent,
and
the average score by school of students taking | ||||||
2 | the examination;
pupil-teacher ratio; pupil-administrator | ||||||
3 | ratio;
operating expenditure per
pupil; district expenditure | ||||||
4 | by fund; average administrator salary; and average
teacher | ||||||
5 | salary.
The report card shall also specify the amount of money | ||||||
6 | that the district
receives from all sources, including without | ||||||
7 | limitation subcategories
specifying the amount from local | ||||||
8 | property taxes, the amount from
general State aid, the amount | ||||||
9 | from other State funding, and the amount
from other income.
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10 | (c) The report card shall include applicable indicators of | ||||||
11 | parental
involvement in each attendance center. The parental | ||||||
12 | involvement component
of the report card shall include the | ||||||
13 | percentage of students whose parents
or guardians have had one | ||||||
14 | or more personal contacts with the students'
teachers during | ||||||
15 | the school year concerning the students' education, and such
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16 | other information, commentary, and suggestions as the school | ||||||
17 | district
desires. For the purposes of this paragraph, "personal | ||||||
18 | contact" includes,
but is not limited to, parent-teacher | ||||||
19 | conferences, parental visits to
school, school visits to home, | ||||||
20 | telephone conversations, and written
correspondence. The | ||||||
21 | parental involvement component shall not single out or
identify | ||||||
22 | individual students, parents, or guardians by name.
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23 | (d) The report card form shall be prepared by the State | ||||||
24 | Board of
Education and provided to school districts by the most | ||||||
25 | efficient, economic,
and appropriate means.
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26 | (Source: P.A. 92-604, eff. 7-1-02; 92-631, eff. 7-11-02; |
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1 | revised 7-26-02.)
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2 | (105 ILCS 5/10-19) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-19)
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3 | Sec. 10-19. Length of school term - experimental programs. | ||||||
4 | Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, a school board must | ||||||
5 | adopt and publish a school calendar for the upcoming school | ||||||
6 | year no later than March 1st of each year. The school board | ||||||
7 | shall be responsible for establishing the opening and closing | ||||||
8 | dates for the school year, with the opening date no earlier | ||||||
9 | than the day after Labor Day. Schools operating under a | ||||||
10 | year-round school calendar may not begin the first session | ||||||
11 | prior to the day after Labor Day. The school board shall ensure | ||||||
12 | the calendar provides
Each school
board shall annually prepare | ||||||
13 | a calendar for the school term, specifying
the opening and | ||||||
14 | closing dates and providing a minimum term of at least 185
days | ||||||
15 | to ensure
insure 176 days of actual pupil attendance, | ||||||
16 | computable under Section
18-8.05 , except that for the 1980-1981 | ||||||
17 | school year only 175 days
of actual
pupil attendance shall be | ||||||
18 | required because of the closing of schools pursuant
to Section | ||||||
19 | 24-2 on January 29, 1981 upon the appointment by the President
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20 | of that day as a day of thanksgiving for the freedom of the | ||||||
21 | Americans who
had been held hostage in Iran . Any days allowed | ||||||
22 | by law for teachers'
institute but not used as such or used as | ||||||
23 | parental institutes as provided
in Section 10-22.18d shall | ||||||
24 | increase the minimum term by the school days not
so used. | ||||||
25 | Except as provided in Section 10-19.1, the board may not extend
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1 | the school term beyond such closing date unless that extension | ||||||
2 | of term is
necessary to provide the minimum number of | ||||||
3 | computable days. In case of
such necessary extension school | ||||||
4 | employees
shall be paid for such additional time on the basis | ||||||
5 | of their regular
contracts. A school board may specify a | ||||||
6 | closing date earlier than that
set on the annual calendar when | ||||||
7 | the schools of the district have
provided the minimum number of | ||||||
8 | computable days under this Section.
Nothing in this Section | ||||||
9 | prevents the board from employing
superintendents of schools, | ||||||
10 | principals and other nonteaching personnel
for a period of 12 | ||||||
11 | months, or in the case of superintendents for a
period in | ||||||
12 | accordance with Section 10-23.8, or prevents the board from
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13 | employing other personnel before or after the regular school | ||||||
14 | term with
payment of salary proportionate to that received for | ||||||
15 | comparable work
during the school term.
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16 | A school board may make such changes in its calendar for | ||||||
17 | the school term
as may be required by any changes in the legal | ||||||
18 | school holidays prescribed
in Section 24-2. A school board may | ||||||
19 | make changes in its calendar for the
school term as may be | ||||||
20 | necessary to reflect the utilization of teachers'
institute | ||||||
21 | days as parental institute days as provided in Section | ||||||
22 | 10-22.18d.
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23 | The calendar for the school term and any changes must be | ||||||
24 | submitted to and approved by the regional superintendent of | ||||||
25 | schools before the calendar or changes may take effect.
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26 | With the prior approval of the State Board of Education and |
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1 | subject
to review by the State Board of Education every 3 | ||||||
2 | years, any school
board may, by resolution of its board and in | ||||||
3 | agreement with affected
exclusive collective bargaining | ||||||
4 | agents, establish experimental
educational programs, including | ||||||
5 | but not limited to programs for
self-directed learning or | ||||||
6 | outside of formal class periods, which programs
when so | ||||||
7 | approved shall be considered to comply with the requirements of
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8 | this Section as respects numbers of days of actual pupil | ||||||
9 | attendance and
with the other requirements of this Act as | ||||||
10 | respects courses of instruction.
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11 | (Source: P.A. 93-1036, eff. 9-14-04.)
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12 | (105 ILCS 5/10-21.3a)
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13 | Sec. 10-21.3a. Transfer of students.
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14 | (a) Each school board shall establish and
implement a
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15 | policy governing the transfer of a student from one attendance | ||||||
16 | center to
another within the
school district upon the request | ||||||
17 | of the student's parent or guardian.
Any request by a parent or | ||||||
18 | guardian to transfer his or her child from one
attendance
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19 | center to another
within the school district pursuant to | ||||||
20 | Section 1116 of the federal Elementary
and
Secondary Education
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21 | Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6316
6317 ) must be made no later | ||||||
22 | than 30 days before the start of the school year
after the
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23 | parent or guardian
receives notice of the right to transfer | ||||||
24 | pursuant to that law .
A
student may not transfer to any of the | ||||||
25 | following attendance centers, except by
change in
residence if |
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1 | the policy authorizes enrollment based on residence in an
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2 | attendance area
or unless approved by the board on an | ||||||
3 | individual basis:
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4 | (1) An attendance center that exceeds or as a result of | ||||||
5 | the
transfer would
exceed its attendance capacity.
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6 | (2) An attendance center for which the board has | ||||||
7 | established
academic
criteria for enrollment if the | ||||||
8 | student does not meet the criteria, provided
that the | ||||||
9 | transfer must be permitted if the attendance center is the | ||||||
10 | only
attendance center serving the student's grade
that has | ||||||
11 | not been identified for school
improvement, corrective | ||||||
12 | action, or restructuring under Section
1116 of the federal | ||||||
13 | Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
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14 | Sec. 6316
6317 ).
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15 | (3) Any attendance center if the transfer would
prevent | ||||||
16 | the school district from meeting its obligations under a | ||||||
17 | State or
federal law,
court
order, or consent
decree
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18 | applicable to the school district.
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19 | Supplemental services for a student who transfers under | ||||||
20 | this subsection (a) must be available no later than the 6th day | ||||||
21 | of the school year.
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22 | (b) Each school board shall establish and implement a | ||||||
23 | policy governing the
transfer of students within a school | ||||||
24 | district from a persistently dangerous
school to another public | ||||||
25 | school in that district that is not deemed to be
persistently | ||||||
26 | dangerous.
In order to be considered a persistently dangerous |
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1 | school, the
school must meet all of the following criteria for | ||||||
2 | 2 consecutive years:
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3 | (1) Have greater than 3% of the students enrolled in | ||||||
4 | the school expelled
for violence-related conduct.
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5 | (2) Have one or more students expelled for bringing a | ||||||
6 | firearm to school as
defined in 18 U.S.C. 921.
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7 | (3) Have at least 3% of the students enrolled in the | ||||||
8 | school exercise the
individual option to transfer schools | ||||||
9 | pursuant to subsection (c) of this
Section.
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10 | (c) A student may transfer from one public school to
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11 | another public school in that district if the student is a | ||||||
12 | victim of a violent
crime as defined in Section 3 of the Rights | ||||||
13 | of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act.
The violent crime must have | ||||||
14 | occurred on school grounds during regular school
hours or | ||||||
15 | during a school-sponsored event.
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16 | (d) Transfers made pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of | ||||||
17 | this Section shall
be made in compliance with the federal No | ||||||
18 | Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public
Law 107-110).
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19 | (Source: P.A. 92-604, eff. 7-1-02; 93-633, eff. 12-23-03.)
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20 | Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding | ||||||
21 | Section 8.31 as follows: | ||||||
22 | (30 ILCS 805/8.31 new) | ||||||
23 | Sec. 8.31. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 | ||||||
24 | of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the |
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1 | implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of | ||||||
2 | the 95th General Assembly.
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3 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
4 | becoming law.
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