Rep. Mary E. Flowers

Filed: 3/14/2011

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 287

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 287 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
510-20.9a and 14-6.01 and by adding Sections 10-20.53 and
634-18.45 as follows:
 
7    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.9a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-20.9a)
8    Sec. 10-20.9a. Final Grade; Promotion.
9    (a) Teachers shall administer the approved marking system
10or other approved means of evaluating pupil progress. The
11teacher shall maintain the responsibility and right to
12determine grades and other evaluations of students within the
13grading policies of the district based upon his or her
14professional judgment of available criteria pertinent to any
15given subject area or activity for which he or she is
16responsible. District policy shall provide the procedure and

 

 

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1reasons by and for which a grade may be changed; provided that
2no grade or evaluation shall be changed without notification to
3the teacher concerning the nature and reasons for such change.
4If such a change is made, the person making the change shall
5assume such responsibility for determining the grade or
6evaluation, and shall initial such change.
7    (b) School districts shall not promote students to the next
8higher grade level based upon age or any other social reasons
9not related to the academic performance of the students. On or
10before September 1, 1998, school boards shall adopt and enforce
11a policy on promotion as they deem necessary to ensure that
12students meet local goals and objectives and can perform at the
13expected grade level prior to promotion. Decisions to promote
14or retain students in any classes shall be based on successful
15completion of the curriculum, attendance, performance based on
16Illinois Goals and Assessment Program tests, the Iowa Test of
17Basic Skills, or other testing or any other criteria
18established by the school board. Students determined by the
19local district to not qualify for promotion to the next higher
20grade shall be provided remedial assistance, which may include,
21but shall not be limited to, a summer bridge program of no less
22than 90 hours, tutorial sessions, increased or concentrated
23instructional time, modifications to instructional materials,
24and retention in grade, subject to Section 10-20.53 of this
25Code.
26(Source: P.A. 89-610, eff. 8-6-96; 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)
 

 

 

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1    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.53 new)
2    Sec. 10-20.53. Committee on the retention of students.
3    (a) A school board may create a committee on the retention
4of students. The committee shall consist of the district
5superintendent or his or her designee, a district administrator
6who directs student instruction and curriculum, a principal
7from a school of the district, and a teacher from a school of
8the district.
9    (b) Prior to retention in a grade, a school may submit, by
10a date as set by the committee on the retention of students,
11the names of all students determined by the school to not
12qualify for promotion to the next higher grade and the reason
13for that determination. The committee shall review the school's
14decision to retain with respect to each student and shall make
15a final decision regarding whether or not to retain a
16particular student. The committee shall take into
17consideration the performance evaluation of the student's
18teacher or teachers pursuant to Article 24A of this Code. The
19committee may vote to prohibit the school district from
20retaining the student if the committee determines that the
21student is being retained due to inadequate instruction,
22resources, or facilities provided by the school district or due
23to the student having an undiagnosed learning disability.
 
24    (105 ILCS 5/14-6.01)  (from Ch. 122, par. 14-6.01)

 

 

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1    Sec. 14-6.01. Powers and duties of school boards. School
2boards of one or more school districts establishing and
3maintaining any of the educational facilities described in this
4Article shall, in connection therewith, exercise similar
5powers and duties as are prescribed by law for the
6establishment, maintenance and management of other recognized
7educational facilities. Such school boards shall include only
8eligible children in the program and shall comply with all the
9requirements of this Article and all rules and regulations
10established by the State Board of Education. Such school boards
11shall accept in part-time attendance children with
12disabilities of the types described in Sections 14-1.02 through
1314-1.07 who are enrolled in nonpublic schools. A request for
14part-time attendance must be submitted by a parent or guardian
15of the disabled child and may be made only to those public
16schools located in the district where the child attending the
17nonpublic school resides; however, nothing in this Section
18shall be construed as prohibiting an agreement between the
19district where the child resides and another public school
20district to provide special educational services if such an
21arrangement is deemed more convenient and economical. Special
22educational services shall be provided to such students as soon
23as possible after the identification, evaluation and placement
24procedures provided in Section 14-8.02, but no later than the
25beginning of the next school semester following the completion
26of such procedures. Transportation for students in part time

 

 

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1attendance shall be provided only if required in the child's
2individualized educational program on the basis of the child's
3disabling condition or as the special education program
4location may require.
5    A school board shall publish a public notice in its
6newsletter of general circulation or in the newsletter of
7another governmental entity of general circulation in the
8district or if neither is available in the district, then in a
9newspaper of general circulation in the district, the right of
10all children with disabilities to a free appropriate public
11education as provided under this Code. Such notice shall
12identify the location and phone number of the office or agent
13of the school district to whom inquiries should be directed
14regarding the identification, assessment and placement of such
15children.
16    School boards shall immediately provide upon request by any
17person written materials and other information that indicates
18the specific policies, procedures, rules and regulations
19regarding the identification, evaluation or educational
20placement of children with disabilities under Section 14-8.02
21of the School Code. Such information shall include information
22regarding all rights and entitlements of such children under
23this Code, and of the opportunity to present complaints with
24respect to any matter relating to educational placement of the
25student, or the provision of a free appropriate public
26education and to have an impartial due process hearing on the

 

 

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1complaint. The notice shall inform the parents or guardian in
2the parents' or guardian's native language, unless it is
3clearly not feasible to do so, of their rights and all
4procedures available pursuant to this Act and federal Public
5Law 94-142; it shall be the responsibility of the State
6Superintendent to develop uniform notices setting forth the
7procedures available under this Act and federal Public Law
894-142, as amended, to be used by all school boards. The notice
9shall also inform the parents or guardian of the availability
10upon request of a list of free or low-cost legal and other
11relevant services available locally to assist parents or
12guardians in exercising rights or entitlements under this Code.
13    Any parent or guardian who is deaf, or does not normally
14communicate using spoken English, who participates in a meeting
15with a representative of a local educational agency for the
16purposes of developing an individualized educational program
17shall be entitled to the services of an interpreter.
18    No disabled student or child with a learning disability may
19be denied promotion, graduation or a general diploma on the
20basis of failing a minimal competency test when such failure
21can be directly related to the disabling condition of the
22student. For the purpose of this Act, "minimal competency
23testing" is defined as tests which are constructed to measure
24the acquisition of skills to or beyond a certain defined
25standard.
26    Effective July 1, 1966, high school districts are

 

 

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1financially responsible for the education of pupils with
2disabilities who are residents in their districts when such
3pupils have reached age 15 but may admit children with
4disabilities into special educational facilities without
5regard to graduation from the eighth grade after such pupils
6have reached the age of 14 1/2 years. Upon a disabled pupil's
7attaining the age of 14 1/2 years, it shall be the duty of the
8elementary school district in which the pupil resides to notify
9the high school district in which the pupil resides of the
10pupil's current eligibility for special education services, of
11the pupil's current program, and of all evaluation data upon
12which the current program is based. After an examination of
13that information the high school district may accept the
14current placement and all subsequent timelines shall be
15governed by the current individualized educational program; or
16the high school district may elect to conduct its own
17evaluation and multidisciplinary staff conference and
18formulate its own individualized educational program, in which
19case the procedures and timelines contained in Section 14-8.02
20shall apply.
21(Source: P.A. 89-397, eff. 8-20-95.)
 
22    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.45 new)
23    Sec. 34-18.45. Committee on the retention of students.
24    (a) The board may create a committee on the retention of
25students. The committee shall consist of the general

 

 

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1superintendent of schools or his or her designee, a district
2administrator who directs student instruction and curriculum,
3a principal from a school of the district, and a teacher from a
4school of the district.
5    (b) Prior to retention in a grade, a school may submit, by
6a date as set by the committee on the retention of students,
7the names of all students determined by the school to not
8qualify for promotion to the next higher grade and the reason
9for that determination. The committee shall review the school's
10decision to retain with respect to each student and shall make
11a final decision regarding whether or not to retain a
12particular student. The committee shall take into
13consideration the performance evaluation of the student's
14teacher or teachers pursuant to Article 24A of this Code. The
15committee may vote to prohibit the school district from
16retaining the student if the committee determines that the
17student is being retained due to inadequate instruction,
18resources, or facilities provided by the school district or due
19to the student having an undiagnosed learning disability.
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.".