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| Public Act 102-1139 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||
34-8.1 as follows:
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(105 ILCS 5/34-8.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-8.1)
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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
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direct
all other persons assigned to the
attendance center | ||||
pursuant to a contract with a third party to provide services
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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
nonlicensed employees, | ||||
including disciplinary layoffs, and the
termination of | ||||
licensed 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,
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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
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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,
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Trainees, school maintenance assistants, custodial workers and | ||
other plant
operation employees under his or her direction.
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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
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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
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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
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recommended dismissal. The board shall establish
procedures | ||
for conducting the
evaluation
and reporting the results to the | ||
engineer in charge.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Principals shall be employed to supervise the educational | ||
operation of
each attendance center. If a principal is absent | ||
due to extended
illness or leave of 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
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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
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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,
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Each principal shall hold a valid Professional Educator | ||
License issued in accordance with Article 21B and endorsed
as | ||
required by that Article for the position of principal. The | ||
board may
establish or impose clear, specific, explicit, and | ||
objective academic,
educational, examination, and experience | ||
requirements and
criteria that are in addition
to those | ||
established and required by Article 21B for issuance of a | ||
valid license
endorsed for the position of principal as a | ||
condition of the nomination, selection,
appointment,
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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. If the additional | ||
requirements and criteria result or may result in the | ||
exclusion of an otherwise qualified and licensed candidate | ||
from being eligible for selection to serve as a principal of an | ||
attendance center, then the board shall maintain a public | ||
database that includes the names of all the candidates who are | ||
eligible to be selected as a principal and who do not choose to | ||
not have their name included in the database. The board shall | ||
give notice of no less than 30 days to all otherwise qualified | ||
and licensed candidates each quarter of their ability to be | ||
included in the database and shall make updates to the | ||
database within no more than 10 days after the end of the | ||
quarter for which notice is given.
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The board must establish standards and procedures to | ||
ensure that no candidate is deemed ineligible to be selected | ||
as a principal for reasons that are not directly related to the | ||
candidate's anticipated performance as a principal. The | ||
standards and procedures established by the board must do all | ||
of the following: | ||
(1) Set forth all of the specific criteria used by the | ||
board to make decisions concerning the eligibility of | ||
candidates. | ||
(2) Provide each candidate with a written, | ||
competency-aligned score report and evidence-based | ||
rationale related to the scoring criteria for each | ||
competency area. | ||
(3) Provide remediation goals and other supportive | ||
services to assist a candidate in correcting any | ||
deficiencies identified by the board in the board's | ||
rationale. | ||
(4) Include provisions to ensure that no person is | ||
discriminated against on the basis of conscious or | ||
implicit biases associated with race, color, national | ||
origin, or a disability that is unrelated to the person's | ||
ability to perform the duties of a principal. | ||
The board, in cooperation with the organization that | ||
represents the district's principals and assistant principals, | ||
must establish a grievance and hearing procedure for those | ||
candidates the general superintendent or the general | ||
superintendent's designee has deemed ineligible to serve as | ||
principal of an attendance center or whose eligibility has | ||
been slated for revocation. The evaluator must be a State | ||
Board of Education-trained principal evaluator or must receive | ||
such training before rendering a decision. The hearing officer | ||
must receive sufficient training in principal evaluation | ||
processes and criteria to render an informed decision. | ||
Within 10 days after the general superintendent or the | ||
general superintendent's designee determines that a candidate | ||
is ineligible or makes a decision to revoke the eligibility of | ||
an administrator, the general superintendent or the general | ||
superintendent's designee must notify the candidate or | ||
administrator, in writing, of the specific reasons for the | ||
general superintendent's or the general superintendent's | ||
designee's determination of the candidate's or administrator's | ||
ineligibility. Within 30 days after receiving this | ||
notification, the candidate or administrator may request that | ||
the general superintendent or the general superintendent's | ||
designee initiate a review of the decision through the | ||
grievance and hearing process established pursuant to this | ||
Section.
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In the case of a principal who is deemed ineligible based | ||
on a performance evaluation, the evaluator conducting the | ||
review must consider as evidence of the principal's | ||
performance any local school council evaluation that covers | ||
the same evaluation period. If a decision to revoke | ||
eligibility is grieved, the administrator shall remain on the | ||
eligibility list until the administrator receives a decision | ||
in the grievance. However, prior to any hiring decision, the | ||
board may communicate to any local school council that the | ||
administrator has a grievance pending while the grievance is | ||
pending. The grievance decision shall be binding on the | ||
principal and the board. | ||
If performance evaluations are included in the criteria | ||
used by the board in determining that a principal is no longer | ||
eligible to seek a principal position at an attendance center, | ||
the board's criteria must use the standard of either an | ||
unsatisfactory summative evaluation or 2 or more basic or | ||
lower summative performance evaluations within a period of 7 | ||
school years, except as provided below in the case of a | ||
principal who is in his or her first principal position. A | ||
principal with summative performance evaluations of basic in | ||
the principal's first 2 school years in that role shall not | ||
impact a principal's eligibility status if the principal earns | ||
an increased numerical rating in at least one competency | ||
domain while maintaining ratings on all other competency | ||
domains in the school year immediately following the basic | ||
rating. A principal who is deemed ineligible based on a | ||
performance evaluation may request that the general | ||
superintendent review that determination under the grievance | ||
procedure, in which case the general superintendent's designee | ||
must be a State Board of Education-trained principal | ||
evaluator, and, in conducting that review, the general | ||
superintendent's designee must consider any local school | ||
council evaluation that covers the same evaluation period. If | ||
an individual evaluator rates an individual principal as | ||
unsatisfactory for the first time, the board may not determine | ||
that a principal is no longer eligible to serve as a principal | ||
based on performance evaluations from that evaluator if, | ||
during the same school term of service, the local school | ||
council's evaluation of the principal's performance was | ||
distinguished. If a principal has been deemed ineligible based | ||
on a performance evaluation, the principal's status is | ||
restored to eligible when the principal receives a proficient | ||
or higher summative performance evaluation rating, provided | ||
the principal meets all other criteria for eligibility. | ||
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
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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.
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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.
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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
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(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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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 licensed in accordance
with | ||
Article 21B, 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
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positions.
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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
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principal, provided that such principal has not retired.
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(Source: P.A. 102-894, eff. 5-20-22.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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