Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 095-0510
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Public Act 095-0510


 

Public Act 0510 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 095-0510
 
SB1474 Enrolled LRB095 11009 NHT 31321 b

    AN ACT concerning education.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 10. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
24A-2, 24A-4, 24A-5, 24A-7, 34-8.1, 34-85, and 34-85b and by
adding Section 34-85c as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/24A-2)  (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-2)
    Sec. 24A-2. Application. The provisions of this Article
shall apply to all public school districts organized and
operating pursuant to the provisions of this Code, including
special charter districts and those school districts operating
in accordance with Article 34, except that this Section does
not apply to teachers assigned to schools identified in an
agreement entered into between the board of a school district
operating under Article 34 and the exclusive representative of
the district's teachers in accordance with Section 34-85c of
this Code.
(Source: P.A. 84-972.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/24A-4)  (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-4)
    Sec. 24A-4. Development and submission of evaluation plan.
As used in this and the succeeding Sections, "teacher" means
any and all school district employees regularly required to be
certified under laws relating to the certification of teachers.
Each school district shall develop, in cooperation with its
teachers or, where applicable, the exclusive bargaining
representatives of its teachers, an evaluation plan for all
teachers in contractual continued service. The district shall,
no later than October 1, 1986, submit a copy of its evaluation
plan to the State Board of Education, which shall review the
plan and make public its comments thereon, and the district
shall at the same time provide a copy to the exclusive
bargaining representatives. Whenever any substantive change is
made in a district's evaluation plan, the new plan shall be
submitted to the State Board of Education for review and
comment, and the district shall at the same time provide a copy
of any such new plan to the exclusive bargaining
representatives. The board of a school district operating under
Article 34 of this Code and the exclusive representative of the
district's teachers shall submit a certified copy of an
agreement entered into under Section 34-85c of this Code to the
State Board of Education, and that agreement shall constitute
the teacher evaluation plan for teachers assigned to schools
identified in that agreement. Whenever any substantive change
is made in an agreement entered into under Section 34-85c of
this Code by the board of a school district operating under
Article 34 of this Code and the exclusive representative of the
district's teachers, the new agreement shall be submitted to
the State Board of Education.
(Source: P.A. 85-1163.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/24A-5)  (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5)
    Sec. 24A-5. Content of evaluation plans. This Section does
not apply to teachers assigned to schools identified in an
agreement entered into between the board of a school district
operating under Article 34 of this Code and the exclusive
representative of the district's teachers in accordance with
Section 34-85c of this Code. Each school district to which this
Article applies shall establish a teacher evaluation plan which
ensures that each teacher in contractual continued service is
evaluated at least once in the course of every 2 school years,
beginning with the 1986-87 school year.
    The evaluation plan shall comply with the requirements of
this Section and of any rules adopted by the State Board of
Education pursuant to this Section.
    The plan shall include a description of each teacher's
duties and responsibilities and of the standards to which that
teacher is expected to conform.
    The plan may provide for evaluation of personnel whose
positions require administrative certification by independent
evaluators not employed by or affiliated with the school
district. The results of the school district administrators'
evaluations shall be reported to the employing school board,
together with such recommendations for remediation as the
evaluator or evaluators may deem appropriate.
    Evaluation of teachers whose positions do not require
administrative certification shall be conducted by an
administrator qualified under Section 24A-3, or -- in school
districts having a population exceeding 500,000 -- by either an
administrator qualified under Section 24A-3 or an assistant
principal under the supervision of an administrator qualified
under Section 24A-3, and shall include at least the following
components:
        (a) personal observation of the teacher in the
    classroom (on at least 2 different school days in school
    districts having a population exceeding 500,000) by a
    district administrator qualified under Section 24A-3, or -
    - in school districts having a population exceeding
    500,000 -- by either an administrator qualified under
    Section 24A-3 or an assistant principal under the
    supervision of an administrator qualified under Section
    24A-3, unless the teacher has no classroom duties.
        (b) consideration of the teacher's attendance,
    planning, and instructional methods, classroom management,
    where relevant, and competency in the subject matter
    taught, where relevant.
        (c) rating of the teacher's performance as
    "excellent", "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory".
        (d) specification as to the teacher's strengths and
    weaknesses, with supporting reasons for the comments made.
        (e) inclusion of a copy of the evaluation in the
    teacher's personnel file and provision of a copy to the
    teacher.
        (f) within 30 days after completion of an evaluation
    rating a teacher as "unsatisfactory", development and
    commencement by the district, or by an administrator
    qualified under Section 24A-3 or an assistant principal
    under the supervision of an administrator qualified under
    Section 24A-3 in school districts having a population
    exceeding 500,000, of a remediation plan designed to
    correct deficiencies cited, provided the deficiencies are
    deemed remediable. In all school districts the remediation
    plan for unsatisfactory, tenured teachers shall provide
    for 90 school days of remediation within the classroom. In
    all school districts evaluations issued pursuant to this
    Section shall be issued within 10 days after the conclusion
    of the respective remediation plan. However, the school
    board or other governing authority of the district shall
    not lose jurisdiction to discharge a teacher in the event
    the evaluation is not issued within 10 days after the
    conclusion of the respective remediation plan.
        (g) participation in the remediation plan by the
    teacher rated "unsatisfactory", a district administrator
    qualified under Section 24A-3 (or -- in a school district
    having a population exceeding 500,000 -- an administrator
    qualified under Section 24A-3 or an assistant principal
    under the supervision of an administrator qualified under
    Section 24A-3), and a consulting teacher, selected by the
    participating administrator or by the principal, or -- in
    school districts having a population exceeding 500,000 --
    by an administrator qualified under Section 24A-3 or by an
    assistant principal under the supervision of an
    administrator qualified under Section 24A-3, of the
    teacher who was rated "unsatisfactory", which consulting
    teacher is an educational employee as defined in the
    Educational Labor Relations Act, has at least 5 years'
    teaching experience and a reasonable familiarity with the
    assignment of the teacher being evaluated, and who received
    an "excellent" rating on his or her most recent evaluation.
    Where no teachers who meet these criteria are available
    within the district, the district shall request and the
    State Board of Education shall supply, to participate in
    the remediation process, an individual who meets these
    criteria.
        In a district having a population of less than 500,000
    with an exclusive bargaining agent, the bargaining agent
    may, if it so chooses, supply a roster of qualified
    teachers from whom the consulting teacher is to be
    selected. That roster shall, however, contain the names of
    at least 5 teachers, each of whom meets the criteria for
    consulting teacher with regard to the teacher being
    evaluated, or the names of all teachers so qualified if
    that number is less than 5. In the event of a dispute as to
    qualification, the State Board shall determine
    qualification.
        (h) evaluations and ratings once every 30 school days
    for the 90 school day remediation period immediately
    following receipt of a remediation plan provided for under
    subsections (f) and (g) of this Section; provided that in
    school districts having a population exceeding 500,000
    there shall be monthly evaluations and ratings for the
    first 6 months and quarterly evaluations and ratings for
    the next 6 months immediately following completion of the
    remediation program of a teacher for whom a remediation
    plan has been developed. These subsequent evaluations
    shall be conducted by the participating administrator, or -
    - in school districts having a population exceeding
    500,000 -- by either the principal or by an assistant
    principal under the supervision of an administrator
    qualified under Section 24A-3. The consulting teacher
    shall provide advice to the teacher rated "unsatisfactory"
    on how to improve teaching skills and to successfully
    complete the remediation plan. The consulting teacher
    shall participate in developing the remediation plan, but
    the final decision as to the evaluation shall be done
    solely by the administrator, or -- in school districts
    having a population exceeding 500,000 -- by either the
    principal or by an assistant principal under the
    supervision of an administrator qualified under Section
    24A-3, unless an applicable collective bargaining
    agreement provides to the contrary. Teachers in the
    remediation process in a school district having a
    population exceeding 500,000 are not subject to the annual
    evaluations described in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this
    Section. Evaluations at the conclusion of the remediation
    process shall be separate and distinct from the required
    annual evaluations of teachers and shall not be subject to
    the guidelines and procedures relating to those annual
    evaluations. The evaluator may but is not required to use
    the forms provided for the annual evaluation of teachers in
    the district's evaluation plan.
        (i) in school districts having a population of less
    than 500,000, reinstatement to a schedule of biennial
    evaluation for any teacher who completes the 90 school day
    remediation plan with a "satisfactory" or better rating,
    unless the district's plan regularly requires more
    frequent evaluations; and in school districts having a
    population exceeding 500,000, reinstatement to a schedule
    of biennial evaluation for any teacher who completes the 90
    school day remediation plan with a "satisfactory" or better
    rating and the one year intensive review schedule as
    provided in paragraph (h) of this Section with a
    "satisfactory" or better rating, unless such district's
    plan regularly requires more frequent evaluations.
        (j) dismissal in accordance with Section 24-12 or 34-85
    of The School Code of any teacher who fails to complete any
    applicable remediation plan with a "satisfactory" or
    better rating. Districts and teachers subject to dismissal
    hearings are precluded from compelling the testimony of
    consulting teachers at such hearings under Section 24-12 or
    34-85, either as to the rating process or for opinions of
    performances by teachers under remediation.
    In a district subject to a collective bargaining agreement
as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, any
changes made by this amendatory Act to the provisions of this
Section that are contrary to the express terms and provisions
of that agreement shall go into effect in that district only
upon expiration of that agreement. Thereafter, collectively
bargained evaluation plans shall at a minimum meet the
standards of this Article. If such a district has an evaluation
plan, however, whether pursuant to the collective bargaining
agreement or otherwise, a copy of that plan shall be submitted
to the State Board of Education for review and comment, in
accordance with Section 24A-4.
    Nothing in this Section shall be construed as preventing
immediate dismissal of a teacher for deficiencies which are
deemed irremediable or for actions which are injurious to or
endanger the health or person of students in the classroom or
school. Failure to strictly comply with the time requirements
contained in Section 24A-5 shall not invalidate the results of
the remediation plan.
(Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98; 90-653,
eff. 7-29-98.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/24A-7)  (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-7)
    Sec. 24A-7. Rules. The State Board of Education is
authorized to adopt such rules as are deemed necessary to
implement and accomplish the purposes and provisions of this
Article, except that these rules shall not apply to teachers
assigned to schools identified in an agreement entered into
between the board of a school district operating under Article
34 of this Code and the exclusive representative of the
district's teachers in accordance with Section 34-85c of this
Code.
(Source: P.A. 84-972.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-8.1)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-8.1)
    Sec. 34-8.1. Principals. Principals shall be employed to
supervise the operation of each attendance center. Their powers
and duties shall include but not be limited to the authority
(i) to direct, supervise, evaluate, and suspend with or without
pay or otherwise discipline all teachers, assistant
principals, and other employees assigned to the attendance
center in accordance with board rules and policies and (ii) to
direct all other persons assigned to the attendance center
pursuant to a contract with a third party to provide services
to the school system. The right to employ, discharge, and
layoff shall be vested solely with the board, provided that
decisions to discharge or suspend non-certified employees,
including disciplinary layoffs, and the termination of
certified employees from employment pursuant to a layoff or
reassignment policy are subject to review under the grievance
resolution procedure adopted pursuant to subsection (c) of
Section 10 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. The
grievance resolution procedure adopted by the board shall
provide for final and binding arbitration, and,
notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
arbitrator's decision may include all make-whole relief,
including without limitation reinstatement. The principal
shall fill positions by appointment as provided in this Section
and may make recommendations to the board regarding the
employment, discharge, or layoff of any individual. The
authority of the principal shall include the authority to
direct the hours during which the attendance center shall be
open and available for use provided the use complies with board
rules and policies, to determine when and what operations shall
be conducted within those hours, and to schedule staff within
those hours. Under the direction of, and subject to the
authority of the principal, the Engineer In Charge shall be
accountable for the safe, economical operation of the plant and
grounds and shall also be responsible for orientation,
training, and supervising the work of Engineers, Trainees,
school maintenance assistants, custodial workers and other
plant operation employees under his or her direction.
    There shall be established by the board a system of
semi-annual evaluations conducted by the principal as to
performance of the engineer in charge. Nothing in this Section
shall prevent the principal from conducting additional
evaluations. An overall numerical rating shall be given by the
principal based on the evaluation conducted by the principal.
An unsatisfactory numerical rating shall result in
disciplinary action, which may include, without limitation and
in the judgment of the principal, loss of promotion or bidding
procedure, reprimand, suspension with or without pay, or
recommended dismissal. The board shall establish procedures
for conducting the evaluation and reporting the results to the
engineer in charge.
    Under the direction of, and subject to the authority of,
the principal, the Food Service Manager is responsible at all
times for the proper operation and maintenance of the lunch
room to which he is assigned and shall also be responsible for
the orientation, training, and supervising the work of cooks,
bakers, porters, and lunchroom attendants under his or her
direction.
    There shall be established by the Board a system of
semi-annual evaluations conducted by the principal as to the
performance of the food service manager. Nothing in this
Section shall prevent the principal from conducting additional
evaluations. An overall numerical rating shall be given by the
principal based on the evaluation conducted by the principal.
An unsatisfactory numerical rating shall result in
disciplinary action which may include, without limitation and
in the judgment of the principal, loss of promotion or bidding
procedure, reprimand, suspension with or without pay, or
recommended dismissal. The board shall establish rules for
conducting the evaluation and reporting the results to the food
service manager.
    Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to require the
employment or assignment of an Engineer-In-Charge or a Food
Service Manager for each attendance center.
    Principals shall be employed to supervise the educational
operation of each attendance center. If a principal is absent
due to extended illness or leave or absence, an assistant
principal may be assigned as acting principal for a period not
to exceed 100 school days. Each principal shall assume
administrative responsibility and instructional leadership, in
accordance with reasonable rules and regulations of the board,
for the planning, operation and evaluation of the educational
program of the attendance center to which he is assigned. The
principal shall submit recommendations to the general
superintendent concerning the appointment, dismissal,
retention, promotion, and assignment of all personnel assigned
to the attendance center; provided, that from and after
September 1, 1989: (i) if any vacancy occurs in a position at
the attendance center or if an additional or new position is
created at the attendance center, that position shall be filled
by appointment made by the principal in accordance with
procedures established and provided by the Board whenever the
majority of the duties included in that position are to be
performed at the attendance center which is under the
principal's supervision, and each such appointment so made by
the principal shall be made and based upon merit and ability to
perform in that position without regard to seniority or length
of service, provided, that such appointments shall be subject
to the Board's desegregation obligations, including but not
limited to the Consent Decree and Desegregation Plan in U.S. v.
Chicago Board of Education; (ii) the principal shall submit
recommendations based upon merit and ability to perform in the
particular position, without regard to seniority or length of
service, to the general superintendent concerning the
appointment of any teacher, teacher aide, counselor, clerk,
hall guard, security guard and any other personnel which is to
be made by the general superintendent whenever less than a
majority of the duties of that teacher, teacher aide,
counselor, clerk, hall guard, and security guard and any other
personnel are to be performed at the attendance center which is
under the principal's supervision; and (iii) subject to law and
the applicable collective bargaining agreements, the authority
and responsibilities of a principal with respect to the
evaluation of all teachers and other personnel assigned to an
attendance center shall commence immediately upon his or her
appointment as principal of the attendance center, without
regard to the length of time that he or she has been the
principal of that attendance center.
    Notwithstanding the existence of any other law of this
State, nothing in this Act shall prevent the board from
entering into a contract with a third party for services
currently performed by any employee or bargaining unit member.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, each
principal may approve contracts, binding on the board, in the
amount of no more than $10,000, if the contract is endorsed by
the Local School Council.
    Unless otherwise prohibited by law or by rule of the board,
the principal shall provide to local school council members
copies of all internal audits and any other pertinent
information generated by any audits or reviews of the programs
and operation of the attendance center.
    Each principal shall hold a valid administrative
certificate issued or exchanged in accordance with Article 21
and endorsed as required by that Article for the position of
principal. The board may establish or impose academic,
educational, examination, and experience requirements and
criteria that are in addition to those established and required
by Article 21 for issuance of a valid certificate endorsed for
the position of principal as a condition of the nomination,
selection, appointment, employment, or continued employment of
a person as principal of any attendance center, or as a
condition of the renewal of any principal's performance
contract.
    The board shall specify in its formal job description for
principals, and from and after July 1, 1990 shall specify in
the 4 year performance contracts for use with respect to all
principals, that his or her primary responsibility is in the
improvement of instruction. A majority of the time spent by a
principal shall be spent on curriculum and staff development
through both formal and informal activities, establishing
clear lines of communication regarding school goals,
accomplishments, practices and policies with parents and
teachers. The principal, with the assistance of the local
school council, shall develop a school improvement plan as
provided in Section 34-2.4 and, upon approval of the plan by
the local school council, shall be responsible for directing
implementation of the plan. The principal, with the assistance
of the professional personnel leadership committee, shall
develop the specific methods and contents of the school's
curriculum within the board's system-wide curriculum standards
and objectives and the requirements of the school improvement
plan. The board shall ensure that all principals are evaluated
on their instructional leadership ability and their ability to
maintain a positive education and learning climate. It shall
also be the responsibility of the principal to utilize
resources of proper law enforcement agencies when the safety
and welfare of students and teachers are threatened by illegal
use of drugs and alcohol, by illegal use or possession of
weapons, or by illegal gang activity.
    Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the board and the
exclusive representative of the district's teachers from
entering into an agreement under Section 34-85c of this Code to
establish alternative procedures for teacher evaluation,
remediation, and removal for cause after remediation,
including an alternative system for peer evaluation and
recommendations, for teachers assigned to schools identified
in that agreement.
    On or before October 1, 1989, the Board of Education, in
consultation with any professional organization representing
principals in the district, shall promulgate rules and
implement a lottery for the purpose of determining whether a
principal's existing performance contract (including the
performance contract applicable to any principal's position in
which a vacancy then exists) expires on June 30, 1990 or on
June 30, 1991, and whether the ensuing 4 year performance
contract begins on July 1, 1990 or July 1, 1991. The Board of
Education shall establish and conduct the lottery in such
manner that of all the performance contracts of principals
(including the performance contracts applicable to all
principal positions in which a vacancy then exists), 50% of
such contracts shall expire on June 30, 1990, and 50% shall
expire on June 30, 1991. All persons serving as principal on
May 1, 1989, and all persons appointed as principal after May
1, 1989 and prior to July 1, 1990 or July 1, 1991, in a manner
other than as provided by Section 34-2.3, shall be deemed by
operation of law to be serving under a performance contract
which expires on June 30, 1990 or June 30, 1991; and unless
such performance contract of any such principal is renewed (or
such person is again appointed to serve as principal) in the
manner provided by Section 34-2.2 or 34-2.3, the employment of
such person as principal shall terminate on June 30, 1990 or
June 30, 1991.
    Commencing on July 1, 1990, or on July 1, 1991, and
thereafter, the principal of each attendance center shall be
the person selected in the manner provided by Section 34-2.3 to
serve as principal of that attendance center under a 4 year
performance contract. All performance contracts of principals
expiring after July 1, 1990, or July 1, 1991, shall commence on
the date specified in the contract, and the renewal of their
performance contracts and the appointment of principals when
their performance contracts are not renewed shall be governed
by Sections 34-2.2 and 34-2.3. Whenever a vacancy in the office
of a principal occurs for any reason, the vacancy shall be
filled by the selection of a new principal to serve under a 4
year performance contract in the manner provided by Section
34-2.3.
    The board of education shall develop and prepare, in
consultation with the organization representing principals, a
performance contract for use at all attendance centers, and
shall furnish the same to each local school council. The term
of the performance contract shall be 4 years, unless the
principal is retained by the decision of a hearing officer
pursuant to subdivision 1.5 of Section 34-2.3, in which case
the contract shall be extended for 2 years. The performance
contract of each principal shall consist of the uniform
performance contract, as developed or from time to time
modified by the board, and such additional criteria as are
established by a local school council pursuant to Section
34-2.3 for the performance contract of its principal.
    During the term of his or her performance contract, a
principal may be removed only as provided for in the
performance contract except for cause. He or she shall also be
obliged to follow the rules of the board of education
concerning conduct and efficiency.
    In the event the performance contract of a principal is not
renewed or a principal is not reappointed as principal under a
new performance contract, or in the event a principal is
appointed to any position of superintendent or higher position,
or voluntarily resigns his position of principal, his or her
employment as a principal shall terminate and such former
principal shall not be reinstated to the position from which he
or she was promoted to principal, except that he or she, if
otherwise qualified and certified in accordance with Article
21, shall be placed by the board on appropriate eligibility
lists which it prepares for use in the filling of vacant or
additional or newly created positions for teachers. The
principal's total years of service to the board as both a
teacher and a principal, or in other professional capacities,
shall be used in calculating years of experience for purposes
of being selected as a teacher into new, additional or vacant
positions.
    In the event the performance contract of a principal is not
renewed or a principal is not reappointed as principal under a
new performance contract, such principal shall be eligible to
continue to receive his or her previously provided level of
health insurance benefits for a period of 90 days following the
non-renewal of the contract at no expense to the principal,
provided that such principal has not retired.
(Source: P.A. 93-3, eff. 4-16-03; 93-48, eff. 7-1-03; revised
9-11-03.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-85)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-85)
    Sec. 34-85. Removal for cause; Notice and hearing;
Suspension. No teacher employed by the board of education shall
(after serving the probationary period specified in Section
34-84) be removed except for cause. Teachers (who have
completed the probationary period specified in Section 34-84 of
this Code) shall be removed for cause in accordance with the
procedures set forth in this Section or such other procedures
established in an agreement entered into between the board and
the exclusive representative of the district's teachers under
Section 34-85c of this Code for teachers (who have completed
the probationary period specified in Section 34-84 of this
Code) assigned to schools identified in that agreement. No
principal employed by the board of education shall be removed
during the term of his or her performance contract except for
cause, which may include but is not limited to the principal's
repeated failure to implement the school improvement plan or to
comply with the provisions of the Uniform Performance Contract,
including additional criteria established by the Council for
inclusion in the performance contract pursuant to Section
34-2.3.
    The general superintendent must first approve written
charges and specifications against the teacher or principal. A
local school council may direct the general superintendent to
approve written charges against its principal on behalf of the
Council upon the vote of 7 members of the Council. The general
superintendent must approve those charges within 45 days or
provide a written reason for not approving those charges. A
written notice of those charges shall be served upon the
teacher or principal within 10 days of the approval of the
charges. If the teacher or principal cannot be found upon
diligent inquiry, such charges may be served upon him by
mailing a copy thereof in a sealed envelope by prepaid
certified mail, return receipt requested, to the teacher's or
principal's last known address. A return receipt showing
delivery to such address within 20 days after the date of the
approval of the charges shall constitute proof of service.
    No hearing upon the charges is required unless the teacher
or principal within 10 days after receiving notice requests in
writing of the general superintendent that a hearing be
scheduled, in which case the general superintendent shall
schedule a hearing on those charges before a disinterested
hearing officer on a date no less than 15 nor more than 30 days
after the approval of the charges. The general superintendent
shall forward a copy of the notice to the State Board of
Education within 5 days from the date of the approval of the
charges. Within 10 days after receiving the notice of hearing,
the State Board of Education shall provide the teacher or
principal and the general superintendent with a list of 5
prospective, impartial hearing officers. Each person on the
list must be accredited by a national arbitration organization
and have had a minimum of 5 years of experience as an
arbitrator in cases involving labor and employment relations
matters between educational employers and educational
employees or their exclusive bargaining representatives.
    The general superintendent and the teacher or principal or
their legal representatives within 3 days from receipt of the
list shall alternately strike one name from the list until only
one name remains. Unless waived by the teacher, the teacher or
principal shall have the right to proceed first with the
striking. Within 3 days of receipt of the first list provided
by the State Board of Education, the general superintendent and
the teacher or principal or their legal representatives shall
each have the right to reject all prospective hearing officers
named on the first list and to require the State Board of
Education to provide a second list of 5 prospective, impartial
hearing officers, none of whom were named on the first list.
Within 5 days after receiving this request for a second list,
the State Board of Education shall provide the second list of 5
prospective, impartial hearing officers. The procedure for
selecting a hearing officer from the second list shall be the
same as the procedure for the first list. Each party shall
promptly serve written notice on the other of any name stricken
from the list. If the teacher or principal fails to do so, the
general superintendent may select the hearing officer from any
name remaining on the list. The teacher or principal may waive
the hearing at any time prior to the appointment of the hearing
officer. Notice of the selection of the hearing officer shall
be given to the State Board of Education. The hearing officer
shall be notified of his selection by the State Board of
Education. A signed acceptance shall be filed with the State
Board of Education within 5 days of receipt of notice of the
selection. The State Board of Education shall notify the
teacher or principal and the board of its appointment of the
hearing officer. In the alternative to selecting a hearing
officer from the first or second list received from the State
Board of Education, the general superintendent and the teacher
or principal or their legal representatives may mutually agree
to select an impartial hearing officer who is not on a list
received from the State Board of Education, either by direct
appointment by the parties or by using procedures for the
appointment of an arbitrator established by the Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration
Association. The parties shall notify the State Board of
Education of their intent to select a hearing officer using an
alternative procedure within 3 days of receipt of a list of
prospective hearing officers provided by the State Board of
Education. Any person selected by the parties under this
alternative procedure for the selection of a hearing officer
shall have the same qualifications and authority as a hearing
officer selected from a list provided by the State Board of
Education. The teacher or principal may waive the hearing at
any time prior to the appointment of the hearing officer. The
State Board of Education shall promulgate uniform standards and
rules of procedure for such hearings, including reasonable
rules of discovery.
    The per diem allowance for the hearing officer shall be
paid by the State Board of Education. The hearing officer shall
hold a hearing and render findings of fact and a recommendation
to the general superintendent. The teacher or principal has the
privilege of being present at the hearing with counsel and of
cross-examining witnesses and may offer evidence and witnesses
and present defenses to the charges. The hearing officer may
issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and, at
the request of the teacher or principal against whom a charge
is made or the general superintendent, shall issue such
subpoenas, but the hearing officer may limit the number of
witnesses to be subpoenaed in behalf of the teacher or
principal or the general superintendent to not more than 10
each. All testimony at the hearing shall be taken under oath
administered by the hearing officer. The hearing officer shall
cause a record of the proceedings to be kept and shall employ a
competent reporter to take stenographic or stenotype notes of
all the testimony. The costs of the reporter's attendance and
services at the hearing shall be paid by the State Board of
Education. Either party desiring a transcript of the hearing
shall pay for the cost thereof.
    Pending the hearing of the charges, the person charged may
be suspended in accordance with rules prescribed by the board
but such person, if acquitted, shall not suffer any loss of
salary by reason of the suspension.
    Before service of notice of charges on account of causes
that may be deemed to be remediable, the teacher or principal
shall be given reasonable warning in writing, stating
specifically the causes which, if not removed, may result in
charges; however, no such written warning shall be required if
the causes have been the subject of a remediation plan pursuant
to Article 24A or where the board of education and the
exclusive representative of the district's teachers have
entered into an agreement pursuant to Section 34-85c of this
Code, pursuant to an alternative system of remediation. No
written warning shall be required for conduct on the part of a
teacher or principal which is cruel, immoral, negligent, or
criminal or which in any way causes psychological or physical
harm or injury to a student as that conduct is deemed to be
irremediable. No written warning shall be required for a
material breach of the uniform principal performance contract
as that conduct is deemed to be irremediable; provided however,
that not less than 30 days before the vote of the local school
council to seek the dismissal of a principal for a material
breach of a uniform principal performance contract, the local
school council shall specify the nature of the alleged breach
in writing and provide a copy of it to the principal.
    The hearing officer shall consider and give weight to all
of the teacher's evaluations written pursuant to Article 24A.
    The hearing officer shall within 45 days from the
conclusion of the hearing report to the general superintendent
findings of fact and a recommendation as to whether or not the
teacher or principal shall be dismissed and shall give a copy
of the report to both the teacher or principal and the general
superintendent. The board, within 45 days of receipt of the
hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation, shall
make a decision as to whether the teacher or principal shall be
dismissed from its employ. The failure of the board to strictly
adhere to the timeliness contained herein shall not render it
without jurisdiction to dismiss the teacher or principal. If
the hearing officer fails to render a decision within 45 days,
the State Board of Education shall communicate with the hearing
officer to determine the date that the parties can reasonably
expect to receive the decision. The State Board of Education
shall provide copies of all such communications to the parties.
In the event the hearing officer fails without good cause to
make a decision within the 45 day period, the name of such
hearing officer shall be struck for a period not less than 24
months from the master list of hearing officers maintained by
the State Board of Education. The board shall not lose
jurisdiction to discharge the teacher or principal if the
hearing officer fails to render a decision within the time
specified in this Section. If a hearing officer fails to render
a decision within 3 months after the hearing is declared
closed, the State Board of Education shall provide the parties
with a new list of prospective, impartial hearing officers,
with the same qualifications provided herein, one of whom shall
be selected, as provided in this Section, to rehear the charges
heard by the hearing officer who failed to render a decision.
The parties may also select a hearing officer pursuant to the
alternative procedure, as provided in this Section, to rehear
the charges heard by the hearing officer who failed to render a
decision. A violation of the professional standards set forth
in "The Code of Professional Responsibility for Arbitrators of
Labor-Management Disputes", of the National Academy of
Arbitrators, the American Arbitration Association, and the
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, or the failure of a
hearing officer to render a decision within 3 months after the
hearing is declared closed shall be grounds for removal of the
hearing officer from the master list of hearing officers
maintained by the State Board of Education. The decision of the
board is final unless reviewed as provided in Section 34-85b of
this Act.
    In the event judicial review is instituted, any costs of
preparing and filing the record of proceedings shall be paid by
the party instituting the review. If a decision of the board
hearing officer is adjudicated upon review or appeal in favor
of the teacher or principal, then the trial court shall order
reinstatement and shall determine the amount for which the
board is liable including but not limited to loss of income and
costs incurred therein. Nothing in this Section affects the
validity of removal for cause hearings commenced prior to the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1978.
(Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-85b)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-85b)
    Sec. 34-85b. The provisions of the Administrative Review
Law, and all amendments and modifications thereof and the rules
adopted pursuant thereto, shall apply to and govern all
proceedings instituted for the judicial review by either the
employee, teacher, or a principal or the board of final
administrative decisions of the board hearing officer under
Sections 34-15 and 34-85 of this Act. The term "administrative
decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(Source: P.A. 82-783.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-85c new)
    Sec. 34-85c. Alternative procedures for teacher
evaluation, remediation, and removal for cause after
remediation.
    (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the board and
the exclusive representative of the district's teachers are
hereby authorized to enter into an agreement to establish
alternative procedures for teacher evaluation, remediation,
and removal for cause after remediation, including an
alternative system for peer evaluation and recommendations.
Pursuant exclusively to that agreement, teachers assigned to
schools identified in that agreement shall be subject to an
alternative performance evaluation plan and remediation
procedures in lieu of the plan and procedures set forth in
Article 24A of this Code and alternative removal for cause
standards and procedures in lieu of the removal standards and
procedures set forth in Sections 34-85 and 34-85b of this Code.
To the extent that the agreement provides a teacher with an
opportunity for a hearing on removal for cause before an
independent hearing officer in accordance with Sections 34-85
and 34-85b or otherwise, the hearing officer shall be governed
by the alternative performance evaluation plan, remediation
procedures, and removal standards and procedures set forth in
the agreement in making findings of fact and a recommendation.
    (b) The board and the exclusive representative of the
district's teachers shall submit a certified copy of an
agreement as provided under subsection (a) of this Section to
the State Board of Education.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/28/2007