Distributed via Email: March 27, 2015
LEGISLATURE COMPLETES BUSY WEEK EARLY
The Illinois General Assembly completed its business Thursday, cancelled the scheduled session for today (Friday), and now begins a two-week break from the Capitol. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate will return to Springfield on April 14. This, generally, begins the shift from “committee work” to “floor action” as most bills were to be considered by a committee by Friday. However, recent trends have allowed for a simple parliamentary maneuver that extends the committee deadline for bills that have not yet been considered by a committee and, therefore, many bills could be kept “alive” in the session.
Along with the hundreds of bills that were considered in committees this week, action was taken to address the budget deficit for the remainder of the current 2015 Fiscal Year. Two bills approved Tuesday in the House, HB 317 and HB 318, will close a $1.6 billion budget hole by sweeping dedicated state funds and cutting 2.25% across all other state budget line items. Details of the bills were included in the last Alliance Legislative Report. The bills, an agreement among Senate President John Cullerton, House Speaker Michael Madigan, and Governor Bruce Rauner, were approved Thursday by the Senate. The Governor signed the bills into law today (Friday). HB 317 is now Public Act 99-0001. HB 318 is now Public Act 99-0002.
TIME TO CONTACT LOCAL LEGISLATORS
For the next two weeks, Illinois legislators will be back in their home districts making this an opportune time to reach out to State Senators and Representatives and share the insight of school administrators and board members regarding pending education-related legislation. There are plenty of issues to discuss: the FY ’16 budget, Vision 20/20 proposals, Alliance legislative initiatives, and other legislation. A “hot bill” list is available on the IASB website, here.
VISION 20/20 AND ALLIANCE INITIATIVES
There was a package of legislation introduced in the Illinois General Assembly regarding the Vision 20/20 proposals. Here is how the legislation is progressing:
SB 1403 ( Barickman, R-Bloomington) f orms an evidence-based Professional Judgment Panel to update and revise a 2010 study and make recommendations for the implementation of an evidence-based adequacy and equity formula for the funding of all school districts. The bill will be the topic of a “subject matter” hearing in a Senate Committee and will also be the subject for a discussion before the House School Funding Task Force when legislators return.
SB 1506 ( Bertino-Tarrant, D-Plainfield) provides that, for Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) appointments, three of the members of the State Board must represent the educator community. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.
HB 2637 ( Crespo, D-Streamwood) contains the proposal to facilitate school districts’ participation in a national joint purchasing pool. The bill was approved by the House Judiciary – Criminal Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 2657 (Pritchard, R-Sycamore) addresses educator licensing, including: reciprocity agreements, provisional educator or career and technical educator endorsements, a general administrative endorsement on a Professional Educator License, and out-of-state applicants and applicants trained in other countries. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education – Licensing Oversight Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 2683 (Davis, W., D-E. Hazel Crest) contains the first component of the Differentiated Accountability Model proposed in the Vision 20/20 plan. Additional components of the plan will be amended onto the bill on the House floor. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration and discussions between the Alliance and ISBE.
HB 3535 ( Golar, D-Chicago) contains the proposal for local flexibility and relief of unfunded mandates. The bill is in a House committee and will be the topic of a “subject matter” hearing when the legislature returns.
Likewise, here are the other Alliance initiatives still moving through the legislative process. The mandate relief package, HB 1330 (P.E.), HB 2595 (D.E.), 3 rd party contracting (SB 1198), and special education (SB 1604), have been assigned to sub-committees.
SB 82 (Sullivan, D-Rushville) facilitates the process for a school board to move to an at-large election. The bill is onthird reading on the Senate floor.
SB 663 (Koehler, D-Peoria) allows for an Open Meetings Act exemption for school boards to discuss safety and security measures. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
SB 1561 ( Manar, D-Bunker Hill) , in the School Construction Grant Program, allows for the use of the highest grant index among the school districts involved in a consolidation. The bill is onthird reading on the Senate floor.
HB 1498 (Bennett, R-Watseka) is identical to SB 663. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate for further consideration.
HB 3302 ( Nekritz, D-Northbrook) contains several “clean-up” provisions regarding school board member elections and extends the time a school board has to fill a vacancy from 45 days to 60 days. The bill is in the Executive Committee and the provisions were approved for the omnibus elections bill later in the session.
HB 3480 (Burke, K., D-Oak Lawn), regarding mandate cost transparency, requires accurate estimates of the cost of proposed mandates on school districts under the State Mandates Act. The bill was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HOT BILL ACTION THIS WEEK
SB 36 ( Althoff, R-McHenry) p rovides that a school district is subject to and its school board must comply with any valid local government zoning ordinance or resolution that applies where the pertinent part of the school district is located. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
SB 665 ( Steans, D-Chicago) , as amended, requires school districts to notify the bargaining
representative with a 5-day notice when the district has been identified as a priority district. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
SB 672 ( Lightford, D-Maywood) adds the subjects of consumer debt, higher education student loans, and identity-theft security to the list of subjects that are required to be included in the financial literacy component of consumer education. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
SB 792 (Bush, D-Grayslake) , as amended, requires a taxing district that maintains a website to publish the truth in taxation notice on the website in addition to a newspaper of general circulation. The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
SJR 16 (Delgado, D-Chicago) is the mandate waiver request resolution. It approves the waiver request made by Barrington CUSD 220 with respect to general state aid for two years and disapproves the request for the remaining three years and approves all other requests in the Report on Waiver of School Code Mandates. The resolution was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.
HB 1 (Lang, D-Skokie) is an omnibus heroin abuse bill. For schools, it permits a school nurse or trained personnel to administer an opioid antidote to any person having an opioid overdose and requires the trained personnel to annually receive instruction and pass a test on the symptoms of opioid overdose, information on drug overdose prevention, CPR, and more. It also requires school districts to report any instance of administering an opioid antidote. The bill was approved by the House Substance Abuse Special Committee and sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 117 (Flowers, D-Chicago) , as amended, provides that a school board must (instead of may) waive all or part of summer school charges if it determines that the family of a pupil is indigent or the educational needs of the pupil require his or her attendance. The bill, opposed only by the Alliance, was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 1402 (Jones, D-Calumet City) requires the completion of instruction in Black History in order to complete the 8th grade or graduate from high school. The bill, opposed only by the Alliance, was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 1458 (Welch, D-Westchester) , as amended,provides that prior to being asked any question or being requested to make any statement while in the presence of a police officer, a student must be informed of the right not to answer and the right to have a parent or attorney present. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 2717 (Ives, R-Wheaton) , as amended, requires units of local government and school districts with a budget of at least $1 million to maintain an internet website and post on the website: contact information for all elected officials and administrators, agendas and board packets for regular meetings, the annual budget and detailed information on revenues and expenditures, audits, contracts, bids, and more. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House Counties and Townships Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 3159 (Gabel, D-Evanston) mandates that a school must report to ISBE with respect to children receiving a required dental examination. The bill, opposed only by the Alliance, was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 3190 (Davis, W.) provides that if a person attempts to enroll a pupil in a school district and the school board finds that the pupil is a non-resident of that district, the board must provide certain information to the person attempting to enroll the pupil, including referrals to free or reduced-cost legal help. The bill, opposed only by the Alliance, was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 3286 (Flowers) requires schools to include in the 6 th grade curriculum a one-semester civics education course. The bill, opposed only by the Alliance, was defeated in the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee.
HB 4025 (Conroy, D-Villa Park) requires every public high school to include in its curriculum a separate civics course of study with the goal of helping young people acquire and learn to use the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them to be competent and responsible citizens. It also creates the Civics Education Assistance Fund as a special fund in the state treasury, with money in the fund being used by ISBE to provide funding for civics courses and professional development of civics content and skills. The bill, opposed only by the Alliance, was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 4101 (Scherer, D-Decatur) requires that school boards must spend at least 85% of General State Aid on objects and purposes related to classroom teaching. ISBE will define which are said objects and purposes. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
OTHER BILL ACTION THIS WEEK
SB 26 (Morrison, D-Deerfield) requires all units of local government and school boards that maintain a website to additionally publish notices, agendas, records or other information or material that is required to be published in a newspaper by law or court order to their website. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.
SB 1206 ( Cullerton, T., D-Villa Park) provides that where a school district includes all or part of one or more municipalities, the municipality may not implement a redevelopment plan or redevelopment project unless each municipality which shares a school district has approved that plan or project by a majority vote of its corporate authority. The bill was approved by the Senate Local Government Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.
SB 1393 (Bennett, D-Champaign) requires ISBE to annually confer with the Illinois Community College Board to: (i) identify industries and occupations within this state that face workforce shortages; (ii) notify school districts of these identified industries and occupations; and (iii) approve industry-recognized certification programs designed to mitigate workforce shortages. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for consideration.
SB 1455 (Delgado) , as amended, provides that one of the state assessments for high school students shall include tests in the areas of English language arts, reading, mathematics, and science for the purpose of student application or admissions to public institutions of higher education. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.
SB 1591 (Collins, D-Chicago) , as amended, r equires a charter school proposal to include disclosure of any known active civil or criminal investigation into an organization submitting the charter school proposal or any member of the governing body of that organization. The bill, supported by the Alliance, was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for consideration.
SB 1679 ( Lightford) , as amended,creates the State Course Access Catalog. The Catalog shall be developed for ISBE and provide a listing of all courses authorized and available to students, detailed information about the courses, and the ability for students to submit their course enrollments. It specifies how an eligible participating student may enroll in the courses and requires districts to pay for students that choose to take courses. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor for further consideration.
HB 494 (Cassidy, D-Chicago) , as amended, makes changes concerning the types of convictions checked for and occurring, regarding criminal background checks for employment of teachers and revocation of licensure. The bill was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 1436 (Franks, D-Woodstock) requires the school safety drill annual report to include any renovation or addition to a school building or a change in the floor plan, any emergency and crisis response plan, or any evacuation plan of a school building. An Alliance amendment states that school districts that have implemented an application, program, or service that automatically shares electronic or digital school building blueprints, floor plans, and building specifications with law enforcement and first responders are deemed to have met the requirements. The bill was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 1493 (Lilly, D-Chicago) , as amended, requires a mental health examination to be included as part of the examinations and procedures that constitute a health examination under rules of the Department of Public Health. The bill was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 2415 (Durkin, R-Burr Ridge) provides that a student in grades K-12 with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) with a staff to student ratio of 1 to 5 may be transported in a multi-function school activity bus for any curriculum-related activity except for transportation on regular bus routes from home to school or from school to home. The bill, supported by the Alliance, was approved by the House Transportation Committee and was sent to the House Floor for further consideration.
HB 2416 (Durkin) allows the school board of Lyons Township High School District 204 to withdraw from the jurisdiction and authority of the trustees of schools of Lyons Township and the township treasurer, provided that the school board elects or appoints its own school treasurer. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate for consideration.
HB 2781 (Fortner, R-West Chicago) , as amended, authorizes a school board to adopt a program for e-learning that permits students to receive instruction electronically, and not while physically present at school, for a limited number of days during a school year. The bill was approved by the House Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 3093 (Durkin) allows any high school district eligible for Federal Impact Aid whose territory is in two counties, to make a one-time declaration as to interest income not previously declared from 1998 thru 2011 in the debt service fund, prior to June 30, 2016. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate for further consideration.
HB 3554 ( Guzzardi, D-Chicago) , as amended, provides that employees may request various changes to conditions of employment and employers shall engage in a timely, good faith interactive process with the employee regarding the request. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House Labor Commerce Committee and sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 3597 (Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria) , as amended,requires the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to conduct a study with regard to public elementary and secondary school buildings that have been closed within the last five years. The bill was approved by the House Higher Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 3930 (Cassidy) , as amended,adds to the offense of institutional vandalism infliction of damage on a church, synagogue, mosque, cemetery, mortuary, school, educational facility, community center, or similar because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation of another person or group. The bill was approved by the House Judiciary-Civil Committee and sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 4024 (Conroy) requires ISBE to ensure that professional educator licensees have access to professional development activities aligned with the best practices in civics education and to seek an efficient and effective method of providing professional development of civics content and skills. The bill was approved by the House Education – Licensing Oversight Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
HB 4087 (Meier, R-Highland) provides that an applicant for school bus driver permits who is unable to submit fingerprints due to a condition that has removed his or her fingerprints shall submit to a non-fingerprint based criminal background check. The bill was approved by the House Transportation Vehicles and Safety Committee and was sent to the House floor for further consideration.
This legislative report was 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.
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Bill Text/Status: Illinois General Assembly www.ilga.gov
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