|
| | 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018 SB3620 Introduced 6/13/2018, by Sen. Thomas Cullerton - Jacqueline Y. Collins SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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Amends the Freedom of Information Act to provide that in the case of sexual assault or sexual abuse by school district personnel, nothing in the Act prohibits a school district from disclosing disciplinary records of school district personnel. Amends the School Code to require a school board to report all credible cases of sexual assault or sexual abuse by a licensed educator to the State Board of Education, to establish a hearing procedure for student victims, and to ensure that a licensed educator under investigation by the State Superintendent of Education is reassigned to non-classroom duty. Provides that, beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, the State Board of Education must monitor all fingerprint-based criminal history records checks and any other database checks conducted by a school district or regional superintendent for applicants for employment with a school district. Makes changes concerning educator licensure and allegations of physical or sexual abuse. Amends the Criminal Code of 2012 to create the criminal offense of sexual conduct or sexual relations with a student by an authority figure. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 to require an arresting enforcement agency to share its reports pertaining to the arrest of a licensed educator with the superintendent of any school district that employs the educator (or, in the case of the arrest of a superintendent, with the school board of any school district that employs the superintendent). Amends the Personnel Record Review Act to provide that the Act does not prohibit a school district from divulging internal investigative findings and discipline to another school district. Effective immediately.
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| | CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT |
| | A BILL FOR |
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1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | | Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by |
5 | | adding Section 7.7 as follows: |
6 | | (5 ILCS 140/7.7 new) |
7 | | Sec. 7.7. Disciplinary records of school district |
8 | | personnel. In the case of sexual assault or sexual abuse by |
9 | | school district personnel, nothing in this Act prohibits a |
10 | | school district from disclosing disciplinary records of school |
11 | | district personnel. |
12 | | Section 10. The School Code is amended by changing Sections |
13 | | 10-21.9, 21B-15, 21B-75, 21B-80, 34-18.5, and 34-84b and by |
14 | | adding Sections 10-30 and 34-18.60 as follows:
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15 | | (105 ILCS 5/10-21.9) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9)
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16 | | Sec. 10-21.9. Criminal history records checks and checks of |
17 | | the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and |
18 | | Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
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19 | | (a) Certified and noncertified applicants for employment |
20 | | with a school
district, except school bus driver applicants, |
21 | | are required as a condition
of employment to authorize a |
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1 | | fingerprint-based criminal history records check to determine |
2 | | if such applicants have been convicted of any of
the enumerated |
3 | | criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section or
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4 | | have been convicted, within 7 years of the application for |
5 | | employment with
the
school district, of any other felony under |
6 | | the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted |
7 | | in any other state or against the laws of
the United States |
8 | | that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
9 | | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
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10 | | Authorization for
the check shall be furnished by the applicant |
11 | | to
the school district, except that if the applicant is a |
12 | | substitute teacher
seeking employment in more than one school |
13 | | district, a teacher seeking
concurrent part-time employment |
14 | | positions with more than one school
district (as a reading |
15 | | specialist, special education teacher or otherwise),
or an |
16 | | educational support personnel employee seeking employment |
17 | | positions
with more than one district, any such district may |
18 | | require the applicant to
furnish authorization for
the check to |
19 | | the regional superintendent
of the educational service region |
20 | | in which are located the school districts
in which the |
21 | | applicant is seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent
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22 | | part-time teacher or concurrent educational support personnel |
23 | | employee.
Upon receipt of this authorization, the school |
24 | | district or the appropriate
regional superintendent, as the |
25 | | case may be, shall submit the applicant's
name, sex, race, date |
26 | | of birth, social security number, fingerprint images, and other |
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1 | | identifiers, as prescribed by the Department
of State Police, |
2 | | to the Department. The regional
superintendent submitting the |
3 | | requisite information to the Department of
State Police shall |
4 | | promptly notify the school districts in which the
applicant is |
5 | | seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
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6 | | teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee |
7 | | that
the
check of the applicant has been requested. The |
8 | | Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of |
9 | | Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based |
10 | | criminal history records check, records of convictions, |
11 | | forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of |
12 | | the school board for the school district that requested the |
13 | | check, or to the regional superintendent who requested the |
14 | | check.
The
Department shall charge
the school district
or the |
15 | | appropriate regional superintendent a fee for
conducting
such |
16 | | check, which fee shall be deposited in the State
Police |
17 | | Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of
the inquiry; and |
18 | | the
applicant shall not be charged a fee for
such check by the |
19 | | school
district or by the regional superintendent, except that |
20 | | those applicants seeking employment as a substitute teacher |
21 | | with a school district may be charged a fee not to exceed the |
22 | | cost of the inquiry. Subject to appropriations for these |
23 | | purposes, the State Superintendent of Education shall |
24 | | reimburse school districts and regional superintendents for |
25 | | fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks under this |
26 | | Section.
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1 | | (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall |
2 | | further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, |
3 | | as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, |
4 | | for each applicant. |
5 | | (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall |
6 | | further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent |
7 | | Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer |
8 | | and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law, |
9 | | for each applicant. |
10 | | (b)
Any information
concerning the record of convictions |
11 | | obtained by the president of the
school board or the regional |
12 | | superintendent shall be confidential and may
only be |
13 | | transmitted to the superintendent of the school district or his
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14 | | designee, the appropriate regional superintendent if
the check |
15 | | was
requested by the school district, the presidents of the |
16 | | appropriate school
boards if
the check was requested from the |
17 | | Department of State
Police by the regional superintendent, the |
18 | | State Superintendent of
Education, the State Teacher |
19 | | Certification Board, any other person
necessary to the decision |
20 | | of hiring the applicant for employment, or for clarification |
21 | | purposes the Department of State Police or Statewide Sex |
22 | | Offender Database, or both. A copy
of the record of convictions |
23 | | obtained from the Department of State Police
shall be provided |
24 | | to the applicant for employment. Upon the check of the |
25 | | Statewide Sex Offender Database, the school district or |
26 | | regional superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether |
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1 | | or not the applicant has been identified in the Database as a |
2 | | sex offender. If a check of
an applicant for employment as a |
3 | | substitute or concurrent part-time teacher
or concurrent |
4 | | educational support personnel employee in more than one
school |
5 | | district was requested by the regional superintendent, and the
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6 | | Department of State Police upon a check ascertains that the |
7 | | applicant
has not been convicted of any of the enumerated |
8 | | criminal or drug offenses
in subsection (c) of this Section
or |
9 | | has not been convicted, within 7 years of the
application for
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10 | | employment with the
school district, of any other felony under |
11 | | the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted |
12 | | in any other state or against the laws of
the United States |
13 | | that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
14 | | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State
and so |
15 | | notifies the regional
superintendent and if the regional |
16 | | superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has |
17 | | not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex |
18 | | offender, then the
regional superintendent shall issue to the |
19 | | applicant a certificate
evidencing that as of the date |
20 | | specified by the Department of State Police
the applicant has |
21 | | not been convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or
drug |
22 | | offenses in subsection (c) of this Section
or has not been
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23 | | convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment |
24 | | with the
school district, of any other felony under the laws of |
25 | | this State or of any
offense committed or attempted in any |
26 | | other state or against the laws of
the United States that, if |
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1 | | committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
2 | | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and |
3 | | evidencing that as of the date that the regional superintendent |
4 | | conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, the |
5 | | applicant has not been identified in the Database as a sex |
6 | | offender. The school
board of
any
school district
may rely on |
7 | | the
certificate issued by any regional superintendent to that |
8 | | substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or |
9 | | concurrent educational support personnel employee or may
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10 | | initiate its own criminal history records check of the |
11 | | applicant through the Department of
State Police and its own |
12 | | check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database as provided in |
13 | | subsection (a). Any unauthorized release of confidential |
14 | | information may be a violation of Section 7 of the Criminal |
15 | | Identification Act.
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16 | | (c) No school board shall knowingly employ a person who has |
17 | | been
convicted of any offense that would subject him or her to |
18 | | license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section 21B-80 of |
19 | | this Code.
Further, no school board shall knowingly employ a |
20 | | person who has been found
to be the perpetrator of sexual or |
21 | | physical abuse of any minor under 18 years
of age pursuant to |
22 | | proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
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23 | | (d) No school board shall knowingly employ a person for |
24 | | whom a criminal
history records check and a Statewide Sex |
25 | | Offender Database check has not been initiated.
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26 | | (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a |
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1 | | finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued |
2 | | pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School |
3 | | Code, the
State Superintendent of Education may initiate |
4 | | certificate suspension
and revocation proceedings as |
5 | | authorized by law.
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6 | | (e-5) The superintendent of the employing school board |
7 | | shall, in writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education |
8 | | and the applicable regional superintendent of schools of any |
9 | | certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to |
10 | | believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect |
11 | | with the result of making a child an abused child or a |
12 | | neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and |
13 | | Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the |
14 | | certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school |
15 | | district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days |
16 | | after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must |
17 | | also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the |
18 | | superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other |
19 | | information so received by the regional superintendent of |
20 | | schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board |
21 | | of Education, or the State Teacher Certification Board under |
22 | | this subsection (e-5) is confidential and must not be disclosed |
23 | | to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State |
24 | | Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to |
25 | | investigate and prosecute pursuant to Article 21 of this Code, |
26 | | (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the |
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1 | | certificate holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as |
2 | | otherwise provided in this Article and provided that any such |
3 | | information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from |
4 | | this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. Except |
5 | | for an act of willful or wanton misconduct, any superintendent |
6 | | who provides notification as required in this subsection (e-5) |
7 | | shall have immunity from any liability, whether civil or |
8 | | criminal or that otherwise might result by reason of such |
9 | | action. |
10 | | (f) After January 1, 1990 the provisions of this Section |
11 | | shall apply
to all employees of persons or firms holding |
12 | | contracts with any school
district including, but not limited |
13 | | to, food service workers, school bus
drivers and other |
14 | | transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact
with |
15 | | the pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of |
16 | | criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex |
17 | | Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding
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18 | | contracts with more than one school district and assigned to |
19 | | more than one
school district, the regional superintendent of |
20 | | the educational service
region in which the contracting school |
21 | | districts are located may, at the
request of any such school |
22 | | district, be responsible for receiving the
authorization for
a |
23 | | criminal history records check prepared by each such employee |
24 | | and
submitting the same to the Department of State Police and |
25 | | for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database |
26 | | for each employee. Any information
concerning the record of |
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1 | | conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such |
2 | | employee obtained by the
regional superintendent shall be |
3 | | promptly reported to the president of the
appropriate school |
4 | | board or school boards.
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5 | | (f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any |
6 | | information obtained by a school district pursuant to |
7 | | subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be |
8 | | made available to the requesting school or school district. |
9 | | (g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching |
10 | | experience or required internship (which is referred to as |
11 | | student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a |
12 | | student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based |
13 | | criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment |
14 | | of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student |
15 | | teacher to the school district where the student teaching is to |
16 | | be completed. Upon receipt of this authorization and payment, |
17 | | the school district shall submit the student teacher's name, |
18 | | sex, race, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint |
19 | | images, and other identifiers, as prescribed by the Department |
20 | | of State Police, to the Department of State Police. The |
21 | | Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of |
22 | | Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based |
23 | | criminal history records check, records of convictions, |
24 | | forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of |
25 | | the school board for the school district that requested the |
26 | | check. The Department shall charge the school district a fee |
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1 | | for conducting the check, which fee must not exceed the cost of |
2 | | the inquiry and must be deposited into the State Police |
3 | | Services Fund. The school district shall further perform a |
4 | | check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by |
5 | | the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and of the |
6 | | Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth |
7 | | Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender |
8 | | Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. No |
9 | | school board may knowingly allow a person to student teach for |
10 | | whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex Offender |
11 | | Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender |
12 | | Against Youth Database check have not been completed and |
13 | | reviewed by the district. |
14 | | A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the |
15 | | Department of State Police must be provided to the student |
16 | | teacher. Any information concerning the record of convictions |
17 | | obtained by the president of the school board is confidential |
18 | | and may only be transmitted to the superintendent of the school |
19 | | district or his or her designee, the State Superintendent of |
20 | | Education, the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, |
21 | | or, for clarification purposes, the Department of State Police |
22 | | or the Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer |
23 | | and Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized |
24 | | release of confidential information may be a violation of |
25 | | Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act. |
26 | | No school board may knowingly allow a person to student |
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1 | | teach who has been convicted of any offense that would subject |
2 | | him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to |
3 | | Section 21B-80 of this Code or who has been found to be the |
4 | | perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under 18 |
5 | | years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the |
6 | | Juvenile Court Act of 1987. |
7 | | (h) (Blank). |
8 | | (i) Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, the State |
9 | | Board of Education must monitor all fingerprint-based criminal |
10 | | history records checks and any other database checks conducted |
11 | | under this Section. |
12 | | (Source: P.A. 99-21, eff. 1-1-16; 99-667, eff. 7-29-16.)
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13 | | (105 ILCS 5/10-30 new) |
14 | | Sec. 10-30. Sexual assault or sexual abuse by a licensed |
15 | | educator. |
16 | | (a) A school board must report all credible cases of sexual |
17 | | assault or sexual abuse by a licensed educator to the State |
18 | | Board of Education. |
19 | | (b) A school board must establish a hearing procedure for |
20 | | student victims of alleged sexual assault or sexual abuse by a |
21 | | licensed educator that allows a student victim to testify. In |
22 | | such cases, an attorney retained by the school district may not |
23 | | interview the student without: |
24 | | (1) the consent of the student or the student's parent |
25 | | or legal guardian if the student is a minor; and |
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1 | | (2) the student's parent or legal guardian, the |
2 | | student's legal representative, or both in the room. |
3 | | As part of the hearing procedure, an attorney retained by |
4 | | the school district may not interview the student 2 or more |
5 | | times without good cause being shown and recorded. If 2 or more |
6 | | interviews take place, the attorney retained by the school |
7 | | district who has control over the investigation must maintain a |
8 | | record, which shall be part of the legal record of the |
9 | | investigation, to show why 2 or more interviews took place. The |
10 | | student, student's legal representative, or student's family |
11 | | shall have continuous access to the record. |
12 | | (c) A school board shall ensure that a licensed educator |
13 | | under investigation by the State Superintendent of Education or |
14 | | his or her designee for alleged sexual assault or sexual abuse |
15 | | is reassigned to non-classroom duty. |
16 | | (105 ILCS 5/21B-15) |
17 | | Sec. 21B-15. Qualifications of educators. |
18 | | (a) No one may be licensed to teach or supervise or be |
19 | | otherwise employed in the public schools of this State who is |
20 | | not of good character and at least 19 years of age. |
21 | | In determining good character under this Section, the State |
22 | | Superintendent of Education shall take into consideration the |
23 | | disciplinary actions of other states or national entities |
24 | | against certificates or licenses issued by those states and |
25 | | held by individuals from those states. In addition, any felony |
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1 | | conviction of the applicant may be taken into consideration; |
2 | | however, no one may be licensed to teach or supervise in the |
3 | | public schools of this State who has been convicted of (i) an |
4 | | offense set forth in subsection (b) of Section 21B-80 of this |
5 | | Code until 7 years following the end of the sentence for the |
6 | | criminal offense or (ii) an offense set forth in subsection (c) |
7 | | of Section 21B-80 of this Code. Unless the conviction is for an |
8 | | offense set forth in Section 21B-80 of this Code, an applicant |
9 | | must be permitted to submit character references or other |
10 | | written material before such a conviction or other information |
11 | | regarding the applicant's character may be used by the State |
12 | | Superintendent of Education as a basis for denying the |
13 | | application. |
14 | | In addition, no one may be licensed to teach or supervise |
15 | | in the public schools of this State who has been dismissed by a |
16 | | school district for physical or sexual assault or abuse of a |
17 | | co-worker or a pupil. |
18 | | (b) No person otherwise qualified shall be denied the right |
19 | | to be licensed or to receive training for the purpose of |
20 | | becoming an educator because of a physical disability, |
21 | | including, but not limited to, visual and hearing disabilities; |
22 | | nor shall any school district refuse to employ a teacher on |
23 | | such grounds, provided that the person is able to carry out the |
24 | | duties of the position for which he or she applies. |
25 | | (c) No person may be granted or continue to hold an |
26 | | educator license who has knowingly altered or misrepresented |
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1 | | his or her qualifications, in this State or any other state, in |
2 | | order to acquire or renew the license. Any other license issued |
3 | | under this Article held by the person may be suspended or |
4 | | revoked by the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, |
5 | | depending upon the severity of the alteration or |
6 | | misrepresentation. |
7 | | (d) No one may teach or supervise in the public schools nor |
8 | | receive for teaching or supervising any part of any public |
9 | | school fund who does not hold an educator license granted by |
10 | | the State Superintendent of Education as provided in this |
11 | | Article. However, the provisions of this Article do not apply |
12 | | to a member of the armed forces who is employed as a teacher of |
13 | | subjects in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps of any school, |
14 | | nor to an individual teaching a dual credit course as provided |
15 | | for in the Dual Credit Quality Act. |
16 | | (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, the |
17 | | school board of a school district may grant to a teacher of the |
18 | | district a leave of absence with full pay for a period of not |
19 | | more than one year to permit the teacher to teach in a foreign |
20 | | state under the provisions of the Exchange Teacher Program |
21 | | established under Public Law 584, 79th Congress, and Public Law |
22 | | 402, 80th Congress, as amended. The school board granting the |
23 | | leave of absence may employ, with or without pay, a national of |
24 | | the foreign state wherein the teacher on the leave of absence |
25 | | is to teach if the national is qualified to teach in that |
26 | | foreign state and if that national is to teach in a grade level |
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1 | | similar to the one that was taught in the foreign state. The |
2 | | State Board of Education, in consultation with the State |
3 | | Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, may adopt rules as |
4 | | may be necessary to implement this subsection (e).
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5 | | (Source: P.A. 99-667, eff. 7-29-16; 100-13, eff. 7-1-17.) |
6 | | (105 ILCS 5/21B-75) |
7 | | Sec. 21B-75. Suspension or revocation of license. |
8 | | (a) As used in this Section, "teacher" means any school |
9 | | district employee regularly required to be licensed, as |
10 | | provided in this Article, in order to teach or supervise in the |
11 | | public schools. |
12 | | (b) The State Superintendent of Education has the exclusive |
13 | | authority, in accordance with this Section and any rules |
14 | | adopted by the State Board of Education, in consultation with |
15 | | the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, to initiate |
16 | | the suspension of up to 5 calendar years or revocation of any |
17 | | license issued pursuant to this Article for abuse or neglect of |
18 | | a child, immorality, a condition of health detrimental to the |
19 | | welfare of pupils, incompetency, unprofessional conduct (which |
20 | | includes the failure to disclose on an employment application |
21 | | any previous conviction for a sex offense, as defined in |
22 | | Section 21B-80 of this Code, or any other offense committed in |
23 | | any other state or against the laws of the United States that, |
24 | | if committed in this State, would be punishable as a sex |
25 | | offense, as defined in Section 21B-80 of this Code), the |
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1 | | neglect of any professional duty, willful failure to report an |
2 | | instance of suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the |
3 | | Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, failure to establish |
4 | | satisfactory repayment on an educational loan guaranteed by the |
5 | | Illinois Student Assistance Commission, or other just cause. |
6 | | Unprofessional conduct shall include the refusal to attend or |
7 | | participate in institutes, teachers' meetings, or professional |
8 | | readings or to meet other reasonable requirements of the |
9 | | regional superintendent of schools or State Superintendent of |
10 | | Education. Unprofessional conduct also includes conduct that |
11 | | violates the standards, ethics, or rules applicable to the |
12 | | security, administration, monitoring, or scoring of or the |
13 | | reporting of scores from any assessment test or examination |
14 | | administered under Section 2-3.64a-5 of this Code or that is |
15 | | known or intended to produce or report manipulated or |
16 | | artificial, rather than actual, assessment or achievement |
17 | | results or gains from the administration of those tests or |
18 | | examinations. Unprofessional conduct shall also include |
19 | | neglect or unnecessary delay in the making of statistical and |
20 | | other reports required by school officers. Incompetency shall |
21 | | include, without limitation, 2 or more school terms of service |
22 | | for which the license holder has received an unsatisfactory |
23 | | rating on a performance evaluation conducted pursuant to |
24 | | Article 24A of this Code within a period of 7 school terms of |
25 | | service. In determining whether to initiate action against one |
26 | | or more licenses based on incompetency and the recommended |
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1 | | sanction for such action, the State Superintendent shall |
2 | | consider factors that include without limitation all of the |
3 | | following: |
4 | | (1) Whether the unsatisfactory evaluation ratings |
5 | | occurred prior to June 13, 2011 (the effective date of |
6 | | Public Act 97-8). |
7 | | (2) Whether the unsatisfactory evaluation ratings |
8 | | occurred prior to or after the implementation date, as |
9 | | defined in Section 24A-2.5 of this Code, of an evaluation |
10 | | system for teachers in a school district. |
11 | | (3) Whether the evaluator or evaluators who performed |
12 | | an unsatisfactory evaluation met the pre-licensure and |
13 | | training requirements set forth in Section 24A-3 of this |
14 | | Code. |
15 | | (4) The time between the unsatisfactory evaluation |
16 | | ratings. |
17 | | (5) The quality of the remediation plans associated |
18 | | with the unsatisfactory evaluation ratings and whether the |
19 | | license holder successfully completed the remediation |
20 | | plans. |
21 | | (6) Whether the unsatisfactory evaluation ratings were |
22 | | related to the same or different assignments performed by |
23 | | the license holder. |
24 | | (7) Whether one or more of the unsatisfactory |
25 | | evaluation ratings occurred in the first year of a teaching |
26 | | or administrative assignment. |
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1 | | When initiating an action against one or more licenses, the |
2 | | State Superintendent may seek required professional |
3 | | development as a sanction in lieu of or in addition to |
4 | | suspension or revocation. Any such required professional |
5 | | development must be at the expense of the license holder, who |
6 | | may use, if available and applicable to the requirements |
7 | | established by administrative or court order, training, |
8 | | coursework, or other professional development funds in |
9 | | accordance with the terms of an applicable collective |
10 | | bargaining agreement entered into after June 13, 2011 (the |
11 | | effective date of Public Act 97-8), unless that agreement |
12 | | specifically precludes use of funds for such purpose. |
13 | | (c) The State Superintendent of Education shall, upon |
14 | | receipt of evidence of abuse or neglect of a child, immorality, |
15 | | a condition of health detrimental to the welfare of pupils, |
16 | | incompetency (subject to subsection (b) of this Section), |
17 | | unprofessional conduct, the neglect of any professional duty, |
18 | | or other just cause, further investigate and, if and as |
19 | | appropriate, serve written notice to the individual and afford |
20 | | the individual opportunity for a hearing prior to suspension, |
21 | | revocation, or other sanction; provided that the State |
22 | | Superintendent is under no obligation to initiate such an |
23 | | investigation if the Department of Children and Family Services |
24 | | is investigating the same or substantially similar allegations |
25 | | and its child protective service unit has not made its |
26 | | determination, as required under Section 7.12 of the Abused and |
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1 | | Neglected Child Reporting Act. If the State Superintendent of |
2 | | Education does not receive from an individual a request for a |
3 | | hearing within 10 days after the individual receives notice, |
4 | | the suspension, revocation, or other sanction shall |
5 | | immediately take effect in accordance with the notice. If a |
6 | | hearing is requested within 10 days after notice of an |
7 | | opportunity for hearing, it shall act as a stay of proceedings |
8 | | until the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board issues |
9 | | a decision. Any hearing shall take place in the educational |
10 | | service region where the educator is or was last employed and |
11 | | in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of |
12 | | Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation |
13 | | and Licensure Board, and such rules shall include without |
14 | | limitation provisions for discovery and the sharing of |
15 | | information between parties prior to the hearing. The standard |
16 | | of proof for any administrative hearing held pursuant to this |
17 | | Section shall be by the preponderance of the evidence. The |
18 | | decision of the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board |
19 | | is a final administrative decision and is subject to judicial |
20 | | review by appeal of either party. |
21 | | The State Board of Education may refuse to issue or may |
22 | | suspend the license of any person who fails to file a return or |
23 | | to pay the tax, penalty, or interest shown in a filed return or |
24 | | to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest, as |
25 | | required by any tax Act administered by the Department of |
26 | | Revenue, until such time as the requirements of any such tax |
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1 | | Act are satisfied. |
2 | | The exclusive authority of the State Superintendent of |
3 | | Education to initiate suspension or revocation of a license |
4 | | pursuant to this Section does not preclude a regional |
5 | | superintendent of schools from cooperating with the State |
6 | | Superintendent or a State's Attorney with respect to an |
7 | | investigation of alleged misconduct. |
8 | | (d) The State Superintendent of Education or his or her |
9 | | designee may initiate and conduct such investigations as may be |
10 | | reasonably necessary to establish the existence of any alleged |
11 | | misconduct. At any stage of the investigation, the State |
12 | | Superintendent may issue a subpoena requiring the attendance |
13 | | and testimony of a witness, including the license holder, and |
14 | | the production of any evidence, including files, records, |
15 | | correspondence, or documents, relating to any matter in |
16 | | question in the investigation. The subpoena shall require a |
17 | | witness to appear at the State Board of Education at a |
18 | | specified date and time and shall specify any evidence to be |
19 | | produced. The license holder is not entitled to be present, but |
20 | | the State Superintendent shall provide the license holder with |
21 | | a copy of any recorded testimony prior to a hearing under this |
22 | | Section. Such recorded testimony must not be used as evidence |
23 | | at a hearing, unless the license holder has adequate notice of |
24 | | the testimony and the opportunity to cross-examine the witness. |
25 | | Failure of a license holder to comply with a duly issued, |
26 | | investigatory subpoena may be grounds for revocation, |
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1 | | suspension, or denial of a license. |
2 | | (d-5) If a credible allegation of sexual assault or sexual |
3 | | abuse is made against a license holder, the State Educator |
4 | | Preparation and Licensure Board must issue a decision within 12 |
5 | | months after receipt of notice of the alleged misconduct. |
6 | | If investigation by the State Superintendent of Education |
7 | | or his or her designee of the alleged misconduct includes an |
8 | | interview of an alleged victim, the interview must be conducted |
9 | | under the same conditions as provided in subsection (b) of |
10 | | Section 10-30. If the alleged victim was previously interviewed |
11 | | by an attorney retained by the school district, then the State |
12 | | Superintendent of Education or his or her designee must |
13 | | maintain a record, which shall be part of the legal record of |
14 | | the investigation, to show why the new interview took place. |
15 | | The alleged victim, alleged victim's legal representative, or |
16 | | alleged victim's family shall have continuous access to the |
17 | | record. |
18 | | If a school district reports an allegation of sexual |
19 | | assault or sexual abuse against a license holder, the State |
20 | | Superintendent of Education must publicly report the outcome of |
21 | | the resulting hearing and investigation, including cases in |
22 | | which the license holder was exonerated. In addition, the State |
23 | | Superintendent of Education must make a partial disclosure when |
24 | | a license holder has been reassigned to non-classroom duty. The |
25 | | partial disclosure is not required to include the exact |
26 | | allegations, but must name the educator to verify his or her |
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1 | | reassignment to non-classroom duty. |
2 | | The State Board of Education must collect and list |
3 | | internally data reported to it from school districts regarding |
4 | | allegations of sexual assault or sexual abuse. The State Board |
5 | | of Education must make its list of reported cases and pending |
6 | | cases regarding allegations of sexual assault or sexual abuse |
7 | | available to the education agencies of other states that keep |
8 | | similar lists. In addition, the State Board of Education may, |
9 | | by interstate agreement or interstate compact, develop a |
10 | | formalized reciprocal database of educator professionals. |
11 | | (e) All correspondence, documentation, and other |
12 | | information so received by the regional superintendent of |
13 | | schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board |
14 | | of Education, or the State Educator Preparation and Licensure |
15 | | Board under this Section is confidential and must not be |
16 | | disclosed to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the |
17 | | State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to |
18 | | investigate and prosecute pursuant to this Article, (ii) |
19 | | pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the license |
20 | | holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as otherwise |
21 | | required in this Article and provided that any such information |
22 | | admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from this |
23 | | confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement. |
24 | | (f) The State Superintendent of Education or a person |
25 | | designated by him or her shall have the power to administer |
26 | | oaths to witnesses at any hearing conducted before the State |
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1 | | Educator Preparation and Licensure Board pursuant to this |
2 | | Section. The State Superintendent of Education or a person |
3 | | designated by him or her is authorized to subpoena and bring |
4 | | before the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board any |
5 | | person in this State and to take testimony either orally or by |
6 | | deposition or by exhibit, with the same fees and mileage and in |
7 | | the same manner as prescribed by law in judicial proceedings in |
8 | | civil cases in circuit courts of this State. |
9 | | (g) Any circuit court, upon the application of the State |
10 | | Superintendent of Education or the license holder, may, by |
11 | | order duly entered, require the attendance of witnesses and the |
12 | | production of relevant books and papers as part of any |
13 | | investigation or at any hearing the State Educator Preparation |
14 | | and Licensure Board is authorized to conduct pursuant to this |
15 | | Section, and the court may compel obedience to its orders by |
16 | | proceedings for contempt. |
17 | | (h) The State Board of Education shall receive an annual |
18 | | line item appropriation to cover fees associated with the |
19 | | investigation and prosecution of alleged educator misconduct |
20 | | and hearings related thereto.
|
21 | | (Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11; incorporates 97-8, eff. |
22 | | 6-13-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-972, eff. 8-15-14.) |
23 | | (105 ILCS 5/21B-80) |
24 | | Sec. 21B-80. Conviction of certain offenses as grounds for |
25 | | disqualification for licensure or suspension or revocation of a |
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1 | | license. |
2 | | (a) As used in this Section: |
3 | | "Drug offense" means any one or more of the following |
4 | | offenses: |
5 | | (1) Any offense defined in the Cannabis Control Act, |
6 | | except those defined in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) of |
7 | | Section 4 and subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 5 of the |
8 | | Cannabis Control Act and any offense for which the holder |
9 | | of a license is placed on probation under the provisions of |
10 | | Section 10 of the Cannabis Control Act, provided that if |
11 | | the terms and conditions of probation required by the court |
12 | | are not fulfilled, the offense is not eligible for this |
13 | | exception. |
14 | | (2) Any offense defined in the Illinois Controlled |
15 | | Substances Act, except any offense for which the holder of |
16 | | a license is placed on probation under the provisions of |
17 | | Section 410 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, |
18 | | provided that if the terms and conditions of probation |
19 | | required by the court are not fulfilled, the offense is not |
20 | | eligible for this exception. |
21 | | (3) Any offense defined in the Methamphetamine Control |
22 | | and Community Protection Act, except any offense for which |
23 | | the holder of a license is placed on probation under the |
24 | | provision of Section 70 of that Act, provided that if the |
25 | | terms and conditions of probation required by the court are |
26 | | not fulfilled, the offense is not eligible for this |
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1 | | exception. |
2 | | (4) Any attempt to commit any of the offenses listed in |
3 | | items (1) through (3) of this definition. |
4 | | (5) Any offense committed or attempted in any other |
5 | | state or against the laws of the United States that, if |
6 | | committed or attempted in this State, would have been |
7 | | punishable as one or more of the offenses listed in items |
8 | | (1) through (4) of this definition. |
9 | | The changes made by Public Act 96-431 to this definition are |
10 | | declaratory of existing law. |
11 | | "Sentence" includes any period of supervision or probation |
12 | | that was imposed either alone or in combination with a period |
13 | | of incarceration. |
14 | | "Sex offense" means any one or more of the following |
15 | | offenses: |
16 | | (A) Any offense defined in Sections 11-6, 11-9 through |
17 | | 11-9.5, inclusive, and 11-30 (if punished as a Class 4 |
18 | | felony) of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code |
19 | | of 2012; Sections 11-14.1 through 11-21, inclusive, of the |
20 | | Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; |
21 | | Sections 11-23 (if punished as a Class 3 felony), 11-24, |
22 | | 11-25, and 11-26 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the |
23 | | Criminal Code of 2012; and Sections 11-1.20, 11-1.30, |
24 | | 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 11-9.6, 12-4.9, 12-13, 12-14, |
25 | | 12-14.1, 12-15, 12-16, 12-32, 12-33, 12C-45, and 26-4 (if |
26 | | punished pursuant to subdivision (4) or (5) of subsection |
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1 | | (d) of Section 26-4) of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the |
2 | | Criminal Code of 2012. |
3 | | (B) Any attempt to commit any of the offenses listed in |
4 | | item (A) of this definition. |
5 | | (C) Any offense committed or attempted in any other |
6 | | state that, if committed or attempted in this State, would |
7 | | have been punishable as one or more of the offenses listed |
8 | | in items (A) and (B) of this definition. |
9 | | (b) Whenever the holder of any license issued pursuant to |
10 | | this Article or applicant for a license to be issued pursuant |
11 | | to this Article has been convicted of any drug offense, other |
12 | | than as provided in subsection (c) of this Section, the State |
13 | | Superintendent of Education shall forthwith suspend the |
14 | | license or deny the application, whichever is applicable, until |
15 | | 7 years following the end of the sentence for the criminal |
16 | | offense. If the conviction is reversed and the holder is |
17 | | acquitted of the offense in a new trial or the charges against |
18 | | him or her are dismissed, the State Superintendent of Education |
19 | | shall forthwith terminate the suspension of the license. |
20 | | (c) Whenever the holder of a license issued pursuant to |
21 | | this Article or applicant for a license to be issued pursuant |
22 | | to this Article has been convicted of attempting to commit, |
23 | | conspiring to commit, soliciting, or committing any sex |
24 | | offense, first degree murder, or a Class X felony or any |
25 | | offense committed or attempted in any other state or against |
26 | | the laws of the United States that, if committed or attempted |
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1 | | in this State, would have been punishable as one or more of the |
2 | | foregoing offenses, the State Superintendent of Education |
3 | | shall forthwith suspend the license or deny the application, |
4 | | whichever is applicable. If the conviction is reversed and the |
5 | | holder is acquitted of that offense in a new trial or the |
6 | | charges that he or she committed that offense are dismissed, |
7 | | the State Superintendent of Education shall forthwith |
8 | | terminate the suspension of the license. When the conviction |
9 | | becomes final, the State Superintendent of Education shall |
10 | | forthwith revoke the license.
|
11 | | (Source: P.A. 99-58, eff. 7-16-15; 99-667, eff. 7-29-16.) |
12 | | (105 ILCS 5/34-18.5) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5) |
13 | | Sec. 34-18.5. Criminal history records checks and checks of |
14 | | the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and |
15 | | Violent Offender Against Youth Database. |
16 | | (a) Certified and noncertified applicants for
employment |
17 | | with the school district are required as a condition of
|
18 | | employment to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history |
19 | | records check to determine if such applicants
have been |
20 | | convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug offenses in
|
21 | | subsection (c) of this Section or have been
convicted, within 7 |
22 | | years of the application for employment with the
school |
23 | | district, of any other felony under the laws of this State or |
24 | | of any
offense committed or attempted in any other state or |
25 | | against the laws of
the United States that, if committed or |
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1 | | attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as a felony |
2 | | under the laws of this State. Authorization
for
the
check shall
|
3 | | be furnished by the applicant to the school district, except |
4 | | that if the
applicant is a substitute teacher seeking |
5 | | employment in more than one
school district, or a teacher |
6 | | seeking concurrent part-time employment
positions with more |
7 | | than one school district (as a reading specialist,
special |
8 | | education teacher or otherwise), or an educational support
|
9 | | personnel employee seeking employment positions with more than |
10 | | one
district, any such district may require the applicant to |
11 | | furnish
authorization for
the check to the regional |
12 | | superintendent of the
educational service region in which are |
13 | | located the school districts in
which the applicant is seeking |
14 | | employment as a substitute or concurrent
part-time teacher or |
15 | | concurrent educational support personnel employee.
Upon |
16 | | receipt of this authorization, the school district or the |
17 | | appropriate
regional superintendent, as the case may be, shall |
18 | | submit the applicant's
name, sex, race, date of birth, social |
19 | | security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as |
20 | | prescribed by the Department
of State Police, to the |
21 | | Department. The regional
superintendent submitting the |
22 | | requisite information to the Department of
State Police shall |
23 | | promptly notify the school districts in which the
applicant is |
24 | | seeking employment as a substitute or concurrent part-time
|
25 | | teacher or concurrent educational support personnel employee |
26 | | that
the
check of the applicant has been requested. The |
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| | SB3620 | - 29 - | LRB100 22394 AXK 41280 b |
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1 | | Department of State
Police and the Federal Bureau of |
2 | | Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based |
3 | | criminal history records check, records of convictions, |
4 | | forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the president of |
5 | | the school board for the school district that requested the |
6 | | check, or to the regional superintendent who requested the |
7 | | check. The
Department shall charge
the school district
or the |
8 | | appropriate regional superintendent a fee for
conducting
such |
9 | | check, which fee shall be deposited in the State
Police |
10 | | Services Fund and shall not exceed the cost of the inquiry; and |
11 | | the
applicant shall not be charged a fee for
such check by the |
12 | | school
district or by the regional superintendent. Subject to |
13 | | appropriations for these purposes, the State Superintendent of |
14 | | Education shall reimburse the school district and regional |
15 | | superintendent for fees paid to obtain criminal history records |
16 | | checks under this Section. |
17 | | (a-5) The school district or regional superintendent shall |
18 | | further perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, |
19 | | as authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, |
20 | | for each applicant. |
21 | | (a-6) The school district or regional superintendent shall |
22 | | further perform a check of the Statewide Murderer and Violent |
23 | | Offender Against Youth Database, as authorized by the Murderer |
24 | | and Violent Offender Against Youth Community Notification Law, |
25 | | for each applicant. |
26 | | (b) Any
information concerning the record of convictions |
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1 | | obtained by the president
of the board of education or the |
2 | | regional superintendent shall be
confidential and may only be |
3 | | transmitted to the general superintendent of
the school |
4 | | district or his designee, the appropriate regional
|
5 | | superintendent if
the check was requested by the board of |
6 | | education
for the school district, the presidents of the |
7 | | appropriate board of
education or school boards if
the check |
8 | | was requested from the
Department of State Police by the |
9 | | regional superintendent, the State
Superintendent of |
10 | | Education, the State Teacher Certification Board or any
other |
11 | | person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for
|
12 | | employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from |
13 | | the
Department of State Police shall be provided to the |
14 | | applicant for
employment. Upon the check of the Statewide Sex |
15 | | Offender Database, the school district or regional |
16 | | superintendent shall notify an applicant as to whether or not |
17 | | the applicant has been identified in the Database as a sex |
18 | | offender. If a check of an applicant for employment as a
|
19 | | substitute or concurrent part-time teacher or concurrent |
20 | | educational
support personnel employee in more than one school |
21 | | district was requested
by the regional superintendent, and the |
22 | | Department of State Police upon
a check ascertains that the |
23 | | applicant has not been convicted of any
of the enumerated |
24 | | criminal or drug offenses in subsection (c) of this Section
or |
25 | | has not been
convicted,
within 7 years of the application for |
26 | | employment with the
school district, of any other felony under |
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1 | | the laws of this State or of any
offense committed or attempted |
2 | | in any other state or against the laws of
the United States |
3 | | that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
4 | | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and so
|
5 | | notifies the regional superintendent and if the regional |
6 | | superintendent upon a check ascertains that the applicant has |
7 | | not been identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex |
8 | | offender, then the regional superintendent
shall issue to the |
9 | | applicant a certificate evidencing that as of the date
|
10 | | specified by the Department of State Police the applicant has |
11 | | not been
convicted of any of the enumerated criminal or drug |
12 | | offenses in subsection
(c) of this Section
or has not been
|
13 | | convicted, within 7 years of the application for employment |
14 | | with the
school district, of any other felony under the laws of |
15 | | this State or of any
offense committed or attempted in any |
16 | | other state or against the laws of
the United States that, if |
17 | | committed or attempted in this State, would
have been |
18 | | punishable as a felony under the laws of this State and |
19 | | evidencing that as of the date that the regional superintendent |
20 | | conducted a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, the |
21 | | applicant has not been identified in the Database as a sex |
22 | | offender. The school
board of any school district may rely on |
23 | | the certificate issued by any regional
superintendent to that |
24 | | substitute teacher, concurrent part-time teacher, or |
25 | | concurrent educational support personnel employee
or may |
26 | | initiate its own criminal history records check of
the |
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1 | | applicant through the Department of State Police and its own |
2 | | check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database as provided in
|
3 | | subsection (a). Any unauthorized release of confidential |
4 | | information may be a violation of Section 7 of the Criminal |
5 | | Identification Act. |
6 | | (c) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a |
7 | | person who has
been convicted of any offense that would subject |
8 | | him or her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to |
9 | | Section 21B-80 of this Code.
Further, the board of education |
10 | | shall not knowingly employ a person who has
been found to be |
11 | | the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of any minor under
|
12 | | 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the |
13 | | Juvenile Court
Act of 1987. |
14 | | (d) The board of education shall not knowingly employ a |
15 | | person for whom
a criminal history records check and a |
16 | | Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been initiated. |
17 | | (e) Upon receipt of the record of a conviction of or a |
18 | | finding of child
abuse by a holder of any
certificate issued |
19 | | pursuant to Article 21 or Section 34-8.1 or 34-83 of the
School |
20 | | Code, the State Superintendent of
Education may initiate |
21 | | certificate suspension and revocation
proceedings as |
22 | | authorized by law. |
23 | | (e-5) The general superintendent of schools shall, in |
24 | | writing, notify the State Superintendent of Education of any |
25 | | certificate holder whom he or she has reasonable cause to |
26 | | believe has committed an intentional act of abuse or neglect |
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1 | | with the result of making a child an abused child or a |
2 | | neglected child, as defined in Section 3 of the Abused and |
3 | | Neglected Child Reporting Act, and that act resulted in the |
4 | | certificate holder's dismissal or resignation from the school |
5 | | district. This notification must be submitted within 30 days |
6 | | after the dismissal or resignation. The certificate holder must |
7 | | also be contemporaneously sent a copy of the notice by the |
8 | | superintendent. All correspondence, documentation, and other |
9 | | information so received by the State Superintendent of |
10 | | Education, the State Board of Education, or the State Teacher |
11 | | Certification Board under this subsection (e-5) is |
12 | | confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties, except |
13 | | (i) as necessary for the State Superintendent of Education or |
14 | | his or her designee to investigate and prosecute pursuant to |
15 | | Article 21 of this Code, (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) |
16 | | for disclosure to the certificate holder or his or her |
17 | | representative, or (iv) as otherwise provided in this Article |
18 | | and provided that any such information admitted into evidence |
19 | | in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality and |
20 | | non-disclosure requirement. Except for an act of willful or |
21 | | wanton misconduct, any superintendent who provides |
22 | | notification as required in this subsection (e-5) shall have |
23 | | immunity from any liability, whether civil or criminal or that |
24 | | otherwise might result by reason of such action. |
25 | | (f) After March 19, 1990, the provisions of this Section |
26 | | shall apply to
all employees of persons or firms holding |
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| | SB3620 | - 34 - | LRB100 22394 AXK 41280 b |
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1 | | contracts with any school district
including, but not limited |
2 | | to, food service workers, school bus drivers and
other |
3 | | transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with |
4 | | the
pupils of any school in such district. For purposes of |
5 | | criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide Sex |
6 | | Offender Database on employees of persons or firms holding |
7 | | contracts with more
than one school district and assigned to |
8 | | more than one school district, the
regional superintendent of |
9 | | the educational service region in which the
contracting school |
10 | | districts are located may, at the request of any such
school |
11 | | district, be responsible for receiving the authorization for
a |
12 | | criminal history records check prepared by each such employee |
13 | | and submitting the same to the
Department of State Police and |
14 | | for conducting a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database |
15 | | for each employee. Any information concerning the record of
|
16 | | conviction and identification as a sex offender of any such |
17 | | employee obtained by the regional superintendent
shall be |
18 | | promptly reported to the president of the appropriate school |
19 | | board
or school boards. |
20 | | (f-5) Upon request of a school or school district, any |
21 | | information obtained by the school district pursuant to |
22 | | subsection (f) of this Section within the last year must be |
23 | | made available to the requesting school or school district. |
24 | | (g) Prior to the commencement of any student teaching |
25 | | experience or required internship (which is referred to as |
26 | | student teaching in this Section) in the public schools, a |
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1 | | student teacher is required to authorize a fingerprint-based |
2 | | criminal history records check. Authorization for and payment |
3 | | of the costs of the check must be furnished by the student |
4 | | teacher to the school district. Upon receipt of this |
5 | | authorization and payment, the school district shall submit the |
6 | | student teacher's name, sex, race, date of birth, social |
7 | | security number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as |
8 | | prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the Department |
9 | | of State Police. The Department of State Police and the Federal |
10 | | Bureau of Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a |
11 | | fingerprint-based criminal history records check, records of |
12 | | convictions, forever and hereinafter, until expunged, to the |
13 | | president of the board. The Department shall charge the school |
14 | | district a fee for conducting the check, which fee must not |
15 | | exceed the cost of the inquiry and must be deposited into the |
16 | | State Police Services Fund. The school district shall further |
17 | | perform a check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as |
18 | | authorized by the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and |
19 | | of the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth |
20 | | Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender |
21 | | Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. The |
22 | | board may not knowingly allow a person to student teach for |
23 | | whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide Sex Offender |
24 | | Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender |
25 | | Against Youth Database check have not been completed and |
26 | | reviewed by the district. |
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1 | | A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the |
2 | | Department of State Police must be provided to the student |
3 | | teacher. Any information concerning the record of convictions |
4 | | obtained by the president of the board is confidential and may |
5 | | only be transmitted to the general superintendent of schools or |
6 | | his or her designee, the State Superintendent of Education, the |
7 | | State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, or, for |
8 | | clarification purposes, the Department of State Police or the |
9 | | Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and |
10 | | Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized |
11 | | release of confidential information may be a violation of |
12 | | Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act. |
13 | | The board may not knowingly allow a person to student teach |
14 | | who has been convicted of any offense that would subject him or |
15 | | her to license suspension or revocation pursuant to Section |
16 | | 21B-80 of this Code or who has been found to be the perpetrator |
17 | | of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under 18 years of age |
18 | | pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the Juvenile Court |
19 | | Act of 1987. |
20 | | (h) (Blank). |
21 | | (i) Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, the State |
22 | | Board of Education must monitor all fingerprint-based criminal |
23 | | history records checks and any other database checks conducted |
24 | | under this Section. |
25 | | (Source: P.A. 99-21, eff. 1-1-16; 99-667, eff. 7-29-16.) |
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1 | | (105 ILCS 5/34-18.60 new) |
2 | | Sec. 34-18.60. Sexual assault or sexual abuse by a licensed |
3 | | educator. |
4 | | (a) The board must report all credible cases of sexual |
5 | | assault or sexual abuse by a licensed educator to the State |
6 | | Board of Education. |
7 | | (b) The board must establish a hearing procedure for |
8 | | student victims of alleged sexual assault or sexual abuse by a |
9 | | licensed educator that allows a student victim to testify. In |
10 | | such cases, an attorney retained by the school district may not |
11 | | interview the student without: |
12 | | (1) the consent of the student or the student's parent |
13 | | or legal guardian if the student is a minor; and |
14 | | (2) the student's parent or legal guardian, the |
15 | | student's legal representative, or both in the room. |
16 | | As part of the hearing procedure, an attorney retained by |
17 | | the school district may not interview the student 2 or more |
18 | | times without good cause being shown and recorded. If 2 or more |
19 | | interviews take place, the attorney retained by the school |
20 | | district who has control over the investigation must maintain a |
21 | | record, which shall be part of the legal record of the |
22 | | investigation, to show why 2 or more interviews took place. The |
23 | | student, student's legal representative, or student's family |
24 | | shall have continuous access to the record. |
25 | | (c) The board shall ensure that a licensed educator under |
26 | | investigation by the State Superintendent of Education or his |
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1 | | or her designee for alleged sexual assault or sexual abuse is |
2 | | reassigned to non-classroom duty.
|
3 | | (105 ILCS 5/34-84b) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-84b)
|
4 | | Sec. 34-84b. Conviction of sex or narcotics offense, first |
5 | | degree murder,
attempted first degree murder, or Class X felony |
6 | | as grounds for
revocation
of certificate. |
7 | | (a) Whenever the holder of any certificate issued by the |
8 | | board
of education has been convicted of any sex offense or |
9 | | narcotics offense
as defined in this Section, the board of |
10 | | education shall forthwith suspend
the certificate. If the |
11 | | conviction is reversed and the holder is acquitted
of the |
12 | | offense in a new trial or the charges against him are |
13 | | dismissed,
the board shall forthwith terminate the suspension |
14 | | of the certificate.
When the conviction becomes final, the |
15 | | board shall forthwith revoke the
certificate. "Sex offense" as |
16 | | used in this Section means any one or more
of the following |
17 | | offenses: (1) any offense defined in Sections 11-6,
11-9, |
18 | | 11-9.6, and 11-30, Sections
11-14 through 11-21, inclusive, and |
19 | | Sections 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, 12-13, |
20 | | 12-14,
12-14.1,
12-15 and 12-16 of the
Criminal Code of 1961 or |
21 | | the Criminal Code of 2012; (2) any attempt to commit any of the |
22 | | foregoing
offenses, and (3) any offense committed or attempted |
23 | | in any other state
which, if committed or attempted in this |
24 | | State, would have been punishable
as one or more of the |
25 | | foregoing offenses. "Narcotics offense" as used in
this Section |
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1 | | means any one or more of the following offenses: (1) any |
2 | | offense
defined in the Cannabis Control Act except those |
3 | | defined in Sections 4(a),
4(b) and 5(a) of that Act and any |
4 | | offense for which the holder of any
certificate
is placed on |
5 | | probation under the provisions of Section 10 of that Act and
|
6 | | fulfills the terms and conditions of probation as may be |
7 | | required by the
court; (2) any offense defined in the Illinois
|
8 | | Controlled Substances Act except any offense for which the |
9 | | holder of any
certificate is placed on probation under the |
10 | | provisions of Section 410 of
that Act and fulfills the terms |
11 | | and conditions of probation as may be required
by the court; |
12 | | (3) any offense defined in the Methamphetamine Control and |
13 | | Community Protection Act except any offense for which the |
14 | | holder of any certificate is placed on probation under the |
15 | | provision of Section 70 of that Act and fulfills the terms and |
16 | | conditions of probation as may be required by the court; (4) |
17 | | any attempt to commit any of the foregoing
offenses; and (5) |
18 | | any offense committed or attempted in any other state
or |
19 | | against the laws of the United States which, if committed or |
20 | | attempted
in this State, would have been punishable as one or |
21 | | more of the foregoing
offenses.
|
22 | | (b) Whenever the holder of any certificate issued by the |
23 | | board of
education or pursuant to Article 21 or any other |
24 | | provisions of the School Code
has been convicted of first |
25 | | degree
murder, attempted first degree murder, or a
Class X |
26 | | felony, the board of education or the State Superintendent of
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1 | | Education shall forthwith suspend the certificate. If the |
2 | | conviction is
reversed and the holder is acquitted of that |
3 | | offense in a new trial or the
charges that he or she committed |
4 | | that offense are dismissed, the suspending
authority shall |
5 | | forthwith terminate the suspension of the certificate. When
the |
6 | | conviction becomes final, the State Superintendent of |
7 | | Education shall
forthwith revoke the certificate. The stated |
8 | | offenses of "first degree
murder", "attempted first degree |
9 | | murder", and "Class X felony" referred to in
this Section |
10 | | include any offense committed in another state that, if |
11 | | committed
in this State, would have been punishable as any one |
12 | | of the stated offenses.
|
13 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1551, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)
|
14 | | Section 15. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by adding |
15 | | Section 11-9.6 as follows: |
16 | | (720 ILCS 5/11-9.6 new) |
17 | | Sec. 11-9.6. Sexual conduct or sexual relations with a |
18 | | student by an authority figure. |
19 | | (a) In this Section: |
20 | | "Authority figure" means a person 18 years of age or older |
21 | | who is employed by, volunteering at, or under contract with a |
22 | | school, including, but not limited to, a school resource |
23 | | officer. |
24 | | "School" has the meaning given to that term in Section |
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1 | | 11-9.3 of this Code. "School" does not include a facility |
2 | | dedicated exclusively to the education of adults. |
3 | | "Student" means a person who is enrolled at a school. |
4 | | (b) A person commits sexual conduct or sexual relations |
5 | | with a student by an authority figure when he or she is an |
6 | | authority figure and solicits or engages in any of the |
7 | | following acts with a student: |
8 | | (1) an act of sexual penetration or sexual conduct; |
9 | | (2) a romantic relationship; or |
10 | | (3) lewd conduct. |
11 | | (c) Sentence. Sexual conduct or sexual relations with a |
12 | | student by an authority figure is a Class 1 felony. |
13 | | Section 20. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is |
14 | | amended by adding Section 107-17 as follows: |
15 | | (725 ILCS 5/107-17 new) |
16 | | Sec. 107-17. Educator; report. After the arrest or |
17 | | arraignment of an educator (other than a superintendent of a |
18 | | school district) who is licensed under Article 21B of the |
19 | | School Code, the arresting enforcement agency shall share its |
20 | | reports pertaining to the arrest with the superintendent of any |
21 | | school district that employs the educator. After the arrest or |
22 | | arraignment of a superintendent of a school district, the |
23 | | arresting enforcement agency shall share its reports |
24 | | pertaining to the arrest with the school board of any school |
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1 | | district that employs the superintendent. |
2 | | Section 25. The Personnel Record Review Act is amended by |
3 | | changing Section 7 as follows:
|
4 | | (820 ILCS 40/7) (from Ch. 48, par. 2007)
|
5 | | Sec. 7.
(1) An employer or former employer shall not |
6 | | divulge a disciplinary
report, letter of reprimand, or other |
7 | | disciplinary action to a third party,
to a party who is not a |
8 | | part of the employer's organization, or to a party
who is not a |
9 | | part of a labor organization representing the employee, without
|
10 | | written notice as provided in this Section.
|
11 | | (2) The written notice to the employee shall be by |
12 | | first-class mail to
the employee's last known address and shall |
13 | | be mailed on or before the
day the information is divulged.
|
14 | | (3) This Section shall not apply if:
|
15 | | (a) the employee has specifically waived written |
16 | | notice as part of a written,
signed employment application |
17 | | with another employer;
|
18 | | (b) the disclosure is ordered to a party in a legal |
19 | | action or arbitration; or
|
20 | | (c) information is requested by a government agency as |
21 | | a result of a claim
or complaint by an employee, or as a |
22 | | result of a criminal investigation by such agency.
|
23 | | (3.5) This Section does not prohibit a school district from |
24 | | divulging internal investigative findings and discipline to |
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1 | | another school district. |
2 | | (4) An employer who receives a request for records of a |
3 | | disciplinary
report, letter of reprimand, or other |
4 | | disciplinary action in relation to an employee under the |
5 | | Freedom of Information Act may provide notification to the |
6 | | employee in written form as described in subsection (2) or |
7 | | through electronic mail, if available. |
8 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1212, eff. 7-22-10.)
|
9 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
10 | | becoming law.
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| 1 | |
INDEX
| 2 | |
Statutes amended in order of appearance
| | 3 | | 5 ILCS 140/7.7 new | | | 4 | | 105 ILCS 5/10-21.9 | from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.9 | | 5 | | 105 ILCS 5/10-30 new | | | 6 | | 105 ILCS 5/21B-15 | | | 7 | | 105 ILCS 5/21B-75 | | | 8 | | 105 ILCS 5/21B-80 | | | 9 | | 105 ILCS 5/34-18.5 | from Ch. 122, par. 34-18.5 | | 10 | | 105 ILCS 5/34-18.60 new | | | 11 | | 105 ILCS 5/34-84b | from Ch. 122, par. 34-84b | | 12 | | 720 ILCS 5/11-9.6 new | | | 13 | | 725 ILCS 5/107-17 new | | | 14 | | 820 ILCS 40/7 | from Ch. 48, par. 2007 |
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