101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB3307

 

Introduced , by Rep. Justin Slaughter

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/34-85  from Ch. 122, par. 34-85

    Amends the Chicago School District Article of the School Code. Makes a technical change in a provision concerning the removal of a teacher or a principal.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB3307LRB101 11137 AXK 56366 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 Section
534-85 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/34-85)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-85)
7    Sec. 34-85. Removal for cause; notice and hearing;
8suspension.
9    (a) No teacher employed by the the board of education shall
10(after serving the probationary period specified in Section
1134-84) be removed except for cause. Teachers (who have
12completed the probationary period specified in Section 34-84 of
13this Code) shall be removed for cause in accordance with the
14procedures set forth in this Section or, at the board's option,
15the procedures set forth in Section 24-16.5 of this Code or
16such other procedures established in an agreement entered into
17between the board and the exclusive representative of the
18district's teachers under Section 34-85c of this Code for
19teachers (who have completed the probationary period specified
20in Section 34-84 of this Code) assigned to schools identified
21in that agreement. No principal employed by the board of
22education shall be removed during the term of his or her
23performance contract except for cause, which may include but is

 

 

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1not limited to the principal's repeated failure to implement
2the school improvement plan or to comply with the provisions of
3the Uniform Performance Contract, including additional
4criteria established by the Council for inclusion in the
5performance contract pursuant to Section 34-2.3.
6    Before service of notice of charges on account of causes
7that may be deemed to be remediable, the teacher or principal
8must be given reasonable warning in writing, stating
9specifically the causes that, if not removed, may result in
10charges; however, no such written warning is required if the
11causes have been the subject of a remediation plan pursuant to
12Article 24A of this Code or if the board and the exclusive
13representative of the district's teachers have entered into an
14agreement pursuant to Section 34-85c of this Code, pursuant to
15an alternative system of remediation. No written warning shall
16be required for conduct on the part of a teacher or principal
17that is cruel, immoral, negligent, or criminal or that in any
18way causes psychological or physical harm or injury to a
19student, as that conduct is deemed to be irremediable. No
20written warning shall be required for a material breach of the
21uniform principal performance contract, as that conduct is
22deemed to be irremediable; provided that not less than 30 days
23before the vote of the local school council to seek the
24dismissal of a principal for a material breach of a uniform
25principal performance contract, the local school council shall
26specify the nature of the alleged breach in writing and provide

 

 

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1a copy of it to the principal.
2        (1) To initiate dismissal proceedings against a
3    teacher or principal, the general superintendent must
4    first approve written charges and specifications against
5    the teacher or principal. A local school council may direct
6    the general superintendent to approve written charges
7    against its principal on behalf of the Council upon the
8    vote of 7 members of the Council. The general
9    superintendent must approve those charges within 45
10    calendar days or provide a written reason for not approving
11    those charges. A written notice of those charges, including
12    specifications, shall be served upon the teacher or
13    principal within 10 business days of the approval of the
14    charges. Any written notice sent on or after July 1, 2012
15    shall also inform the teacher or principal of the right to
16    request a hearing before a mutually selected hearing
17    officer, with the cost of the hearing officer split equally
18    between the teacher or principal and the board, or a
19    hearing before a qualified hearing officer chosen by the
20    general superintendent, with the cost of the hearing
21    officer paid by the board. If the teacher or principal
22    cannot be found upon diligent inquiry, such charges may be
23    served upon him by mailing a copy thereof in a sealed
24    envelope by prepaid certified mail, return receipt
25    requested, to the teacher's or principal's last known
26    address. A return receipt showing delivery to such address

 

 

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1    within 20 calendar days after the date of the approval of
2    the charges shall constitute proof of service.
3        (2) No hearing upon the charges is required unless the
4    teacher or principal within 17 calendar days after
5    receiving notice requests in writing of the general
6    superintendent that a hearing be scheduled. Pending the
7    hearing of the charges, the general superintendent or his
8    or her designee may suspend the teacher or principal
9    charged without pay in accordance with rules prescribed by
10    the board, provided that if the teacher or principal
11    charged is not dismissed based on the charges, he or she
12    must be made whole for lost earnings, less setoffs for
13    mitigation.
14        (3) The board shall maintain a list of at least 9
15    qualified hearing officers who will conduct hearings on
16    charges and specifications. The list must be developed in
17    good faith consultation with the exclusive representative
18    of the board's teachers and professional associations that
19    represent the board's principals. The list may be revised
20    on July 1st of each year or earlier as needed. To be a
21    qualified hearing officer, the person must (i) be
22    accredited by a national arbitration organization and have
23    had a minimum of 5 years of experience as an arbitrator in
24    cases involving labor and employment relations matters
25    between employers and employees or their exclusive
26    bargaining representatives and (ii) beginning September 1,

 

 

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1    2012, have participated in training provided or approved by
2    the State Board of Education for teacher dismissal hearing
3    officers so that he or she is familiar with issues
4    generally involved in evaluative and non-evaluative
5    dismissals.
6        Within 5 business days after receiving the notice of
7    request for a hearing, the general superintendent and the
8    teacher or principal or their legal representatives shall
9    alternately strike one name from the list until only one
10    name remains. Unless waived by the teacher, the teacher or
11    principal shall have the right to proceed first with the
12    striking. If the teacher or principal fails to participate
13    in the striking process, the general superintendent shall
14    either select the hearing officer from the list developed
15    pursuant to this paragraph (3) or select another qualified
16    hearing officer from the master list maintained by the
17    State Board of Education pursuant to subsection (c) of
18    Section 24-12 of this Code.
19        (4) If the notice of dismissal was sent to the teacher
20    or principal before July 1, 2012, the fees and costs for
21    the hearing officer shall be paid by the State Board of
22    Education. If the notice of dismissal was sent to the
23    teacher or principal on or after July 1, 2012, the hearing
24    officer's fees and costs must be paid as follows in this
25    paragraph (4). The fees and permissible costs for the
26    hearing officer shall be determined by the State Board of

 

 

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1    Education. If the hearing officer is mutually selected by
2    the parties through alternate striking in accordance with
3    paragraph (3) of this subsection (a), then the board and
4    the teacher or their legal representative shall each pay
5    50% of the fees and costs and any supplemental allowance to
6    which they agree. If the hearing officer is selected by the
7    general superintendent without the participation of the
8    teacher or principal, then the board shall pay 100% of the
9    hearing officer fees and costs. The hearing officer shall
10    submit for payment a billing statement to the parties that
11    itemizes the charges and expenses and divides them in
12    accordance with this Section.
13        (5) The teacher or the principal charged is required to
14    answer the charges and specifications and aver affirmative
15    matters in his or her defense, and the time for doing so
16    must be set by the hearing officer. The State Board of
17    Education shall adopt rules so that each party has a fair
18    opportunity to present its case and to ensure that the
19    dismissal proceeding is concluded in an expeditious
20    manner. The rules shall address, without limitation, the
21    teacher or principal's answer and affirmative defenses to
22    the charges and specifications; a requirement that each
23    party make mandatory disclosures without request to the
24    other party and then update the disclosure no later than 10
25    calendar days prior to the commencement of the hearing,
26    including a list of the names and addresses of persons who

 

 

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1    may be called as witnesses at the hearing, a summary of the
2    facts or opinions each witness will testify to, and all
3    other documents and materials, including information
4    maintained electronically, relevant to its own as well as
5    the other party's case (the hearing officer may exclude
6    witnesses and exhibits not identified and shared, except
7    those offered in rebuttal for which the party could not
8    reasonably have anticipated prior to the hearing);
9    pre-hearing discovery and preparation, including provision
10    for written interrogatories and requests for production of
11    documents, provided that discovery depositions are
12    prohibited; the conduct of the hearing; the right of each
13    party to be represented by counsel, the offer of evidence
14    and witnesses and the cross-examination of witnesses; the
15    authority of the hearing officer to issue subpoenas and
16    subpoenas duces tecum, provided that the hearing officer
17    may limit the number of witnesses to be subpoenaed in
18    behalf of each party to no more than 7; the length of
19    post-hearing briefs; and the form, length, and content of
20    hearing officers' reports and recommendations to the
21    general superintendent.
22        The hearing officer shall commence the hearing within
23    75 calendar days and conclude the hearing within 120
24    calendar days after being selected by the parties as the
25    hearing officer, provided that these timelines may be
26    modified upon the showing of good cause or mutual agreement

 

 

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1    of the parties. Good cause for the purposes of this
2    paragraph (5) shall mean the illness or otherwise
3    unavoidable emergency of the teacher, district
4    representative, their legal representatives, the hearing
5    officer, or an essential witness as indicated in each
6    party's pre-hearing submission. In a dismissal hearing,
7    the hearing officer shall consider and give weight to all
8    of the teacher's evaluations written pursuant to Article
9    24A that are relevant to the issues in the hearing. The
10    teacher or principal has the privilege of being present at
11    the hearing with counsel and of cross-examining witnesses
12    and may offer evidence and witnesses and present defenses
13    to the charges. Each party shall have no more than 3 days
14    to present its case, unless extended by the hearing officer
15    to enable a party to present adequate evidence and
16    testimony, including due to the other party's
17    cross-examination of the party's witnesses, for good cause
18    or by mutual agreement of the parties. The State Board of
19    Education shall define in rules the meaning of "day" for
20    such purposes. All testimony at the hearing shall be taken
21    under oath administered by the hearing officer. The hearing
22    officer shall cause a record of the proceedings to be kept
23    and shall employ a competent reporter to take stenographic
24    or stenotype notes of all the testimony. The costs of the
25    reporter's attendance and services at the hearing shall be
26    paid by the party or parties who are paying the fees and

 

 

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1    costs of the hearing officer. Either party desiring a
2    transcript of the hearing shall pay for the cost thereof.
3    At the close of the hearing, the hearing officer shall
4    direct the parties to submit post-hearing briefs no later
5    than 21 calendar days after receipt of the transcript.
6    Either or both parties may waive submission of briefs.
7        (6) The hearing officer shall within 30 calendar days
8    from the conclusion of the hearing report to the general
9    superintendent findings of fact and a recommendation as to
10    whether or not the teacher or principal shall be dismissed
11    and shall give a copy of the report to both the teacher or
12    principal and the general superintendent. The State Board
13    of Education shall provide by rule the form of the hearing
14    officer's report and recommendation.
15        (7) The board, within 45 days of receipt of the hearing
16    officer's findings of fact and recommendation, shall make a
17    decision as to whether the teacher or principal shall be
18    dismissed from its employ. The failure of the board to
19    strictly adhere to the timeliness contained herein shall
20    not render it without jurisdiction to dismiss the teacher
21    or principal. In the event that the board declines to
22    dismiss the teacher or principal after review of a hearing
23    officer's recommendation, the board shall set the amount of
24    back pay and benefits to award the teacher or principal,
25    which shall include offsets for interim earnings and
26    failure to mitigate losses. The board shall establish

 

 

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1    procedures for the teacher's or principal's submission of
2    evidence to it regarding lost earnings, lost benefits,
3    mitigation, and offsets. The decision of the board is final
4    unless reviewed in accordance with paragraph (8) of this
5    subsection (a).
6        (8) The teacher may seek judicial review of the board's
7    decision in accordance with the Administrative Review Law,
8    which is specifically incorporated in this Section, except
9    that the review must be initiated in the Illinois Appellate
10    Court for the First District. In the event judicial review
11    is instituted, any costs of preparing and filing the record
12    of proceedings shall be paid by the party instituting the
13    review. In the event the appellate court reverses a board
14    decision to dismiss a teacher or principal and directs the
15    board to pay the teacher or the principal back pay and
16    benefits, the appellate court shall remand the matter to
17    the board to issue an administrative decision as to the
18    amount of back pay and benefits, which shall include a
19    calculation of the lost earnings, lost benefits,
20    mitigation, and offsets based on evidence submitted to the
21    board in accordance with procedures established by the
22    board.
23    (b) Nothing in this Section affects the validity of removal
24for cause hearings commenced prior to June 13, 2011 (the
25effective date of Public Act 97-8).
26    The changes made by Public Act 97-8 shall apply to

 

 

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1dismissals instituted on or after September 1, 2011 or the
2effective date of Public Act 97-8, whichever is later. Any
3dismissal instituted prior to the effective date of these
4changes must be carried out in accordance with the requirements
5of this Section prior to amendment by Public Act 97-8.
6(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15.)