093_SB1582

 
                                     LRB093 03527 NHT 03556 b

 1        AN ACT concerning education.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  5.   The  School  Code  is  amended  by changing
 5    Section 1A-4 as follows:

 6        (105 ILCS 5/1A-4) (from Ch. 122, par. 1A-4)
 7        Sec. 1A-4.  Powers and duties of the Board.
 8        A.  Upon the appointment of new Board members as provided
 9    in subsection (b) of Section 1A-1 of this Code  and  every  2
10    years  thereafter,  the  chairperson  of  the  Board shall be
11    selected by the Governor, with the advice and consent of  the
12    Senate,  from  the  membership  of  the  Board  to  serve  as
13    chairperson for 2 years.
14        B.  The  Board  shall determine the qualifications of and
15    appoint a chief education officer to be known  as  the  State
16    Superintendent  of  Education who shall serve at the pleasure
17    of the Board and pursuant  to  a  performance-based  contract
18    linked   to   statewide   student  performance  and  academic
19    improvement within  Illinois  schools.  No  performance-based
20    contract   issued   for   the   employment   of   the   State
21    Superintendent of Education shall be for a term longer than 3
22    years  and  no contract shall be extended or renewed prior to
23    its  scheduled  expiration   unless   the   performance   and
24    improvement  goals  contained  in the contract have been met.
25    The State Superintendent of Education shall not  serve  as  a
26    member  of the State Board of Education.  The Board shall set
27    the compensation of the State Superintendent of Education who
28    shall serve as the Board's chief executive officer. The Board
29    shall also establish the duties, powers and  responsibilities
30    of  the  State Superintendent, which shall be included in the
31    State Superintendent's performance-based contract along  with
 
                            -2-      LRB093 03527 NHT 03556 b
 1    the  goals and indicators of student performance and academic
 2    improvement used to measure the performance and effectiveness
 3    of the State Superintendent. The State Board of Education may
 4    delegate  to  the  State  Superintendent  of  Education   the
 5    authority  to  act  on  the  Board's  behalf,  provided  such
 6    delegation  is  made  pursuant to adopted board policy or the
 7    powers delegated are ministerial in nature.  The State  Board
 8    may  not  delegate  authority under this Section to the State
 9    Superintendent to  (1)  nonrecognize  school  districts,  (2)
10    withhold  State  payments  as  a  penalty,  or (3) make final
11    decisions under the contested case provisions of the Illinois
12    Administrative Procedure Act  unless  otherwise  provided  by
13    law.
14        C.  The powers and duties of the State Board of Education
15    shall  encompass  all  duties  delegated  to  the  Office  of
16    Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  on January 12, 1975,
17    except as the law providing for such  powers  and  duties  is
18    thereafter  amended,  and such other powers and duties as the
19    General  Assembly  shall  designate.   The  Board  shall   be
20    responsible  for  the educational policies and guidelines for
21    public schools, pre-school through grade  12  and  Vocational
22    Education  in the State of Illinois.  The Board shall analyze
23    the present and  future  aims,  needs,  and  requirements  of
24    education  in  the  State  of  Illinois  and recommend to the
25    General Assembly the powers which should be exercised by  the
26    Board.   The  Board  shall  recommend  the  passage  and  the
27    legislation    necessary   to   determine   the   appropriate
28    relationship between the Board and local boards of  education
29    and  the various State agencies and shall recommend desirable
30    modifications in the laws which affect schools.
31        D.  Two members of the Board shall be  appointed  by  the
32    chairperson to serve on a standing joint Education Committee,
33    2  others  shall  be  appointed  from  the  Board  of  Higher
34    Education,  2 others shall be appointed by the chairperson of
 
                            -3-      LRB093 03527 NHT 03556 b
 1    the Illinois Community College Board, and 2 others  shall  be
 2    appointed by the chairperson of the Human Resource Investment
 3    Council.   The  Committee  shall  be  responsible  for making
 4    recommendations concerning the submission  of  any  workforce
 5    development  plan  or  workforce training program required by
 6    federal  law  or  under  any  block  grant  authority.    The
 7    Committee  will  be  responsible  for  developing  policy  on
 8    matters of mutual concern to elementary, secondary and higher
 9    education  such as Occupational and Career Education, Teacher
10    Preparation   and   Certification,    Educational    Finance,
11    Articulation   between   Elementary,   Secondary  and  Higher
12    Education and Research and  Planning.   The  joint  Education
13    Committee shall  meet at least quarterly and submit an annual
14    report  of  its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to
15    the State Board of Education, the Board of Higher  Education,
16    the  Illinois  Community  College  Board,  the Human Resource
17    Investment Council, the Governor, and the  General  Assembly.
18    All meetings of this Committee shall be official meetings for
19    reimbursement under this Act.
20        E.  Five  members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
21    A majority vote  of  the  members  appointed,  confirmed  and
22    serving on the Board is required to approve any action.
23        The  Board  shall  prepare  and  submit  to  the  General
24    Assembly  and  the Governor on or before January 14, 1976 and
25    annually thereafter a report or reports of its  findings  and
26    recommendations.  Such annual report shall contain a separate
27    section which provides a critique and analysis of the  status
28    of  education  in  Illinois and which identifies its specific
29    problems and recommends express  solutions  therefor.    Such
30    annual  report  also  shall contain the following information
31    for the preceding  year  ending  on  June  30:  each  act  or
32    omission  of  a  school  district of which the State Board of
33    Education  has  knowledge  as  a  consequence  of  scheduled,
34    approved visits  and  which  constituted  a  failure  by  the
 
                            -4-      LRB093 03527 NHT 03556 b
 1    district  to  comply with applicable State or federal laws or
 2    regulations relating to public education, the  name  of  such
 3    district,  the  date  or  dates  on  which the State Board of
 4    Education  notified  the  school  district  of  such  act  or
 5    omission, and what action, if any, the school  district  took
 6    with  respect  thereto  after  being  notified thereof by the
 7    State Board of Education. The report shall also  include  the
 8    statewide  high  school  dropout rate by grade level, sex and
 9    race and the annual student dropout rate of and the number of
10    students who graduate from, transfer from or otherwise  leave
11    bilingual  programs.   The  Auditor  General  shall  annually
12    perform  a compliance audit of the State Board of Education's
13    performance of the reporting duty imposed by this  amendatory
14    Act  of  1986.  A  regular system of communication with other
15    directly related State agencies shall be implemented.
16        The requirement for reporting  to  the  General  Assembly
17    shall  be  satisfied  by filing copies of the report with the
18    Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of  the  House  of
19    Representatives  and  the  President, the Minority Leader and
20    the Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative  Council,  as
21    required  by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
22    Act,  and  filing  such  additional  copies  with  the  State
23    Government  Report  Distribution  Center  for   the   General
24    Assembly  as  is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of
25    the State Library Act.
26    (Source: P.A. 89-430, eff.  12-15-95;  89-610,  eff.  8-6-96;
27    89-698, eff. 1-14-97; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)