Public Act 099-0030
 
SB1319 EnrolledLRB099 06560 NHT 26633 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
1A-10, 1C-4, 2-3.12, 2-3.25o, 2-3.39, 2-3.62, 2-3.64a-5, 3-1,
3-2.5, 3-11, 3-15.6, 3-15.10, 3-15.17, 10-17a, 14-8.02,
14-9.01, 14C-1, 14C-2, 14C-3, 14C-5, 14C-7, 14C-9, 14C-11,
27A-5, 34-2.4, and 34-8.17 and by renumbering and changing
Section 2-3.160 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/1A-10)
    Sec. 1A-10. Divisions of Board. The State Board of
Education shall have, without limitation, the following ,
before April 1, 2005, create divisions within the Board,
including without limitation the following:
        (1) Educator Effectiveness Teaching and Learning
    Services for All Children.
        (2) Improvement and Innovation School Support Services
    for All Schools.
        (3) Fiscal Support Services.
        (4) (Blank).
        (5) Internal Auditor.
        (6) Human Resources.
        (7) Legal.
        (8) Specialized Instruction, Nutrition, and Wellness.
        (9) Language and Early Childhood Development.
The State Board of Education may, after consultation with the
General Assembly, add any divisions or functions to the Board
that it deems appropriate and consistent with Illinois law.
(Source: P.A. 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/1C-4)
    Sec. 1C-4. Reports. The State Superintendent of Education,
in cooperation with the school districts participating under
this Article, shall annually report to the leadership of the
General Assembly on the progress made in implementing this
Article. By February 1, 1997, the State Board of Education
shall submit to the Governor and General Assembly a
comprehensive plan for Illinois school districts, including
the school district that has been organized under Article 34
and is under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Board of
Education, to establish and implement a block grant funding
system for educational programs that are currently funded
through single-program grants. Before submitting its plan to
establish and implement a block grant funding system to the
Governor and General Assembly as required by this Section, the
State Board of Education shall give appropriate notice of and
hold statewide public hearings on the subject of funding
educational programs through block grants. The plan shall be
designed to relieve school districts of the administrative
burdens that impede efficiency and accompany single-program
funding. A school district that receives an Early Childhood
Education Block Grant shall report to the State Board of
Education on its use of the block grant in such form and detail
as the State Board of Education may specify. In addition, the
report must include the following description for the district,
which must also be reported to the General Assembly: block
grant allocation and expenditures by program; population and
service levels by program; and administrative expenditures by
program. The State Board of Education shall ensure that the
reporting requirements for a district organized under Article
34 of this Code are the same as for all other school districts
in this State.
(Source: P.A. 97-238, eff. 8-2-11.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.12)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.12)
    Sec. 2-3.12. School building code.
    (a) To prepare for school boards with the advice of the
Department of Public Health, the Capital Development Board, and
the State Fire Marshal a school building code that will
conserve the health and safety and general welfare of the
pupils and school personnel and others who use public school
facilities.
    (b) Within 2 years after September 23, 1983, and every 10
years thereafter, or at such other times as the State Board of
Education deems necessary or the regional superintendent so
orders, each school board subject to the provisions of this
Section shall again survey its school buildings and effectuate
any recommendations in accordance with the procedures set forth
herein.
        (1) An architect or engineer licensed in the State of
    Illinois is required to conduct the surveys under the
    provisions of this Section and shall make a report of the
    findings of the survey titled "safety survey report" to the
    school board.
        (2) The school board shall approve the safety survey
    report, including any recommendations to effectuate
    compliance with the code, and submit it to the Regional
    Superintendent.
        (3) The Regional Superintendent shall render a
    decision regarding approval or denial and submit the safety
    survey report to the State Superintendent of Education.
        (4) The State Superintendent of Education shall
    approve or deny the report including recommendations to
    effectuate compliance with the code and, if approved, issue
    a certificate of approval.
        (5) Upon receipt of the certificate of approval, the
    Regional Superintendent shall issue an order to effect any
    approved recommendations included in the report. The
    report shall meet all of the following requirements:
            (A) Items in the report shall be prioritized.
            (B) Urgent items shall be considered as those items
        related to life safety problems that present an
        immediate hazard to the safety of students.
            (C) Required items shall be considered as those
        items that are necessary for a safe environment but
        present less of an immediate hazard to the safety of
        students.
            (D) Urgent and required items shall reference a
        specific rule in the code authorized by this Section
        that is currently being violated or will be violated
        within the next 12 months if the violation is not
        remedied.
        (6) The school board of each district so surveyed and
    receiving a report of needed recommendations to be made to
    maintain standards of safety and health of the pupils
    enrolled shall effectuate the correction of urgent items as
    soon as achievable to ensure the safety of the students,
    but in no case more than one year after the date of the
    State Superintendent of Education's approval of the
    recommendation.
        (7) Required items shall be corrected in a timely
    manner, but in no case more than 5 years from the date of
    the State Superintendent of Education's approval of the
    recommendation.
        (8) Once each year the school board shall submit a
    report of progress on completion of any recommendations to
    effectuate compliance with the code.
    (c) As soon as practicable, but not later than 2 years
after January 1, 1993, the State Board of Education shall
combine the document known as "Efficient and Adequate Standards
for the Construction of Schools" with the document known as
"Building Specifications for Health and Safety in Public
Schools" together with any modifications or additions that may
be deemed necessary. The combined document shall be known as
the "Health/Life Safety Code for Public Schools" and shall be
the governing code for all facilities that house public school
students or are otherwise used for public school purposes,
whether such facilities are permanent or temporary and whether
they are owned, leased, rented, or otherwise used by the
district. Facilities owned by a school district but that are
not used to house public school students or are not used for
public school purposes shall be governed by separate provisions
within the code authorized by this Section.
    (d) The 10 year survey cycle specified in this Section
shall continue to apply based upon the standards contained in
the "Health/Life Safety Code for Public Schools", which shall
specify building standards for buildings that are constructed
prior to January 1, 1993 and for buildings that are constructed
after that date.
    (e) The "Health/Life Safety Code for Public Schools" shall
be the governing code for public schools; however, the
provisions of this Section shall not preclude inspection of
school premises and buildings pursuant to Section 9 of the Fire
Investigation Act, provided that the provisions of the
"Health/Life Safety Code for Public Schools", or such
predecessor document authorized by this Section as may be
applicable are used, and provided that those inspections are
coordinated with the Regional Superintendent having
jurisdiction over the public school facility.
    (e-5) After the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 98th General Assembly, all new school building construction
governed by the "Health/Life Safety Code for Public Schools"
must include in its design and construction a storm shelter
that meets the minimum requirements of the ICC/NSSA Standard
for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters (ICC-500),
published jointly by the International Code Council and the
National Storm Shelter Association. Nothing in this subsection
(e-5) precludes the design engineers, architects, or school
district from applying a higher life safety standard than the
ICC-500 for storm shelters.
    (f) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit
the State Fire Marshal or a qualified fire official to whom the
State Fire Marshal has delegated his or her authority from
conducting a fire safety check in a public school.
    (g) The Regional Superintendent shall address any
violations that are not corrected in a timely manner pursuant
to subsection (b) of Section 3-14.21 of this Code.
    (h) Any agency having jurisdiction beyond the scope of the
applicable document authorized by this Section may issue a
lawful order to a school board to effectuate recommendations,
and the school board receiving the order shall certify to the
Regional Superintendent and the State Superintendent of
Education when it has complied with the order.
    (i) The State Board of Education is authorized to adopt any
rules that are necessary relating to the administration and
enforcement of the provisions of this Section.
    (j) The code authorized by this Section shall apply only to
those school districts having a population of less than 500,000
inhabitants.
    (k) In this Section, a "qualified fire official" means an
individual that meets the requirements of rules adopted by the
State Fire Marshal in cooperation with the State Board of
Education to administer this Section. These rules shall be
based on recommendations made by the task force established
under Section 2-3.137 (now repealed) of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 98-883, eff. 1-1-15.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.25o)
    Sec. 2-3.25o. Registration and recognition of non-public
elementary and secondary schools.
    (a) Findings. The General Assembly finds and declares (i)
that the Constitution of the State of Illinois provides that a
"fundamental goal of the People of the State is the educational
development of all persons to the limits of their capacities"
and (ii) that the educational development of every school
student serves the public purposes of the State. In order to
ensure that all Illinois students and teachers have the
opportunity to enroll and work in State-approved educational
institutions and programs, the State Board of Education shall
provide for the voluntary registration and recognition of
non-public elementary and secondary schools.
    (b) Registration. All non-public elementary and secondary
schools in the State of Illinois may voluntarily register with
the State Board of Education on an annual basis. Registration
shall be completed in conformance with procedures prescribed by
the State Board of Education. Information required for
registration shall include assurances of compliance (i) with
federal and State laws regarding health examination and
immunization, attendance, length of term, and
nondiscrimination and (ii) with applicable fire and health
safety requirements.
    (c) Recognition. All non-public elementary and secondary
schools in the State of Illinois may voluntarily seek the
status of "Non-public School Recognition" from the State Board
of Education. This status may be obtained by compliance with
administrative guidelines and review procedures as prescribed
by the State Board of Education. The guidelines and procedures
must recognize that some of the aims and the financial bases of
non-public schools are different from public schools and will
not be identical to those for public schools, nor will they be
more burdensome. The guidelines and procedures must also
recognize the diversity of non-public schools and shall not
impinge upon the noneducational relationships between those
schools and their clientele.
    (c-5) Prohibition against recognition. A non-public
elementary or secondary school may not obtain "Non-public
School Recognition" status unless the school requires all
certified and non-certified applicants for employment with the
school, after July 1, 2007, to authorize a fingerprint-based
criminal history records check as a condition of employment to
determine if such applicants have been convicted of any of the
enumerated criminal or drug offenses set forth in Section
21B-80 21-23a of this Code or have been convicted, within 7
years of the application for employment, of any other felony
under the laws of this State or of any offense committed or
attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United
States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
    Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the
applicant to the school, except that if the applicant is a
substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one
non-public school, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time
employment positions with more than one non-public school (as a
reading specialist, special education teacher, or otherwise),
or an educational support personnel employee seeking
employment positions with more than one non-public school, then
only one of the non-public schools employing the individual
shall request the authorization. Upon receipt of this
authorization, the non-public school shall submit the
applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security
number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
prescribed by the Department of State Police, to the Department
of State Police.
    The Department of State Police and Federal Bureau of
Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
criminal history records check, records of convictions,
forever and hereafter, until expunged, to the president or
principal of the non-public school that requested the check.
The Department of State Police shall charge that school a fee
for conducting such check, which fee must be deposited into the
State Police Services Fund and must not exceed the cost of the
inquiry. Subject to appropriations for these purposes, the
State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse non-public
schools for fees paid to obtain criminal history records checks
under this Section.
    A non-public school may not obtain recognition status
unless the school also performs a check of the Statewide Sex
Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community
Notification Law, for each applicant for employment, after July
1, 2007, to determine whether the applicant has been
adjudicated a sex offender.
    Any information concerning the record of convictions
obtained by a non-public school's president or principal under
this Section is confidential and may be disseminated only to
the governing body of the non-public school or any other person
necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for
employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from
the Department of State Police shall be provided to the
applicant for employment. Upon a check of the Statewide Sex
Offender Database, the non-public school shall notify the
applicant as to whether or not the applicant has been
identified in the Sex Offender Database as a sex offender. Any
information concerning the records of conviction obtained by
the non-public school's president or principal under this
Section for a substitute teacher seeking employment in more
than one non-public school, a teacher seeking concurrent
part-time employment positions with more than one non-public
school (as a reading specialist, special education teacher, or
otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee
seeking employment positions with more than one non-public
school may be shared with another non-public school's principal
or president to which the applicant seeks employment. Any
person who releases any criminal history record information
concerning an applicant for employment is guilty of a Class A
misdemeanor and may be subject to prosecution under federal
law, unless the release of such information is authorized by
this Section.
    No non-public school may obtain recognition status that
knowingly employs a person, hired after July 1, 2007, for whom
a Department of State Police and Federal Bureau of
Investigation fingerprint-based criminal history records check
and a Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been
initiated or who has been convicted of any offense enumerated
in Section 21B-80 of this Code or any offense committed or
attempted in any other state or against the laws of the United
States that, if committed or attempted in this State, would
have been punishable as one or more of those offenses. No
non-public school may obtain recognition status under this
Section that knowingly employs a person who has been found to
be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under
18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
    In order to obtain recognition status under this Section, a
non-public school must require compliance with the provisions
of this subsection (c-5) from all employees of persons or firms
holding contracts with the school, including, but not limited
to, food service workers, school bus drivers, and other
transportation employees, who have direct, daily contact with
pupils. Any information concerning the records of conviction or
identification as a sex offender of any such employee obtained
by the non-public school principal or president must be
promptly reported to the school's governing body.
    (d) Public purposes. The provisions of this Section are in
the public interest, for the public benefit, and serve secular
public purposes.
    (e) Definition. For purposes of this Section, a non-public
school means any non-profit, non-home-based, and non-public
elementary or secondary school that is in compliance with Title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at which
satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of this Code.
(Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 97-607, eff. 8-26-11.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.39)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.39)
    Sec. 2-3.39. Department of Transitional Bilingual
Education. To establish a Department of Transitional Bilingual
Education. In selecting staff for the Department of
Transitional Bilingual Education the State Board of Education
shall give preference to persons who are natives of foreign
countries where languages to be used in transitional bilingual
education programs are the predominant languages. The
Department of Transitional Bilingual Education has the power
and duty to:
    (1) Administer and enforce the provisions of Article 14C of
this Code including the power to promulgate any necessary rules
and regulations.
    (2) Study, review, and evaluate all available resources and
programs that, in whole or in part, are or could be directed
towards meeting the language capability needs of child English
learners and adult English learners children and adults of
limited English-speaking ability residing in the State.
    (3) Gather information about the theory and practice of
bilingual education in this State and elsewhere, and encourage
experimentation and innovation in the field of bilingual
education.
    (4) Provide for the maximum practical involvement of
parents of bilingual children, transitional bilingual
education teachers, representatives of community groups,
educators, and laymen knowledgeable in the field of bilingual
education in the formulation of policy and procedures relating
to the administration of Article 14C of this Code.
    (5) Consult with other public departments and agencies,
including but not limited to the Department of Community
Affairs, the Department of Public Welfare, the Division of
Employment Security, the Commission Against Discrimination,
and the United States Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare in connection with the administration of Article 14C of
this Code.
    (6) Make recommendations in the areas of preservice and
in-service training for transitional bilingual education
teachers, curriculum development, testing and testing
mechanisms, and the development of materials for transitional
bilingual education programs.
    (7) Undertake any further activities which may assist in
the full implementation of Article 14C of this Code and to make
an annual report to the General Assembly to include an
evaluation of the program, the need for continuing such a
program, and recommendations for improvement.
    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall
be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker,
the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Research Unit, as
required by Section 3.1 of "An Act to revise the law in
relation to the General Assembly", approved February 25, 1874,
as amended, and filing such additional copies with the State
Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly
as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State
Library Act.
(Source: P.A. 84-1438.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.62)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.62)
    Sec. 2-3.62. Educational service centers.
    (a) A regional network of educational service centers shall
be established by the State Board of Education to coordinate
and combine existing services in a manner which is practical
and efficient and to provide new services to schools as
provided in this Section. Services to be made available by such
centers shall include the planning, implementation and
evaluation of:
        (1) (blank);
        (2) computer technology education;
        (3) mathematics, science and reading resources for
    teachers including continuing education, inservice
    training and staff development.
    The centers may provide training, technical assistance,
coordination and planning in other program areas such as school
improvement, school accountability, financial planning,
consultation, and services, career guidance, early childhood
education, alcohol/drug education and prevention, family life -
sex education, electronic transmission of data from school
districts to the State, alternative education and regional
special education, and telecommunications systems that provide
distance learning. Such telecommunications systems may be
obtained through the Department of Central Management Services
pursuant to Section 405-270 of the Department of Central
Management Services Law (20 ILCS 405/405-270). The programs and
services of educational service centers may be offered to
private school teachers and private school students within each
service center area provided public schools have already been
afforded adequate access to such programs and services.
    Upon the abolition of the office, removal from office,
disqualification for office, resignation from office, or
expiration of the current term of office of the regional
superintendent of schools, whichever is earlier, the chief
administrative officer of the centers serving that portion of a
Class II county school unit outside of a city of 500,000 or
more inhabitants shall have and exercise, in and with respect
to each educational service region having a population of
2,000,000 or more inhabitants and in and with respect to each
school district located in any such educational service region,
all of the rights, powers, duties, and responsibilities
theretofore vested by law in and exercised and performed by the
regional superintendent of schools for that area under the
provisions of this Code or any other laws of this State.
    The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and
regulations necessary to implement this Section. The rules
shall include detailed standards which delineate the scope and
specific content of programs to be provided by each Educational
Service Center, as well as the specific planning,
implementation and evaluation services to be provided by each
Center relative to its programs. The Board shall also provide
the standards by which it will evaluate the programs provided
by each Center.
    (b) Centers serving Class 1 county school units shall be
governed by an 11-member board, 3 members of which shall be
public school teachers nominated by the local bargaining
representatives to the appropriate regional superintendent for
appointment and no more than 3 members of which shall be from
each of the following categories, including but not limited to
superintendents, regional superintendents, school board
members and a representative of an institution of higher
education. The members of the board shall be appointed by the
regional superintendents whose school districts are served by
the educational service center. The composition of the board
will reflect the revisions of this amendatory Act of 1989 as
the terms of office of current members expire.
    (c) The centers shall be of sufficient size and number to
assure delivery of services to all local school districts in
the State.
    (d) From monies appropriated for this program the State
Board of Education shall provide grants paid from the Personal
Property Tax Replacement Fund to qualifying Educational
Service Centers applying for such grants in accordance with
rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of
Education to implement this Section.
    (e) The governing authority of each of the 18 regional
educational service centers shall appoint a family life - sex
education advisory board consisting of 2 parents, 2 teachers, 2
school administrators, 2 school board members, 2 health care
professionals, one library system representative, and the
director of the regional educational service center who shall
serve as chairperson of the advisory board so appointed.
Members of the family life - sex education advisory boards
shall serve without compensation. Each of the advisory boards
appointed pursuant to this subsection shall develop a plan for
regional teacher-parent family life - sex education training
sessions and shall file a written report of such plan with the
governing board of their regional educational service center.
The directors of each of the regional educational service
centers shall thereupon meet, review each of the reports
submitted by the advisory boards and combine those reports into
a single written report which they shall file with the Citizens
Council on School Problems prior to the end of the regular
school term of the 1987-1988 school year.
    (f) The 14 educational service centers serving Class I
county school units shall be disbanded on the first Monday of
August, 1995, and their statutory responsibilities and
programs shall be assumed by the regional offices of education,
subject to rules and regulations developed by the State Board
of Education. The regional superintendents of schools elected
by the voters residing in all Class I counties shall serve as
the chief administrators for these programs and services. By
rule of the State Board of Education, the 10 educational
service regions of lowest population shall provide such
services under cooperative agreements with larger regions.
(Source: P.A. 97-619, eff. 11-14-11; 98-24, eff. 6-19-13;
98-647, eff. 6-13-14.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-5)
    Sec. 2-3.64a-5. State goals and assessment.
    (a) For the assessment and accountability purposes of this
Section, "students" includes those students enrolled in a
public or State-operated elementary school, secondary school,
or cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or
board of control, a charter school operating in compliance with
the Charter Schools Law, a school operated by a regional office
of education under Section 13A-3 of this Code, or a public
school administered by a local public agency or the Department
of Human Services.
    (b) The State Board of Education shall establish the
academic standards that are to be applicable to students who
are subject to State assessments under this Section. The State
Board of Education shall not establish any such standards in
final form without first providing opportunities for public
participation and local input in the development of the final
academic standards. Those opportunities shall include a
well-publicized period of public comment and opportunities to
file written comments.
    (c) Beginning no later than the 2014-2015 school year, the
State Board of Education shall annually assess all students
enrolled in grades 3 through 8 in English language arts and
mathematics.
    Beginning no later than the 2017-2018 school year, the
State Board of Education shall annually assess all students in
science at one grade in grades 3 through 5, at one grade in
grades 6 through 8, and at one grade in grades 9 through 12.
    The State Board of Education shall annually assess schools
that operate a secondary education program, as defined in
Section 22-22 of this Code, in English language arts and
mathematics. The State Board of Education shall administer no
more than 3 assessments, per student, of English language arts
and mathematics for students in a secondary education program.
One of these assessments shall include a college and career
ready determination.
    Students who are not assessed for college and career ready
determinations may not receive a regular high school diploma
unless the student is exempted from taking State assessments
under subsection (d) of this Section because (i) the student's
individualized educational program developed under Article 14
of this Code identifies the State assessment as inappropriate
for the student, (ii) the student is enrolled in a program of
adult and continuing education, as defined in the Adult
Education Act, (iii) the school district is not required to
assess the individual student for purposes of accountability
under federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requirements,
(iv) the student has been determined to be an English language
learner, referred to in this Code as a student with limited
English proficiency, and has been enrolled in schools in the
United States for less than 12 months, or (v) the student is
otherwise identified by the State Board of Education, through
rules, as being exempt from the assessment.
    The State Board of Education shall not assess students
under this Section in subjects not required by this Section.
    Districts shall inform their students of the timelines and
procedures applicable to their participation in every yearly
administration of the State assessments. The State Board of
Education shall establish periods of time in each school year
during which State assessments shall occur to meet the
objectives of this Section.
    (d) Every individualized educational program as described
in Article 14 shall identify if the State assessment or
components thereof are appropriate for the student. The State
Board of Education shall develop rules governing the
administration of an alternate assessment that may be available
to students for whom participation in this State's regular
assessments is not appropriate, even with accommodations as
allowed under this Section.
    Students receiving special education services whose
individualized educational programs identify them as eligible
for the alternative State assessments nevertheless shall have
the option of taking this State's regular assessment that
includes a college and career ready determination, which shall
be administered in accordance with the eligible accommodations
appropriate for meeting these students' respective needs.
    All students determined to be an English learners language
learner, referred to in this Code as a student with limited
English proficiency, shall participate in the State
assessments, excepting those students who have been enrolled in
schools in the United States for less than 12 months. Such
students may be exempted from participation in one annual
administration of the English language arts assessment. Any
student determined to be an English language learner, referred
to in this Code as a student with limited English proficiency,
shall receive appropriate assessment accommodations, including
language supports, which shall be established by rule. Approved
assessment accommodations must be provided until the student's
English language skills develop to the extent that the student
is no longer considered to be an English language learner,
referred to in this Code as a student with limited English
proficiency, as demonstrated through a State-identified
English language proficiency assessment.
    (e) The results or scores of each assessment taken under
this Section shall be made available to the parents of each
student.
    In each school year, the scores attained by a student on
the State assessment that includes a college and career ready
determination must be placed in the student's permanent record
and must be entered on the student's transcript pursuant to
rules that the State Board of Education shall adopt for that
purpose in accordance with Section 3 of the Illinois School
Student Records Act. In each school year, the scores attained
by a student on the State assessments administered in grades 3
through 8 must be placed in the student's temporary record.
    (f) All schools shall administer an academic assessment of
English language proficiency in oral language (listening and
speaking) and reading and writing skills to all children
determined to be English language learners, referred to in
Section 14C-3 of this Code as children with limited
English-speaking ability.
    (g) All schools in this State that are part of the sample
drawn by the National Center for Education Statistics, in
collaboration with their school districts and the State Board
of Education, shall administer the biennial academic
assessments under the National Assessment of Educational
Progress carried out under Section 411(b)(2) of the federal
National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9010) if
the U.S. Secretary of Education pays the costs of administering
the assessments.
    (h) Subject to available funds to this State for the
purpose of student assessment, the State Board of Education
shall provide additional assessments and assessment resources
that may be used by school districts for local assessment
purposes. The State Board of Education shall annually
distribute a listing of these additional resources.
    (i) For the purposes of this subsection (i), "academically
based assessments" means assessments consisting of questions
and answers that are measurable and quantifiable to measure the
knowledge, skills, and ability of students in the subject
matters covered by the assessments. All assessments
administered pursuant to this Section must be academically
based assessments. The scoring of academically based
assessments shall be reliable, valid, and fair and shall meet
the guidelines for assessment development and use prescribed by
the American Psychological Association, the National Council
on Measurement in Education, and the American Educational
Research Association.
    The State Board of Education shall review the use of all
assessment item types in order to ensure that they are valid
and reliable indicators of student performance aligned to the
learning standards being assessed and that the development,
administration, and scoring of these item types are justifiable
in terms of cost.
    (j) The State Superintendent of Education shall appoint a
committee of no more than 21 members, consisting of parents,
teachers, school administrators, school board members,
assessment experts, regional superintendents of schools, and
citizens, to review the State assessments administered by the
State Board of Education. The Committee shall select one of its
members as its chairperson. The Committee shall meet on an
ongoing basis to review the content and design of the
assessments (including whether the requirements of subsection
(i) of this Section have been met), the time and money expended
at the local and State levels to prepare for and administer the
assessments, the collective results of the assessments as
measured against the stated purpose of assessing student
performance, and other issues involving the assessments
identified by the Committee. The Committee shall make periodic
recommendations to the State Superintendent of Education and
the General Assembly concerning the assessments.
    (k) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
implement this Section.
(Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.162)
    Sec. 2-3.162 2-3.160. Student discipline report; school
discipline improvement plan.
    (a) On or before October 31, 2015 and on or before October
31 of each subsequent year, the State Board of Education,
through the State Superintendent of Education, shall prepare a
report on student discipline in all school districts in this
State, including State-authorized charter schools. This report
shall include data from all public schools within school
districts, including district-authorized charter schools. This
report must be posted on the Internet website of the State
Board of Education. The report shall include data on the
issuance of out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and
removals to alternative settings in lieu of another
disciplinary action, disaggregated by race and ethnicity,
gender, age, grade level, whether a student is an English
learner limited English proficiency, incident type, and
discipline duration.
    (b) The State Board of Education shall analyze the data
under subsection (a) of this Section on an annual basis and
determine the top 20% of school districts for the following
metrics:
        (1) Total number of out-of-school suspensions divided
    by the total district enrollment by the last school day in
    September for the year in which the data was collected,
    multiplied by 100.
        (2) Total number of out-of-school expulsions divided
    by the total district enrollment by the last school day in
    September for the year in which the data was collected,
    multiplied by 100.
        (3) Racial disproportionality, defined as the
    overrepresentation of students of color or white students
    in comparison to the total number of students of color or
    white students on October 1st of the school year in which
    data are collected, with respect to the use of
    out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, which must be
    calculated using the same method as the U.S. Department of
    Education's Office for Civil Rights uses.
    The analysis must be based on data collected over 3
consecutive school years, beginning with the 2014-2015 school
year.
    Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, the State Board
of Education shall require each of the school districts that
are identified in the top 20% of any of the metrics described
in this subsection (b) for 3 consecutive years to submit a plan
identifying the strategies the school district will implement
to reduce the use of exclusionary disciplinary practices or
racial disproportionality or both, if applicable. School
districts that no longer meet the criteria described in any of
the metrics described in this subsection (b) for 3 consecutive
years shall no longer be required to submit a plan.
    This plan may be combined with any other improvement plans
required under federal or State law.
    The calculation of the top 20% of any of the metrics
described in this subsection (b) shall exclude all school
districts, State-authorized charter schools, and special
charter districts that issued fewer than a total of 10
out-of-school suspensions or expulsions, whichever is
applicable, during the school year. The calculation of the top
20% of metric described in subdivision (3) of this subsection
(b) shall exclude all school districts with an enrollment of
fewer than 50 white students or fewer than 50 students of
color.
    The plan must be approved at a public school board meeting
and posted on the school district's Internet website. Within
one year after being identified, the school district shall
submit to the State Board of Education and post on the
district's Internet website a progress report describing the
implementation of the plan and the results achieved.
(Source: P.A. 98-1102, eff. 8-26-14; revised 10-14-14.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/3-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 3-1)
    Sec. 3-1. Election; eligibility. Quadrennially there shall
be elected in every county, except those which have been
consolidated into a multicounty educational service region
under Article 3A and except those having a population of
2,000,000 or more inhabitants, a regional superintendent of
schools, who shall enter upon the discharge of his duties on
the first Monday of August next after his election; provided,
however, that the term of office of each regional
superintendent of schools in office on June 30, 2003 is
terminated on July 1, 2003, except that an incumbent regional
superintendent of schools shall continue to serve until his
successor is elected and qualified, and each regional
superintendent of schools elected at the general election in
2002 and every four years thereafter shall assume office on the
first day of July next after his election. No one is eligible
to file his petition at any primary election for the nomination
as candidate for the office of regional superintendent of
schools nor to enter upon the duties of such office either by
election or appointment unless he possesses the following
qualifications: (1) he is of good character, (2) he has a
master's degree, (3) he has earned at least 20 semester hours
of credit in professional education at the graduate level, (4)
he holds a valid all grade supervisory license, certificate or
a valid State state limited supervisory license certificate, or
a valid state life supervisory license certificate, or a valid
administrative license certificate, (5) he has had at least 4
years experience in teaching, and (6) he was engaged for at
least 2 years of the 4 previous years in full time teaching or
supervising in the common public schools or serving as a county
superintendent of schools or regional superintendent of
schools for an educational service region in the State of
Illinois.
    No petition of any candidate for nomination for the office
of regional superintendent of schools may be filed and no such
candidate's name may be placed on a primary or general election
ballot, unless such candidate files as part of his petition a
certificate from the State Board of Education certifying that
from the records of its office such candidate has the
qualifications required by this Section; however, any
incumbent filing his petition for nomination for a succeeding
term of office shall not be required to attach such certificate
to his petition of candidacy.
    Nomination papers filed under this Section are not valid
unless the candidate named therein files with the county clerk
or State Board of Elections a statement of economic interests
as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. Such
receipt shall be so filed either previously during the calendar
year in which his nomination papers were filed or within the
period for the filing of nomination papers in accordance with
the general election law.
    The changes in qualifications made by Public Act 76-1563 do
not affect the right of an incumbent to seek reelection.
    On and after July 1, 1994, the provisions of this Section
shall have no application in any educational service region
having a population of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants; provided
further that no election shall be held in November of 1994 or
at any other time after July 1, 1992 for the office of regional
superintendent of schools in any county or educational service
region having a population of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants.
(Source: P.A. 96-893, eff. 7-1-10.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/3-2.5)
    Sec. 3-2.5. Salaries.
    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, the
regional superintendents of schools shall receive for their
services an annual salary according to the population, as
determined by the last preceding federal census, of the region
they serve, as set out in the following schedule:
SALARIES OF REGIONAL SUPERINTENDENTS OF
SCHOOLS
    POPULATION OF REGION                 ANNUAL SALARY
    Less than 48,000                     $73,500
    61,000 48,000 to 99,999               $78,000
    100,000 to 999,999                   $81,500
    1,000,000 and over                   $83,500
    The changes made by Public Act 86-98 in the annual salary
that the regional superintendents of schools shall receive for
their services shall apply to the annual salary received by the
regional superintendents of schools during each of their
elected terms of office that commence after July 26, 1989 and
before the first Monday of August, 1995.
    The changes made by Public Act 89-225 in the annual salary
that regional superintendents of schools shall receive for
their services shall apply to the annual salary received by the
regional superintendents of schools during their elected terms
of office that commence after August 4, 1995 and end on August
1, 1999.
    The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 91st General
Assembly in the annual salary that the regional superintendents
of schools shall receive for their services shall apply to the
annual salary received by the regional superintendents of
schools during each of their elected terms of office that
commence on or after August 2, 1999.
    Beginning July 1, 2000, the salary that the regional
superintendent of schools receives for his or her services
shall be adjusted annually to reflect the percentage increase,
if any, in the most recent Consumer Price Index, as defined and
officially reported by the United States Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, except that no annual increment may
exceed 2.9%. If the percentage of change in the Consumer Price
Index is a percentage decrease, the salary that the regional
superintendent of schools receives shall not be adjusted for
that year.
    When regional superintendents are authorized by the School
Code to appoint assistant regional superintendents, the
assistant regional superintendent shall receive an annual
salary based on his or her qualifications and computed as a
percentage of the salary of the regional superintendent to whom
he or she is assistant, as set out in the following schedule:
SALARIES OF ASSISTANT REGIONAL
SUPERINTENDENTS
    QUALIFICATIONS OF                    PERCENTAGE OF SALARY
    ASSISTANT REGIONAL                   OF REGIONAL
    SUPERINTENDENT                       SUPERINTENDENT
    No Bachelor's degree, but State
    certificate valid for teaching
    and supervising.                     70%    
    Bachelor's degree plus
    State license certificate valid
    for supervising.                     75%    
    Master's degree plus
    State license certificate valid
    for supervising.                     90%    
    However, in any region in which the appointment of more
than one assistant regional superintendent is authorized,
whether by Section 3-15.10 of this Code or otherwise, not more
than one assistant may be compensated at the 90% rate and any
other assistant shall be paid at not exceeding the 75% rate, in
each case depending on the qualifications of the assistant.
    The salaries provided in this Section plus an amount for
other employment-related compensation or benefits for regional
superintendents and assistant regional superintendents are
payable monthly by the State Board of Education out of the
Personal Property Tax Replacement Fund through a specific
appropriation to that effect in the State Board of Education
budget. The State Comptroller in making his or her warrant to
any county for the amount due it from the Personal Property Tax
Replacement Fund shall deduct from it the several amounts for
which warrants have been issued to the regional superintendent,
and any assistant regional superintendent, of the educational
service region encompassing the county since the preceding
apportionment from the Personal Property Tax Replacement Fund.
    County boards may provide for additional compensation for
the regional superintendent or the assistant regional
superintendents, or for each of them, to be paid quarterly from
the county treasury.
    (b) Upon abolition of the office of regional superintendent
of schools in educational service regions containing 2,000,000
or more inhabitants as provided in Section 3-0.01 of this Code,
the funds provided under subsection (a) of this Section shall
continue to be appropriated and reallocated, as provided for
pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 3-0.01 of this Code, to
the educational service centers established pursuant to
Section 2-3.62 of this Code for an educational service region
containing 2,000,000 or more inhabitants.
    (c) If the State pays all or any portion of the employee
contributions required under Section 16-152 of the Illinois
Pension Code for employees of the State Board of Education, it
shall also, subject to appropriation in the State Board of
Education budget for such payments to Regional Superintendents
and Assistant Regional Superintendents, pay the employee
contributions required of regional superintendents of schools
and assistant regional superintendents of schools on the same
basis, but excluding any contributions based on compensation
that is paid by the county rather than the State.
    This subsection (c) applies to contributions based on
payments of salary earned after the effective date of this
amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly, except that in the
case of an elected regional superintendent of schools, this
subsection does not apply to contributions based on payments of
salary earned during a term of office that commenced before the
effective date of this amendatory Act.
(Source: P.A. 97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 97-619, eff. 11-14-11;
97-732, eff. 6-30-12; 98-24, eff. 6-19-13.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/3-11)  (from Ch. 122, par. 3-11)
    Sec. 3-11. Institutes or inservice training workshops. In
counties of less than 2,000,000 inhabitants, the regional
superintendent may arrange for or conduct district, regional,
or county institutes, or equivalent professional educational
experiences, not more than 4 days annually. Of those 4 days, 2
days may be used as a teacher's and educational support
personnel workshop, when approved by the regional
superintendent, up to 2 days may be used for conducting
parent-teacher conferences, or up to 2 days may be utilized as
parental institute days as provided in Section 10-22.18d.
Educational support personnel may be exempt from a workshop if
the workshop is not relevant to the work they do. A school
district may use one of its 4 institute days on the last day of
the school term. "Institute" or "Professional educational
experiences" means any educational gathering, demonstration of
methods of instruction, visitation of schools or other
institutions or facilities, sexual abuse and sexual assault
awareness seminar, or training in First Aid (which may include
cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillator training) held
or approved by the regional superintendent and declared by him
to be an institute day, or parent-teacher conferences. With the
concurrence of the State Superintendent of Education, he or she
may employ such assistance as is necessary to conduct the
institute. Two or more adjoining counties may jointly hold an
institute. Institute instruction shall be free to holders of
licenses certificates good in the county or counties holding
the institute, and to those who have paid an examination fee
and failed to receive a license certificate.
    In counties of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants, the regional
superintendent may arrange for or conduct district, regional,
or county inservice training workshops, or equivalent
professional educational experiences, not more than 4 days
annually. Of those 4 days, 2 days may be used as a teacher's
and educational support personnel workshop, when approved by
the regional superintendent, up to 2 days may be used for
conducting parent-teacher conferences, or up to 2 days may be
utilized as parental institute days as provided in Section
10-22.18d. Educational support personnel may be exempt from a
workshop if the workshop is not relevant to the work they do. A
school district may use one of those 4 days on the last day of
the school term. "Inservice Training Workshops" or
"Professional educational experiences" means any educational
gathering, demonstration of methods of instruction, visitation
of schools or other institutions or facilities, sexual abuse
and sexual assault awareness seminar, or training in First Aid
(which may include cardiopulmonary resuscitation or
defibrillator training) held or approved by the regional
superintendent and declared by him to be an inservice training
workshop, or parent-teacher conferences. With the concurrence
of the State Superintendent of Education, he may employ such
assistance as is necessary to conduct the inservice training
workshop. With the approval of the regional superintendent, 2
or more adjoining districts may jointly hold an inservice
training workshop. In addition, with the approval of the
regional superintendent, one district may conduct its own
inservice training workshop with subject matter consultants
requested from the county, State or any State institution of
higher learning.
    Such teachers institutes as referred to in this Section may
be held on consecutive or separate days at the option of the
regional superintendent having jurisdiction thereof.
    Whenever reference is made in this Act to "teachers
institute", it shall be construed to include the inservice
training workshops or equivalent professional educational
experiences provided for in this Section.
    Any institute advisory committee existing on April 1, 1995,
is dissolved and the duties and responsibilities of the
institute advisory committee are assumed by the regional office
of education advisory board.
    Districts providing inservice training programs shall
constitute inservice committees, 1/2 of which shall be
teachers, 1/4 school service personnel and 1/4 administrators
to establish program content and schedules.
    The teachers institutes shall include teacher training
committed to (i) peer counseling programs and other
anti-violence and conflict resolution programs, including
without limitation programs for preventing at risk students
from committing violent acts, and (ii) educator ethics and
teacher-student conduct. Beginning with the 2009-2010 school
year, the teachers institutes shall include instruction on
prevalent student chronic health conditions.
(Source: P.A. 96-431, eff. 8-13-09; 97-525, eff. 1-1-12.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/3-15.6)  (from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.6)
    Sec. 3-15.6. Additional employees. To employ, with the
approval of the county board, such additional employees as are
needed for the discharge of the duties of the office. The
non-clerical employees shall be persons versed in the
principles and methods of education, familiar with public
school work, competent to visit schools, and licensed
certificated pursuant to this Code if their duties are
comparable to those for which licensure certification is
required by this Code.
    On and after July 1, 1994, the provisions of this Section
shall have no application in any educational service region
having a population of 2,000,000 or more inhabitants.
(Source: P.A. 86-361; 87-654; 87-1251.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/3-15.10)  (from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.10)
    Sec. 3-15.10. Assistant Regional Superintendent. To
employ, in counties or regions of 2,000,000 inhabitants or
less, in addition to any assistants authorized to be employed
with the approval of the county board, an assistant regional
superintendent of schools, who shall be a person of good
attainment, versed in the principles and methods of education,
and qualified to teach and supervise schools under Article 21B
of this Code 21 of this Act; to fix the term of such assistant;
and to direct his work and define his duties. On the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, in
regions established within that portion of a Class II county
school unit outside of a city of 500,000 or more inhabitants,
the employment of all persons serving as assistant county or
regional superintendents of schools is terminated, the
position of assistant regional superintendent of schools in
each such region is abolished, and this Section shall,
beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
96th General Assembly, have no further application in the
educational service region. Assistant regional superintendents
shall each be a person of good attainment, versed in the
principles and methods of education, and qualified to teach and
supervise schools under Article 21B of this Code 21 of this
Act. The work of such assistant regional superintendent shall
be so arranged and directed that the county or regional
superintendent and assistant superintendent, together, shall
devote an amount of time during the school year, equal to at
least the full time of one individual, to the supervision of
schools and of teaching in the schools of the county.
    A regional superintendent of schools shall not employ his
or her spouse, child, stepchild, or relative as an assistant
regional superintendent of schools. By September 1 each year, a
regional superintendent shall certify to the State Board of
Education that he or she has complied with this paragraph. If
the State Board of Education becomes aware of the fact that a
regional superintendent is employing his or her spouse, child,
stepchild, or relative as an assistant regional
superintendent, the State Board of Education shall report this
information to the Governor and the Comptroller, and the State
Board of Education shall not request for payment from the State
Comptroller any warrants for the payment of the assistant
regional superintendent's salary or other employment-related
compensation or benefits. In this paragraph, "relative" means a
grandparent, parent, aunt, uncle, sibling, first cousin,
nephew, niece, grandchild, or spouse of one of these persons.
This paragraph applies only to contracts for employment entered
into on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 91st General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 96-893, eff. 7-1-10; 97-619, eff. 11-14-11.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/3-15.17)
    Sec. 3-15.17. Civic education advancement.
    (a) The General Assembly finds that civic education and
participation are fundamental elements of a healthy democracy,
and schools are in need of support to identify civic learning
opportunities and to implement new strategies to prepare and
sustain high quality citizenship among their student body.
    (b) Subject to appropriation, funding for civic education
professional development for high school teachers must be
provided by line item appropriation made to the State Board of
Education for that purpose. When appropriated, the State Board
of Education must provide this funding to each regional
superintendent of schools based on high school enrollment as
reported on the State Board of Education's most recent fall
enrollment and housing report, except that 20% of each annual
appropriation must be reserved for a school district organized
under Article 34 of this Code.
    (c) In order to establish eligibility for one or more of
its schools to receive funding under this Section, a school
district shall submit to its regional superintendent of schools
an application, accompanied by a completed civic audit, for
each school. A regional superintendent shall award funds to a
district based on the number of teachers identified by the
district to receive professional development multiplied by
$250. A district must not be awarded more than $3,000 in any
year, unless additional funds remain available after all
eligible applicants have received funding. A district may not
use funds authorized under this Section in any school more than
once every 2 years. Funds provided under this Section must be
used exclusively for professional development provided by
entities that are approved providers for purposes of license
certificate renewal under Section 21B-45 21-14 of this Code.
    (d) The civic audit form and its content must be designed
and updated as deemed necessary by the Illinois Civic Mission
Coalition. Data from completed civic audits must be processed
by the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition. The civic audit must
be made available by the Illinois Civic Mission Coalition and
must be designed to provide teachers and principals with a
blueprint to better understand how current curriculum, service
learning, and extracurricular activities are providing civic
learning experiences for their students.
(Source: P.A. 95-225, eff. 8-16-07.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/10-17a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a)
    Sec. 10-17a. State, school district, and school report
cards.
    (1) By October 31, 2013 and October 31 of each subsequent
school year, the State Board of Education, through the State
Superintendent of Education, shall prepare a State report card,
school district report cards, and school report cards, and
shall by the most economic means provide to each school
district in this State, including special charter districts and
districts subject to the provisions of Article 34, the report
cards for the school district and each of its schools.
    (2) In addition to any information required by federal law,
the State Superintendent shall determine the indicators and
presentation of the school report card, which must include, at
a minimum, the most current data possessed by the State Board
of Education related to the following:
        (A) school characteristics and student demographics,
    including average class size, average teaching experience,
    student racial/ethnic breakdown, and the percentage of
    students classified as low-income; the percentage of
    students classified as limited English learners
    proficiency; the percentage of students who have
    individualized education plans or 504 plans that provide
    for special education services; the percentage of students
    who annually transferred in or out of the school district;
    the per-pupil operating expenditure of the school
    district; and the per-pupil State average operating
    expenditure for the district type (elementary, high
    school, or unit);
        (B) curriculum information, including, where
    applicable, Advanced Placement, International
    Baccalaureate or equivalent courses, dual enrollment
    courses, foreign language classes, school personnel
    resources (including Career Technical Education teachers),
    before and after school programs, extracurricular
    activities, subjects in which elective classes are
    offered, health and wellness initiatives (including the
    average number of days of Physical Education per week per
    student), approved programs of study, awards received,
    community partnerships, and special programs such as
    programming for the gifted and talented, students with
    disabilities, and work-study students;
        (C) student outcomes, including, where applicable, the
    percentage of students meeting as well as exceeding State
    standards on assessments, the percentage of students in the
    eighth grade who pass Algebra, the percentage of students
    enrolled in post-secondary institutions (including
    colleges, universities, community colleges,
    trade/vocational schools, and training programs leading to
    career certification within 2 semesters of high school
    graduation), the percentage of students graduating from
    high school who are college ready, the percentage of
    students graduating from high school who are career ready,
    and the percentage of graduates enrolled in community
    colleges, colleges, and universities who are in one or more
    courses that the community college, college, or university
    identifies as a remedial course;
        (D) student progress, including, where applicable, the
    percentage of students in the ninth grade who have earned 5
    credits or more without failing more than one core class, a
    measure of students entering kindergarten ready to learn, a
    measure of growth, and the percentage of students who enter
    high school on track for college and career readiness; and
        (E) the school environment, including, where
    applicable, the percentage of students with less than 10
    absences in a school year, the percentage of teachers with
    less than 10 absences in a school year for reasons other
    than professional development, leaves taken pursuant to
    the federal Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, long-term
    disability, or parental leaves, the 3-year average of the
    percentage of teachers returning to the school from the
    previous year, the number of different principals at the
    school in the last 6 years, 2 or more indicators from any
    school climate survey selected or approved by the State and
    administered pursuant to Section 2-3.153 of this Code, with
    the same or similar indicators included on school report
    cards for all surveys selected or approved by the State
    pursuant to Section 2-3.153 of this Code, and the combined
    percentage of teachers rated as proficient or excellent in
    their most recent evaluation.
    The school report card shall also provide information that
allows for comparing the current outcome, progress, and
environment data to the State average, to the school data from
the past 5 years, and to the outcomes, progress, and
environment of similar schools based on the type of school and
enrollment of low-income students, special education students,
and limited English learners proficiency students.
    (3) At the discretion of the State Superintendent, the
school district report card shall include a subset of the
information identified in paragraphs (A) through (E) of
subsection (2) of this Section, as well as information relating
to the operating expense per pupil and other finances of the
school district, and the State report card shall include a
subset of the information identified in paragraphs (A) through
(E) of subsection (2) of this Section.
    (4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
Section, in consultation with key education stakeholders, the
State Superintendent shall at any time have the discretion to
amend or update any and all metrics on the school, district, or
State report card.
    (5) Annually, no more than 30 calendar days after receipt
of the school district and school report cards from the State
Superintendent of Education, each school district, including
special charter districts and districts subject to the
provisions of Article 34, shall present such report cards at a
regular school board meeting subject to applicable notice
requirements, post the report cards on the school district's
Internet web site, if the district maintains an Internet web
site, make the report cards available to a newspaper of general
circulation serving the district, and, upon request, send the
report cards home to a parent (unless the district does not
maintain an Internet web site, in which case the report card
shall be sent home to parents without request). If the district
posts the report card on its Internet web site, the district
shall send a written notice home to parents stating (i) that
the report card is available on the web site, (ii) the address
of the web site, (iii) that a printed copy of the report card
will be sent to parents upon request, and (iv) the telephone
number that parents may call to request a printed copy of the
report card.
    (6) Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 98th
General Assembly repeals, supersedes, invalidates, or
nullifies final decisions in lawsuits pending on the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly in
Illinois courts involving the interpretation of Public Act
97-8.
(Source: P.A. 97-671, eff. 1-24-12; 98-463, eff. 8-16-13;
98-648, eff. 7-1-14.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14-8.02)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.02)
    Sec. 14-8.02. Identification, Evaluation and Placement of
Children.
    (a) The State Board of Education shall make rules under
which local school boards shall determine the eligibility of
children to receive special education. Such rules shall ensure
that a free appropriate public education be available to all
children with disabilities as defined in Section 14-1.02. The
State Board of Education shall require local school districts
to administer non-discriminatory procedures or tests to
limited English learners proficiency students coming from
homes in which a language other than English is used to
determine their eligibility to receive special education. The
placement of low English proficiency students in special
education programs and facilities shall be made in accordance
with the test results reflecting the student's linguistic,
cultural and special education needs. For purposes of
determining the eligibility of children the State Board of
Education shall include in the rules definitions of "case
study", "staff conference", "individualized educational
program", and "qualified specialist" appropriate to each
category of children with disabilities as defined in this
Article. For purposes of determining the eligibility of
children from homes in which a language other than English is
used, the State Board of Education shall include in the rules
definitions for "qualified bilingual specialists" and
"linguistically and culturally appropriate individualized
educational programs". For purposes of this Section, as well as
Sections 14-8.02a, 14-8.02b, and 14-8.02c of this Code,
"parent" means a parent as defined in the federal Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(23)).
    (b) No child shall be eligible for special education
facilities except with a carefully completed case study fully
reviewed by professional personnel in a multidisciplinary
staff conference and only upon the recommendation of qualified
specialists or a qualified bilingual specialist, if available.
At the conclusion of the multidisciplinary staff conference,
the parent of the child shall be given a copy of the
multidisciplinary conference summary report and
recommendations, which includes options considered, and be
informed of their right to obtain an independent educational
evaluation if they disagree with the evaluation findings
conducted or obtained by the school district. If the school
district's evaluation is shown to be inappropriate, the school
district shall reimburse the parent for the cost of the
independent evaluation. The State Board of Education shall,
with advice from the State Advisory Council on Education of
Children with Disabilities on the inclusion of specific
independent educational evaluators, prepare a list of
suggested independent educational evaluators. The State Board
of Education shall include on the list clinical psychologists
licensed pursuant to the Clinical Psychologist Licensing Act.
Such psychologists shall not be paid fees in excess of the
amount that would be received by a school psychologist for
performing the same services. The State Board of Education
shall supply school districts with such list and make the list
available to parents at their request. School districts shall
make the list available to parents at the time they are
informed of their right to obtain an independent educational
evaluation. However, the school district may initiate an
impartial due process hearing under this Section within 5 days
of any written parent request for an independent educational
evaluation to show that its evaluation is appropriate. If the
final decision is that the evaluation is appropriate, the
parent still has a right to an independent educational
evaluation, but not at public expense. An independent
educational evaluation at public expense must be completed
within 30 days of a parent written request unless the school
district initiates an impartial due process hearing or the
parent or school district offers reasonable grounds to show
that such 30 day time period should be extended. If the due
process hearing decision indicates that the parent is entitled
to an independent educational evaluation, it must be completed
within 30 days of the decision unless the parent or the school
district offers reasonable grounds to show that such 30 day
period should be extended. If a parent disagrees with the
summary report or recommendations of the multidisciplinary
conference or the findings of any educational evaluation which
results therefrom, the school district shall not proceed with a
placement based upon such evaluation and the child shall remain
in his or her regular classroom setting. No child shall be
eligible for admission to a special class for the educable
mentally disabled or for the trainable mentally disabled except
with a psychological evaluation and recommendation by a school
psychologist. Consent shall be obtained from the parent of a
child before any evaluation is conducted. If consent is not
given by the parent or if the parent disagrees with the
findings of the evaluation, then the school district may
initiate an impartial due process hearing under this Section.
The school district may evaluate the child if that is the
decision resulting from the impartial due process hearing and
the decision is not appealed or if the decision is affirmed on
appeal. The determination of eligibility shall be made and the
IEP meeting shall be completed within 60 school days from the
date of written parental consent. In those instances when
written parental consent is obtained with fewer than 60 pupil
attendance days left in the school year, the eligibility
determination shall be made and the IEP meeting shall be
completed prior to the first day of the following school year.
Special education and related services must be provided in
accordance with the student's IEP no later than 10 school
attendance days after notice is provided to the parents
pursuant to Section 300.503 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal
Regulations and implementing rules adopted by the State Board
of Education. The appropriate program pursuant to the
individualized educational program of students whose native
tongue is a language other than English shall reflect the
special education, cultural and linguistic needs. No later than
September 1, 1993, the State Board of Education shall establish
standards for the development, implementation and monitoring
of appropriate bilingual special individualized educational
programs. The State Board of Education shall further
incorporate appropriate monitoring procedures to verify
implementation of these standards. The district shall indicate
to the parent and the State Board of Education the nature of
the services the child will receive for the regular school term
while waiting placement in the appropriate special education
class.
    If the child is deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually
impaired and he or she might be eligible to receive services
from the Illinois School for the Deaf or the Illinois School
for the Visually Impaired, the school district shall notify the
parents, in writing, of the existence of these schools and the
services they provide and shall make a reasonable effort to
inform the parents of the existence of other, local schools
that provide similar services and the services that these other
schools provide. This notification shall include without
limitation information on school services, school admissions
criteria, and school contact information.
    In the development of the individualized education program
for a student who has a disability on the autism spectrum
(which includes autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder,
pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified,
childhood disintegrative disorder, and Rett Syndrome, as
defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV, 2000)), the IEP team shall
consider all of the following factors:
        (1) The verbal and nonverbal communication needs of the
    child.
        (2) The need to develop social interaction skills and
    proficiencies.
        (3) The needs resulting from the child's unusual
    responses to sensory experiences.
        (4) The needs resulting from resistance to
    environmental change or change in daily routines.
        (5) The needs resulting from engagement in repetitive
    activities and stereotyped movements.
        (6) The need for any positive behavioral
    interventions, strategies, and supports to address any
    behavioral difficulties resulting from autism spectrum
    disorder.
        (7) Other needs resulting from the child's disability
    that impact progress in the general curriculum, including
    social and emotional development.
Public Act 95-257 does not create any new entitlement to a
service, program, or benefit, but must not affect any
entitlement to a service, program, or benefit created by any
other law.
    If the student may be eligible to participate in the
Home-Based Support Services Program for Mentally Disabled
Adults authorized under the Developmental Disability and
Mental Disability Services Act upon becoming an adult, the
student's individualized education program shall include plans
for (i) determining the student's eligibility for those
home-based services, (ii) enrolling the student in the program
of home-based services, and (iii) developing a plan for the
student's most effective use of the home-based services after
the student becomes an adult and no longer receives special
educational services under this Article. The plans developed
under this paragraph shall include specific actions to be taken
by specified individuals, agencies, or officials.
    (c) In the development of the individualized education
program for a student who is functionally blind, it shall be
presumed that proficiency in Braille reading and writing is
essential for the student's satisfactory educational progress.
For purposes of this subsection, the State Board of Education
shall determine the criteria for a student to be classified as
functionally blind. Students who are not currently identified
as functionally blind who are also entitled to Braille
instruction include: (i) those whose vision loss is so severe
that they are unable to read and write at a level comparable to
their peers solely through the use of vision, and (ii) those
who show evidence of progressive vision loss that may result in
functional blindness. Each student who is functionally blind
shall be entitled to Braille reading and writing instruction
that is sufficient to enable the student to communicate with
the same level of proficiency as other students of comparable
ability. Instruction should be provided to the extent that the
student is physically and cognitively able to use Braille.
Braille instruction may be used in combination with other
special education services appropriate to the student's
educational needs. The assessment of each student who is
functionally blind for the purpose of developing the student's
individualized education program shall include documentation
of the student's strengths and weaknesses in Braille skills.
Each person assisting in the development of the individualized
education program for a student who is functionally blind shall
receive information describing the benefits of Braille
instruction. The individualized education program for each
student who is functionally blind shall specify the appropriate
learning medium or media based on the assessment report.
    (d) To the maximum extent appropriate, the placement shall
provide the child with the opportunity to be educated with
children who are not disabled; provided that children with
disabilities who are recommended to be placed into regular
education classrooms are provided with supplementary services
to assist the children with disabilities to benefit from the
regular classroom instruction and are included on the teacher's
regular education class register. Subject to the limitation of
the preceding sentence, placement in special classes, separate
schools or other removal of the disabled child from the regular
educational environment shall occur only when the nature of the
severity of the disability is such that education in the
regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services
cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The placement of limited
English learners proficiency students with disabilities shall
be in non-restrictive environments which provide for
integration with non-disabled peers in bilingual classrooms.
Annually, each January, school districts shall report data on
students from non-English speaking backgrounds receiving
special education and related services in public and private
facilities as prescribed in Section 2-3.30. If there is a
disagreement between parties involved regarding the special
education placement of any child, either in-state or
out-of-state, the placement is subject to impartial due process
procedures described in Article 10 of the Rules and Regulations
to Govern the Administration and Operation of Special
Education.
    (e) No child who comes from a home in which a language
other than English is the principal language used may be
assigned to any class or program under this Article until he
has been given, in the principal language used by the child and
used in his home, tests reasonably related to his cultural
environment. All testing and evaluation materials and
procedures utilized for evaluation and placement shall not be
linguistically, racially or culturally discriminatory.
    (f) Nothing in this Article shall be construed to require
any child to undergo any physical examination or medical
treatment whose parents object thereto on the grounds that such
examination or treatment conflicts with his religious beliefs.
    (g) School boards or their designee shall provide to the
parents of a child prior written notice of any decision (a)
proposing to initiate or change, or (b) refusing to initiate or
change, the identification, evaluation, or educational
placement of the child or the provision of a free appropriate
public education to their child, and the reasons therefor. Such
written notification shall also inform the parent of the
opportunity to present complaints with respect to any matter
relating to the educational placement of the student, or the
provision of a free appropriate public education and to have an
impartial due process hearing on the complaint. The notice
shall inform the parents in the parents' native language,
unless it is clearly not feasible to do so, of their rights and
all procedures available pursuant to this Act and the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of
2004 (Public Law 108-446); it shall be the responsibility of
the State Superintendent to develop uniform notices setting
forth the procedures available under this Act and the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of
2004 (Public Law 108-446) to be used by all school boards. The
notice shall also inform the parents of the availability upon
request of a list of free or low-cost legal and other relevant
services available locally to assist parents in initiating an
impartial due process hearing. Any parent who is deaf, or does
not normally communicate using spoken English, who
participates in a meeting with a representative of a local
educational agency for the purposes of developing an
individualized educational program shall be entitled to the
services of an interpreter.
    (g-5) For purposes of this subsection (g-5), "qualified
professional" means an individual who holds credentials to
evaluate the child in the domain or domains for which an
evaluation is sought or an intern working under the direct
supervision of a qualified professional, including a master's
or doctoral degree candidate.
    To ensure that a parent can participate fully and
effectively with school personnel in the development of
appropriate educational and related services for his or her
child, the parent, an independent educational evaluator, or a
qualified professional retained by or on behalf of a parent or
child must be afforded reasonable access to educational
facilities, personnel, classrooms, and buildings and to the
child as provided in this subsection (g-5). The requirements of
this subsection (g-5) apply to any public school facility,
building, or program and to any facility, building, or program
supported in whole or in part by public funds. Prior to
visiting a school, school building, or school facility, the
parent, independent educational evaluator, or qualified
professional may be required by the school district to inform
the building principal or supervisor in writing of the proposed
visit, the purpose of the visit, and the approximate duration
of the visit. The visitor and the school district shall arrange
the visit or visits at times that are mutually agreeable.
Visitors shall comply with school safety, security, and
visitation policies at all times. School district visitation
policies must not conflict with this subsection (g-5). Visitors
shall be required to comply with the requirements of applicable
privacy laws, including those laws protecting the
confidentiality of education records such as the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Illinois School
Student Records Act. The visitor shall not disrupt the
educational process.
        (1) A parent must be afforded reasonable access of
    sufficient duration and scope for the purpose of observing
    his or her child in the child's current educational
    placement, services, or program or for the purpose of
    visiting an educational placement or program proposed for
    the child.
        (2) An independent educational evaluator or a
    qualified professional retained by or on behalf of a parent
    or child must be afforded reasonable access of sufficient
    duration and scope for the purpose of conducting an
    evaluation of the child, the child's performance, the
    child's current educational program, placement, services,
    or environment, or any educational program, placement,
    services, or environment proposed for the child, including
    interviews of educational personnel, child observations,
    assessments, tests or assessments of the child's
    educational program, services, or placement or of any
    proposed educational program, services, or placement. If
    one or more interviews of school personnel are part of the
    evaluation, the interviews must be conducted at a mutually
    agreed upon time, date, and place that do not interfere
    with the school employee's school duties. The school
    district may limit interviews to personnel having
    information relevant to the child's current educational
    services, program, or placement or to a proposed
    educational service, program, or placement.
    (h) (Blank).
    (i) (Blank).
    (j) (Blank).
    (k) (Blank).
    (l) (Blank).
    (m) (Blank).
    (n) (Blank).
    (o) (Blank).
(Source: P.A. 98-219, eff. 8-9-13.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14-9.01)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14-9.01)
    Sec. 14-9.01. Qualifications of teachers, other
professional personnel and necessary workers. No person shall
be employed to teach any class or program authorized by this
Article who does not hold a valid teacher's license certificate
as provided by law and unless he has had such special training
as the State Board of Education may require. No special license
certificate or endorsement to a special license certificate
issued under Section 21B-30 of this Code Section 21-4 on or
after July 1, 1994, shall be valid for teaching students with
visual disabilities unless the person to whom the license
certificate or endorsement is issued has attained satisfactory
performance on an examination that is designed to assess
competency in Braille reading and writing skills according to
standards that the State Board of Education may adopt. Evidence
of successfully completing the examination of Braille reading
and writing skills must be submitted to the State Board of
Education prior to an applicant's taking examination of the
content area subject matter knowledge test required under
Section 21B-30 of this Code Section 21-1a. In Beginning July 1,
1995, in addition to other requirements, a candidate for a
teaching license certification in the area of the deaf and hard
of hearing granted by the Illinois State Board of Education for
teaching deaf and hard of hearing students in grades pre-school
through grade 12 must demonstrate a minimum proficiency in sign
language as determined by the Illinois State Board of
Education. All other professional personnel employed in any
class, service, or program authorized by this Article shall
hold such licenses certificates and shall have had such special
training as the State Board of Education may require; provided
that in a school district organized under Article 34, the
school district may employ speech and language pathologists who
are licensed under the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and
Audiology Practice Act but who do not hold a license
certificate issued under this the School Code if the district
certifies that a chronic shortage of certified personnel
exists. Nothing contained in this Act prohibits the school
board from employing necessary workers to assist the teacher
with the special educational facilities, except that all such
necessary workers must have had such training as the State
Board of Education may require.
    No later than January 1, 1993, the State Board of Education
shall develop, in consultation with the Advisory Council on the
Education of Children with Disabilities and the Advisory
Council on Bilingual Education, rules governing the
qualifications for certification of teachers and school
service personnel providing services to limited English
learners proficient students receiving special education and
related services.
    The employment of any teacher in a special education
program provided for in Sections 14-1.01 to 14-14.01,
inclusive, shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 24-11
to 24-16, inclusive. Any teacher employed in a special
education program, prior to the effective date of this
amendatory Act of 1987, in which 2 or more districts
participate shall enter upon contractual continued service in
each of the participating districts subject to the provisions
of Sections 24-11 to 24-16, inclusive.
(Source: P.A. 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14C-1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-1)
    Sec. 14C-1. The General Assembly finds that there are large
numbers of children in this State who come from environments
where the primary language is other than English. Experience
has shown that public school classes in which instruction is
given only in English are often inadequate for the education of
children whose native tongue is another language. The General
Assembly believes that a program of transitional bilingual
education can meet the needs of these children and facilitate
their integration into the regular public school curriculum.
Therefore, pursuant to the policy of this State to ensure
insure equal educational opportunity to every child, and in
recognition of the educational needs of English learners
children of limited English-speaking ability, it is the purpose
of this Act to provide for the establishment of transitional
bilingual education programs in the public schools, to provide
supplemental financial assistance to help local school
districts meet the extra costs of such programs, and to allow
this State to directly or indirectly provide technical
assistance and professional development to support
transitional bilingual education programs statewide.
(Source: P.A. 96-1423, eff. 8-3-10.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14C-2)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-2)
    Sec. 14C-2. Definitions. Unless the context indicates
otherwise, the terms used in this Article have the following
meanings:
    (a) "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
    (b) "Certification Board" means the State Teacher
Certification Board.
    (c) "School District" means any school district
established under this Code.
    (d) "English learners" "Children of limited
English-speaking ability" means (1) all children in grades
pre-K through 12 who were not born in the United States, whose
native tongue is a language other than English, and who are
incapable of performing ordinary classwork in English; and (2)
all children in grades pre-K through 12 who were born in the
United States of parents possessing no or limited
English-speaking ability and who are incapable of performing
ordinary classwork in English.
    (e) "Teacher of transitional bilingual education" means a
teacher with a speaking and reading ability in a language other
than English in which transitional bilingual education is
offered and with communicative skills in English.
    (f) "Program in transitional bilingual education" means a
full-time program of instruction (1) in all those courses or
subjects which a child is required by law to receive and which
are required by the child's school district, which shall be
given in the native language of English learners the children
of limited English-speaking ability who are enrolled in the
program and also in English, (2) in the reading and writing of
the native language of English learners the children of limited
English-speaking ability who are enrolled in the program and in
the oral language (listening and speaking), reading, and
writing of English, and (3) in the history and culture of the
country, territory, or geographic area which is the native land
of the parents of English learners children of limited
English-speaking ability who are enrolled in the program and in
the history and culture of the United States; or a part-time
program of instruction based on the educational needs of those
English learners children of limited English-speaking ability
who do not need a full-time program of instruction.
(Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14C-3)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-3)
    Sec. 14C-3. Language classification of children;
establishment of program; period of participation;
examination. Each school district shall ascertain, not later
than the first day of March, under regulations prescribed by
the State Board, the number of English learners children of
limited English-speaking ability within the school district,
and shall classify them according to the language of which they
possess a primary speaking ability, and their grade level, age
or achievement level.
    When, at the beginning of any school year, there is within
an attendance center of a school district, not including
children who are enrolled in existing private school systems,
20 or more English learners children of limited
English-speaking ability in any such language classification,
the school district shall establish, for each classification, a
program in transitional bilingual education for the children
therein. A school district may establish a program in
transitional bilingual education with respect to any
classification with less than 20 children therein, but should a
school district decide not to establish such a program, the
school district shall provide a locally determined
transitional program of instruction which, based upon an
individual student language assessment, provides content area
instruction in a language other than English to the extent
necessary to ensure that each student can benefit from
educational instruction and achieve an early and effective
transition into the regular school curriculum.
    Every school-age English learner child of limited
English-speaking ability not enrolled in existing private
school systems shall be enrolled and participate in the program
in transitional bilingual education established for the
classification to which he belongs by the school district in
which he resides for a period of 3 years or until such time as
he achieves a level of English language skills which will
enable him to perform successfully in classes in which
instruction is given only in English, whichever shall first
occur.
    An English learner A child of limited English-speaking
ability enrolled in a program in transitional bilingual
education may, in the discretion of the school district and
subject to the approval of the child's parent or legal
guardian, continue in that program for a period longer than 3
years.
    An examination in the oral language (listening and
speaking), reading, and writing of English, as prescribed by
the State Board, shall be administered annually to all English
learners children of limited English-speaking ability enrolled
and participating in a program in transitional bilingual
education. No school district shall transfer an English learner
a child of limited English-speaking ability out of a program in
transitional bilingual education prior to his third year of
enrollment therein unless the parents of the child approve the
transfer in writing, and unless the child has received a score
on said examination which, in the determination of the State
Board, reflects a level of English language skills appropriate
to his or her grade level.
    If later evidence suggests that a child so transferred is
still disabled by an inadequate command of English, he may be
re-enrolled in the program for a length of time equal to that
which remained at the time he was transferred.
(Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14C-5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-5)
    Sec. 14C-5. Nonresident children; enrollment and tuition;
joint programs. A school district may allow a nonresident
English learner child of limited English-speaking ability to
enroll in or attend its program in transitional bilingual
education, and the tuition for such a child shall be paid by
the district in which he resides.
    Any school district may join with any other school district
or districts to provide the programs in transitional bilingual
education required or permitted by this Article.
(Source: P.A. 78-727.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14C-7)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-7)
    Sec. 14C-7. Participation in extracurricular activities of
public schools. Instruction in courses of subjects included in
a program of transitional bilingual education which are not
mandatory may be given in a language other than English. In
those courses or subjects in which verbalization is not
essential to an understanding of the subject matter, including
but not necessarily limited to art, music and physical
education, English learners children of limited
English-speaking ability shall participate fully with their
English-speaking contemporaries in the regular public school
classes provided for said subjects. Each school district shall
ensure to children enrolled in a program in transitional
bilingual education practical and meaningful opportunity to
participate fully in the extracurricular activities of the
regular public schools in the district.
(Source: P.A. 78-727.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14C-9)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-9)
    Sec. 14C-9. Tenure; minimum salaries. Any person employed
as a teacher of transitional bilingual education whose teaching
certificate was issued pursuant to Section 14C-8 (now repealed)
of this Code Article shall have such employment credited to him
or her for the purposes of determining under the provisions of
this Code eligibility to enter upon contractual continued
service; provided that such employment immediately precedes
and is consecutive with the year in which such person becomes
certified under Article 21 of this Code or licensed under
Article 21B of this Code.
    For the purposes of determining the minimum salaries
payable to persons certified under Section 14C-8 (now repealed)
of this Code Article, such persons shall be deemed to have been
trained at a recognized institution of higher learning.
(Source: P.A. 82-597.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/14C-11)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14C-11)
    Sec. 14C-11. Preschool or summer school programs. A school
district may establish, on a full or part-time basis, preschool
or summer school programs in transitional bilingual education
for English learners children of limited English-speaking
ability or join with the other school districts in establishing
such preschool or summer programs. Preschool or summer programs
in transitional bilingual education shall not substitute for
programs in transitional bilingual education required to be
provided during the regular school year.
(Source: P.A. 78-727.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning
on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
General Assembly, in all new applications to establish a
charter school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000,
operation of the charter school shall be limited to one campus.
The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the
93rd General Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing
or approved on or before the effective date of this amendatory
Act.
    (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means
a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and
instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with
their teachers at remote locations and with students
participating at different times.
    From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a
moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with
virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a
school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This
moratorium does not apply to a charter school with
virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to
April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter
school with virtual-schooling components already approved
prior to April 1, 2013.
    On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to
the General Assembly a report on the effect of
virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on
student performance, the costs associated with
virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall
include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open
Meetings Act.
    (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable
health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
under the laws of the State of Illinois.
    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
instructional materials, and student activities.
    (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
school. To ensure financial accountability for the use of
public funds, on or before December 1 of every year of
operation, each charter school shall submit to its authorizer
and the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form
990 the charter school filed that year with the federal
Internal Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for
proper financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer
may require quarterly financial statements from each charter
school.
    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
this Article, ; the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, ;
all federal and State laws and rules applicable to public
schools that pertain to special education and the instruction
of English language learners, referred to in this Code as
"children of limited English-speaking ability"; and its
charter. A charter school is exempt from all other State laws
and regulations in this Code governing public schools and local
school board policies, except the following:
        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code regarding
    criminal history records checks and checks of the Statewide
    Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent
    Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for
    employment;
        (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of this Code regarding
    discipline of students;
        (3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees
    Tort Immunity Act;
        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
    officers, directors, employees, and agents;
        (5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
        (6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
        (7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school report
    cards;
        (8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act;
    and
        (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
    prevention; and .
        (10) (9) Section 2-3.162 2-3.160 of this the School
    Code regarding student discipline reporting.
    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g)
is declaratory of existing law.
    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
school district, the governing body of a State college or
university or public community college, or any other public or
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
school building and grounds or any other real property or
facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and
maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required to
perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
However, a charter school that is established on or after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
Assembly and that operates in a city having a population
exceeding 500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
manage or operate the school during the period that commences
on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
General Assembly and concludes at the end of the 2004-2005
school year. Except as provided in subsection (i) of this
Section, a school district may charge a charter school
reasonable rent for the use of the district's buildings,
grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter
school contracts with a school district shall be provided by
the district at cost. Any services for which a charter school
contracts with a local school board or with the governing body
of a State college or university or public community college
shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
    (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
by converting an existing school or attendance center to
charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
to negotiation between the charter school and the local school
board and shall be set forth in the charter.
    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or
grade level.
    (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission,
then the Commission charter school is its own local education
agency.
(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12;
97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13; 98-639, eff. 6-9-14;
98-669, eff. 6-26-14; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-783, eff.
1-1-15; 98-1059, eff. 8-26-14; 98-1102, eff. 8-26-14; revised
10-14-14.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-2.4)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-2.4)
    Sec. 34-2.4. School improvement plan. A 3 year local school
improvement plan shall be developed and implemented at each
attendance center. This plan shall reflect the overriding
purpose of the attendance center to improve educational
quality. The local school principal shall develop a school
improvement plan in consultation with the local school council,
all categories of school staff, parents and community
residents. Once the plan is developed, reviewed by the
professional personnel leadership committee, and approved by
the local school council, the principal shall be responsible
for directing implementation of the plan, and the local school
council shall monitor its implementation. After the
termination of the initial 3 year plan, a new 3 year plan shall
be developed and modified as appropriate on an annual basis.
    The school improvement plan shall be designed to achieve
priority goals including but not limited to:
        (a) assuring that students show significant progress
    toward meeting and exceeding State performance standards
    in State mandated learning areas, including the mastery of
    higher order thinking skills in these areas;
        (b) assuring that students attend school regularly and
    graduate from school at such rates that the district
    average equals or surpasses national norms;
        (c) assuring that students are adequately prepared for
    and aided in making a successful transition to further
    education and life experience;
        (d) assuring that students are adequately prepared for
    and aided in making a successful transition to employment;
    and
        (e) assuring that students are, to the maximum extent
    possible, provided with a common learning experience that
    is of high academic quality and that reflects high
    expectations for all students' capacities to learn.
    With respect to these priority goals, the school
improvement plan shall include but not be limited to the
following:
        (a) an analysis of data collected in the attendance
    center and community indicating the specific strengths and
    weaknesses of the attendance center in light of the goals
    specified above, including data and analysis specified by
    the State Board of Education pertaining to specific
    measurable outcomes for student performance, the
    attendance centers, and their instructional programs;
        (b) a description of specific annual objectives the
    attendance center will pursue in achieving the goals
    specified above;
        (c) a description of the specific activities the
    attendance center will undertake to achieve its
    objectives;
        (d) an analysis of the attendance center's staffing
    pattern and material resources, and an explanation of how
    the attendance center's planned staffing pattern, the
    deployment of staff, and the use of material resources
    furthers the objectives of the plan;
        (e) a description of the key assumptions and directions
    of the school's curriculum and the academic and
    non-academic programs of the attendance center, and an
    explanation of how this curriculum and these programs
    further the goals and objectives of the plan;
        (f) a description of the steps that will be taken to
    enhance educational opportunities for all students,
    regardless of gender, including limited English learners
    proficient students, disabled students, low-income
    students and minority students;
        (g) a description of any steps which may be taken by
    the attendance center to educate parents as to how they can
    assist children at home in preparing their children to
    learn effectively;
        (h) a description of the steps the attendance center
    will take to coordinate its efforts with, and to gain the
    participation and support of, community residents,
    business organizations, and other local institutions and
    individuals;
        (i) a description of any staff development program for
    all school staff and volunteers tied to the priority goals,
    objectives, and activities specified in the plan;
        (j) a description of the steps the local school council
    will undertake to monitor implementation of the plan on an
    ongoing basis;
        (k) a description of the steps the attendance center
    will take to ensure that teachers have working conditions
    that provide a professional environment conducive to
    fulfilling their responsibilities;
        (l) a description of the steps the attendance center
    will take to ensure teachers the time and opportunity to
    incorporate new ideas and techniques, both in subject
    matter and teaching skills, into their own work;
        (m) a description of the steps the attendance center
    will take to encourage pride and positive identification
    with the attendance center through various athletic
    activities; and
        (n) a description of the student need for and provision
    of services to special populations, beyond the standard
    school programs provided for students in grades K through
    12 and those enumerated in the categorical programs cited
    in item d of part 4 of Section 34-2.3, including financial
    costs of providing same and a timeline for implementing the
    necessary services, including but not limited, when
    applicable, to ensuring the provisions of educational
    services to all eligible children aged 4 years for the
    1990-91 school year and thereafter, reducing class size to
    State averages in grades K-3 for the 1991-92 school year
    and thereafter and in all grades for the 1993-94 school
    year and thereafter, and providing sufficient staff and
    facility resources for students not served in the regular
    classroom setting.
    Based on the analysis of data collected indicating specific
strengths and weaknesses of the attendance center, the school
improvement plan may place greater emphasis from year to year
on particular priority goals, objectives, and activities.
(Source: P.A. 93-48, eff. 7-1-03.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-8.17)
    Sec. 34-8.17. Lump-sum allocation; key centralized
functions. Final designation as a Learning Zone under this Law
shall entitle the participating attendance centers to receive
funds in lump-sum allocations, to budget and spend those funds,
and to operate in accordance with the designation and this Law.
Lump-sum allocations shall be based on the number of enrolled
regular and special needs students and shall include all
operating funds for compensation, supplies, equipment,
repairs, energy, maintenance, transportation, and professional
services, and all special funds that follow special
populations, including desegregation, special education,
bilingual, federal, and State Chapter 1 funds. A sum equal to
3.2% of operating funds shall be deducted by the board to
provide key centralized functions, unless a designated
Learning Zone obtains one or more of those functions elsewhere,
in which case the sum shall be appropriately adjusted. As used
in this Law, key centralized functions shall mean:
        (1) Equity assurance staff to ensure that services are
    maintained for students with disabilities, limited English
    learners proficient students, low-income students, and any
    other special need students as required by federal law;
        (2) Payroll services and background and credential
    checks;
        (3) Budget and treasury services to levy and collect
    taxes and distribute lump-sum funding;
        (4) Central computer systems providing information
    distribution and networking;
        (5) On-line data collection and analysis centers for
    student and school data;
        (6) Emergency pool funding; and
        (7) Legal and labor departmental services for
    system-wide litigation and collective bargaining
    negotiations.
(Source: P.A. 89-3, eff. 2-27-95; 89-15, eff. 5-30-95.)
 
    Section 10. The Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive
Health Education Act is amended by changing Section 5 as
follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 110/5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 865)
    Sec. 5. Advisory Committee. An advisory committee
consisting of 11 members is hereby established as follows: the
Director of Public Health or his or her designee, the Secretary
of Human Services or his or her designee, and an additional
person representing the Department of Human Services
designated by the Secretary, the Director of Children and
Family Services or his or her designee, the Chairman of the
Illinois Joint Committee on School Health or his or her
designee, and 7 6 members to be appointed by the State Board of
Education to be chosen, insofar as is possible, from the
following groups: colleges and universities, voluntary health
agencies, medicine, dentistry, professional health
associations, teachers, administrators, members of local
boards of education, and lay citizens. The original public
members shall, upon their appointment, serve until July 1,
1973, and, thereafter, new appointments of public members shall
be made in like manner and such members shall serve for 4 year
terms commencing on July 1, 1973, and until their successors
are appointed and qualified. Vacancies in the terms of public
members shall be filled in like manner as original appointments
for the balance of the unexpired terms. The members of the
advisory committee shall receive no compensation but shall be
reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
performance of their duties. Such committee shall select a
chairman and establish rules and procedures for its proceedings
not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. Such
committee shall advise the State Board of Education on all
matters relating to the implementation of the provisions of
this Act. They shall assist in presenting advice and
interpretation concerning a comprehensive health education
program to the Illinois public, especially as related to
critical health problems. They shall also assist in
establishing a sound understanding and sympathetic
relationship between such comprehensive health education
program and the public health, welfare and educational programs
of other agencies in the community.
(Source: P.A. 90-372, eff. 7-1-98; 91-61, eff. 6-30-99.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.60 rep.)
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64b rep.)
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.120 rep.)
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.137 rep.)
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.147 rep.)
    (105 ILCS 5/3-11.5 rep.)
    (105 ILCS 5/22-65 rep.)
    (105 ILCS 5/22-75 rep.)
    Section 15. The School Code is amended by repealing
Sections 2-3.60, 2-3.64b, 2-3.120, 2-3.137, 2-3.147, 3-11.5,
22-65, and 22-75.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2015.
INDEX
Statutes amended in order of appearance
    105 ILCS 5/1A-10
    105 ILCS 5/1C-4
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.12from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.12
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.39from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.39
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.62from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.62
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-5
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.162
    105 ILCS 5/3-1from Ch. 122, par. 3-1
    105 ILCS 5/3-2.5
    105 ILCS 5/3-11from Ch. 122, par. 3-11
    105 ILCS 5/3-15.6from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.6
    105 ILCS 5/3-15.10from Ch. 122, par. 3-15.10
    105 ILCS 5/3-15.17
    105 ILCS 5/10-17afrom Ch. 122, par. 10-17a
    105 ILCS 5/14-8.02from Ch. 122, par. 14-8.02
    105 ILCS 5/14-9.01from Ch. 122, par. 14-9.01
    105 ILCS 5/14C-1from Ch. 122, par. 14C-1
    105 ILCS 5/14C-2from Ch. 122, par. 14C-2
    105 ILCS 5/14C-3from Ch. 122, par. 14C-3
    105 ILCS 5/14C-5from Ch. 122, par. 14C-5
    105 ILCS 5/14C-7from Ch. 122, par. 14C-7
    105 ILCS 5/14C-9from Ch. 122, par. 14C-9
    105 ILCS 5/14C-11from Ch. 122, par. 14C-11
    105 ILCS 5/27A-5
    105 ILCS 5/34-2.4from Ch. 122, par. 34-2.4
    105 ILCS 5/34-8.17
    105 ILCS 110/5from Ch. 122, par. 865
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.60 rep.
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.64b rep.
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.120 rep.
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.137 rep.
    105 ILCS 5/2-3.147 rep.
    105 ILCS 5/3-11.5 rep.
    105 ILCS 5/22-65 rep.
    105 ILCS 5/22-75 rep.