State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
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Public Act 91-0219

SB1192 Enrolled                                LRB9104502NTcd

    AN ACT to amend  the  School  Code  by  changing  Section
34-8.3.

    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
Section 34-8.3 as follows:

    (105 ILCS 5/34-8.3) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-8.3)
    Sec.  34-8.3.   Remediation  and  probation of attendance
centers.
    (a)  The  general  superintendent   shall   monitor   the
performance of the attendance centers within the district and
shall  identify attendance centers, pursuant to criteria that
the board shall establish, that have:
         (1)  failed  to  develop  or  implement   a   school
    improvement plan;
         (2)  failed   to   make   adequate  progress  toward
    complying with a school improvement plan;
         (3)  failed or refused to  comply  with  its  school
    improvement plan; or
         (4)  otherwise  failed or refused to comply with the
    provisions of this Act, other applicable laws, collective
    bargaining agreements, court orders, or with Board  rules
    which the Board is authorized to promulgate.
    (b)  If   the   general   superintendent   identifies   a
nonperforming  school  as  described  herein, he or she shall
place the attendance center on remediation  by  developing  a
remediation   plan  for  the  center.   The  purpose  of  the
remediation plan shall be to correct the deficiencies in  the
performance  of  the  attendance center by one or more of the
following methods:
         (1)  drafting a new school improvement plan;
         (2)  applying to the board  for  additional  funding
    for training for the local school council;
         (3)  directing    implementation    of    a   school
    improvement plan;
         (4)  mediating disputes or other obstacles to reform
    or improvement at the attendance center.
    If, however, the general superintendent  determines  that
the  problems are not able to be remediated by these methods,
the general superintendent shall place the attendance  center
on  probation.  The  board  shall  establish  guidelines that
determine the factors for placing  an  attendance  center  on
probation.
    (c)  Each  school placed on probation shall have a school
improvement plan for correcting deficiencies specified by the
board.  This plan shall include specific steps that the local
School  Council  and  school  staff  must  take  to   correct
deficiencies  and  specific  objective  criteria by which the
school's subsequent progress will be judged.   The  plan  may
also  specify  external  technical  assistance  that  will be
provided to the school, drawing on its  school  discretionary
fund and other school funds.
    (d)  Schools placed on probation that, after a maximum of
one  year,  fail  to  make  adequate  progress  in correcting
deficiencies are subject  to  the  following  action  by  the
general  superintendent with the approval of the board, after
opportunity for a hearing:
         (1)  Ordering new local school council elections.
         (2)  Removing and replacing the principal.
         (3)  Replacement of faculty members, subject to  the
    provisions of Section 24A-5.
         (4)  Reconstitution  of  the  attendance  center and
    replacement   and    reassignment    by    the    general
    superintendent of all employees of the attendance center.
         (5)  Intervention under Section 34-8.4.
         (6)  Closing of the school.
    (e)  Schools   placed   on   probation  shall  remain  on
probation from year to year until deficiencies are corrected,
even if such schools make  acceptable  annual  progress.  The
board  shall  establish, in writing, criteria for determining
whether or not  a  school  shall  remain  on  probation.   If
academic achievement tests are used as the factor for placing
a  school  on  probation,  the  general  superintendent shall
consider objective criteria, not just  an  increase  in  test
scores,  in  deciding whether or not a school shall remain on
probation.  These criteria  shall  include  attendance,  test
scores,  student  mobility  rates,  poverty  rates, bilingual
education  eligibility,  special   education,   and   English
language  proficiency  programs,  with progress made in these
areas being taken into consideration in deciding  whether  or
not a school shall remain on probation.
    (f)  Where   the   board   has  reason  to  believe  that
violations of civil rights, or of civil or criminal law  have
occurred,  or  when the general superintendent deems that the
school  is  in  educational  crisis  it  may  take  immediate
corrective action, including the actions  specified  in  this
Section,  without  first placing the school on remediation or
probation.   Nothing  described  herein   shall   limit   the
authority  of the board as provided by any law of this State.
The board shall develop criteria governing the  determination
regarding when a school is in educational crisis.
    (g)  All persons serving as subdistrict superintendent on
May 1, 1995 shall be deemed by operation of law to be serving
under  a performance contract which expires on June 30, 1995,
and  the  employment  of  each  such  person  as  subdistrict
superintendent shall terminate on June 30, 1995.   The  board
shall  have  no obligation to compensate any such person as a
subdistrict superintendent after June 30, 1995.
    (h)  The general superintendent  shall,  in  consultation
with  local  school councils, conduct an annual evaluation of
each  principal  in  the  district  pursuant  to   guidelines
promulgated by the board of education.
(Source: P.A. 89-15, eff. 5-30-95.)

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