Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 102-0635
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Public Act 102-0635


 

Public Act 0635 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
Public Act 102-0635
 
SB2088 EnrolledLRB102 13566 CMG 18914 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
22-90 and 2-3.64a-10 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-10)
    Sec. 2-3.64a-10. Kindergarten assessment.
    (a) For the purposes of this Section, "kindergarten"
includes both full-day and half-day kindergarten programs.
    (b) Beginning no later than the 2021-2022 school year, the
State Board of Education shall annually assess all public
school students entering kindergarten using a common
assessment tool, unless the State Board determines that a
student is otherwise exempt. The common assessment tool must
assess multiple developmental domains, including literacy,
language, mathematics, and social and emotional development.
The assessment must be valid, reliable, and developmentally
appropriate to formatively assess a child's development and
readiness for kindergarten.
    (c) Results from the assessment may be used by the school
to understand the child's development and readiness for
kindergarten, to tailor instruction, and to measure the
child's progress over time. Assessment results may also be
used to identify a need for the professional development of
teachers and early childhood educators and to inform
State-level and district-level policies and resource
allocation.
    The school shall make the assessment results available to
the child's parent or guardian.
    The assessment results may not be used (i) to prevent a
child from enrolling in kindergarten or (ii) as the sole
measure used in determining the grade promotion or retention
of a student.
    (d) On an annual basis, the State Board shall report
publicly, at a minimum, data from the assessment for the State
overall and for each school district. The State Board's report
must disaggregate data by race and ethnicity, household
income, students who are English learners, and students who
have an individualized education program.
    (e) The State Superintendent of Education shall appoint a
committee of no more than 21 members, including consisting of
parents, teachers, school administrators, assessment experts,
and regional superintendents of schools, state policy
advocates, early childhood administrators, and other
stakeholders, to review, on an ongoing basis, the content and
design of the assessment, the collective results of the
assessment as measured against kindergarten-readiness
standards, and other issues involving the assessment as
identified by the committee.
    The committee shall make periodic recommendations to the
State Superintendent of Education and the General Assembly
concerning the assessments.
    (f) The State Board may adopt rules to implement and
administer this Section.
(Source: P.A. 101-654, eff. 3-8-21.)
 
    (105 ILCS 5/22-90)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on February 1, 2023)
    Sec. 22-90. Whole Child Task Force.
    (a) The General Assembly makes all of the following
findings:
        (1) The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed systemic
    inequities in American society. Students, educators, and
    families throughout this State have been deeply affected
    by the pandemic, and the impact of the pandemic will be
    felt for years to come. The negative consequences of the
    pandemic have impacted students and communities
    differently along the lines of race, income, language, and
    special needs. However, students in this State faced
    significant unmet physical health, mental health, and
    social and emotional needs even prior to the pandemic.
        (2) The path to recovery requires a commitment from
    adults in this State to address our students cultural,
    physical, emotional, and mental health needs and to
    provide them with stronger and increased systemic support
    and intervention.
        (3) It is well documented that trauma and toxic stress
    diminish a child's ability to thrive. Forms of childhood
    trauma and toxic stress include adverse childhood
    experiences, systemic racism, poverty, food and housing
    insecurity, and gender-based violence. The COVID-19
    pandemic has exacerbated these issues and brought them
    into focus.
        (4) It is estimated that, overall, approximately 40%
    of children in this State have experienced at least one
    adverse childhood experience and approximately 10% have
    experienced 3 or more adverse childhood experiences.
    However, the number of adverse childhood experiences is
    higher for Black and Hispanic children who are growing up
    in poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the number
    of students who have experienced childhood trauma. Also,
    the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted preexisting
    inequities in school disciplinary practices that
    disproportionately impact Black and Brown students.
    Research shows, for example, that girls of color are
    disproportionately impacted by trauma, adversity, and
    abuse, and instead of receiving the care and
    trauma-informed support they may need, many Black girls in
    particular face disproportionately harsh disciplinary
    measures.
        (5) The cumulative effects of trauma and toxic stress
    adversely impact the physical health of students, as well
    as their ability to learn, form relationships, and
    self-regulate. If left unaddressed, these effects increase
    a student's risk for depression, alcoholism, anxiety,
    asthma, smoking, and suicide, all of which are risks that
    disproportionately affect Black youth and may lead to a
    host of medical diseases as an adult. Access to infant and
    early childhood mental health services is critical to
    ensure the social and emotional well-being of this State's
    youngest children, particularly those children who have
    experienced trauma.
        (6) Although this State enacted measures through
    Public Act 100-105 to address the high rate of early care
    and preschool expulsions of infants, toddlers, and
    preschoolers and the disproportionately higher rate of
    expulsion for Black and Hispanic children, a recent study
    found a wide variation in the awareness, understanding,
    and compliance with the law by providers of early
    childhood care. Further work is needed to implement the
    law, which includes providing training to early childhood
    care providers to increase their understanding of the law,
    increasing the availability and access to infant and early
    childhood mental health services, and building aligned
    data collection systems to better understand expulsion
    rates and to allow for accurate reporting as required by
    the law.
        (7) Many educators and schools in this State have
    embraced and implemented evidenced-based restorative
    justice and trauma-responsive and culturally relevant
    practices and interventions. However, the use of these
    interventions on students is often isolated or is
    implemented occasionally and only if the school has the
    appropriate leadership, resources, and partners available
    to engage seriously in this work. It would be malpractice
    to deny our students access to these practices and
    interventions, especially in the aftermath of a
    once-in-a-century pandemic.
    (b) The Whole Child Task Force is created for the purpose
of establishing an equitable, inclusive, safe, and supportive
environment in all schools for every student in this State.
The task force shall have all of the following goals, which
means key steps have to be taken to ensure that every child in
every school in this State has access to teachers, social
workers, school leaders, support personnel, and others who
have been trained in evidenced-based interventions and
restorative practices:
        (1) To create a common definition of a
    trauma-responsive school, a trauma-responsive district,
    and a trauma-responsive community.
        (2) To outline the training and resources required to
    create and sustain a system of support for
    trauma-responsive schools, districts, and communities and
    to identify this State's role in that work, including
    recommendations concerning options for redirecting
    resources from school resource officers to classroom-based
    support.
        (3) To identify or develop a process to conduct an
    analysis of the organizations that provide training in
    restorative practices, implicit bias, anti-racism, and
    trauma-responsive systems, mental health services, and
    social and emotional services to schools.
        (4) To provide recommendations concerning the key data
    to be collected and reported to ensure that this State has
    a full and accurate understanding of the progress toward
    ensuring that all schools, including programs and
    providers of care to pre-kindergarten children, employ
    restorative, anti-racist, and trauma-responsive
    strategies and practices. The data collected must include
    information relating to the availability of trauma
    responsive support structures in schools as well as
    disciplinary practices employed on students in person or
    through other means, including during remote or blended
    learning. It should also include information on the use
    of, and funding for, school resource officers and other
    similar police personnel in school programs.
        (5) To recommend an implementation timeline, including
    the key roles, responsibilities, and resources to advance
    this State toward a system in which every school,
    district, and community is progressing toward becoming
    trauma-responsive.
        (6) To seek input and feedback from stakeholders,
    including parents, students, and educators, who reflect
    the diversity of this State.
        (7) To recommend legislation, policies, and practices
    to prevent learning loss in students during periods of
    suspension and expulsion, including, but not limited to,
    remote instruction.
    (c) Members of the Whole Child Task Force shall be
appointed by the State Superintendent of Education. Members of
this task force must represent the diversity of this State and
possess the expertise needed to perform the work required to
meet the goals of the task force set forth under subsection
(a). Members of the task force shall include all of the
following:
        (1) One member of a statewide professional teachers'
    organization.
        (2) One member of another statewide professional
    teachers' organization.
        (3) One member who represents a school district
    serving a community with a population of 500,000 or more.
        (4) One member of a statewide organization
    representing social workers.
        (5) One member of an organization that has specific
    expertise in trauma-responsive school practices and
    experience in supporting schools in developing
    trauma-responsive and restorative practices.
        (6) One member of another organization that has
    specific expertise in trauma-responsive school practices
    and experience in supporting schools in developing
    trauma-responsive and restorative practices.
        (7) One member of a statewide organization that
    represents school administrators.
        (8) One member of a statewide policy organization that
    works to build a healthy public education system that
    prepares all students for a successful college, career,
    and civic life.
        (9) One member of a statewide organization that brings
    teachers together to identify and address issues critical
    to student success.
        (10) One member of the General Assembly recommended by
    the President of the Senate.
        (11) One member of the General Assembly recommended by
    the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
        (12) One member of the General Assembly recommended by
    the Minority Leader of the Senate.
        (13) One member of the General Assembly recommended by
    the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
        (14) One member of a civil rights organization that
    works actively on issues regarding student support.
        (15) One administrator from a school district that has
    actively worked to develop a system of student support
    that uses a trauma-informed lens.
        (16) One educator from a school district that has
    actively worked to develop a system of student support
    that uses a trauma-informed lens.
        (17) One member of a youth-led organization.
        (18) One member of an organization that has
    demonstrated expertise in restorative practices.
        (19) One member of a coalition of mental health and
    school practitioners who assist schools in developing and
    implementing trauma-informed and restorative strategies
    and systems.
        (20) One member of an organization whose mission is to
    promote the safety, health, and economic success of
    children, youth, and families in this State.
        (21) One member who works or has worked as a
    restorative justice coach or disciplinarian.
        (22) One member who works or has worked as a social
    worker.
        (23) One member of the State Board of Education.
        (24) One member who represents a statewide principals'
    organization.
        (25) One member who represents a statewide
    organization of school boards.
        (26) One member who has expertise in pre-kindergarten
    education.
        (27) One member who represents a school social worker
    association.
        (28) One member who represents an organization that
    represents school districts in both the south suburbs and
    collar counties.
        (29) One member who is a licensed clinical
    psychologist who (A) has a doctor of philosophy in the
    field of clinical psychology and has an appointment at an
    independent free-standing children's hospital located in
    Chicago, (B) serves as associate professor at a medical
    school located in Chicago, and (C) serves as the clinical
    director of a coalition of voluntary collaboration of
    organizations that are committed to applying a trauma lens
    to their efforts on behalf of families and children in the
    State.
        (30) One member who represents a west suburban school
    district.
        (31) One member who represents an organization
    representing regional offices of education.
    (d) The Whole Child Task Force shall meet at the call of
the State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee,
who shall serve as as the chairperson. The State Board of
Education shall provide administrative and other support to
the task force. Members of the task force shall serve without
compensation.
    (e) The Whole Child Task Force shall submit a report of its
findings and recommendations to the General Assembly, the
Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, the State Board of
Education, and the Governor on or before February 1, 2022.
Upon submitting its report, the task force is dissolved.
    (f) This Section is repealed on February 1, 2023.
(Source: P.A. 101-654, eff. 3-8-21.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2022