With only the Senate convening in Springfield this week, substantive bill action was limited, but a new bumper crop of bills was introduced by the Illinois General Assembly. The Alliance is tracking bills that impact all issues affecting our schools. Bills have been introduced on a wide variety of topics. Those posted to committee are being tracked by the Alliance and appear later in this report.
Alliance advocacy for safe schools and safe learning environments is now, as always, in the forefront of legislative action. While no new legislation has emerged as of yet in the wake of the Florida school shooting, bills are expected to be introduced to amend current school safety policies and procedures. To assist school districts with the current law and to help districts be proactive, the IASB has created this
document
that provides guidance. The document addresses what school districts are currently required to do under the School Safety Drill Act and some best practices for securing facilities.
Being in communication with law enforcement is one of the most important actions for local school districts to take to ensure a safe school environment. School districts are encouraged to keep an open channel of communication with local police and first responders. The Alliance is working on a statewide basis with law enforcement agencies to make sure that districts are provided the most updated information on school safety threats and resources to help respond to any threats.
BILL ACTION FROM THIS WEEK
SB 2468 (Koehler, D-Peoria)
provides that if a child's individualized education program (IEP) team determines that the child does not require assistive technology services or devices, the team shall include a statement in the child's program that informs the child's parent or guardian of the decision and the basis for the decision. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and will head to the Senate floor for further
consideration.
BILLS SCHEDULED FOR COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK
S
ENATE APPROPRIATIONS II COMMITTEE
Tuesday, February 27, 9:00 a.m., Room 212, State Capitol
Subject Matter Only:
FY 19 Budget Request For: Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE)
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Tuesday, February 27, 1:45 p.m., Room 212, State Capitol
SB 2428 (Stadelman, D-Rockford)
requires every school to provide a federally reimbursable lunch to a student of that school who requests the lunch, regardless of whether the student has the ability to pay for the lunch or owes money for earlier lunches.
SB 2545 (Manar, D-Bunker Hill)
clarifies the intent of those that drafted PA 97-008 (Education Reform) that the Reduction in Force (RIF) and Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) committees be excluded from the Open Meetings Act. Also clarifies that negotiating team strategy sessions be excluded from the Open Meetings Act.
SB 2654 (Hunter, D-Chicago)
requires the school board of a school district to include information about influenza and influenza vaccinations in accordance with the latest recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when it provides information on school health issues to the parents or guardians.
SB 2658 (Schimpf, R-Murphysboro) provides that a Professional Educator License with Stipulations with a provisional educator endorsement obtained by a service member or a spouse of a service member is valid until June 30 immediately following 3 (rather than 2) years of the license being issued.
SB 2838 (Link, D-Gurnee)
provides that, by January 1, 2019, the ISBE shall implement a program to allow school districts to supplement their substitute teacher recruitment for elementary and secondary schools with the use of recruiting firms.
SB 2844 (Aquino, D-Chicago)
requires the ISBE to establish and maintain the Growing Future Educators Program to train high school graduates to become secondary language educators when they have been identified as English learners and are enrolled in an approved educator preparation program.
SB 2892 (Manar, D-Bunker Hill)
p
rovides that, beginning July 1, 2019, sets the statutory minimum teacher salary at $40,000 (currently $10,000).
SB 2941 (McGuire, D-Joliet)
provides that a school district may participate in the ISBE's competency-based, high school graduation requirements pilot program for some or all of its schools.
SB 3015 (Koehler)
changes the definition of "asthma medication" to mean quick-relief asthma medication that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of respiratory distress.
SB 3045 (Manar)
for the next two years only, increases to 120 days (from 100) the number of days that a retired teacher may teach without impairing retirement status.
SB 3099 (Bertino-Tarrant, D-Plainfield)
provides that a national assessment provider may sell or rent a student's information if the provider secures express written consent from the student or the parent or guardian of the student given in response to a clear and conspicuous notice and the information is used solely to provide access to employment, educational scholarships or financial aid, or post-secondary educational opportunities.
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS-ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Tuesday, February 27, 3:00 p.m., Room 114, State Capitol
Subject Matter Only:
ISBE and Illinois Education Labor Relations Board (IELRB)
HOUSE CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMITTEE
Tuesday, February 27, 4:00 p.m., Room 122B, State Capitol
HB 4062 (DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights)
requires that if an online real estate database provider includes certain information on the quality of schools in which the residential real property is located, the online real estate database provider must use the most recent information available prepared by the ISBE.
HOUSE
ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION: LICENSING, ADMINISTRATION & OVERSIGHT
Wednesday, February 28, 8:00 a.m., Room 114, State Capitol
HB 4281
(Gabel, D-Evanston) requires that at least once every two years school board shall conduct an in-service training for all personnel on identifying the signs of homelessness and appropriate referral techniques.
HB 4409 (Pritchard, R-Sycamore)
changes part of the definition of school psychologist to a person that holds a valid Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential.
HB 4514 (Pritchard)
provides that only individuals licensed and endorsed as a school counselor may use the title of school counselor.
HB 4789 (Breen, R-Lombard)
provides that for each school year, school districts shall limit increases in school administrative costs to no more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 5%, whichever is less.
HB 4870 (Lang, D-Skokie)
requires school districts to authorize a parent or guardian of a student who is a qualifying patient to administer a medical cannabis infused product to the student on school premises or a school bus if both the student and the parent or guardian have been issued registry identification cards.
House ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION: SCHOOL CURRICULUM & pOLICIES Committee
Wednesday, February 28, 10:00 a.m., Room C-1, Stratton Office Building
HB 4442 (Gabel)
requires a school district to include in its curriculum a unit of instruction on parenting education for grades 9 through 12.
HB 4704 (Halpin, D-Rock Island)
provides that the date by which proof of having a health examination must be presented shall be extended for children who show an undue burden or a lack of access to a licensed physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician assistant.
HB 4860 (Fortner, R-West Chicago)
makes the electronic-learning days program a permanent program.
SENATE GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE
Wednesday, February 28, 10:30 a.m., Room 400, State Capitol
SB 2900 (Righter, R-Mattoon)
provides that if a school board fills a vacancy due to a lack of candidates for election in a congressional township in the most recent election, then the school board shall, by resolution, order submitted to the school district's voters at the next general election a proposition for the election of a board member at large without restriction by area of residence within the district (rather than in accordance with mandatory board representation) and the proposition shall be certified by the school board's secretary for submission.
House REVENUE & FINANCE Committee
Thursday, March 1, 9:30 a.m., Room 122B, State Capitol
HB 3522 (Martwick, D-Chicago)
establishes an Illinois graduated income tax. It creates the Education Property Tax Relief Fund and directs moneys in the fund to be distributed to school districts with a distribution formula provided in the bill and lowers the sales tax from 6.25% to 5.75%.
HB 4220 (Bourne, R-Litchfield)
increases the number of available Enterprise Zones by 25 and includes targeted incentives for certain areas for job creation and investment.
HB 4293 (Welch)
imposes a privilege tax of 20% on businesses conducting investment management services.
HB 4538 (Hays, R-Danville)
in a Section granting a natural disaster homestead exemption, removes language providing that the square footage of the rebuilt residential structure may not be more than 110% of the square footage of the original residential structure as it existed immediately prior to the natural disaster.
HB 4563 (Breen),
under the Invest in Kids Act, provides that contributions made to a school district foundation are qualified contributions for an income tax credit and a property tax credit. Also provides that payments under the evidence based funding formula shall be reduced by the amount of qualified contributions received by the applicable school district foundation.
