SB0458eng 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0458 Engrossed LRB103 02909 RJT 47915 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 changing Section 2-3.130 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.130)

Sec. 2-3.130. Isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint rules; grant program; third-party assistance; goals and plans.

(a) For purposes of this Section, "isolated time out", "physical restraint", and "time out" have the meanings given to those terms under Section 10-20.33.

(b) The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules governing the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint in special education nonpublic facilities and the public schools. The rules shall include provisions governing the documentation and reporting that is required each time these interventions are used.

The rules adopted by the State Board shall include a procedure by which a person who believes a violation of Section 10-20.33 or 34-18.20 has occurred may file a complaint. The rules adopted by the State Board shall include training requirements that must be included in training programs used to train and certify school personnel.

The State Board shall establish procedures for progressive enforcement actions to ensure that schools fully comply with the documentation and reporting requirements for isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint established by rule, which shall include meaningful and appropriate sanctions for the failure to comply, including the failure to report to the parent or guardian and to the State Board, the failure to timely report, and the failure to provide detailed documentation.

(c) Subject to appropriation, the State Board shall, by adoption of emergency rules under subsection (rr) of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act if it so chooses, create a grant program for school districts, special education nonpublic facilities approved under Section 14-7.02 of this Code, and special education cooperatives to implement school-wide, culturally sensitive, and trauma-informed practices, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and restorative practices within a multi-tiered system of support aimed at reducing the need for interventions, such as isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint. The State Board shall give priority in grant funding to those school districts, special education nonpublic facilities approved under Section 14-7.02 of this Code, and special education cooperatives that submit a plan to achieve a significant reduction or elimination in the use of isolated time out and physical restraint in less than 3 years.

(d) Subject to the Illinois Procurement Code, the Illinois School Student Records Act, the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act, and the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the State Board may contract with a third party to provide assistance with the oversight and monitoring of the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint by school districts.

(e) For the purpose of this subsection and subsection (f), "entity" means a school district, a special education nonpublic school approved under Section 14-7.02 of this Code and located in this State, or a special education cooperative to the extent the cooperative operates separate schools or programs within schools.

The State Board shall establish goals within 90 days after August 13, 2021 (the effective date of Public Act 102-339) this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly, with specific benchmarks, for entities to accomplish the systemic reduction of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint within 3 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly. The State Board shall engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders to establish the goals, including in the review and evaluation of the data submitted. The State Board shall also consult stakeholders in efforts to develop strategies to measure and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint. Each entity shall create a time out and physical restraint oversight team that includes, but is not limited to, teachers, paraprofessionals, school service personnel, and administrators to develop (i) an entity-specific plan for reducing and eventually eliminating the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint in accordance with the goals and benchmarks established by the State Board and (ii) procedures to implement the plan developed by the team.

The progress toward the reduction and eventual elimination of the use of isolated time out and physical restraint shall be measured by the reduction in the overall number of incidents of those interventions and the total number of students subjected to those interventions. In limited cases, upon written application made by an entity and approved by the State Board based on criteria developed by the State Board to show good cause, the reduction in the use of those interventions may be measured by the frequency of the use of those interventions on individual students and the student population as a whole. The State Board shall specify a date for submission of the plans. Entities shall submit a report once each year until August 1, 2027 for 3 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly to the State Board on the progress made toward achieving the goals and benchmarks established by the State Board and modify their plans as necessary to satisfy those goals and benchmarks. Entities shall notify parents and guardians that the plans and reports are available for review. On or before June 30, 2026 2023, the State Board shall issue a report to the General Assembly on the progress made by entities to achieve those goals and benchmarks. The required plans shall include, but not be limited to, the specific actions that are to be taken to:

(1) reduce and eventually eliminate a reliance on isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint for behavioral interventions and develop noncoercive environments;

(2) develop individualized student plans that are oriented toward prevention of the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint with the intent that a plan be separate and apart from a student's individualized education program or a student's plan for services under Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973;

(3) ensure that appropriate personnel are fully informed of the student's history, including any history of physical or sexual abuse, and other relevant medical and mental health information, except that any disclosure of student information must be consistent with federal and State laws and rules governing student confidentiality and privacy rights; and

(4) support a vision for cultural change that reinforces the following:

(A) positive behavioral interventions and support rather than isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint;

(B) effective ways to de-escalate situations to avoid isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint;

(C) crisis intervention techniques that use alternatives to isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint; and

(D) use of debriefing meetings to reassess what occurred and why it occurred and to think through ways to prevent use of the intervention the next time.

(f) An entity, as defined in subsection (e), is exempt from the requirement to submit a plan and the annual reports under subsection (e) if the entity is able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the State Board that (i) within the previous 3 years, the entity has never engaged in the use of isolated time out, time out, or physical restraint and (ii) the entity has adopted a written policy that prohibits the use isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint on a student and is able to demonstrate the enforcement of that policy.

(g) The State Board shall establish a system of ongoing review, auditing, and monitoring to ensure that entities comply with the documentation and reporting requirements and meet the State Board's established goals and benchmarks for reducing and eventually eliminating the use of isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint.

(Source: P.A. 102-339, eff. 8-13-21; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23.)