Public Act 094-0973
 
HB5416 Enrolled LRB094 16945 NHT 52224 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
2-3.137 (added by Public Act 94-225) and 3-14.21 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.137)
    Sec. 2-3.137. Inspection and review of school facilities;
task force.
    (a) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the
documentation of school plan reviews and inspections of school
facilities, including the responsible individual's signature.
Such documents shall be kept on file by the regional
superintendent of schools. The State Board of Education shall
also adopt rules for the qualifications of persons performing
the reviews and inspections, which must be consistent with the
recommendations in the task force's report issued to the
Governor and the General Assembly under subsection (b) of this
Section. Those qualifications shall include requirements for
training, education, and at least 2 years of relevant
experience.
    (b) The State Board of Education shall convene a task force
for the purpose of reviewing the documents required under rules
adopted under subsection (a) of this Section and making
recommendations regarding training and accreditation of
individuals performing reviews or inspections required under
Section 2-3.12, 3-14.20, 3-14.21, or 3-14.22 of this Code,
including regional superintendents of schools and others
performing reviews or inspections under the authority of a
regional superintendent (such as consultants, municipalities,
and fire protection districts).
    The task force shall consist of all of the following
members:
        (1) The Executive Director of the Capital Development
    Board or his or her designee and a staff representative of
    the Division of Building Codes and Regulations.
        (2) The State Superintendent of Education or his or her
    designee.
        (3) A person appointed by the State Board of Education.
        (4) A person appointed by an organization representing
    school administrators.
        (5) A person appointed by an organization representing
    suburban school administrators and school board members.
        (6) A person appointed by an organization representing
    architects.
        (7) A person appointed by an organization representing
    regional superintendents of schools.
        (8) A person appointed by an organization representing
    fire inspectors.
        (9) A person appointed by an organization representing
    Code administrators.
        (10) A person appointed by an organization
    representing plumbing inspectors.
        (11) A person appointed by an organization that
    represents both parents and teachers.
        (12) A person appointed by an organization
    representing municipal governments in the State.
        (13) A person appointed by the State Fire Marshal from
    his or her office.
        (14) A person appointed by an organization
    representing fire chiefs.
        (15) The Director of Public Health or his or her
    designee.
        (16) A person appointed by an organization
    representing structural engineers.
        (17) A person appointed by an organization
    representing professional engineers.
    The task force shall issue a report of its findings to the
Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 1,
2006.
(Source: P.A. 94-225, eff. 7-14-05.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/3-14.21)  (from Ch. 122, par. 3-14.21)
    Sec. 3-14.21. Inspection of schools.
    (a) The regional superintendent shall inspect and survey
all public schools under his or her supervision and notify the
board of education, or the trustees of schools in a district
with trustees, in writing before July 30, whether or not the
several schools in their district have been kept as required by
law, using forms provided by the State Board of Education which
are based on the Health/Life Safety Code for Public Schools
adopted under Section 2-3.12. The regional superintendent
shall report his or her findings to the State Board of
Education on forms provided by the State Board of Education.
    (b) If the regional superintendent determines that a school
board has failed in a timely manner to correct urgent items
identified in a previous life-safety report completed under
Section 2-3.12 or as otherwise previously ordered by the
regional superintendent, the regional superintendent shall
order the school board to adopt and submit to the regional
superintendent a plan for the immediate correction of the
building violations. This plan shall be adopted following a
public hearing that is conducted by the school board on the
violations and the plan and that is preceded by at least 7
days' prior notice of the hearing published in a newspaper of
general circulation within the school district. If the regional
superintendent determines in the next annual inspection that
the plan has not been completed and that the violations have
not been corrected, the regional superintendent shall submit a
report to the State Board of Education with a recommendation
that the State Board withhold from payments of general State
aid due to the district an amount necessary to correct the
outstanding violations. The State Board, upon notice to the
school board and to the regional superintendent, shall consider
the report at a meeting of the State Board, and may order that
a sufficient amount of general State aid be withheld from
payments due to the district to correct the violations. This
amount shall be paid to the regional superintendent who shall
contract on behalf of the school board for the correction of
the outstanding violations.
    (c) The Office of the State Fire Marshal or a qualified
fire official, as defined in Section 2-3.12 of this Code, to
whom the State Fire Marshal has delegated his or her authority
shall conduct an annual fire safety inspection of each school
building in this State. The State Fire Marshal or the fire
official shall coordinate its inspections with the regional
superintendent. The inspection shall be based on the fire
safety code authorized in Section 2-3.12 of this Code. Any
violations shall be reported in writing to the regional
superintendent and school board and shall reference the
specific code sections where a discrepancy has been identified
within 15 days after the inspection has been conducted. The
regional superintendent shall address those violations that
are not corrected in a timely manner pursuant to subsection (b)
of this Section. The inspection must be at no cost to the
school district.
    (d) If a municipality or, in the case of an unincorporated
area, a county or, if applicable, a fire protection district
wishes to perform new construction inspections under the
jurisdiction of a regional superintendent, then the entity must
register this wish with the regional superintendent. These
inspections must be based on the building code authorized in
Section 2-3.12 of this Code. The inspections must be at no cost
to the school district.
(Source: P.A. 94-225, eff. 7-14-05.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2007