Full Text of SB2941 100th General Assembly
SB2941 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018 SB2941 Introduced 2/14/2018, by Sen. Pat McGuire SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 110 ILCS 148/20 | | 110 ILCS 148/25 | |
|
Amends the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act. With respect to the State Board of Education's competency-based, high school graduation requirements pilot program, provides that a school district may participate in the program for some or all of its schools (instead of for some or all of its schools serving grades 9 through 12). Allows school districts to collaboratively apply to participate in the pilot program; sets forth provisions governing a collaborative of districts.
|
| |
| | A BILL FOR |
|
| | | SB2941 | | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Sections 20 and 25 as follows: | 6 | | (110 ILCS 148/20)
| 7 | | Sec. 20. Competency-based, high school graduation | 8 | | requirements pilot program. In consultation with ICCB and IBHE, | 9 | | ISBE shall establish and administer a competency-based, high | 10 | | school graduation requirements pilot program with school | 11 | | districts selected pursuant to Section 25 of this Act. A school | 12 | | district participating in the pilot program may select which of | 13 | | the year and course graduation requirements set forth in | 14 | | Section 27-22 of the School Code the school district wishes to | 15 | | replace with a competency-based learning system. A school | 16 | | district may participate in the pilot program for some or all | 17 | | of its schools serving grades 9 through 12 . The pilot program | 18 | | shall include the following components and requirements:
| 19 | | (1) The competency-based learning systems authorized | 20 | | through the pilot program shall include all of the | 21 | | following elements:
| 22 | | (A) Students shall demonstrate mastery of all | 23 | | required competencies to earn credit.
|
| | | SB2941 | - 2 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | (B) Students must demonstrate mastery of Adaptive | 2 | | Competencies defined by the school district, in | 3 | | addition to academic competencies.
| 4 | | (C) Students shall advance once they have | 5 | | demonstrated mastery, and students shall receive more | 6 | | time and personalized instruction to demonstrate | 7 | | mastery, if needed.
| 8 | | (D) Students shall have the ability to attain | 9 | | advanced postsecondary education and career-related | 10 | | competencies beyond those needed for graduation.
| 11 | | (E) Students must be assessed using multiple | 12 | | measures to determine mastery, usually requiring | 13 | | application of knowledge.
| 14 | | (F) Students must be able to earn credit toward | 15 | | graduation requirements in ways other than traditional | 16 | | coursework, including learning opportunities outside | 17 | | the traditional classroom setting, such as Supervised | 18 | | Career Development Experiences.
| 19 | | (2) A school district participating in the pilot | 20 | | program shall demonstrate that the proposed | 21 | | competency-based learning system is a core strategy | 22 | | supporting the community's efforts to better prepare high | 23 | | school students for college, career, and life.
The | 24 | | application must identify the community partners that will | 25 | | support the system's implementation. | 26 | | (3) A school district participating in the pilot |
| | | SB2941 | - 3 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | program must have a plan for educator administrator and | 2 | | educator professional development on the competency-based | 3 | | learning system and must demonstrate prior successful | 4 | | implementation of professional development systems for | 5 | | major district instructional initiatives.
| 6 | | (4) A school district participating in the pilot | 7 | | program that is replacing graduation requirements in the | 8 | | core academic areas of mathematics, English language arts, | 9 | | and science with a competency-based learning system shall | 10 | | demonstrate how the competencies can be mastered through | 11 | | Integrated Courses or career and technical education | 12 | | courses.
| 13 | | (5) A school district participating in the pilot | 14 | | program shall develop a plan for community engagement and | 15 | | communications.
| 16 | | (6) A school district participating in the pilot | 17 | | program shall develop a plan for assigning course grades | 18 | | based on mastery of competencies within the | 19 | | competency-based learning system.
| 20 | | (7) A school district participating in the pilot | 21 | | program shall establish a plan and system for collecting | 22 | | and assessing student progress on competency completion | 23 | | and attainment, including for learning opportunities | 24 | | outside of the traditional classroom setting.
| 25 | | (8) A school district participating in the pilot | 26 | | program shall establish a system for data collection and |
| | | SB2941 | - 4 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | reporting and must provide ISBE with such reports and | 2 | | information as may be required for administration and | 3 | | evaluation of the program.
| 4 | | (9) A school district participating in the pilot | 5 | | program shall partner with a community college and a higher | 6 | | education institution other than a community college for | 7 | | consultation on the development and administration of its | 8 | | competency-based learning system. The plan shall address | 9 | | how high school graduates of a competency-based learning | 10 | | system will be able to provide information normally | 11 | | expected of postsecondary institutions for admission and | 12 | | financial aid.
| 13 | | (10) A school district participating in the pilot | 14 | | program shall have a plan for engaging feeder elementary | 15 | | schools with the participating high school or schools on | 16 | | the establishment and administration of the | 17 | | competency-based learning system.
| 18 | | (Source: P.A. 99-674, eff. 7-29-16.) | 19 | | (110 ILCS 148/25)
| 20 | | Sec. 25. Competency-based, high school graduation | 21 | | requirements pilot program eligibility and application | 22 | | process.
| 23 | | (a) The pilot program established under Section 20 of this | 24 | | Act shall be administered by the State Superintendent of | 25 | | Education in 2 phases: (i) an initial application and selection |
| | | SB2941 | - 5 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | process phase, and (ii) a subsequent phase for full development | 2 | | and implementation of a detailed plan for a competency-based | 3 | | learning system for high school graduation requirements.
| 4 | | (b) For the initial phase under clause (i) of subsection | 5 | | (a) of this Section, the State Superintendent of Education | 6 | | shall develop and issue a pilot program application that | 7 | | requires:
| 8 | | (1) demonstration of commitment from the school | 9 | | district superintendent; the president of the school board | 10 | | of the district; teachers within the school district who | 11 | | will be involved with the pilot program implementation; a | 12 | | community college partner; and a higher education | 13 | | institution other than a community college; | 14 | | (2) an indication of which of the year and course | 15 | | graduation requirements set forth in Section 27-22 of the | 16 | | School Code the school district wishes to replace with a | 17 | | competency-based learning system;
| 18 | | (3) a general description of the school district's plan | 19 | | for implementing a competency-based learning system for | 20 | | high school graduation requirements, including how the | 21 | | plan addresses the requirements of Section 20 of this Act | 22 | | and this Section;
| 23 | | (4) the school district's prior professional | 24 | | development and stakeholder engagement efforts that will | 25 | | support its successful development and implementation of a | 26 | | competency-based learning system, including, without |
| | | SB2941 | - 6 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | limitation, prior implementation of professional | 2 | | development systems for major district instructional | 3 | | initiatives; and
| 4 | | (5) identification of any waivers or modifications of | 5 | | State law or rules for implementation of the proposed plan.
| 6 | | The demonstration of commitment from teachers as required | 7 | | by paragraph (1) of this subsection (b) must include a | 8 | | description of how teachers have been engaged throughout the | 9 | | application development process. If the school district has an | 10 | | exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers and the | 11 | | president of the exclusive bargaining representative does not | 12 | | submit a statement of commitment for the application, the | 13 | | school district must submit either a statement by the president | 14 | | of the position of the exclusive bargaining representative on | 15 | | the application or a description of the school district's good | 16 | | faith efforts to obtain such a statement. | 17 | | (c) Subject to subsection (g) of this Section, the State | 18 | | Superintendent of Education shall select school districts | 19 | | meeting the requirements set forth in this Section to | 20 | | participate in the pilot program based on the quality of the | 21 | | proposed plan, the strength of the local commitments, | 22 | | including, without limitation, teachers within the school | 23 | | district who will be involved in the program's implementation | 24 | | and postsecondary institution partnerships, and demonstration | 25 | | of prior professional development and stakeholder engagement | 26 | | efforts that will support the proposed system's successful |
| | | SB2941 | - 7 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | implementation. The State Superintendent of Education, in | 2 | | selecting the participating school districts, shall also | 3 | | consider the diversity of school district types and sizes, the | 4 | | diversity of geographic representation from across the State, | 5 | | and the diversity of plan approaches (such as approaches that | 6 | | involve one subject only, multiple subjects, and the types of | 7 | | subjects).
| 8 | | (d) School districts selected to participate in the pilot | 9 | | program shall receive technical assistance coordinated by the | 10 | | State Superintendent of Education to develop a full pilot | 11 | | program implementation plan. The State Superintendent of | 12 | | Education shall have discretion to remove a school district | 13 | | from the pilot program during this period if the school | 14 | | district does not submit a full pilot program implementation | 15 | | plan that meets the State Superintendent of Education's | 16 | | specifications.
| 17 | | (e) School districts shall, as part of the development of | 18 | | their application and participation in the competency-based | 19 | | learning system pilot program, establish and maintain a | 20 | | standing planning and implementation committee that includes | 21 | | representation from administrators and teachers, including | 22 | | teachers who will be involved in the competency-based learning | 23 | | system's implementation. The teacher representatives shall be | 24 | | selected by teachers or, where applicable, the exclusive | 25 | | bargaining representative of its teachers, and the number of | 26 | | teacher representatives shall be at least equal to |
| | | SB2941 | - 8 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | administrator representatives, unless otherwise agreed to by | 2 | | the teachers or, where applicable, the exclusive bargaining | 3 | | representative of its teachers. The standing planning and | 4 | | implementation committee shall develop reports that shall be | 5 | | included within the initial application, the full pilot program | 6 | | plan, and any subsequent annual submissions to the State | 7 | | Superintendent of Education as part of the assessment and | 8 | | evaluation of the program. The reports shall describe the | 9 | | members' assessment of the school district's plan or | 10 | | implementation, as applicable, of the school district's | 11 | | competency-based learning system and any recommendations for | 12 | | modifications or improvements to the system. If the committee | 13 | | does not reach consensus on the report, the administrator | 14 | | members shall submit the report and the teacher members may | 15 | | provide a position statement that must be included with the | 16 | | report submitted to the State Superintendent of Education. | 17 | | (f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the School Code | 18 | | or any other law of this State to the contrary, school | 19 | | districts participating in the pilot program may petition the | 20 | | State Superintendent of Education for a waiver or modification | 21 | | of the mandates of the School Code or of the administrative | 22 | | rules adopted by ISBE in order to support the implementation of | 23 | | the school district's proposed competency-based learning | 24 | | system. However, no waiver shall be granted under this | 25 | | subsection (f) relating to State assessments, accountability | 26 | | requirements, teacher tenure or seniority, teacher or |
| | | SB2941 | - 9 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | principal evaluations, or learning standards or that removes | 2 | | legal protections or supports intended for the protection of | 3 | | children or a particular category of students, such as students | 4 | | with disabilities or English learners. Any waiver or | 5 | | modification of teacher educator licensure requirements to | 6 | | permit instruction by non-educators or educators without an | 7 | | appropriate license must ensure that an appropriately licensed | 8 | | teacher and the provider of instruction partner in order to | 9 | | verify the method for assessing competency of mastery and | 10 | | verify whether a student has demonstrated mastery. All requests | 11 | | must be jointly signed by the school district superintendent | 12 | | and the president of the school board and must describe the | 13 | | position of teachers within the school district that will be | 14 | | involved in the competency-based learning system's | 15 | | implementation on the application. If the school district has | 16 | | an exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers and the | 17 | | president of the exclusive bargaining representative does not | 18 | | submit a statement of support for the application, the school | 19 | | district must submit either a statement by the president that | 20 | | describes the position of the exclusive bargaining | 21 | | representative on the application or a description of the | 22 | | school district's good faith efforts to obtain such a | 23 | | statement. The State Superintendent of Education shall approve | 24 | | a waiver or modification request meeting the requirements of | 25 | | this subsection (f) if the State Superintendent of Education | 26 | | determines the request is reasonably necessary to support the |
| | | SB2941 | - 10 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | implementation of the school district's proposed | 2 | | competency-based learning system, and the request shall not | 3 | | diminish the overall support of teachers within the school | 4 | | district involved with the system's implementation as | 5 | | demonstrated in the school district's initial application to | 6 | | participate in the pilot program. An approved request shall | 7 | | take effect in accordance with the timeline set forth in the | 8 | | school district's application, and an approved waiver or | 9 | | modification shall remain in effect for so long as the school | 10 | | district participates in the pilot program established by this | 11 | | Act. The State Superintendent of Education's approval of a | 12 | | school district plan for implementation of competency-based, | 13 | | high school graduation requirements shall serve as a waiver or | 14 | | modification of any conflicting requirements of Section 27-22 | 15 | | of the School Code. School districts participating in the pilot | 16 | | program may additionally pursue waivers and modifications | 17 | | pursuant to Section 2-3.25g of the School Code.
| 18 | | (g) For purposes of this subsection (g), "annual cohort" | 19 | | means the group of school districts selected by the State | 20 | | Superintendent of Education to participate in the pilot program | 21 | | during an annual application and selection process. The State | 22 | | Superintendent of Education shall limit each annual cohort of | 23 | | the pilot program as follows: the first 2 annual cohorts shall | 24 | | be limited to no more than 12 school districts, and any | 25 | | subsequent annual cohort shall be limited to no more than 15 | 26 | | school districts. A school district may submit only one |
| | | SB2941 | - 11 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | application for each annual cohort of the pilot program. The | 2 | | application of a school district having a population exceeding | 3 | | 500,000 inhabitants may not include more than 6 schools. The | 4 | | expansion of a school district's competency-based learning | 5 | | system to a new school or new subject area identified in | 6 | | Section 27-22 of the School Code shall require a new | 7 | | application by the school district.
| 8 | | School districts may collaboratively apply to participate | 9 | | in the pilot program. Notwithstanding any other provision of | 10 | | this subsection (g), the application of a collaborative of | 11 | | districts shall be counted as one district application in the | 12 | | annual cohort selection process. In the application of a | 13 | | collaborative of districts, each district participating in the | 14 | | collaborative shall comply with the requirements outlined in | 15 | | subsection (b) of this Section as if applying as an individual | 16 | | district. The districts participating in the collaborative may | 17 | | establish and maintain a standing planning and implementation | 18 | | committee individually or collaboratively. If a collaborative | 19 | | of districts decides at a later date to participate as | 20 | | individual districts in the pilot program, the districts shall | 21 | | submit to the State Superintendent of Education a revised | 22 | | implementation plan that outlines the changes to their original | 23 | | plan, the individual district applications from these | 24 | | districts shall be considered as separate district | 25 | | applications, and none of these districts may be counted as one | 26 | | of the districts that are already part of the cohort |
| | | SB2941 | - 12 - | LRB100 16362 NHT 31488 b |
|
| 1 | | limitation. | 2 | | (Source: P.A. 99-674, eff. 7-29-16.)
|
|