August 17, 2018

 
Alliance Legislative Report (100-74)

ACTION TAKEN ON EDUCATION BILLS
 
Governor Bruce Rauner has been taking action on various pieces of legislation that have reached his desk since the legislative session concluded. After a bill is approved by the legislature, the General Assembly has 30 days to send the bill to the Governor. The Governor then has 60 days to either sign or veto a bill. While Governor Bruce Rauner has acted on many pieces of legislation, he has yet to take action on several issues including the minimum teacher salary bill (SB 2892, Manar D-Bunker Hill). To see more on SB 2892, click  here.

BILLS THAT HAVE BEEN SIGNED INTO LAW
HB 751 (Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville) extends the sunset provision for retired teachers returning to teaching in  subject shortage areas from June 30, 2013 to June 30, 2019. Public Act 100-0743; effective August 10, 2018.
HB 3784 (Sosnowski, R-Rockford) removes the ability of a school district to deny enrollment for 17 year old students for failure to meet minimum academic standards and provides that no child may be denied re-enrollment under sections referring to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Public Act 100-0825; effective August 13, 2018.

HB 4193 (Parkhurst, R-Kankakee), for special education impartial due process hearings, changes when the hearing officer must issue his or her written decision from within 10 days to within 10 business days after the hearing.   Public Act 100-0849; effective: August 14, 2018.
HB 4226 (Kifowit, D-Aurora)  requires schools to disseminate a brochure to any family whose child may have sustained a concussion and requires the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to adopt rules for accommodations for concussed students. Public Act 100-0747; effective January 1, 2019.
HB 4340 (Wheeler, R-Crystal Lake) requires school administrators to post notice of the human trafficking hotline in the administrative office, or another location, in view of school employees. Public Act 100-0671; effective January 1, 2019.
HB 4346 (Jones, D-Chicago) requires each public university to offer a course studying the events of Black History, and allows school districts and public universities to meet certain requirements by offering an online course. Public Act 100-0634; effective: January 1, 2019 .
HB 4369 (Sommer, R-Morton) requires ISBE to develop and maintain a dyslexia handbook, make it available on their website, and update it every four years. Public Act 100-0617; effective July 20, 2018 .
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. Public Act 100-0750; effective August 10, 2018.

HB 4706 (Scherer, D-Decatur) makes permissive the current requirement for substitute teachers to be physically fit. It requires the hiring school board to pay for the examination when it requires an examination of any substitute teacher.  Public Act 100-0855; effective August 14, 2018.
HB 4742 (Ford, D-Chicago)  allows school districts to supplement their substitute teacher recruitment with the use of recruiting firms. Public Act 100-0813; effective: August 13, 2018.
HB 4870 (Lang, D-Chicago) 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. Public Act 100-0660; effective August 1, 2018.

HB 4908 (Moeller, D-Elgin) requires all children entering kindergarten, second, sixth and ninth grades to have a dental examination. Public Act 100-0829; effective January 1, 2019.
HB 5136 (Slaughter, D-Chicago) provides that the Performance Evaluation Review Act (PERA) committee meet annually, and also includes language exempting the Reduction In Force and PERA committees from the Open Meetings Act (OMA). It also allows collective bargaining strategy sessions to be exempt from the provisions of the OMA. Public Act 100-0768; effective January 1, 2019.
HB 5137 (Martwick, D-Chicago) requires the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) to offer an optional defined contribution retirement plan for members to join. Public Act 100-0769; effective August 10, 2018.

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. Public Act 100-0684; effective August 3, 2018.
HB 5196 (Greenwood, D-East St. Louis) lowers the licensure renewal fee for paraprofessionals beginning July 1, 2018, from $50 to $25. Public Act 100-0772; effective August 10, 2018.
HB 5627 (Bennett, R-Pontiac)  would:
  • For a two-year period, allow a retired teacher to teach in a school district for up to 120 days (currently 100 days)
  • Allow for the establishment of a short-term substitute teaching license for applicants who hold an associate's degree or have completed at least 60 hours of credit from a regionally accredited institution of higher education
  • Allow school boards, in collaboration with the teachers' union, to jointly develop a short-term substitute teacher training program that provides individuals with short-term substitute teaching license information on curriculum, classroom management techniques, school safety, and district building operations
  • Allow for licensure reciprocity for individuals holding a comparable and valid educator license or certificate from another state. Public Act 100-0596; effective July 1, 2018.
HB 5771 (Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora) facilitating the work of the Balanced Accountability Model, establishes a definition of chronic absenteeism and requires State funded early childhood programs to collect and review the data and determine needed resources to engage chronically absent students and their families. Public Act 100-0819; effective January 1, 2019.

SB 486 (Harmon, D-Oak Park)  makes changes to how the assessment and taxation of solar energy systems are calculated. Public Act 100-0781; effective August 10, 2018.
SB 650 (Connelly, R-Naperville)  provides that certain notices concerning requests for mandate waivers may be made electronically. Public Act 100-0782; effective January 1, 2019.
SB 1829 (Hutchinson, D-Chicago Heights) makes changes to licensing required to teach preschool children.   Public Act 100-0645; effective July 27, 2018.
SB 2482 (Morrison, D-Deerfield) requires a school bus to be operated with the "SCHOOL BUS" signs covered and the stop signal arm and flashing signal system disabled whenever a school bus is operated for the purpose of transporting passengers over 18 years of age and not school related. Public Act 100-0791; effective January 1, 2019.

SB 2527 (Weaver, R-Peoria) p rovides that a school board shall not adopt a policy limiting the number of dual credit courses a student may enroll in, or the number of academic credits a student may receive from dual credit courses.   Public Act 100-0792; effective January 1, 2019.
SB 2866 (Holmes, D-Aurora)  requires the Department of Public Health to provide all students entering sixth grade and their parents with written information about the availability of an HPV vaccine. Public Act 100-0741; effective January 1, 2019.
SB 2889 (Rose, R-Champaign)  provides that epinephrine may also be administered with a pre-filled syringe. Public Act 100-0799; effective January 1, 2019.
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 submit a question to the voters at the next election as to whether they approve at-large election of that board position instead of mandatory board representation by a specific area. Public Act 100-0800; effective January 1, 2019.
SB 2941 (McGuire, D-Joliet)  provides that a school district may participate in the ISBE competency-based, high school graduation requirements pilot program for some or all of its schools. Public Act 100-0599; effective June 29, 2018.
SB 2954 (Aquino, D-Chicago)  removes "the full-time equivalent" provision in the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) application to determine if the participant's salary exceeds the Governor's salary. Public Act 100-0624; effective July 20, 2018.
SB 3236 (Manar, D-Bunker Hill)  requires that a school report card include the most current data possessed by the ISBE relating to a school district's administrative costs.  Public Act 100-0807; effective August 10, 2018.
SB 3466  (Lightford, D-Maywood)  requires a school district to make reasonable efforts to provide ongoing professional development on the appropriate and available supportive services for the promotion of student attendance and engagement. Public Act 100-0810; effective January 1, 2019.
SB 3536 (Collins, D-Chicago)  provides that an institution offering an alternative educator licensure program that partners with a public school district administering a preschool educational program under the preschool grant provision must require a principal to recommend or evaluate candidates in the program. Public Act 100-0822; effective January 1, 2019.
SB 3604 (Cullerton, T., D-Villa Park)  creates the Government Severance Pay Act to provide that a school district that enters into a contract or employment agreement, or renewal or renegotiation of an existing contract or employment agreement, that contains a provision for severance pay with an employee -  must include specified provisions in the contract. Public Act 100-0895; effective January 1, 2019.