After an extended spring break, both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly will return to the Capitol next week to continue considering bills in committee. The House of Representatives is scheduled to meet Monday through Friday; the Senate is set for session Tuesday through Friday. Both chambers have set Friday, April 13th as a tentative deadline to move bills out of committees. The deadline is the first hurdle that many bills will cross on their way to becoming law. It also signals the start of a very active legislative schedule. The General Assembly has more session days scheduled leading up to the May 31st adjournment day than they have scheduled the previous three and a half months of the year.
BILLS SCHEDULED FOR COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK
The following is a selection of bills of interest that are scheduled to be considered in committees next week. For a full listing of next week's Senate committees, click
here
. For House committees, click
here
.
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS-ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Monday, April 9, 1:00 p.m., Room D-1, Stratton Office Building
HB 5074 (Bellock, R-Westmont)
provides that, subject to appropriation, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) shall develop, implement, and administer a program to award grants to school districts for the purpose of collaborating with community mental health providers to provide mental health services to the students of a school district.
HB 5195 (Greenwood, D-E. St. Louis)
provides that each school board may provide free transportation for any pupil residing within 1 1/2 miles from the school attended where conditions are such that walking, either to or from the school to which a pupil is assigned for attendance or to or from a pick-up point or bus stop, constitutes a serious hazard to the safety of the pupil due to a course or pattern of criminal activity.
HOUSE GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY COMMITTEE
Monday, April 9, 3:00 p.m., Room 118, State Capitol
HB 5116 (Cassidy, D-Chicago)
provides that for a one-year period after a school board member leaves board service, the former board member is not eligible for employment by the board, an attendance center, or any other subdivision or agent of the board or the school district governed by the board.
HOUSE JUDICIARY - CRIMINAL COMMITTEE
Monday, April 9, 3:00 p.m., Room C-1, Stratton Office Building
HB 5091 (Andrade, D-Chicago)
requires the Illinois State Police to determine the five most frequently committed crimes by minors and the subsequent penalties and produce a report that is distributed to schools. The bill requires schools to distribute the report to high school students.
HB 5131 (McDermed, R-Frankfort)
enhances the criminal penalties for any Abused and Neglected Child Act mandated reporter who knowingly and willfully violates certain reporting requirements.
HOUSE ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION: LICENSING, ADMINISTRATION & OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 10, 8:00 a.m., Room 115, State Capitol
HB 4232 (Severin, R-Marion)
requires a school board to publish a notice that the district's annual statement of affairs is available on ISBE's Internet website and in the district's main administrative office, instead of requiring a summary of the statement of affairs to be published.
HB 4284 (Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora)
a Vision 20/20 initiative, provides that for ISBE appointments made after the effective date, three of the members of the State Board must represent the educator community.
HB 4352 (Long, R-Streator)
allows a school district to discharge any mandate that is unfunded by holding a public hearing. Any mandate discharged must be reported to the ISBE.
HB 4742 (Ford, D-Chicago)
provides that, by January 1, 2019, ISBE shall implement a program and adopt rules to allow school districts to supplement their substitute teacher recruitment for elementary and secondary schools with the use of recruiting firms.
HB 4956 (Cavaletto, R-Salem)
requires universities to offer students seeking teacher licensure a 3-year completion program and have the program curriculum approved by the Board of Higher Education.
HB 5063 (Greenwood)
allows refund of the teacher licensure application fee if the teacher has not been entitled to teach in Illinois but has been teaching in a school district for at least 12 months.
HB 5144 (Mayfield, D-Waukegan)
requires a school board with a pupil attending an area vocational school to pay the vocational school's per capita cost or the school district's per capita cost, whichever is greater.
HB 5175 (Hoffman, D-Belleville)
provides that, beginning July 1, 2019, sets the statutory minimum teacher salary at $40,000 (currently $10,000).
HB 5196 (Greenwood)
removes the licensure renewal fee for paraprofessionals beginning July 1, 2018.
HB 5249 (Brady, R-Bloomington)
allows a parent or guardian of a child with disabilities to enroll in a school district in which the child was previously enrolled under certain circumstances.
HB 5481 (Guzzardi, D-Chicago)
requires a mandate school districts to report certain K-12 information about actively employed teachers, pupil-teacher ratios, class instructors and class sections to ISBE within the first 60 days of instruction each year. The bill also sets class size goals to be achieved by 2020-21 school year and requires ISBE to publish the information.
HB 5568 (Stratton, D-Chicago)
allows an art educator endorsement licensure with a minimum of 60 semester hours of college coursework or an accredited art school and a minimum of 2,000 hours of experience in each area to be taught by the applicant. Also provides licensure renewal provisions.
HB 5572 (Ives, R-Wheaton)
provides that a school district may not refinance debt past the repayment period of the debt when issued, may not issue debt to be serviced over a period of greater than 20 years, and may not issue capital appreciation bonds.
HB 5754 (Phelps-Finnie, D-Harrisburg)
provides that a school principal endorsement shall be affixed to an Illinois Department of Corrections school support personnel or teachers license with at least four years of teaching in addition to other requirements in the School Code.
HOUSE ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUCATION: SCHOOL CURRICULUM & POLICIES COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 10, 10:00 a.m., Room C-1, Stratton Office Building
HB 4226 (Kifowit, D-Aurora)
requires the Department of Public Health (IDPH) to develop and disseminate a brochure to educate the general public on the effects of concussions in children and warning signs and requires the schools to disseminate the brochure to any family whose child may have sustained a concussion. In addition, the bill requires the Regional Office of Education to supervise athletic trainers or persons responsible for compliance with the return-to-play and return-to-learn concussion protocol and requires ISBE to adopt rules governing student with concussion accommodations.
HB 4346 (Jones, D-Chicago)
requires the completion of instruction in Black History in order to complete the 8th grade or graduate from high school. It requires each public university to offer a course studying the events of Black History and allows school districts and public universities to meet the requirement by offering an online course.
HB 4368
(Halbrook, R-Shelbyville)
requires school districts to allow parents of twins or multiples to establish classroom placement of their children.
HB 4475 (Fine, D-Glenview),
as amended to address Alliance concerns, requires school boards to include information about influenza, meningococcal disease and vaccinations provided by IDPH when the school provides information on school health issues to the parents or guardians.
HB 4657 (Manley, D-Joliet)
creates a curricular mandate requiring schools to teach a unit of instruction studying emotional intelligence.
HB 4658 (Manley)
requires school districts to adopt a policy on how to recognize mental health issues and address them. The policy must require in-service training for licensed school personnel every two years that includes identification and courses of action.
HB 5062 (Flowers, D-Chicago)
requires ISBE to develop a program facilitating education in advanced manufacturing skills and requires the program to be implemented in at least 12 high schools for three years where the youth unemployment rate is at least twice the national average. Requires ISBE to fund the program, providing at least one industry coordinator, tutoring, pre-employment and on the job mentoring, professional and leadership development and life/financial management instruction.
HB 5096 (Hernandez, D-Cicero)
creates a curricular mandate requiring schools to teach a unit of instruction on media literacy.
HB 5145 (Mayfield)
prohibits school districts from issuing an out-of-school suspension for kindergarten students.
HB 5148 (Kifowit)
requires that course material and instruction in sex education shall include emphasis on what constitutes sexual consent, harassment and assault in the workplace and on a college campus.
HB 5247 (Pritchard, R-Sycamore)
requires
ISBE to adopt rules as may be necessary to allow students of any high school in Illinois who are 16 years of age or older to participate in registered apprenticeship programs.
HB 5588 (Crespo, D-Streamwood)
changes references in State laws from the old version of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, No Child Left Behind to the new version, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Additionally makes changes necessary to implement accountability changes included in the State Plan created as a requirement of the ESSA.
HB 5596 (Moeller, D-Elgin)
creates a curricular mandate requiring schools to teach about the diversity of our society including the role and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in society.
HB 5613 (Harper, D-Chicago)
requires schools to develop and adopt a trauma response protocol by 2019-2020 school year that includes long-term responses, long-term care and counseling and community engagement.
HB 5770 (Conroy, D-Villa Park)
requires schools to notify student and families that a student may be eligible to receive mental health services from the school district under a federal Section 504 plan.
HB 5786 (Mayfield)
requires in-school suspension programs for K-12 students to focus on promoting non-violent conflict resolution and positive interaction with other students and school personnel. As amended, provides that a school district may hire a school social worker or licensed mental health professional to supervise the in-school suspension.
HB 5789 (Conroy)
creates the Regional Office of Education Task Force to study services provided and recommendations for improvement.
HB 5820 (Scherer, D-Decatur)
disallows physical education mandate waivers after two years and limits their extension to no more than two times, further provides that the waiver may be changed by the school or the regional superintendent. The bill also establishes weekly time requirements for physical education for students at different grade levels. Additionally, the bill makes the requirement for substitute teachers to be physically fit, permissive.
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 10, 1:30 p.m., Room 212, State Capitol
SB 2428 (Stadelman, D-Rockford)
requires every school to provide a federally reimbursable meal or snack to a student of that school who makes the request, regardless of whether the student has the ability to pay or owes money for meals or snacks.
SB 2484 (Murphy, D-Elk Grove Village)
requires a school district, upon knowledge of an incident of sexual assault by a student against another student, to report the incident to ISBE.
SB 2500
(Morrison, D-Deerfield)
p
rovides that a school board shall permanently retain on file all insurance policies of a school district, including, but not limited to, insurance protection and benefits policies of school district employees or students and policies taken out on school district property.
SB 2925 (Lightford, D-Westchester)
requires each school district to develop a memorandum of understanding with each local law enforcement agency that provides the school district with a school resource officer. School resource officers are required to be in good standing and receive training in specific areas. Required training shall be successfully complete no later than one year after the effective date.
SB 3220 (Aquino, D-Chicago)
provides that an institution of higher education that is denied recommendation for recognition by the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board to offer an educator preparation program at the institution may appeal the decision to ISBE.
SB 3507 (Murphy)
requires a school district to allow a student diagnosed with a pancreatic insufficiency to self-administer and self-manage his or her pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy if the parent or guardian of the student provides the school with written authorization and there is written authorization for the therapy from the student's health care professional.
SB 3536 (Collins, D-Chicago)
requires that beginning July 2019, any publicly funded early childhood program receiving Preschool for All Block Grant funds or Preschool for All Expansion Block Grant funds shall collect and review its chronic absence data and determine what support and resources are needed to positively engage chronically absent students and their families to encourage the habit of daily attendance and promote success.
SB 3537 (Collins)
provides that the term "truant" means a child who is subject to compulsory school attendance and who is absent without valid cause from such attendance for more than 1%, but less than 5%, of the past 180 days.
HB 1252 (Lilly, D-Chicago)
would require a semester of instruction on civics in junior high.
HOUSE LABOR & COMMERCE COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 10, 3:00 p.m., Room 114, State Capitol
HB 4841 (Ives)
provides that, once an agreement is reached between a public or educational employer and its employees regarding all of the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, the agreement shall be reduced to writing and published on the website of the public or educational employer. Not less than 14 days after publishing, the public employer must hold a public meeting on the ratification of the agreement. Any contract where the total compensation exceeds $150,000 shall also be published not less than 14 days prior to being signed by the parties and a public meeting must be held after the 14 days of posting.
HB 4842 (Ives)
prohibits a Teachers Retirement System (TRS) employer from making employee pension contributions on behalf of an employee.
HB 5113 (Wheeler, K., R-North Aurora)
beginning January 1, 2019 employers are required to report injuries resulting in the loss of 3 or more calendar days to the Workers' Compensation Commission, the employee and the employer's insurer.
HB 5334 (Harper)
disallows any employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee because of criminal history unless the charges have a direct relationship with the employment.
HOUSE BUSINESS INCENTIVES FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES COMMITTEE
Wednesday, April 11, 12:00 p.m., Room 118, State Capitol
HB 4969 (Wallace, D-Rockford)
provides that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) shall make grants to school districts for the redevelopment of unused public buildings into commercial and retail space to be rented at below-market rates to start-up businesses and existing small businesses.
HOUSE ELECTIONS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 11, 12:00 p.m., Room 413, Stratton Office Building
HB 4557 (McDermed)
requires (rather than encourages) a school district to close a school or hold a teachers institute day if the school is chosen as a polling place by the county board or board of election commissioners.
HOUSE COUNTIES & TOWNSHIPS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 11, 12:00 p.m., Room 115, State Capitol
HB 4930 (Welter, R-Morris)
provides that township land commissioners or trustees of schools that have title to any school real estate or lands may authorize by resolution the sale of common school lands to a government entity if two-thirds of the township land commissioners or trustees of schools approve the resolution.
HOUSE REVENUE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Wednesday, April 11, 3:00 p.m., Room 122B, State Capitol
HB 4738 (Mayfield)
allows licensed teachers to deduct their wages from income tax owed.
HB 4830 (Ives)
increases the education expense income tax credit from $750 to $1500 per family and makes athletic fees, drivers education fees and out of school activity fees also eligible for the credit.
HB 4835 (Ives)
requires the ISBE to withhold a school district's funding when a chief county assessment officer fails to accurately prepare assessments for property in that school district.
HB 4924 (Long)
as amended, expands the surviving spouse provisions of the veterans with disabilities homestead exemption and creates a Natural Disaster Home Repair Assistance Homestead Exemption.
HB 5065 (Phelps-Finnie)
diverts 1% of the school facilities county-wide sales tax revenues to the regional superintendent to cover costs of administering and enforcing the school facilities sales tax.
HB 5565 (Mayfield)
limits the aggregate Property tax rate extended to no more than 3.5% for property in a municipality where 60% of the households qualify for the national school lunch program.
HB 5581 (Pritchard)
requires any tax increment financing (TIF) project or amendment to a project to have approval by school districts and community colleges affected by the proposed project. Requires any portion of the redevelopment area property taxes attributable to a school district or community college that does not approve the plan to be distributed to those entities.
HB 5731 (Durkin, R-Burr Ridge)
imposes a property tax freeze of 0% for four years with an option for taxing districts to continue the freeze up to four additional years with voter approval.
HB 5799 (Batinick, R-Plainfield)
allows sharing of TIF revenues only at the percentage of eligible costs undertaken with the project area that received the revenue. TIF revenues received in one project area may not be used in another area and may not be transferred. The bill grandfathers in any currently held contracts.
HOUSE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Thursday, April 12, 9 a.m., Room 114, State Capitol
HB 5758 (Bristow, D-Alton)
provides that an institution may not offer a dual credit program with a high school in this State if the institution's main campus is not located in this state.
HOUSE PERSONNEL & PENSIONS COMMITTEE
Thursday, April 12, 11:00 a.m., Room 118, State Capitol
HB 4839 (Ives)
requires the 5 State-funded Retirement Systems to implement a Tier 3 plan that aggregates State and employee contributions in individual participant accounts and allows Tier 1 and Tier 2 participants to elect to be in the Tier 3 plan.
