Distributed via Email: March 7, 2014
LEGISLATORS TO TAKE CAMPAIGN BREAK
The Illinois General Assembly will not meet in session next week, giving legislators time to finish some final campaigning before the March 18 primary election. All members of the House of Representatives and one-third of the members of the Senate are up for election this year. Of course, not all of them will be facing opposition from their own political party in the primary election.
The legislature returns to the capitol on March 19.
BILL ACTION FROM THIS WEEK
SB 3113 ( Barickman, R-Bloomington) increases the debt limit under certain circumstances for Milford Township High School District 233. The bill was approved by the Senate and was sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
SB 3214 ( Syverson, R-Rockford) adds automated external defibrillators to first aid educational topics that may be included in a comprehensive health education program. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.
SB 3274 (Holmes, D-Aurora) allows a teacher who teaches physical education or health education in the public schools to meet the requirements for highly qualified status that apply to teachers who teach in core academic subjects pursuant to the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The bill was approved by the Senate and was sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
SB 3310 ( Bertino-Tarrant, D-Plainfield) with respect to school personnel training on ( i) food allergies, (ii) the use of psychotropic and psychostimulant medications, (iii) youth who are parents, expectant parents, or victims of domestic or sexual violence, (iv) educator ethics, teacher-student conduct, and school employee-student conduct, and (v) diabetes care, training is required only upon employment of a person, the renewal of a person's license, or a change to a person's job duties that would require this training. The bill was discussed in the Senate Education Committee but no vote was taken.
HB 1152 (Ford, D-Chicago) ,as amended, creates the Chicago Educational Governance Task Force for the purpose of recommending the best structure and procedure for the governance of City of Chicago School District 299. The bill, supported by IASB, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 3664 ( Kosel, R-New Lenox) provides that a severance agreement that is funded by public moneys shall not require any party to keep allegations, evidence, settlement amounts, or any other information confidential. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House Judiciary Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 3724 (Burke, D., D-Chicago) requires training on how to properly administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation and how to use an automated external defibrillator to be included in high school health education classes and a prerequisite to receiving a high school diploma. The bill, opposed by the Alliance , was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 3754 (Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora) repeals the law that establishes the State Charter School Commission and returns charter school authorizing and appeal powers to ISBE. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 4237 (Chapa LaVia) , if a local school board’s decision to deny a charter school application is overturned on appeal by a state authorizing board or ISBE, the charter school application is not deemed approved until it is ratified by a school district referendum. The bill, supported by the Alliance, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 4262 (Fine, D-Glenview) removes a requirement that new teachers provide evidence of freedom from tuberculosis and, instead, states that they may be subject to additional health examinations, including screening for tuberculosis. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate for further consideration.
HB 4336 ( Jakobsson, D-Urbana) changes references relating to General Educational Development (GED) testing and certificates to high school equivalency testing and certificates. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate for further consideration.
HB 4440 (Chapa La Via) extends by one year the “sunset date” for the Early Childhood Education Block Grant. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 4522 (Chapa La Via) allows two or more (instead of four or more) contiguous school districts with all or a portion of their territory located within the geographic boundaries of the same municipality to jointly operate, through an institution of higher education located in the municipality, a science and mathematics partnership school for serving some or all of grades kindergarten through eight. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate for further consideration.
HB 4581 (Fortner, R-West Chicago) provides that an employer may not require an employee to use earned vacation time or any form of paid leave time to serve as an election judge. The bill was approved by the House Executive Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 4767 (Chapa La Via) makes changes to the Alternative Route to Teacher Certification program. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate for further consideration.
HB 5619 (Fortner) provides that for the purposes of implementation of ordinances by a plan commission or planning department regarding developer donations or impact fees, the definition of "school grounds" includes technological infrastructure. The bill, supported by the Alliance, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
This legislative report is written and edited by the lobbyists of the Illinois Association of School Boards to provide information to the members of the organizations that comprise the Statewide School Management Alliance.
Bill Text/Status: Illinois General Assembly www.ilga.gov
Alliance Legislative Reports are Cosponsored by IASB and:
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