98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB3497

 

Introduced 2/14/2014, by Sen. Bill Cunningham

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
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

    Amends the School Code. Provides that beginning on July 1, 2014, all student teachers assigned to public schools or nonpublic schools recognized by the State Board of Education shall undergo a Department of State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint-based criminal history records check. Provides that authorization to conduct the criminal history records check must be furnished by the student teacher to the State Board of Education. Provides that the Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of convictions, until expunged, to the State Board of Education. Requires the State Board of Education to maintain the records for a period of one year and furnish the records to any school district that requests them or the chief administrative officer of the nonpublic school that requests them. Authorizes the Department of State Police to charge a fee for conducting the check. Requires the student teacher to pay all fees associated with conducting the criminal history records check, as well as any other application fees as established by rule. Provides that results of the check must also be furnished by the State Board of Education to the higher education institution where the student teacher is enrolled. Further provides that no one may begin student teaching until the results of the criminal history records check have been returned to the State Board of Education. Makes corresponding changes in an Article that governs student teachers in Chicago.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3497LRB098 20019 OMW 55247 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
510-21.9 and 34-18.5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/10-21.9)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
7    Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks of
8the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and
9Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
10    (a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment
11with a school district, except school bus driver applicants,
12are required as a condition of employment to authorize a
13fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine
14if such applicants have been convicted of any of the enumerated
15criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or
16have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for
17employment with the school district, of any other felony under
18the laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted
19in any other state or against the laws of the United States
20that, if committed or attempted in this State, would have been
21punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
22Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the applicant
23to the school district, except that if the applicant is a

 

 

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1substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one school
2district, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time employment
3positions with more than one school district (as a reading
4specialist, special education teacher or otherwise), or an
5educational support personnel employee seeking employment
6positions with more than one district, any such district may
7require the applicant to furnish authorization for the check to
8the regional superintendent of the educational service region
9in which are located the school districts in which the
10applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent
11part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel
12employee. Upon receipt of this authorization, the school
13district or the appropriate regional superintendent, as the
14case may be, shall submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date
15of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other
16identifiers, as prescribed by the Department of State Police,
17to the Department. The regional superintendent submitting the
18requisite information to the Department of State Police shall
19promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant is
20seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
21teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee
22that the check of the applicant has been requested. The
23Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
24Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
25criminal history records check, records of convictions, until
26expunged, to the president of the school board for the school

 

 

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1district that requested the check, or to the regional
2superintendent who requested the check. The Department shall
3charge the school district or the appropriate regional
4superintendent a fee for conducting such check, which fee shall
5be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not
6exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant shall not be
7charged a fee for such check by the school district or by the
8regional superintendent, except that those applicants seeking
9employment as a substitute teacher with a school district may
10be charged a fee not to exceed the cost of the inquiry. Subject
11to appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent
12of Education shall reimburse school districts and regional
13superintendents for fees paid to obtain criminal history
14records checks under this Section.
15    (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall
16further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database,
17as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law,
18for each applicant.
19    (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall
20further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent
21Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer
22and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law,
23for each applicant.
24    (b) Any information concerning the record of convictions
25obtained by the president of the school board or the regional
26superintendent shall be confidential and may only be

 

 

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1transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his
2designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if the check
3was requested by the school district, the presidents of the
4appropriate school boards if the check was requested from the
5Department of State Police by the regional superintendent, the
6State Superintendent of Education, the State Teacher
7Certification Board, any other person necessary to the decision
8of hiring the applicant for employment, or for clarification
9purposes the Department of State Police or Statewide Sex
10Offender Database, or both. A copy of the record of convictions
11obtained from the Department of State Police shall be provided
12to the applicant for employment. Upon the check of the
13Statewide Sex Offender Database, the school district or
14regional superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether
15or not the applicant has been identified in the Database as a
16sex offender. If a check of an applicant for employment as a
17substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent
18educational support personnel employee in more than one school
19district was requested by the regional superintendent, and the
20Department of State Police upon a check ascertains that the
21applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated
22criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has not been
23convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment
24with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of
25this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any
26other state or against the laws of the United States that, if

 

 

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1committed or attempted in this State, would have been
2punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so
3notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional
4superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has
5not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex
6offender, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the
7applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
8specified by the Department of State Police the applicant has
9not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug
10offenses in subsection (c) or has not been convicted, within 7
11years of the application for employment with the school
12district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or
13of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or
14against the laws of the United States that, if committed or
15attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony
16under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date
17that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the
18Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been
19identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school board
20of any school district may rely on the certificate issued by
21any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher,
22concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational
23support personnel employee or may initiate its own criminal
24history records check of the applicant through the Department
25of State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender
26Database as provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases

 

 

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1any confidential information concerning any criminal
2convictions of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of a
3Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is
4authorized by this Section.
5    (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has
6been convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to
7license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of
8this Code. Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a
9person who has been found to be the perpetrator of sexual or
10physical abuse of any minor under 18 years of age pursuant to
11proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
12    (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for
13whom a criminal history records check and a Statewide Sex
14Offender Database check has not been initiated.
15    (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a
16finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued
17pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the School
18Code, the State Superintendent of Education may initiate
19certificate suspension and revocation proceedings as
20authorized by law.
21    (e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board
22shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education
23and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any
24certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to
25believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect
26with the result of making a child an abused child or a

 

 

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1neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and
2Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the
3certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school
4district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days
5after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must
6also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the
7superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other
8information so received by the regional superintendent of
9schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board
10of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under
11this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed
12to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State
13Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to
14investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21 of this Code,
15(ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the
16certificate holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as
17otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such
18information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from
19this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except
20for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent
21who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5)
22shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or
23criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such
24action.
25    (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section
26shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding

 

 

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1contracts with any school district including, but not limited
2to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other
3transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with
4the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of
5criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex
6Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
7contracts with more than one school district and assigned to
8more than one school district, the regional superintendent of
9the educational service region in which the contracting school
10districts are located may, at the request of any such school
11district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a
12criminal history records check prepared by each such employee
13and submitting the same to the Department of State Police and
14for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database
15for each employee. Any information concerning the record of
16conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such
17employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be
18promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school
19board or school boards.
20    (g) Beginning on July 1, 2014, the provisions of this
21Section shall apply to all student teachers, as defined by
22State Board of Education rule, assigned to public schools or
23nonpublic schools recognized by the State Board of Education
24pursuant to Section 2-3.25o of this Code. Student teachers
25shall undergo a Department of State Police and Federal Bureau
26of Investigation fingerprint-based criminal history records

 

 

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1check. Authorization to conduct the criminal history records
2check must be furnished by the student teacher to the State
3Board of Education. The Department of State Police and the
4Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a
5fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of
6convictions, until expunged, to the State Board of Education.
7The State Board of Education shall maintain the records for a
8period of one year and shall furnish the records to any school
9district that requests them or the chief administrative officer
10of the nonpublic school that requests them. The Department of
11State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the check, which
12fee must be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and
13must not exceed the cost of the inquiry. The student teacher
14shall be required to pay all fees associated with conducting
15the criminal history records check, as well as any other
16application fees as established by rule including, but not
17limited to, the fee established by the Department of State
18Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to process
19fingerprint-based criminal history records checks. Results of
20the check must also be furnished by the State Board of
21Education to the higher education institution where the student
22teacher is enrolled. No one may begin student teaching until
23the results of the criminal history records check have been
24returned to the State Board of Education. In order to student
25teach in the public schools, a person is required to authorize
26a fingerprint-based criminal history records check and checks

 

 

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1of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer
2and Violent Offender Against Youth Database prior to
3participating in any field experiences in the public schools.
4Authorization for and payment of the costs of the checks must
5be furnished by the student teacher. Results of the checks must
6be furnished to the higher education institution where the
7student teacher is enrolled and the superintendent of the
8school district where the student is assigned.
9    (h) Upon request of a school, school district, community
10college district, or private school, any information obtained
11by a school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section
12within the last year must be made available to that school,
13school district, community college district, or private
14school.
15(Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 96-1452, eff. 8-20-10;
1696-1489, eff. 1-1-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-248, eff. 1-1-12;
1797-607, eff. 8-26-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)
 
18    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5)
19    Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal history records checks and checks of
20the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and
21Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
22    (a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment
23with the school district are required as a condition of
24employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history
25records check to determine if such applicants have been

 

 

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1convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in
2subsection (c) of this Section or have been convicted, within 7
3years of the application for employment with the school
4district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or
5of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or
6against the laws of the United States that, if committed or
7attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony
8under the laws of this State. Authorization for the check shall
9be furnished by the applicant to the school district, except
10that if the applicant is a substitute teacher seeking
11employment in more than one school district, or a teacher
12seeking concurrent part-time employment positions with more
13than one school district (as a reading specialist, special
14education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support
15personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than
16one district, any such district may require the applicant to
17furnish authorization for the check to the regional
18superintendent of the educational service region in which are
19located the school districts in which the applicant is seeking
20employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or
21concurrent educational support personnel employee. Upon
22receipt of this authorization, the school district or the
23appropriate regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall
24submit the applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social
25security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
26prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the

 

 

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1Department. The regional superintendent submitting the
2requisite information to the Department of State Police shall
3promptly notify the school districts in which the applicant is
4seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
5teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee
6that the check of the applicant has been requested. The
7Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
8Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
9criminal history records check, records of convictions, until
10expunged, to the president of the school board for the school
11district that requested the check, or to the regional
12superintendent who requested the check. The Department shall
13charge the school district or the appropriate regional
14superintendent a fee for conducting such check, which fee shall
15be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not
16exceed the cost of the inquiry; and the applicant shall not be
17charged a fee for such check by the school district or by the
18regional superintendent. Subject to appropriations for these
19purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall
20reimburse the school district and regional superintendent for
21fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this
22Section.
23    (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall
24further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database,
25as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law,
26for each applicant.

 

 

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1    (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall
2further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent
3Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer
4and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law,
5for each applicant.
6    (b) Any information concerning the record of convictions
7obtained by the president of the board of education or the
8regional superintendent shall be confidential and may only be
9transmitted to the general superintendent of the school
10district or his designee, the appropriate regional
11superintendent if the check was requested by the board of
12education for the school district, the presidents of the
13appropriate board of education or school boards if the check
14was requested from the Department of State Police by the
15regional superintendent, the State Superintendent of
16Education, the State Teacher Certification Board or any other
17person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for
18employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from
19the Department of State Police shall be provided to the
20applicant for employment. Upon the check of the Statewide Sex
21Offender Database, the school district or regional
22superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether or not
23the applicant has been identified in the Database as a sex
24offender. If a check of an applicant for employment as a
25substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent
26educational support personnel employee in more than one school

 

 

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1district was requested by the regional superintendent, and the
2Department of State Police upon a check ascertains that the
3applicant has not been convicted of any of the enumerated
4criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) or has not been
5convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment
6with the school district, of any other felony under the laws of
7this State or of any offense committed or attempted in any
8other state or against the laws of the United States that, if
9committed or attempted in this State, would have been
10punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so
11notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional
12superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has
13not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex
14offender, then the regional superintendent shall issue to the
15applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
16specified by the Department of State Police the applicant has
17not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug
18offenses in subsection (c) or has not been convicted, within 7
19years of the application for employment with the school
20district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or
21of any offense committed or attempted in any other state or
22against the laws of the United States that, if committed or
23attempted in this State, would have been punishable as a felony
24under the laws of this State and evidencing that as of the date
25that the regional superintendent conducted a check of the
26Statewide Sex Offender Database, the applicant has not been

 

 

SB3497- 15 -LRB098 20019 OMW 55247 b

1identified in the Database as a sex offender. The school board
2of any school district may rely on the certificate issued by
3any regional superintendent to that substitute teacher,
4concurrent part-time teacher, or concurrent educational
5support personnel employee or may initiate its own criminal
6history records check of the applicant through the Department
7of State Police and its own check of the Statewide Sex Offender
8Database as provided in subsection (a). Any person who releases
9any confidential information concerning any criminal
10convictions of an applicant for employment shall be guilty of a
11Class A misdemeanor, unless the release of such information is
12authorized by this Section.
13    (c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
14person who has been convicted of any offense that would subject
15him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to
16Section 21B-80 of this Code. Further, the board of education
17shall not knowingly employ a person who has been found to be
18the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under
1918 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the
20Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
21    (d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a
22person for whom a criminal history records check and a
23Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been initiated.
24    (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a
25finding of child abuse by a holder of any certificate issued
26pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the School

 

 

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1Code, the State Superintendent of Education may initiate
2certificate suspension and revocation proceedings as
3authorized by law.
4    (e-5) The general superintendent of schools shall, in
5writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of any
6certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to
7believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect
8with the result of making a child an abused child or a
9neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and
10Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the
11certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school
12district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days
13after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must
14also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the
15superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other
16information so received by the State Superintendent of
17Education, the State Board of Education, or the State Teacher
18Certification Board under this subsection (e-5) is
19confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties, except
20(i) as necessary for the State Superintendent of Education or
21his or her designee to investigate and prosecute pursuant to
22Article 21 of this Code, (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii)
23for disclosure to the certificate holder or his or her
24representative, or (iv) as otherwise provided in this Article
25and provided that any such information admitted into evidence
26in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality and

 

 

SB3497- 17 -LRB098 20019 OMW 55247 b

1non-disclosure requirement. Except for an act of willful or
2wanton misconduct, any superintendent who provides
3notification as required in this subsection (e-5) shall have
4immunity from any liability, whether civil or criminal or that
5otherwise might result by reason of such action.
6    (f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section
7shall apply to all employees of persons or firms holding
8contracts with any school district including, but not limited
9to, food service workers, school bus drivers and other
10transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with
11the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of
12criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex
13Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
14contracts with more than one school district and assigned to
15more than one school district, the regional superintendent of
16the educational service region in which the contracting school
17districts are located may, at the request of any such school
18district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for a
19criminal history records check prepared by each such employee
20and submitting the same to the Department of State Police and
21for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database
22for each employee. Any information concerning the record of
23conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such
24employee obtained by the regional superintendent shall be
25promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school
26board or school boards.

 

 

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1    (g) Beginning on July 1, 2014, the provisions of this
2Section shall apply to all student teachers, as defined by
3State Board of Education rule, assigned to public schools.
4Student teachers shall undergo a Department of State Police and
5Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint-based criminal
6history records check. Authorization to conduct the criminal
7history records check must be furnished by the student teacher
8to the State Board of Education. The Department of State Police
9and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant
10to a fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records
11of convictions, until expunged, to the State Board of
12Education. The State Board of Education shall maintain the
13records for a period of one year and shall furnish the records
14to any school that requested the check or the chief
15administrative officer of the nonpublic school that requested
16the check. The Department of State Police shall charge a fee
17for conducting the check, which fee must be deposited into the
18State Police Services Fund and must not exceed the cost of the
19inquiry. The student teacher shall be required to pay all fees
20associated with conducting the criminal history records check,
21as well as any other application fees as established by rule
22including, but not limited to, the fee established by the
23Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of
24Investigation to process fingerprint-based criminal history
25records checks. Results of the check must also be furnished by
26the State Board of Education to the higher education

 

 

SB3497- 19 -LRB098 20019 OMW 55247 b

1institution where the student teacher is enrolled. No one may
2begin student teaching until the results of the criminal
3history records check have been returned to the State Board of
4Education. In order to student teach in the public schools, a
5person is required to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal
6history records check and checks of the Statewide Sex Offender
7Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against
8Youth Database prior to participating in any field experiences
9in the public schools. Authorization for and payment of the
10costs of the checks must be furnished by the student teacher.
11Results of the checks must be furnished to the higher education
12institution where the student teacher is enrolled and the
13general superintendent of schools.
14    (h) Upon request of a school, school district, community
15college district, or private school, any information obtained
16by the school district pursuant to subsection (f) of this
17Section within the last year must be made available to that
18school, school district, community college district, or
19private school.
20(Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 96-1452, eff. 8-20-10;
2197-154, eff. 1-1-12; 97-248, eff. 1-1-12; 97-607, eff. 8-26-11;
2297-813, eff. 7-13-12.)