HB1466eng 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1466 Engrossed LRB095 08544 NHT 28725 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section 1A-12 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/1A-12 new)

Sec. 1A-12. Powers of the State Board in assisting schools and districts deemed in management difficulties.

(a) In this Section:

"Board" means a local board of education.

"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Panel appointed pursuant to this Section.

"District" does not include a school district organized under Article 34 of this Code.

"Management Oversight Panel" or "Panel" means a Management Oversight Panel created under this Section.

"State Board" means the State Board of Education.

"State Superintendent" means the State Superintendent of Education.

(b) To promote the managerial integrity of school districts, the State Board shall have the necessary powers to promote sound management of Illinois public schools. The State Board, after the State Board's proper investigation of a school district's condition, may certify that a district is in management difficulty if the district has been engaged in a continuing and repeated pattern of documented and substantiated mismanagement, which includes any instance where the school or district has been engaged in documented and substantiated acts of mismanagement in regard to hiring practices, including without limitation the hiring of persons who do not meet minimal certification requirements for the positions being filled whether due to the submission of falsified credentials or simply a lack of credentials, that has placed the academic integrity of the school or district in question or has placed students in physical danger and that is determined to be in need of intervention by the State Board, but does not include the hiring of persons without the specific qualifications for a position due to the unavailability of persons possessing those specific qualifications, such as in areas of teacher shortages.

(c) A district must not be certified to be in management difficulty if the sole basis for mismanagement is the failure of the county to make a distribution of property tax money due to the district at the time the distribution is due.

(d) When a district is first certified to be in management difficulty, the State Board may do each of the following:

(1) Require the school district to develop, adopt, and submit a district management improvement plan within 45 days after certification. The plan must be developed to address the acts of mismanagement that caused the district to be certified in management difficulty. Within 14 days after certifying a district to be in management difficulty, the State Superintendent shall provide the board a summary of management issues to be addressed in the plan. The plan must be approved by the State Superintendent.

(2) Advise the district on recommended or suggested methods of improving managerial success consistent with the district's management improvement plan approved by the State Board.

A district certified to be in management difficulty shall report to the State Board, at such times and in such manner as the State Superintendent may direct, concerning the district's compliance with its approved management plan. The State Board may review the district's operations and may obtain or require the district to produce reports or any other information in the possession of the district that it deems relevant. A district shall remain certified in management difficulty until the district clearly demonstrates to the satisfaction of the State Board that the circumstances leading to the certification no longer exist; or, if the State Board determines that a district has failed to comply with its management plan, the State Board may rescind approval of the plan and appoint a Management Oversight Panel for the district. This action shall be taken only after the district has been given notice and an opportunity to appear before the State Board to discuss its failure to comply with its management plan.

(e) Within 10 days after the State Board has placed a district under a Management Oversight Panel, the State Superintendent shall approve the appointment of 5 members to serve at the State Superintendent's pleasure. One member shall be appointed by the union representing a plurality of the district's employees; in the absence of a plurality, the union appointment shall be filled by the State Superintendent. Two members shall be appointed by the State Superintendent, one of whom must be an attorney. Two members shall be appointed by the Regional Superintendent of Schools with jurisdiction over the district, both of whom must live in the school district. The State Superintendent shall designate one of the members of the Panel to serve as its Chairperson. In the event of vacancy or resignation, the State Superintendent shall appoint a successor within 10 days after receiving notice of the vacancy or resignation.

Members of the Panel shall be selected on the basis of their experience and education in areas identified as needed. A member of the Panel may not have a direct financial interest in the district for which the Panel is constituted, nor may a member be a board member or employee of that district, except that a member who is appointed by or as a representative of a union representing district employees may be an employee of the district.

Panel members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties by the State Board. The amount reimbursed to Panel members for their expenses shall be charged to the school district.

The first meeting of the Panel shall be held at the call of the Chairperson. The Panel may elect such other officers as it deems appropriate. The Panel shall prescribe the times and places for its meetings and the manner in which regular and special meetings may be called and shall comply with the Open Meetings Act. Three members of the Panel shall constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of 3 members shall be necessary for any decision or action to be taken by the Panel.

The Panel and the State Superintendent shall cooperate with each other in the exercise of their respective powers. The Panel shall report not later than September 1 annually to the State Superintendent with respect to its activities and the condition of the school district for the previous school year.

The Panel may exercise veto power over board decisions concerning the district, in an effort to ensure that the district management improvement plan is implemented as needed.

The purposes of the Panel shall be to exercise control over the district and to furnish management assistance so that the district can provide public education within the district's jurisdiction while permitting the district to meet its obligations for sound management practice. Except as expressly limited by this Section, the Panel shall have those powers necessary to meet its responsibilities and to carry out its purposes and the purposes of this Section, including without limitation all of the following powers, provided that the Panel shall have no power to violate any statutory provision, to impair any contract or obligation of the district, including collective bargaining agreements, or to terminate any employee without following the statutory procedures for such terminations set forth in this Code, the relevant rules of the State Board, and the procedures of the collective bargaining agreement covering the employee:

(1) To sue and to be sued.

(2) To make and execute contracts, leases, subleases, and all other instruments or agreements necessary or convenient for the exercise of the powers and functions granted by this Section.

(3) To purchase real or personal property necessary or convenient for its purposes; to execute and deliver deeds for real property held in its own name; and to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of such of its property as, in the judgment of the Panel, is no longer necessary for its purposes.

(4) To appoint officers, agents, and employees of the Panel, including all of the following, to administer and manage, under the direction of the Panel, the operations and educational programs of the district, in accordance with this Section and all other provisions of this Code; to define their duties and qualifications; and to fix their compensation and employee benefits.

(A) Chief executive officer. The Panel may appoint a chief executive officer who, under the direction of the Panel, shall supervise the Panel's staff, including the chief educational officer and the chief fiscal officer, and shall have ultimate responsibility for implementing the policies, procedures, directives, and decisions of the Panel.

(B) Chief educational officer. The Panel may at a regular or special meeting find that cause exists to cancel the contract of the school district's superintendent who is serving at the time the Panel is established. If there is no superintendent, then the Panel shall, following consultation with the district, employ a chief educational officer for the district, who shall have all of the powers and duties of a school district superintendent under this Code and such other duties as may be assigned by the Panel in accordance with this Code. The chief educational officer shall report to the Panel or the chief executive officer appointed by the Panel. The district shall not employ a superintendent during the period that a chief educational officer is serving in the district. The chief educational officer shall hold a certificate with a superintendent's endorsement issued pursuant to Article 21 of this Code.

(C) Chief fiscal officer. The Panel may appoint a chief fiscal officer who, under the direction of the Panel, shall have all of the powers and duties of the district's chief school business official and any other duties regarding budgeting, accounting, and other financial matters that are assigned by the Panel, in accordance with this Code. The district may not employ a chief school business official during the period that the chief fiscal officer is serving in the district. The chief fiscal officer may, but is not required to, hold a certificate with a chief school business official's endorsement issued under Article 21 of this Code.

(5) To transfer to the district such sums of money as are not required for other purposes.

(6) To procure all necessary goods and services for the Panel in compliance with the purchasing laws and requirements applicable to the district.

(7) To take action on behalf of the district, as the Panel deems necessary and in accordance with this Section and all other provisions of this Code, based on the recommendation of, if applicable, the chief executive officer, chief educational officer, or chief fiscal officer; the district shall be bound by such action in all respects as if the action had been approved by the district itself.

(8) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given to it by this Section.

(9) To provide for its organization and internal management.

(10) To require and approve a school district financial plan and academic plan, if the Panel deems it necessary, and to monitor the school district's compliance with these plans.

(11) To approve and require revisions of the school district budget.

(12) To approve all contracts and other obligations, as the Panel deems necessary and appropriate.

(13) To request that the Regional Superintendent of Schools make appointments to fill all vacancies on the board, as provided in Section 10-10 of this Code.

(14) To engage the services of consultants for rendering professional and technical assistance and advice on matters within the Panel's power.

(15) To contract for and to accept any gifts, grants, or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in any form from the federal government, State government, a unit of local government, a school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof or from any other private or public source and to comply with the terms and conditions thereof.

(16) To pay the expenses of its operations based on the Panel's budget as approved by the State Superintendent from the district's general State aid.

(17) To require a board member training plan, in conjunction with one or more statewide school management organizations.

(18) To require the development of a district management improvement plan or revision of an existing district management improvement plan if the Panel deems it necessary and to monitor the district's compliance with the management improvement plan.

(19) To provide assistance to the district with developing a staffing needs analysis and plan, in cooperation with the board, that can address (i) performance of an analysis of critical staffing needs within the district to support any district improvement plans, (ii) development of a strategy for attracting candidates and posting positions to meet the district's critical staffing needs, and (iii) approving and monitoring of the school district's policies and procedures for conducting hiring.

(20) To develop a plan for maintenance, repair, and improvement of district facilities (including, but not limited to, buildings used for instructional and administrative functions, indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, landscaping, parking, and infrastructure related to traffic circulation) and the correction of any violations of the Health/Life Safety Code for existing facilities.

(f) If the State Board has appointed a Financial Oversight Panel to a school district and subsequently places the same district under a Management Oversight Panel or if the State Board has appointed a Management Oversight Panel for a district and subsequently places the same district under a Financial Oversight Panel, the State Superintendent shall create a new Panel and appoint 5 members to serve at the State Superintendent's pleasure. The Panel shall accrue all the necessary powers and duties of a Financial Oversight Panel and a Management Oversight Panel. The State Superintendent shall designate one of the members of the Panel to serve as its chairperson. In the event of vacancy or resignation, the State Superintendent shall appoint a successor within 10 days after receiving notice of the vacancy or resignation. Members of the Panel shall be selected on the basis of their experience and education in areas identified as needed. A member of the Panel may not have a direct financial interest in the district for which the Panel is constituted, nor may a member be a board member or employee of that district, except that a member who is appointed as a representative of a union representing district employees may be an employee of the district.

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.31 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.31 new)

Sec. 8.31. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.