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Public Act 094-0235
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| SB1931 Enrolled |
LRB094 10885 RAS 41431 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, |
represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Education for Homeless Children Act is |
amended by changing Sections 1-25 and 1-30 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 45/1-25)
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Sec. 1-25. Ombudspersons; dispute resolution; civil |
actions.
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(a) Each regional superintendent of schools shall appoint
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act as an ombudsperson
who is fair and impartial and familiar |
with the educational rights and needs of homeless children to |
provide resource information and resolve disputes at schools |
within his or her jurisdiction relating to the rights of
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homeless children under this Act, except in Cook County, where |
each school
district shall designate a person to serve as |
ombudsperson when a dispute
arises. If a school denies a |
homeless child enrollment or transportation, it
shall |
immediately refer the child or his or her parent or guardian to |
the ombudsperson and provide the child or his or her parent or |
guardian with a written statement of the basis for the denial. |
The child
shall be admitted and transported to the school |
chosen by the parent or guardian
parents or
guardians until |
final resolution of the dispute. The ombudsperson shall
convene |
a meeting of all parties and attempt to resolve the dispute |
within 5
school days after receiving notice of the dispute, if |
possible.
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(a-5) Whenever a child and his or her parent or guardian |
who initially share the housing of another person due to loss |
of housing, economic hardship, or a similar hardship continue |
to share the housing, a school district may, after the passage |
of 18 months and annually thereafter, conduct a review as to |
whether such hardship continues to exist. The district may, at |
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the time of review, request information from the parent or |
guardian to reasonably establish the hardship, and sworn |
affidavits or declarations may be sought and provided. If, upon |
review, the district determines that the family no longer |
suffers such hardship, it may notify the family in writing and |
begin the process of dispute resolution as set forth in this |
Act. Any change required as a result of this review and |
determination shall be effective solely at the close of the |
school year. Any person who knowingly or willfully presents |
false information regarding the hardship of a child in any |
review under this subsection (a-5) shall be guilty of a Class C |
misdemeanor.
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(b) Any party to a dispute under this Act may file a civil |
action in a
court
of competent jurisdiction to seek appropriate |
relief. In any civil action, a
party whose rights under this |
Act are found to have been violated shall be
entitled to |
recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
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(c) If a dispute arises, the school district shall inform |
parents and
guardians of homeless children of the availability |
of the ombudsperson, sources
of low cost or free legal |
assistance, and other advocacy services in the
community.
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(Source: P.A. 88-634, eff. 1-1-95.)
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(105 ILCS 45/1-30)
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Sec. 1-30. McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children |
Act implementation and technical assistance
Committee. The |
Homeless Children Committee is abolished on the effective date |
of this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly. The Office |
of the Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and |
Youth, established pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento |
Homeless Assistance Act, shall convene meetings throughout the |
State for the purpose of providing technical assistance, |
education, training, and problem-solving regarding the |
implementation of this Act and the federal McKinney-Vento |
Homeless Assistance Act. These meetings shall include lead |
liaisons, local educational agency liaisons, educators, |
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shelter, housing, and service providers, homeless or formerly |
homeless persons, advocates working with homeless families, |
and other persons or agencies deemed appropriate by the |
Coordinator.
There is hereby created a
Homeless
Children |
Committee composed of 24 members, 18 of whom shall be appointed |
by the
State Superintendent of Education after consultation |
with advocates for the
homeless and private nonprofit |
organizations that advocate an end to
homelessness, 2 of whom |
shall be members of the General Assembly appointed (one
from |
each chamber) by the Governor, and 4 of whom shall be members |
of the
General Assembly appointed one each by the Speaker of |
the House of
Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House |
of Representatives, the
President of the Senate, and the |
Minority Leader of the Senate. Of the 18
members appointed by |
the State Superintendent of Education as provided in this
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Section, 6 shall be homeless and formerly homeless parents or |
guardians, 6
shall be providers to and advocates for homeless |
persons, and 6 shall be school
personnel from different |
geographic regions of the State. Members of the
Committee shall |
serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and a vacancy
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on the Committee shall be filled by the appropriate appointing |
authority. The
Committee shall have the authority to review and |
modify the current and future
State plans that are required |
under the federal Stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Act.
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(Source: P.A. 88-634, eff. 1-1-95.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law. |