SB1740 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB100 09673 NHT 19842 b

100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
SB1740

Introduced 2/9/2017, by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

See Index

Amends the School Code and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. Provides that, on and after September 1, 2018, all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "excellent", "proficient", or "needs improvement" are considered "effective", and all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "unsatisfactory" are considered "ineffective" for the purposes of the Employment of Teachers Article. Makes other changes concerning the waiver or modification of mandates; school report cards; license suspension or revocation; contractual continued service; removal or dismissal of teachers; an optional alternative evaluative dismissal process; evaluation plans; a local appeal process for ineffective ratings; rules; the appointment and promotion of teachers in Chicago; alternative procedures for teacher evaluation, remediation, and removal in Chicago; and the Open Meetings Act.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections 2-3.25g, 10-17a, 21B-75, 24-11, 24-12, 24-16.5, 24A-4, 24A-5, 24A-7, 34-84, and 34-85c and by adding Sections 24-9.5 and 24A-5.5 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.25g) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.25g)

Sec. 2-3.25g. Waiver or modification of mandates within the School Code and administrative rules and regulations.

(a) In this Section:

"Board" means a school board or the governing board or administrative district, as the case may be, for a joint agreement.

"Eligible applicant" means a school district, joint agreement made up of school districts, or regional superintendent of schools on behalf of schools and programs operated by the regional office of education.

"Implementation date" has the meaning set forth in Section 24A-2.5 of this Code.

"State Board" means the State Board of Education.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this School Code or any other law of this State to the contrary, eligible applicants may petition the State Board of Education for the waiver or modification of the mandates of this School Code or of the administrative rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education. Waivers or modifications of administrative rules and regulations and modifications of mandates of this School Code may be requested when an eligible applicant demonstrates that it can address the intent of the rule or mandate in a more effective, efficient, or economical manner or when necessary to stimulate innovation or improve student performance. Waivers of mandates of the School Code may be requested when the waivers are necessary to stimulate innovation or improve student performance. Waivers may not be requested from laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to special education, teacher educator licensure, teacher tenure and seniority, or Section 5-2.1 of this Code or from compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110). Eligible applicants may not seek a waiver or seek a modification of a mandate regarding the requirements for (i) student performance data to be a significant factor in teacher or principal evaluations or (ii) teachers and principals to be rated using the 4 categories of "excellent", "proficient", "needs improvement", or "unsatisfactory" or, on and after September 1, 2018, teachers to be rated using the 2 categories of "effective" and "ineffective". On September 1, 2014, any previously authorized waiver or modification from such requirements shall terminate.

(c) Eligible applicants, as a matter of inherent managerial policy, and any Independent Authority established under Section 2-3.25f-5 of this Code may submit an application for a waiver or modification authorized under this Section. Each application must include a written request by the eligible applicant or Independent Authority and must demonstrate that the intent of the mandate can be addressed in a more effective, efficient, or economical manner or be based upon a specific plan for improved student performance and school improvement. Any eligible applicant requesting a waiver or modification for the reason that intent of the mandate can be addressed in a more economical manner shall include in the application a fiscal analysis showing current expenditures on the mandate and projected savings resulting from the waiver or modification. Applications and plans developed by eligible applicants must be approved by the board or regional superintendent of schools applying on behalf of schools or programs operated by the regional office of education following a public hearing on the application and plan and the opportunity for the board or regional superintendent to hear testimony from staff directly involved in its implementation, parents, and students. The time period for such testimony shall be separate from the time period established by the eligible applicant for public comment on other matters. If the applicant is a school district or joint agreement requesting a waiver or modification of Section 27-6 of this Code, the public hearing shall be held on a day other than the day on which a regular meeting of the board is held.

(c-5) If the applicant is a school district, then the district shall post information that sets forth the time, date, place, and general subject matter of the public hearing on its Internet website at least 14 days prior to the hearing. If the district is requesting to increase the fee charged for driver education authorized pursuant to Section 27-24.2 of this Code, the website information shall include the proposed amount of the fee the district will request. All school districts must publish a notice of the public hearing at least 7 days prior to the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the school district that sets forth the time, date, place, and general subject matter of the hearing. Districts requesting to increase the fee charged for driver education shall include in the published notice the proposed amount of the fee the district will request. If the applicant is a joint agreement or regional superintendent, then the joint agreement or regional superintendent shall post information that sets forth the time, date, place, and general subject matter of the public hearing on its Internet website at least 14 days prior to the hearing. If the joint agreement or regional superintendent is requesting to increase the fee charged for driver education authorized pursuant to Section 27-24.2 of this Code, the website information shall include the proposed amount of the fee the applicant will request. All joint agreements and regional superintendents must publish a notice of the public hearing at least 7 days prior to the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in each school district that is a member of the joint agreement or that is served by the educational service region that sets forth the time, date, place, and general subject matter of the hearing, provided that a notice appearing in a newspaper generally circulated in more than one school district shall be deemed to fulfill this requirement with respect to all of the affected districts. Joint agreements or regional superintendents requesting to increase the fee charged for driver education shall include in the published notice the proposed amount of the fee the applicant will request. The eligible applicant must notify in writing the affected exclusive collective bargaining agent and those State legislators representing the eligible applicant's territory of its intent to seek approval of a waiver or modification and of the hearing to be held to take testimony from staff. The affected exclusive collective bargaining agents shall be notified of such public hearing at least 7 days prior to the date of the hearing and shall be allowed to attend such public hearing. The eligible applicant shall attest to compliance with all of the notification and procedural requirements set forth in this Section.

(d) A request for a waiver or modification of administrative rules and regulations or for a modification of mandates contained in this School Code shall be submitted to the State Board of Education within 15 days after approval by the board or regional superintendent of schools. The application as submitted to the State Board of Education shall include a description of the public hearing. Except with respect to contracting for adaptive driver education, an eligible applicant wishing to request a modification or waiver of administrative rules of the State Board of Education regarding contracting with a commercial driver training school to provide the course of study authorized under Section 27-24.2 of this Code must provide evidence with its application that the commercial driver training school with which it will contract holds a license issued by the Secretary of State under Article IV of Chapter 6 of the Illinois Vehicle Code and that each instructor employed by the commercial driver training school to provide instruction to students served by the school district holds a valid teaching certificate or teaching license, as applicable, issued under the requirements of this Code and rules of the State Board of Education. Such evidence must include, but need not be limited to, a list of each instructor assigned to teach students served by the school district, which list shall include the instructor's name, personal identification number as required by the State Board of Education, birth date, and driver's license number. If the modification or waiver is granted, then the eligible applicant shall notify the State Board of Education of any changes in the personnel providing instruction within 15 calendar days after an instructor leaves the program or a new instructor is hired. Such notification shall include the instructor's name, personal identification number as required by the State Board of Education, birth date, and driver's license number. If a school district maintains an Internet website, then the district shall post a copy of the final contract between the district and the commercial driver training school on the district's Internet website. If no Internet website exists, then the district shall make available the contract upon request. A record of all materials in relation to the application for contracting must be maintained by the school district and made available to parents and guardians upon request. The instructor's date of birth and driver's license number and any other personally identifying information as deemed by the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 must be redacted from any public materials. Following receipt of the waiver or modification request, the State Board shall have 45 days to review the application and request. If the State Board fails to disapprove the application within that 45 day period, the waiver or modification shall be deemed granted. The State Board may disapprove any request if it is not based upon sound educational practices, endangers the health or safety of students or staff, compromises equal opportunities for learning, or fails to demonstrate that the intent of the rule or mandate can be addressed in a more effective, efficient, or economical manner or have improved student performance as a primary goal. Any request disapproved by the State Board may be appealed to the General Assembly by the eligible applicant as outlined in this Section.

A request for a waiver from mandates contained in this School Code shall be submitted to the State Board within 15 days after approval by the board or regional superintendent of schools. The application as submitted to the State Board of Education shall include a description of the public hearing. The description shall include, but need not be limited to, the means of notice, the number of people in attendance, the number of people who spoke as proponents or opponents of the waiver, a brief description of their comments, and whether there were any written statements submitted. The State Board shall review the applications and requests for completeness and shall compile the requests in reports to be filed with the General Assembly. The State Board shall file reports outlining the waivers requested by eligible applicants and appeals by eligible applicants of requests disapproved by the State Board with the Senate and the House of Representatives before each March 1 and October 1. The General Assembly may disapprove the report of the State Board in whole or in part within 60 calendar days after each house of the General Assembly next convenes after the report is filed by adoption of a resolution by a record vote of the majority of members elected in each house. If the General Assembly fails to disapprove any waiver request or appealed request within such 60 day period, the waiver or modification shall be deemed granted. Any resolution adopted by the General Assembly disapproving a report of the State Board in whole or in part shall be binding on the State Board.

(e) An approved waiver or modification (except a waiver from or modification to a physical education mandate) may remain in effect for a period not to exceed 5 school years and may be renewed upon application by the eligible applicant. However, such waiver or modification may be changed within that 5-year period by a board or regional superintendent of schools applying on behalf of schools or programs operated by the regional office of education following the procedure as set forth in this Section for the initial waiver or modification request. If neither the State Board of Education nor the General Assembly disapproves, the change is deemed granted.

An approved waiver from or modification to a physical education mandate may remain in effect for a period not to exceed 2 school years and may be renewed no more than 2 times upon application by the eligible applicant. An approved waiver from or modification to a physical education mandate may be changed within the 2-year period by the board or regional superintendent of schools, whichever is applicable, following the procedure set forth in this Section for the initial waiver or modification request. If neither the State Board of Education nor the General Assembly disapproves, the change is deemed granted.

(f) (Blank).

(Source: P.A. 98-513, eff. 1-1-14; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1155, eff. 1-9-15; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15.)

(105 ILCS 5/10-17a) (from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a)

Sec. 10-17a. State, school district, and school report cards.

(1) By October 31, 2013 and October 31 of each subsequent school year, the State Board of Education, through the State Superintendent of Education, shall prepare a State report card, school district report cards, and school report cards, and shall by the most economic means provide to each school district in this State, including special charter districts and districts subject to the provisions of Article 34, the report cards for the school district and each of its schools.

(2) In addition to any information required by federal law, the State Superintendent shall determine the indicators and presentation of the school report card, which must include, at a minimum, the most current data possessed by the State Board of Education related to the following:

(A) school characteristics and student demographics, including average class size, average teaching experience, student racial/ethnic breakdown, and the percentage of students classified as low-income; the percentage of students classified as English learners; the percentage of students who have individualized education plans or 504 plans that provide for special education services; the percentage of students who annually transferred in or out of the school district; the per-pupil operating expenditure of the school district; and the per-pupil State average operating expenditure for the district type (elementary, high school, or unit);

(B) curriculum information, including, where applicable, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or equivalent courses, dual enrollment courses, foreign language classes, school personnel resources (including Career Technical Education teachers), before and after school programs, extracurricular activities, subjects in which elective classes are offered, health and wellness initiatives (including the average number of days of Physical Education per week per student), approved programs of study, awards received, community partnerships, and special programs such as programming for the gifted and talented, students with disabilities, and work-study students;

(C) student outcomes, including, where applicable, the percentage of students deemed proficient on assessments of State standards, the percentage of students in the eighth grade who pass Algebra, the percentage of students enrolled in post-secondary institutions (including colleges, universities, community colleges, trade/vocational schools, and training programs leading to career certification within 2 semesters of high school graduation), the percentage of students graduating from high school who are college and career ready, and the percentage of graduates enrolled in community colleges, colleges, and universities who are in one or more courses that the community college, college, or university identifies as a developmental course;

(D) student progress, including, where applicable, the percentage of students in the ninth grade who have earned 5 credits or more without failing more than one core class, a measure of students entering kindergarten ready to learn, a measure of growth, and the percentage of students who enter high school on track for college and career readiness;

(E) the school environment, including, where applicable, the percentage of students with less than 10 absences in a school year, the percentage of teachers with less than 10 absences in a school year for reasons other than professional development, leaves taken pursuant to the federal Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, long-term disability, or parental leaves, the 3-year average of the percentage of teachers returning to the school from the previous year, the number of different principals at the school in the last 6 years, 2 or more indicators from any school climate survey selected or approved by the State and administered pursuant to Section 2-3.153 of this Code, with the same or similar indicators included on school report cards for all surveys selected or approved by the State pursuant to Section 2-3.153 of this Code, and the combined percentage of teachers rated as proficient or excellent or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" in their most recent evaluation; and

(F) a school district's and its individual schools' balanced accountability measure, in accordance with Section 2-3.25a of this Code.

The school report card shall also provide information that allows for comparing the current outcome, progress, and environment data to the State average, to the school data from the past 5 years, and to the outcomes, progress, and environment of similar schools based on the type of school and enrollment of low-income students, special education students, and English learners.

(3) At the discretion of the State Superintendent, the school district report card shall include a subset of the information identified in paragraphs (A) through (E) of subsection (2) of this Section, as well as information relating to the operating expense per pupil and other finances of the school district, and the State report card shall include a subset of the information identified in paragraphs (A) through (E) of subsection (2) of this Section.

(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, in consultation with key education stakeholders, the State Superintendent shall at any time have the discretion to amend or update any and all metrics on the school, district, or State report card.

(5) Annually, no more than 30 calendar days after receipt of the school district and school report cards from the State Superintendent of Education, each school district, including special charter districts and districts subject to the provisions of Article 34, shall present such report cards at a regular school board meeting subject to applicable notice requirements, post the report cards on the school district's Internet web site, if the district maintains an Internet web site, make the report cards available to a newspaper of general circulation serving the district, and, upon request, send the report cards home to a parent (unless the district does not maintain an Internet web site, in which case the report card shall be sent home to parents without request). If the district posts the report card on its Internet web site, the district shall send a written notice home to parents stating (i) that the report card is available on the web site, (ii) the address of the web site, (iii) that a printed copy of the report card will be sent to parents upon request, and (iv) the telephone number that parents may call to request a printed copy of the report card.

(6) Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly repeals, supersedes, invalidates, or nullifies final decisions in lawsuits pending on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly in Illinois courts involving the interpretation of Public Act 97-8.

(Source: P.A. 98-463, eff. 8-16-13; 98-648, eff. 7-1-14; 99-30, eff. 7-10-15; 99-193, eff. 7-30-15; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)

(105 ILCS 5/21B-75)

Sec. 21B-75. Suspension or revocation of license.

(a) As used in this Section, "teacher" means any school district employee regularly required to be licensed, as provided in this Article, in order to teach or supervise in the public schools.

(b) The State Superintendent of Education has the exclusive authority, in accordance with this Section and any rules adopted by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, to initiate the suspension of up to 5 calendar years or revocation of any license issued pursuant to this Article for abuse or neglect of a child, immorality, a condition of health detrimental to the welfare of pupils, incompetency, unprofessional conduct (which includes the failure to disclose on an employment application any previous conviction for a sex offense, as defined in Section 21B-80 of this Code, or any other offense committed in any other state or against the laws of the United States that, if committed in this State, would be punishable as a sex offense, as defined in Section 21B-80 of this Code), the neglect of any professional duty, willful failure to report an instance of suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, failure to establish satisfactory repayment on an educational loan guaranteed by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, or other just cause. Unprofessional conduct shall include the refusal to attend or participate in institutes, teachers' meetings, or professional readings or to meet other reasonable requirements of the regional superintendent of schools or State Superintendent of Education. Unprofessional conduct also includes conduct that violates the standards, ethics, or rules applicable to the security, administration, monitoring, or scoring of or the reporting of scores from any assessment test or examination administered under Section 2-3.64a-5 of this Code or that is known or intended to produce or report manipulated or artificial, rather than actual, assessment or achievement results or gains from the administration of those tests or examinations. Unprofessional conduct shall also include neglect or unnecessary delay in the making of statistical and other reports required by school officers. Incompetency shall include, without limitation, 2 or more school terms of service for which the license holder has received an unsatisfactory or, on and after September 1, 2018, ineffective rating on a performance evaluation conducted pursuant to Article 24A of this Code within a period of 7 school terms of service. In determining whether to initiate action against one or more licenses based on incompetency and the recommended sanction for such action, the State Superintendent shall consider factors that include without limitation all of the following:

(1) Whether the unsatisfactory or ineffective evaluation ratings occurred prior to June 13, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-8).

(2) Whether the unsatisfactory or ineffective evaluation ratings occurred prior to or after the implementation date, as defined in Section 24A-2.5 of this Code, of an evaluation system for teachers in a school district.

(3) Whether the evaluator or evaluators who performed an unsatisfactory or ineffective evaluation met the pre-licensure and training requirements set forth in Section 24A-3 of this Code.

(4) The time between the unsatisfactory or ineffective evaluation ratings.

(5) The quality of the remediation plans associated with the unsatisfactory or ineffective evaluation ratings and whether the license holder successfully completed the remediation plans.

(6) Whether the unsatisfactory or ineffective evaluation ratings were related to the same or different assignments performed by the license holder.

(7) Whether one or more of the unsatisfactory or ineffective evaluation ratings occurred in the first year of a teaching or administrative assignment. When initiating an action against one or more licenses, the State Superintendent may seek required professional development as a sanction in lieu of or in addition to suspension or revocation. Any such required professional development must be at the expense of the license holder, who may use, if available and applicable to the requirements established by administrative or court order, training, coursework, or other professional development funds in accordance with the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement entered into after June 13, 2011 (the effective date of Public Act 97-8), unless that agreement specifically precludes use of funds for such purpose.

(c) The State Superintendent of Education shall, upon receipt of evidence of abuse or neglect of a child, immorality, a condition of health detrimental to the welfare of pupils, incompetency (subject to subsection (b) of this Section), unprofessional conduct, the neglect of any professional duty, or other just cause, further investigate and, if and as appropriate, serve written notice to the individual and afford the individual opportunity for a hearing prior to suspension, revocation, or other sanction; provided that the State Superintendent is under no obligation to initiate such an investigation if the Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the same or substantially similar allegations and its child protective service unit has not made its determination, as required under Section 7.12 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. If the State Superintendent of Education does not receive from an individual a request for a hearing within 10 days after the individual receives notice, the suspension, revocation, or other sanction shall immediately take effect in accordance with the notice. If a hearing is requested within 10 days after notice of an opportunity for hearing, it shall act as a stay of proceedings until the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board issues a decision. Any hearing shall take place in the educational service region where the educator is or was last employed and in accordance with rules adopted by the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, and such rules shall include without limitation provisions for discovery and the sharing of information between parties prior to the hearing. The standard of proof for any administrative hearing held pursuant to this Section shall be by the preponderance of the evidence. The decision of the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board is a final administrative decision and is subject to judicial review by appeal of either party.

The State Board of Education may refuse to issue or may suspend the license of any person who fails to file a return or to pay the tax, penalty, or interest shown in a filed return or to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest, as required by any tax Act administered by the Department of Revenue, until such time as the requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied.

The exclusive authority of the State Superintendent of Education to initiate suspension or revocation of a license pursuant to this Section does not preclude a regional superintendent of schools from cooperating with the State Superintendent or a State's Attorney with respect to an investigation of alleged misconduct.

(d) The State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee may initiate and conduct such investigations as may be reasonably necessary to establish the existence of any alleged misconduct. At any stage of the investigation, the State Superintendent may issue a subpoena requiring the attendance and testimony of a witness, including the license holder, and the production of any evidence, including files, records, correspondence, or documents, relating to any matter in question in the investigation. The subpoena shall require a witness to appear at the State Board of Education at a specified date and time and shall specify any evidence to be produced. The license holder is not entitled to be present, but the State Superintendent shall provide the license holder with a copy of any recorded testimony prior to a hearing under this Section. Such recorded testimony must not be used as evidence at a hearing, unless the license holder has adequate notice of the testimony and the opportunity to cross-examine the witness. Failure of a license holder to comply with a duly issued, investigatory subpoena may be grounds for revocation, suspension, or denial of a license.

(e) All correspondence, documentation, and other information so received by the regional superintendent of schools, the State Superintendent of Education, the State Board of Education, or the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board under this Section is confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties, except (i) as necessary for the State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee to investigate and prosecute pursuant to this Article, (ii) pursuant to a court order, (iii) for disclosure to the license holder or his or her representative, or (iv) as otherwise required in this Article and provided that any such information admitted into evidence in a hearing is exempt from this confidentiality and non-disclosure requirement.

(f) The State Superintendent of Education or a person designated by him or her shall have the power to administer oaths to witnesses at any hearing conducted before the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board pursuant to this Section. The State Superintendent of Education or a person designated by him or her is authorized to subpoena and bring before the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board any person in this State and to take testimony either orally or by deposition or by exhibit, with the same fees and mileage and in the same manner as prescribed by law in judicial proceedings in civil cases in circuit courts of this State.

(g) Any circuit court, upon the application of the State Superintendent of Education or the license holder, may, by order duly entered, require the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant books and papers as part of any investigation or at any hearing the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board is authorized to conduct pursuant to this Section, and the court may compel obedience to its orders by proceedings for contempt.

(h) The State Board of Education shall receive an annual line item appropriation to cover fees associated with the investigation and prosecution of alleged educator misconduct and hearings related thereto.

(Source: P.A. 97-607, eff. 8-26-11; incorporates 97-8, eff. 6-13-11; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-972, eff. 8-15-14.)

(105 ILCS 5/24-9.5 new)

Sec. 24-9.5. Teacher evaluation ratings on and after September 1, 2018. On and after September 1, 2018, pursuant to this Section, all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "excellent", "proficient", or "needs improvement" are considered "effective" and all teacher evaluation ratings on record as "unsatisfactory" are considered "ineffective" for the purposes of this Article.

(105 ILCS 5/24-11) (from Ch. 122, par. 24-11)

Sec. 24-11. Boards of Education - Boards of School Inspectors - Contractual continued service.

(a) As used in this and the succeeding Sections of this Article:

"Teacher" means any or all school district employees regularly required to be certified under laws relating to the certification of teachers.

"Board" means board of directors, board of education, or board of school inspectors, as the case may be.

"School term" means that portion of the school year, July 1 to the following June 30, when school is in actual session.

"Program" means a program of a special education joint agreement.

"Program of a special education joint agreement" means instructional, consultative, supervisory, administrative, diagnostic, and related services that are managed by a special educational joint agreement designed to service 2 or more school districts that are members of the joint agreement.

"PERA implementation date" means the implementation date of an evaluation system for teachers as specified by Section 24A-2.5 of this Code for all schools within a school district or all programs of a special education joint agreement.

(b) This Section and Sections 24-12 through 24-16 of this Article apply only to school districts having less than 500,000 inhabitants.

(c) Any teacher who is first employed as a full-time teacher in a school district or program prior to the PERA implementation date and who is employed in that district or program for a probationary period of 4 consecutive school terms shall enter upon contractual continued service in the district or in all of the programs that the teacher is legally qualified to hold, unless the teacher is given written notice of dismissal by certified mail, return receipt requested, by the employing board at least 45 days before the end of any school term within such period.

(d) For any teacher who is first employed as a full-time teacher in a school district or program on or after the PERA implementation date, the probationary period shall be one of the following periods, based upon the teacher's school terms of service and performance, before the teacher shall enter upon contractual continued service in the district or in all of the programs that the teacher is legally qualified to hold, unless the teacher is given written notice of dismissal by certified mail, return receipt requested, by the employing board at least 45 days before the end of any school term within such period:

(1) 4 consecutive school terms of service in which the teacher receives overall annual evaluation ratings of at least "Proficient" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" in the last school term and at least "Proficient" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" in either the second or third school term;

(2) (blank); or 3 consecutive school terms of service in which the teacher receives 3 overall annual evaluations of "Excellent"; or

(3) 2 consecutive school terms of service in which the teacher receives 2 overall annual evaluations of "Excellent" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" service, but only if the teacher (i) previously attained contractual continued service in a different school district or program in this State, (ii) voluntarily departed or was honorably dismissed from that school district or program in the school term immediately prior to the teacher's first school term of service applicable to the attainment of contractual continued service under this subdivision (3), and (iii) received, in his or her 2 most recent overall annual or biennial evaluations from the prior school district or program, ratings of at least "Proficient" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective", with both such ratings occurring after the school district's or program's PERA implementation date. For a teacher to attain contractual continued service under this subdivision (3), the teacher shall provide official copies of his or her 2 most recent overall annual or biennial evaluations from the prior school district or program to the new school district or program within 60 days from the teacher's first day of service with the new school district or program. The prior school district or program must provide the teacher with official copies of his or her 2 most recent overall annual or biennial evaluations within 14 days after the teacher's request. If a teacher has requested such official copies prior to 45 days after the teacher's first day of service with the new school district or program and the teacher's prior school district or program fails to provide the teacher with the official copies required under this subdivision (3), then the time period for the teacher to submit the official copies to his or her new school district or program must be extended until 14 days after receipt of such copies from the prior school district or program. If the prior school district or program fails to provide the teacher with the official copies required under this subdivision (3) within 90 days from the teacher's first day of service with the new school district or program, then the new school district or program shall rely upon the teacher's own copies of his or her evaluations for purposes of this subdivision (3).

If the teacher does not receive overall annual evaluations of "Excellent" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" in the school terms necessary for eligibility to achieve accelerated contractual continued service in subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection (d), the teacher shall be eligible for contractual continued service pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection (d). If, at the conclusion of 4 consecutive school terms of service that count toward attainment of contractual continued service, the teacher's performance does not qualify the teacher for contractual continued service under subdivision (1) of this subsection (d), then the teacher shall not enter upon contractual continued service and shall be dismissed. If a performance evaluation is not conducted for any school term when such evaluation is required to be conducted under Section 24A-5 of this Code, then the teacher's performance evaluation rating for such school term for purposes of determining the attainment of contractual continued service shall be deemed "Proficient" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective".

(e) For the purposes of determining contractual continued service, a school term shall be counted only toward attainment of contractual continued service if the teacher actually teaches or is otherwise present and participating in the district's or program's educational program for 120 days or more, provided that the days of leave under the federal Family Medical Leave Act that the teacher is required to take until the end of the school term shall be considered days of teaching or participation in the district's or program's educational program. A school term that is not counted toward attainment of contractual continued service shall not be considered a break in service for purposes of determining whether a teacher has been employed for 4 consecutive school terms, provided that the teacher actually teaches or is otherwise present and participating in the district's or program's educational program in the following school term.

(f) If the employing board determines to dismiss the teacher in the last year of the probationary period as provided in subsection (c) of this Section or subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (d) of this Section, but not subdivision (3) of subsection (d) of this Section, the written notice of dismissal provided by the employing board must contain specific reasons for dismissal. Any full-time teacher who does not receive written notice from the employing board at least 45 days before the end of any school term as provided in this Section and whose performance does not require dismissal after the fourth probationary year pursuant to subsection (d) of this Section shall be re-employed for the following school term.

(g) Contractual continued service shall continue in effect the terms and provisions of the contract with the teacher during the last school term of the probationary period, subject to this Act and the lawful regulations of the employing board. This Section and succeeding Sections do not modify any existing power of the board except with respect to the procedure of the discharge of a teacher and reductions in salary as hereinafter provided. Contractual continued service status shall not restrict the power of the board to transfer a teacher to a position which the teacher is qualified to fill or to make such salary adjustments as it deems desirable, but unless reductions in salary are uniform or based upon some reasonable classification, any teacher whose salary is reduced shall be entitled to a notice and a hearing as hereinafter provided in the case of certain dismissals or removals.

(h) If, by reason of any change in the boundaries of school districts or by reason of the creation of a new school district, the position held by any teacher having a contractual continued service status is transferred from one board to the control of a new or different board, then the contractual continued service status of the teacher is not thereby lost, and such new or different board is subject to this Code with respect to the teacher in the same manner as if the teacher were its employee and had been its employee during the time the teacher was actually employed by the board from whose control the position was transferred.

(i) The employment of any teacher in a program of a special education joint agreement established under Section 3-15.14, 10-22.31 or 10-22.31a shall be governed by this and succeeding Sections of this Article. For purposes of attaining and maintaining contractual continued service and computing length of continuing service as referred to in this Section and Section 24-12, employment in a special educational joint program shall be deemed a continuation of all previous certificated employment of such teacher for such joint agreement whether the employer of the teacher was the joint agreement, the regional superintendent, or one of the participating districts in the joint agreement.

(j) For any teacher employed after July 1, 1987 as a full-time teacher in a program of a special education joint agreement, whether the program is operated by the joint agreement or a member district on behalf of the joint agreement, in the event of a reduction in the number of programs or positions in the joint agreement in which the notice of dismissal is provided on or before the end of the 2010-2011 school term, the teacher in contractual continued service is eligible for employment in the joint agreement programs for which the teacher is legally qualified in order of greater length of continuing service in the joint agreement, unless an alternative method of determining the sequence of dismissal is established in a collective bargaining agreement. For any teacher employed after July 1, 1987 as a full-time teacher in a program of a special education joint agreement, whether the program is operated by the joint agreement or a member district on behalf of the joint agreement, in the event of a reduction in the number of programs or positions in the joint agreement in which the notice of dismissal is provided during the 2011-2012 school term or a subsequent school term, the teacher shall be included on the honorable dismissal lists of all joint agreement programs for positions for which the teacher is qualified and is eligible for employment in such programs in accordance with subsections (b) and (c) of Section 24-12 of this Code and the applicable honorable dismissal policies of the joint agreement.

(k) For any teacher employed after July 1, 1987 as a full-time teacher in a program of a special education joint agreement, whether the program is operated by the joint agreement or a member district on behalf of the joint agreement, in the event of the dissolution of a joint agreement, in which the notice to teachers of the dissolution is provided during the 2010-2011 school term, the teacher in contractual continued service who is legally qualified shall be assigned to any comparable position in a member district currently held by a teacher who has not entered upon contractual continued service or held by a teacher who has entered upon contractual continued service with a shorter length of contractual continued service. Any teacher employed after July 1, 1987 as a full-time teacher in a program of a special education joint agreement, whether the program is operated by the joint agreement or a member district on behalf of the joint agreement, in the event of the dissolution of a joint agreement in which the notice to teachers of the dissolution is provided during the 2011-2012 school term or a subsequent school term, the teacher who is qualified shall be included on the order of honorable dismissal lists of each member district and shall be assigned to any comparable position in any such district in accordance with subsections (b) and (c) of Section 24-12 of this Code and the applicable honorable dismissal policies of each member district.

(l) The governing board of the joint agreement, or the administrative district, if so authorized by the articles of agreement of the joint agreement, rather than the board of education of a school district, may carry out employment and termination actions including dismissals under this Section and Section 24-12.

(m) The employment of any teacher in a special education program authorized by Section 14-1.01 through 14-14.01, or a joint educational program established under Section 10-22.31a, shall be under this and the succeeding Sections of this Article, and such employment shall be deemed a continuation of the previous employment of such teacher in any of the participating districts, regardless of the participation of other districts in the program.

(n) Any teacher employed as a full-time teacher in a special education program prior to September 23, 1987 in which 2 or more school districts participate for a probationary period of 2 consecutive years shall enter upon contractual continued service in each of the participating districts, subject to this and the succeeding Sections of this Article, and, notwithstanding Section 24-1.5 of this Code, in the event of the termination of the program shall be eligible for any vacant position in any of such districts for which such teacher is qualified.

(Source: P.A. 97-8, eff. 6-13-11; 98-513, eff. 1-1-14.)

(105 ILCS 5/24-12) (from Ch. 122, par. 24-12)

Sec. 24-12. Removal or dismissal of teachers in contractual continued service.

(a) This subsection (a) applies only to honorable dismissals and recalls in which the notice of dismissal is provided on or before the end of the 2010-2011 school term. If a teacher in contractual continued service is removed or dismissed as a result of a decision of the board to decrease the number of teachers employed by the board or to discontinue some particular type of teaching service, written notice shall be mailed to the teacher and also given the teacher either by certified mail, return receipt requested or personal delivery with receipt at least 60 days before the end of the school term, together with a statement of honorable dismissal and the reason therefor, and in all such cases the board shall first remove or dismiss all teachers who have not entered upon contractual continued service before removing or dismissing any teacher who has entered upon contractual continued service and who is legally qualified to hold a position currently held by a teacher who has not entered upon contractual continued service.

As between teachers who have entered upon contractual continued service, the teacher or teachers with the shorter length of continuing service with the district shall be dismissed first unless an alternative method of determining the sequence of dismissal is established in a collective bargaining agreement or contract between the board and a professional faculty members' organization and except that this provision shall not impair the operation of any affirmative action program in the district, regardless of whether it exists by operation of law or is conducted on a voluntary basis by the board. Any teacher dismissed as a result of such decrease or discontinuance shall be paid all earned compensation on or before the third business day following the last day of pupil attendance in the regular school term.

If the board has any vacancies for the following school term or within one calendar year from the beginning of the following school term, the positions thereby becoming available shall be tendered to the teachers so removed or dismissed so far as they are legally qualified to hold such positions; provided, however, that if the number of honorable dismissal notices based on economic necessity exceeds 15% of the number of full time equivalent positions filled by certified employees (excluding principals and administrative personnel) during the preceding school year, then if the board has any vacancies for the following school term or within 2 calendar years from the beginning of the following school term, the positions so becoming available shall be tendered to the teachers who were so notified and removed or dismissed whenever they are legally qualified to hold such positions. Each board shall, in consultation with any exclusive employee representatives, each year establish a list, categorized by positions, showing the length of continuing service of each teacher who is qualified to hold any such positions, unless an alternative method of determining a sequence of dismissal is established as provided for in this Section, in which case a list shall be made in accordance with the alternative method. Copies of the list shall be distributed to the exclusive employee representative on or before February 1 of each year. Whenever the number of honorable dismissal notices based upon economic necessity exceeds 5, or 150% of the average number of teachers honorably dismissed in the preceding 3 years, whichever is more, then the board also shall hold a public hearing on the question of the dismissals. Following the hearing and board review the action to approve any such reduction shall require a majority vote of the board members.

(b) This subsection (b) applies only to honorable dismissals and recalls in which the notice of dismissal is provided during the 2011-2012 school term or a subsequent school term. If any teacher, whether or not in contractual continued service, is removed or dismissed as a result of a decision of a school board to decrease the number of teachers employed by the board, a decision of a school board to discontinue some particular type of teaching service, or a reduction in the number of programs or positions in a special education joint agreement, then written notice must be mailed to the teacher and also given to the teacher either by certified mail, return receipt requested, or personal delivery with receipt at least 45 days before the end of the school term, together with a statement of honorable dismissal and the reason therefor, and in all such cases the sequence of dismissal shall occur in accordance with this subsection (b); except that this subsection (b) shall not impair the operation of any affirmative action program in the school district, regardless of whether it exists by operation of law or is conducted on a voluntary basis by the board.

Each teacher must be categorized into one or more positions for which the teacher is qualified to hold, based upon legal qualifications and any other qualifications established in a district or joint agreement job description, on or before the May 10 prior to the school year during which the sequence of dismissal is determined. Within each position and subject to agreements made by the joint committee on honorable dismissals that are authorized by subsection (c) of this Section, the school district or joint agreement must establish 4 groupings of teachers or, on or after September 1, 2018, 3 groupings of teachers qualified to hold the position as follows:

(1) Grouping one shall consist of each teacher who is not in contractual continued service and who (i) has not received a performance evaluation rating, (ii) is employed for one school term or less to replace a teacher on leave, or (iii) is employed on a part-time basis. "Part-time basis" for the purposes of this subsection (b) means a teacher who is employed to teach less than a full-day, teacher workload or less than 5 days of the normal student attendance week, unless otherwise provided for in a collective bargaining agreement between the district and the exclusive representative of the district's teachers. For the purposes of this Section, a teacher (A) who is employed as a full-time teacher but who actually teaches or is otherwise present and participating in the district's educational program for less than a school term or (B) who, in the immediately previous school term, was employed on a full-time basis and actually taught or was otherwise present and participated in the district's educational program for 120 days or more is not considered employed on a part-time basis.

(2) Grouping 2 shall consist of each teacher with a Needs Improvement or Unsatisfactory performance evaluation rating on either of the teacher's last 2 performance evaluation ratings. On and after September 1, 2018, grouping 2 shall consist of each teacher with an "ineffective" performance evaluation rating on the teacher's most recent performance evaluation rating.

(3) Grouping 3 shall consist of each teacher with a performance evaluation rating of at least Satisfactory or Proficient on both of the teacher's last 2 performance evaluation ratings, if 2 ratings are available, or on the teacher's last performance evaluation rating, if only one rating is available, unless the teacher qualifies for placement into grouping 4. On and after September 1, 2018, grouping 3 shall consist of each teacher with a performance evaluation rating of "effective" on the teacher's last performance evaluation rating, provided that the teacher did not have an "ineffective" performance evaluation rating on the most recent performance evaluation rating.

(4) Grouping 4 shall consist of each teacher whose last 2 performance evaluation ratings are Excellent and each teacher with 2 Excellent performance evaluation ratings out of the teacher's last 3 performance evaluation ratings with a third rating of Satisfactory or Proficient. Beginning on September 1, 2018, there is no grouping 4.

Among teachers qualified to hold a position, teachers must be dismissed in the order of their groupings, with teachers in grouping one dismissed first and teachers in grouping 4 dismissed last. On and after September 1, 2018, teachers in grouping one shall be dismissed first, teachers in grouping 2 dismissed second, and teachers in grouping 3 dismissed last.

Prior to September 1, 2018, within Within grouping one, the sequence of dismissal must be at the discretion of the school district or joint agreement. Within grouping 2, the sequence of dismissal must be based upon average performance evaluation ratings, with the teacher or teachers with the lowest average performance evaluation rating dismissed first. A teacher's average performance evaluation rating must be calculated using the average of the teacher's last 2 performance evaluation ratings, if 2 ratings are available, or the teacher's last performance evaluation rating, if only one rating is available, using the following numerical values: 4 for Excellent; 3 for Proficient or Satisfactory; 2 for Needs Improvement; and 1 for Unsatisfactory. As between or among teachers in grouping 2 with the same average performance evaluation rating and within each of groupings 3 and 4, the teacher or teachers with the shorter length of continuing service with the school district or joint agreement must be dismissed first unless an alternative method of determining the sequence of dismissal is established in a collective bargaining agreement or contract between the board and a professional faculty members' organization. On and after September 1, 2018, the sequence of dismissal shall be as follows: Within grouping one, the sequence of dismissal must be at the discretion of the school district or joint agreement. As between or among teachers in groupings 2 and 3, the teacher or teachers with the shorter length of continuing service with the school district or joint agreement must be dismissed first unless an alternative method of determining the sequence of dismissal is established in a collective bargaining agreement or contract between the board and a professional faculty members' organization.

Each board, including the governing board of a joint agreement, shall, in consultation with any exclusive employee representatives, each year establish a sequence of honorable dismissal list categorized by positions and the groupings defined in this subsection (b). Copies of the list showing each teacher by name and categorized by positions and the groupings defined in this subsection (b) must be distributed to the exclusive bargaining representative at least 75 days before the end of the school term, provided that the school district or joint agreement may, with notice to any exclusive employee representatives, move teachers from grouping one into another grouping during the period of time from 75 days until 45 days before the end of the school term. Each year, each board shall also establish, in consultation with any exclusive employee representatives, a list showing the length of continuing service of each teacher who is qualified to hold any such positions, unless an alternative method of determining a sequence of dismissal is established as provided for in this Section, in which case a list must be made in accordance with the alternative method. Copies of the list must be distributed to the exclusive employee representative at least 75 days before the end of the school term.

Any teacher dismissed as a result of such decrease or discontinuance must be paid all earned compensation on or before the third business day following the last day of pupil attendance in the regular school term.

Prior to September 1, 2018, if If the board or joint agreement has any vacancies for the following school term or within one calendar year from the beginning of the following school term, the positions thereby becoming available must be tendered to the teachers so removed or dismissed who were in groupings 3 or 4 of the sequence of dismissal and are qualified to hold the positions, based upon legal qualifications and any other qualifications established in a district or joint agreement job description, on or before the May 10 prior to the date of the positions becoming available, provided that if the number of honorable dismissal notices based on economic necessity exceeds 15% of the number of full-time equivalent positions filled by certified employees (excluding principals and administrative personnel) during the preceding school year, then the recall period is for the following school term or within 2 calendar years from the beginning of the following school term. If the board or joint agreement has any vacancies within the period from the beginning of the following school term through February 1 of the following school term (unless a date later than February 1, but no later than 6 months from the beginning of the following school term, is established in a collective bargaining agreement), the positions thereby becoming available must be tendered to the teachers so removed or dismissed who were in grouping 2 of the sequence of dismissal due to one "needs improvement" rating on either of the teacher's last 2 performance evaluation ratings, provided that, if 2 ratings are available, the other performance evaluation rating used for grouping purposes is "satisfactory", "proficient", or "excellent", and are qualified to hold the positions, based upon legal qualifications and any other qualifications established in a district or joint agreement job description, on or before the May 10 prior to the date of the positions becoming available. On and after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, the preceding sentence shall apply to teachers removed or dismissed by honorable dismissal, even if notice of honorable dismissal occurred during the 2013-2014 school year. Among teachers eligible for recall pursuant to the preceding sentence, the order of recall must be in inverse order of dismissal, unless an alternative order of recall is established in a collective bargaining agreement or contract between the board and a professional faculty members' organization. Whenever the number of honorable dismissal notices based upon economic necessity exceeds 5 notices or 150% of the average number of teachers honorably dismissed in the preceding 3 years, whichever is more, then the school board or governing board of a joint agreement, as applicable, shall also hold a public hearing on the question of the dismissals. Following the hearing and board review, the action to approve any such reduction shall require a majority vote of the board members. Beginning on September 1, 2018, if the board or joint agreement has any vacancies for the following school term or within one calendar year from the beginning of the following school term, the positions thereby becoming available must be tendered to the teachers so removed or dismissed who were in groupings 2 or 3 of the sequence of dismissal and are qualified to hold the positions, based upon legal qualifications and any other qualifications established in a district or joint agreement job description, on or before the May 10 prior to the date of the positions becoming available, provided that if the number of honorable dismissal notices based on economic necessity exceeds 15% of the number of full-time equivalent positions filled by licensed employees (excluding principals and administrative personnel) during the preceding school year, then the recall period is for the following school term or within 2 calendar years from the beginning of the following school term. Among teachers eligible for recall pursuant to the preceding sentence, the order of recall must be in inverse order of dismissal, unless an alternative order of recall is established in a collective bargaining agreement or contract between the board and a professional faculty members' organization.

For purposes of this subsection (b), subject to agreement on an alternative definition reached by the joint committee described in subsection (c) of this Section, a teacher's performance evaluation rating means the overall performance evaluation rating resulting from an annual or biennial performance evaluation conducted pursuant to Article 24A of this Code by the school district or joint agreement determining the sequence of dismissal, not including any performance evaluation conducted during or at the end of a remediation period. No more than one evaluation rating each school term shall be one of the evaluation ratings used for the purpose of determining the sequence of dismissal. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection for any performance evaluations conducted during or at the end of a remediation period, if multiple performance evaluations are conducted in a school term, only the rating from the last evaluation conducted prior to establishing the sequence of honorable dismissal list in such school term shall be the one evaluation rating from that school term used for the purpose of determining the sequence of dismissal. Averaging ratings from multiple evaluations is not permitted unless otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement or contract between the board and a professional faculty members' organization. The preceding 3 sentences are not a legislative declaration that existing law does or does not already require that only one performance evaluation each school term shall be used for the purpose of determining the sequence of dismissal. For performance evaluation ratings determined prior to September 1, 2012, any school district or joint agreement with a performance evaluation rating system that does not use either of the rating category systems specified in subsection (d) of Section 24A-5 of this Code for all teachers must establish a basis for assigning each teacher a rating that complies with subsection (d) of Section 24A-5 of this Code for all of the performance evaluation ratings that are to be used to determine the sequence of dismissal. A teacher's grouping and ranking on a sequence of honorable dismissal shall be deemed a part of the teacher's performance evaluation, and that information shall be disclosed to the exclusive bargaining representative as part of a sequence of honorable dismissal list, notwithstanding any laws prohibiting disclosure of such information. A performance evaluation rating may be used to determine the sequence of dismissal, notwithstanding the pendency of any grievance resolution or arbitration procedures relating to the performance evaluation. If a teacher has received at least one performance evaluation rating conducted by the school district or joint agreement determining the sequence of dismissal and a subsequent performance evaluation is not conducted in any school year in which such evaluation is required to be conducted under Section 24A-5 of this Code, the teacher's performance evaluation rating for that school year for purposes of determining the sequence of dismissal is deemed Proficient or, on or after September 1, 2018, effective. If a performance evaluation rating is nullified as the result of an arbitration, administrative agency, or court determination, then the school district or joint agreement is deemed to have conducted a performance evaluation for that school year, but the performance evaluation rating may not be used in determining the sequence of dismissal.

Nothing in this subsection (b) shall be construed as limiting the right of a school board or governing board of a joint agreement to dismiss a teacher not in contractual continued service in accordance with Section 24-11 of this Code.

Any provisions regarding the sequence of honorable dismissals and recall of honorably dismissed teachers in a collective bargaining agreement entered into on or before January 1, 2011 and in effect on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly that may conflict with this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly shall remain in effect through the expiration of such agreement or June 30, 2013, whichever is earlier.

(c) Each school district and special education joint agreement must use a joint committee composed of equal representation selected by the school board and its teachers or, if applicable, the exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers, to address the matters described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of this subsection (c) pertaining to honorable dismissals under subsection (b) of this Section.

(1) Prior to September 1, 2018, the The joint committee must consider and may agree to criteria for excluding from grouping 2 and placing into grouping 3 a teacher whose last 2 performance evaluations include a Needs Improvement and either a Proficient or Excellent.

(2) Prior to September 1, 2018, the The joint committee must consider and may agree to an alternative definition for grouping 4, which definition must take into account prior performance evaluation ratings and may take into account other factors that relate to the school district's or program's educational objectives. An alternative definition for grouping 4 may not permit the inclusion of a teacher in the grouping with a Needs Improvement or Unsatisfactory performance evaluation rating on either of the teacher's last 2 performance evaluation ratings.

(3) The joint committee may agree to including within the definition of a performance evaluation rating a performance evaluation rating administered by a school district or joint agreement other than the school district or joint agreement determining the sequence of dismissal.

(4) For each school district or joint agreement that administers performance evaluation ratings that are inconsistent with either of the rating category systems specified in subsection (d) of Section 24A-5 of this Code, the school district or joint agreement must consult with the joint committee on the basis for assigning a rating that complies with subsection (d) of Section 24A-5 of this Code to each performance evaluation rating that will be used in a sequence of dismissal.

(5) Upon request by a joint committee member submitted to the employing board by no later than 10 days after the distribution of the sequence of honorable dismissal list, a representative of the employing board shall, within 5 days after the request, provide to members of the joint committee a list showing the most recent and prior performance evaluation ratings of each teacher identified only by length of continuing service in the district or joint agreement and not by name. If, after review of this list, a member of the joint committee has a good faith belief that a disproportionate number of teachers with greater length of continuing service with the district or joint agreement have received a recent performance evaluation rating lower than the prior rating, the member may request that the joint committee review the list to assess whether such a trend may exist. Following the joint committee's review, but by no later than the end of the applicable school term, the joint committee or any member or members of the joint committee may submit a report of the review to the employing board and exclusive bargaining representative, if any. Nothing in this paragraph (5) shall impact the order of honorable dismissal or a school district's or joint agreement's authority to carry out a dismissal in accordance with subsection (b) of this Section.

Agreement by the joint committee as to a matter requires the majority vote of all committee members, and if the joint committee does not reach agreement on a matter, then the otherwise applicable requirements of subsection (b) of this Section shall apply. Except as explicitly set forth in this subsection (c), a joint committee has no authority to agree to any further modifications to the requirements for honorable dismissals set forth in subsection (b) of this Section. The joint committee must be established, and the first meeting of the joint committee each school year must occur on or before December 1.

The joint committee must reach agreement on a matter on or before February 1 of a school year in order for the agreement of the joint committee to apply to the sequence of dismissal determined during that school year. Subject to the February 1 deadline for agreements, the agreement of a joint committee on a matter shall apply to the sequence of dismissal until the agreement is amended or terminated by the joint committee.

The Open Meetings Act does not apply to a joint committee as provided in Section 18 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.

(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this subsection (d), the requirements and dismissal procedures of Section 24-16.5 of this Code shall apply to any dismissal sought under Section 24-16.5 of this Code.

(1) If a dismissal of a teacher in contractual continued service is sought for any reason or cause other than an honorable dismissal under subsections (a) or (b) of this Section or a dismissal sought under Section 24-16.5 of this Code, including those under Section 10-22.4, the board must first approve a motion containing specific charges by a majority vote of all its members. Written notice of such charges, including a bill of particulars and the teacher's right to request a hearing, must be mailed to the teacher and also given to the teacher either by certified mail, return receipt requested, or personal delivery with receipt within 5 days of the adoption of the motion. Any written notice sent on or after July 1, 2012 shall inform the teacher of the right to request a hearing before a mutually selected hearing officer, with the cost of the hearing officer split equally between the teacher and the board, or a hearing before a board-selected hearing officer, with the cost of the hearing officer paid by the board.

Before setting a hearing on charges stemming from causes that are considered remediable, a board must give the teacher reasonable warning in writing, stating specifically the causes that, if not removed, may result in charges; however, no such written warning is required if the causes have been the subject of a remediation plan pursuant to Article 24A of this Code.

If, in the opinion of the board, the interests of the school require it, the board may suspend the teacher without pay, pending the hearing, but if the board's dismissal or removal is not sustained, the teacher shall not suffer the loss of any salary or benefits by reason of the suspension.

(2) No hearing upon the charges is required unless the teacher within 17 days after receiving notice requests in writing of the board that a hearing be scheduled before a mutually selected hearing officer or a hearing officer selected by the board. The secretary of the school board shall forward a copy of the notice to the State Board of Education.

(3) Within 5 business days after receiving a notice of hearing in which either notice to the teacher was sent before July 1, 2012 or, if the notice was sent on or after July 1, 2012, the teacher has requested a hearing before a mutually selected hearing officer, the State Board of Education shall provide a list of 5 prospective, impartial hearing officers from the master list of qualified, impartial hearing officers maintained by the State Board of Education. Each person on the master list must (i) be accredited by a national arbitration organization and have had a minimum of 5 years of experience directly related to labor and employment relations matters between employers and employees or their exclusive bargaining representatives and (ii) beginning September 1, 2012, have participated in training provided or approved by the State Board of Education for teacher dismissal hearing officers so that he or she is familiar with issues generally involved in evaluative and non-evaluative dismissals.

If notice to the teacher was sent before July 1, 2012 or, if the notice was sent on or after July 1, 2012, the teacher has requested a hearing before a mutually selected hearing officer, the board and the teacher or their legal representatives within 3 business days shall alternately strike one name from the list provided by the State Board of Education until only one name remains. Unless waived by the teacher, the teacher shall have the right to proceed first with the striking. Within 3 business days of receipt of the list provided by the State Board of Education, the board and the teacher or their legal representatives shall each have the right to reject all prospective hearing officers named on the list and notify the State Board of Education of such rejection. Within 3 business days after receiving this notification, the State Board of Education shall appoint a qualified person from the master list who did not appear on the list sent to the parties to serve as the hearing officer, unless the parties notify it that they have chosen to alternatively select a hearing officer under paragraph (4) of this subsection (d).

If the teacher has requested a hearing before a hearing officer selected by the board, the board shall select one name from the master list of qualified impartial hearing officers maintained by the State Board of Education within 3 business days after receipt and shall notify the State Board of Education of its selection.

A hearing officer mutually selected by the parties, selected by the board, or selected through an alternative selection process under paragraph (4) of this subsection (d) (A) must not be a resident of the school district, (B) must be available to commence the hearing within 75 days and conclude the hearing within 120 days after being selected as the hearing officer, and (C) must issue a decision as to whether the teacher must be dismissed and give a copy of that decision to both the teacher and the board within 30 days from the conclusion of the hearing or closure of the record, whichever is later.

(4) In the alternative to selecting a hearing officer from the list received from the State Board of Education or accepting the appointment of a hearing officer by the State Board of Education or if the State Board of Education cannot provide a list or appoint a hearing officer that meets the foregoing requirements, the board and the teacher or their legal representatives may mutually agree to select an impartial hearing officer who is not on the master list either by direct appointment by the parties or by using procedures for the appointment of an arbitrator established by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration Association. The parties shall notify the State Board of Education of their intent to select a hearing officer using an alternative procedure within 3 business days of receipt of a list of prospective hearing officers provided by the State Board of Education, notice of appointment of a hearing officer by the State Board of Education, or receipt of notice from the State Board of Education that it cannot provide a list that meets the foregoing requirements, whichever is later.

(5) If the notice of dismissal was sent to the teacher before July 1, 2012, the fees and costs for the hearing officer must be paid by the State Board of Education. If the notice of dismissal was sent to the teacher on or after July 1, 2012, the hearing officer's fees and costs must be paid as follows in this paragraph (5). The fees and permissible costs for the hearing officer must be determined by the State Board of Education. If the board and the teacher or their legal representatives mutually agree to select an impartial hearing officer who is not on a list received from the State Board of Education, they may agree to supplement the fees determined by the State Board to the hearing officer, at a rate consistent with the hearing officer's published professional fees. If the hearing officer is mutually selected by the parties, then the board and the teacher or their legal representatives shall each pay 50% of the fees and costs and any supplemental allowance to which they agree. If the hearing officer is selected by the board, then the board shall pay 100% of the hearing officer's fees and costs. The fees and costs must be paid to the hearing officer within 14 days after the board and the teacher or their legal representatives receive the hearing officer's decision set forth in paragraph (7) of this subsection (d).

(6) The teacher is required to answer the bill of particulars and aver affirmative matters in his or her defense, and the time for initially doing so and the time for updating such answer and defenses after pre-hearing discovery must be set by the hearing officer. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules so that each party has a fair opportunity to present its case and to ensure that the dismissal process proceeds in a fair and expeditious manner. These rules shall address, without limitation, discovery and hearing scheduling conferences; the teacher's initial answer and affirmative defenses to the bill of particulars and the updating of that information after pre-hearing discovery; provision for written interrogatories and requests for production of documents; the requirement that each party initially disclose to the other party and then update the disclosure no later than 10 calendar days prior to the commencement of the hearing, the names and addresses of persons who may be called as witnesses at the hearing, a summary of the facts or opinions each witness will testify to, and all other documents and materials, including information maintained electronically, relevant to its own as well as the other party's case (the hearing officer may exclude witnesses and exhibits not identified and shared, except those offered in rebuttal for which the party could not reasonably have anticipated prior to the hearing); pre-hearing discovery and preparation, including provision for written interrogatories and requests for production of documents, provided that discovery depositions are prohibited; the conduct of the hearing; the right of each party to be represented by counsel, the offer of evidence and witnesses and the cross-examination of witnesses; the authority of the hearing officer to issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum, provided that the hearing officer may limit the number of witnesses to be subpoenaed on behalf of each party to no more than 7; the length of post-hearing briefs; and the form, length, and content of hearing officers' decisions. The hearing officer shall hold a hearing and render a final decision for dismissal pursuant to Article 24A of this Code or shall report to the school board findings of fact and a recommendation as to whether or not the teacher must be dismissed for conduct. The hearing officer shall commence the hearing within 75 days and conclude the hearing within 120 days after being selected as the hearing officer, provided that the hearing officer may modify these timelines upon the showing of good cause or mutual agreement of the parties. Good cause for the purpose of this subsection (d) shall mean the illness or otherwise unavoidable emergency of the teacher, district representative, their legal representatives, the hearing officer, or an essential witness as indicated in each party's pre-hearing submission. In a dismissal hearing pursuant to Article 24A of this Code, the hearing officer shall consider and give weight to all of the teacher's evaluations written pursuant to Article 24A that are relevant to the issues in the hearing.

Each party shall have no more than 3 days to present its case, unless extended by the hearing officer to enable a party to present adequate evidence and testimony, including due to the other party's cross-examination of the party's witnesses, for good cause or by mutual agreement of the parties. The State Board of Education shall define in rules the meaning of "day" for such purposes. All testimony at the hearing shall be taken under oath administered by the hearing officer. The hearing officer shall cause a record of the proceedings to be kept and shall employ a competent reporter to take stenographic or stenotype notes of all the testimony. The costs of the reporter's attendance and services at the hearing shall be paid by the party or parties who are responsible for paying the fees and costs of the hearing officer. Either party desiring a transcript of the hearing shall pay for the cost thereof. Any post-hearing briefs must be submitted by the parties by no later than 21 days after a party's receipt of the transcript of the hearing, unless extended by the hearing officer for good cause or by mutual agreement of the parties.

(7) The hearing officer shall, within 30 days from the conclusion of the hearing or closure of the record, whichever is later, make a decision as to whether or not the teacher shall be dismissed pursuant to Article 24A of this Code or report to the school board findings of fact and a recommendation as to whether or not the teacher shall be dismissed for cause and shall give a copy of the decision or findings of fact and recommendation to both the teacher and the school board. If a hearing officer fails without good cause, specifically provided in writing to both parties and the State Board of Education, to render a decision or findings of fact and recommendation within 30 days after the hearing is concluded or the record is closed, whichever is later, the parties may mutually agree to select a hearing officer pursuant to the alternative procedure, as provided in this Section, to rehear the charges heard by the hearing officer who failed to render a decision or findings of fact and recommendation or to review the record and render a decision. If any hearing officer fails without good cause, specifically provided in writing to both parties and the State Board of Education, to render a decision or findings of fact and recommendation within 30 days after the hearing is concluded or the record is closed, whichever is later, the hearing officer shall be removed from the master list of hearing officers maintained by the State Board of Education for not more than 24 months. The parties and the State Board of Education may also take such other actions as it deems appropriate, including recovering, reducing, or withholding any fees paid or to be paid to the hearing officer. If any hearing officer repeats such failure, he or she must be permanently removed from the master list maintained by the State Board of Education and may not be selected by parties through the alternative selection process under this paragraph (7) or paragraph (4) of this subsection (d). The board shall not lose jurisdiction to discharge a teacher if the hearing officer fails to render a decision or findings of fact and recommendation within the time specified in this Section. If the decision of the hearing officer for dismissal pursuant to Article 24A of this Code or of the school board for dismissal for cause is in favor of the teacher, then the hearing officer or school board shall order reinstatement to the same or substantially equivalent position and shall determine the amount for which the school board is liable, including, but not limited to, loss of income and benefits.

(8) The school board, within 45 days after receipt of the hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation as to whether (i) the conduct at issue occurred, (ii) the conduct that did occur was remediable, and (iii) the proposed dismissal should be sustained, shall issue a written order as to whether the teacher must be retained or dismissed for cause from its employ. The school board's written order shall incorporate the hearing officer's findings of fact, except that the school board may modify or supplement the findings of fact if, in its opinion, the findings of fact are against the manifest weight of the evidence.

If the school board dismisses the teacher notwithstanding the hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation, the school board shall make a conclusion in its written order, giving its reasons therefor, and such conclusion and reasons must be included in its written order. The failure of the school board to strictly adhere to the timelines contained in this Section shall not render it without jurisdiction to dismiss the teacher. The school board shall not lose jurisdiction to discharge the teacher for cause if the hearing officer fails to render a recommendation within the time specified in this Section. The decision of the school board is final, unless reviewed as provided in paragraph (9) of this subsection (d).

If the school board retains the teacher, the school board shall enter a written order stating the amount of back pay and lost benefits, less mitigation, to be paid to the teacher, within 45 days after its retention order. Should the teacher object to the amount of the back pay and lost benefits or amount mitigated, the teacher shall give written objections to the amount within 21 days. If the parties fail to reach resolution within 7 days, the dispute shall be referred to the hearing officer, who shall consider the school board's written order and teacher's written objection and determine the amount to which the school board is liable. The costs of the hearing officer's review and determination must be paid by the board.

(9) The decision of the hearing officer pursuant to Article 24A of this Code or of the school board's decision to dismiss for cause is final unless reviewed as provided in Section 24-16 of this Act. If the school board's decision to dismiss for cause is contrary to the hearing officer's recommendation, the court on review shall give consideration to the school board's decision and its supplemental findings of fact, if applicable, and the hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation in making its decision. In the event such review is instituted, the school board shall be responsible for preparing and filing the record of proceedings, and such costs associated therewith must be divided equally between the parties.

(10) If a decision of the hearing officer for dismissal pursuant to Article 24A of this Code or of the school board for dismissal for cause is adjudicated upon review or appeal in favor of the teacher, then the trial court shall order reinstatement and shall remand the matter to the school board with direction for entry of an order setting the amount of back pay, lost benefits, and costs, less mitigation. The teacher may challenge the school board's order setting the amount of back pay, lost benefits, and costs, less mitigation, through an expedited arbitration procedure, with the costs of the arbitrator borne by the school board.

Any teacher who is reinstated by any hearing or adjudication brought under this Section shall be assigned by the board to a position substantially similar to the one which that teacher held prior to that teacher's suspension or dismissal.

(11) Subject to any later effective date referenced in this Section for a specific aspect of the dismissal process, the changes made by Public Act 97-8 shall apply to dismissals instituted on or after September 1, 2011. Any dismissal instituted prior to September 1, 2011 must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of this Section prior to amendment by Public Act 97-8.

(e) Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly repeals, supersedes, invalidates, or nullifies final decisions in lawsuits pending on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly in Illinois courts involving the interpretation of Public Act 97-8.

(Source: P.A. 98-513, eff. 1-1-14; 98-648, eff. 7-1-14; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15.)

(105 ILCS 5/24-16.5)

Sec. 24-16.5. Optional alternative evaluative dismissal process for PERA evaluations.

(a) As used in this Section:

"Applicable hearing requirements" means (i) for any school district having less than 500,000 inhabitants or a program of a special education joint agreement, those procedures and requirements relating to a teacher's request for a hearing, selection of a hearing officer, pre-hearing and hearing procedures, and post-hearing briefs set forth in paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (d) of Section 24-12 of this Code or (ii) for a school district having 500,000 inhabitants or more, those procedures and requirements relating to a teacher's request for a hearing, selection of a hearing officer, pre-hearing and hearing procedures, and post-hearing briefs set forth in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a) of Section 34-85 of this Code.

"Board" means, for a school district having less than 500,000 inhabitants or a program of a special education joint agreement, the board of directors, board of education, or board of school inspectors, as the case may be. For a school district having 500,000 inhabitants or more, "board" means the Chicago Board of Education.

"Evaluator" means an evaluator, as defined in Section 24A-2.5 of this Code, who has successfully completed the pre-qualification program described in subsection (b) of Section 24A-3 of this Code.

"PERA-trained board member" means a member of a board that has completed a training program on PERA evaluations either administered or approved by the State Board of Education.

"PERA evaluation" means a performance evaluation of a teacher after the implementation date of an evaluation system for teachers, as specified by Section 24A-2.5 of this Code, using a performance evaluation instrument and process that meets the minimum requirements for teacher evaluation instruments and processes set forth in rules adopted by the State Board of Education to implement Public Act 96-861.

"Remediation" means the remediation plan, mid-point and final evaluations, and related processes and requirements set forth in subdivisions (i), (j), and (k) of Section 24A-5 of this Code.

"School district" means a school district or a program of a special education joint agreement.

"Second evaluator" means an evaluator who either conducts the mid-point and final remediation evaluation or conducts an independent assessment of whether the teacher completed the remediation plan with a rating equal to or better than a "Proficient" rating or, on and after September 1, 2018, equal to an "effective" rating, all in accordance with subdivision (c) of this Section.

"Student growth components" means the components of a performance evaluation plan described in subdivision (c) of Section 24A-5 of this Code, as may be supplemented by administrative rules adopted by the State Board of Education.

"Teacher practice components" means the components of a performance evaluation plan described in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 24A-5 of this Code, as may be supplemented by administrative rules adopted by the State Board of Education.

"Teacher representatives" means the exclusive bargaining representative of a school district's teachers or, if no exclusive bargaining representatives exists, a representative committee selected by teachers.

(b) This Section applies to all school districts, including those having 500,000 or more inhabitants. The optional dismissal process set forth in this Section is an alternative to those set forth in Sections 24-12 and 34-85 of this Code. Nothing in this Section is intended to change the existing practices or precedents under Section 24-12 or 34-85 of this Code, nor shall this Section be interpreted as implying standards and procedures that should or must be used as part of a remediation that precedes a dismissal sought under Section 24-12 or 34-85 of this Code.

A board may dismiss a teacher who has entered upon contractual continued service under this Section if the following are met:

(1) the cause of dismissal is that the teacher has failed to complete a remediation plan with a rating equal to or better than a "Proficient" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "effective" rating;

(2) the "Unsatisfactory" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" performance evaluation rating that preceded remediation resulted from a PERA evaluation; and

(3) the school district has complied with subsection (c) of this Section.

A school district may not, through agreement with a teacher or its teacher representatives, waive its right to dismiss a teacher under this Section.

(c) Each school district electing to use the dismissal process set forth in this Section must comply with the pre-remediation and remediation activities and requirements set forth in this subsection (c).

(1) Before a school district's first remediation relating to a dismissal under this Section, the school district must create and establish a list of at least 2 evaluators who will be available to serve as second evaluators under this Section. The school district shall provide its teacher representatives with an opportunity to submit additional names of teacher evaluators who will be available to serve as second evaluators and who will be added to the list created and established by the school district, provided that, unless otherwise agreed to by the school district, the teacher representatives may not submit more teacher evaluators for inclusion on the list than the number of evaluators submitted by the school district. Each teacher evaluator must either have (i) National Board of Professional Teaching Standards certification, with no "Unsatisfactory" or "Needs Improvement" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" performance evaluating ratings in his or her 2 most recent performance evaluation ratings; or (ii) "Excellent" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "effective" performance evaluation ratings in 2 of his or her 3 most recent performance evaluations, with no "Needs Improvement" or "Unsatisfactory" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" performance evaluation ratings in his or her last 3 ratings. If the teacher representatives do not submit a list of teacher evaluators within 21 days after the school district's request, the school district may proceed with a remediation using a list that includes only the school district's selections. Either the school district or the teacher representatives may revise or add to their selections for the list at any time with notice to the other party, subject to the limitations set forth in this paragraph (1).

(2) Before a school district's first remediation relating to a dismissal under this Section, the school district shall, in good faith cooperation with its teacher representatives, establish a process for the selection of a second evaluator from the list created pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection (c). Such process may be amended at any time in good faith cooperation with the teacher representatives. If the teacher representatives are given an opportunity to cooperate with the school district and elect not to do so, the school district may, at its discretion, establish or amend the process for selection. Before the hearing officer and as part of any judicial review of a dismissal under this Section, a teacher may not challenge a remediation or dismissal on the grounds that the process used by the school district to select a second evaluator was not established in good faith cooperation with its teacher representatives.

(3) For each remediation preceding a dismissal under this Section, the school district shall select a second evaluator from the list of second evaluators created pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection (c), using the selection process established pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection (c). The selected second evaluator may not be the same individual who determined the teacher's "Unsatisfactory" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" performance evaluation rating preceding remediation, and, if the second evaluator is an administrator, may not be a direct report to the individual who determined the teacher's "Unsatisfactory" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" performance evaluation rating preceding remediation. The school district's authority to select a second evaluator from the list of second evaluators must not be delegated or limited through any agreement with the teacher representatives, provided that nothing shall prohibit a school district and its teacher representatives from agreeing to a formal peer evaluation process as permitted under Article 24A of this Code that could be used to meet the requirements for the selection of second evaluators under this subsection (c).

(4) The second evaluator selected pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection (c) must either (i) conduct the mid-point and final evaluation during remediation or (ii) conduct an independent assessment of whether the teacher completed the remediation plan with a rating equal to or better than a "Proficient" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "effective" rating, which independent assessment shall include, but is not limited to, personal or video-recorded observations of the teacher that relate to the teacher practice components of the remediation plan. Nothing in this subsection (c) shall be construed to limit or preclude the participation of the evaluator who rated a teacher as "Unsatisfactory" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" in remediation.

(d) To institute a dismissal proceeding under this Section, the board must first provide written notice to the teacher within 30 days after the completion of the final remediation evaluation. The notice shall comply with the applicable hearing requirements and, in addition, must specify that dismissal is sought under this Section and include a copy of each performance evaluation relating to the scope of the hearing as described in this subsection (d).

The applicable hearing requirements shall apply to the teacher's request for a hearing, the selection and qualifications of the hearing officer, and pre-hearing and hearing procedures, except that all of the following must be met:

(1) The hearing officer must, in addition to meeting the qualifications set forth in the applicable hearing requirements, have successfully completed the pre-qualification program described in subsection (b) of Section 24A-3 of this Code, unless the State Board of Education waives this requirement to provide an adequate pool of hearing officers for consideration.

(2) The scope of the hearing must be limited as follows:

(A) The school district must demonstrate the following:

(i) that the "Unsatisfactory" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" performance evaluation rating that preceded remediation applied the teacher practice components and student growth components and determined an overall evaluation rating of "Unsatisfactory" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" in accordance with the standards and requirements of the school district's evaluation plan;

(ii) that the remediation plan complied with the requirements of Section 24A-5 of this Code;

(iii) that the teacher failed to complete the remediation plan with a performance evaluation rating equal to or better than a "Proficient" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "effective" rating, based upon a final remediation evaluation meeting the applicable standards and requirements of the school district's evaluation plan; and

(iv) that if the second evaluator selected pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of this Section does not conduct the mid-point and final evaluation and makes an independent assessment that the teacher completed the remediation plan with a rating equal to or better than a "Proficient" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "effective" rating, the school district must demonstrate that the final remediation evaluation is a more valid assessment of the teacher's performance than the assessment made by the second evaluator.

(B) The teacher may only challenge the substantive and procedural aspects of (i) the "Unsatisfactory" or, on and after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" performance evaluation rating that led to the remediation, (ii) the remediation plan, and (iii) the final remediation evaluation. To the extent the teacher challenges procedural aspects, including any in applicable collective bargaining agreement provisions, of a relevant performance evaluation rating or the remediation plan, the teacher must demonstrate how an alleged procedural defect materially affected the teacher's ability to demonstrate a level of performance necessary to avoid remediation or dismissal or successfully complete the remediation plan. Without any such material effect, a procedural defect shall not impact the assessment by the hearing officer, board, or reviewing court of the validity of a performance evaluation or a remediation plan.

(C) The hearing officer shall only consider and give weight to performance evaluations relevant to the scope of the hearing as described in clauses (A) and (B) of this subdivision (2).

(3) Each party shall be given only 2 days to present evidence and testimony relating to the scope of the hearing, unless a longer period is mutually agreed to by the parties or deemed necessary by the hearing officer to enable a party to present adequate evidence and testimony to address the scope of the hearing, including due to the other party's cross-examination of the party's witnesses.

(e) The provisions of Sections 24-12 and 34-85 pertaining to the decision or recommendation of the hearing officer do not apply to dismissal proceedings under this Section. For any dismissal proceedings under this Section, the hearing officer shall not issue a decision, and shall issue only findings of fact and a recommendation, including the reasons therefor, to the board to either retain or dismiss the teacher and shall give a copy of the report to both the teacher and the superintendent of the school district. The hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation must be issued within 30 days from the close of the record of the hearing.

The State Board of Education shall adopt rules regarding the length of the hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation. If a hearing officer fails without good cause, specifically provided in writing to both parties and the State Board of Education, to render a recommendation within 30 days after the hearing is concluded or the record is closed, whichever is later, the parties may mutually agree to select a hearing officer pursuant to the alternative procedure, as provided in Section 24-12 or 34-85, to rehear the charges heard by the hearing officer who failed to render a recommendation or to review the record and render a recommendation. If any hearing officer fails without good cause, specifically provided in writing to both parties and the State Board of Education, to render a recommendation within 30 days after the hearing is concluded or the record is closed, whichever is later, the hearing officer shall be removed from the master list of hearing officers maintained by the State Board of Education for not more than 24 months. The parties and the State Board of Education may also take such other actions as it deems appropriate, including recovering, reducing, or withholding any fees paid or to be paid to the hearing officer. If any hearing officer repeats such failure, he or she shall be permanently removed from the master list of hearing officers maintained by the State Board of Education.

(f) The board, within 45 days after receipt of the hearing officer's findings of fact and recommendation, shall decide, through adoption of a written order, whether the teacher must be dismissed from its employ or retained, provided that only PERA-trained board members may participate in the vote with respect to the decision.

If the board dismisses the teacher notwithstanding the hearing officer's recommendation of retention, the board shall make a conclusion, giving its reasons therefor, and such conclusion and reasons must be included in its written order. The failure of the board to strictly adhere to the timelines contained in this Section does not render it without jurisdiction to dismiss the teacher. The board shall not lose jurisdiction to discharge the teacher if the hearing officer fails to render a recommendation within the time specified in this Section. The decision of the board is final, unless reviewed as provided in subsection (g) of this Section.

If the board retains the teacher, the board shall enter a written order stating the amount of back pay and lost benefits, less mitigation, to be paid to the teacher, within 45 days of its retention order.

(g) A teacher dismissed under this Section may apply for and obtain judicial review of a decision of the board in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Review Law, except as follows:

(1) for a teacher dismissed by a school district having 500,000 inhabitants or more, such judicial review must be taken directly to the appellate court of the judicial district in which the board maintains its primary administrative office, and any direct appeal to the appellate court must be filed within 35 days from the date that a copy of the decision sought to be reviewed was served upon the teacher;

(2) for a teacher dismissed by a school district having less than 500,000 inhabitants after the hearing officer recommended dismissal, such judicial review must be taken directly to the appellate court of the judicial district in which the board maintains its primary administrative office, and any direct appeal to the appellate court must be filed within 35 days from the date that a copy of the decision sought to be reviewed was served upon the teacher; and

(3) for all school districts, if the hearing officer recommended dismissal, the decision of the board may be reversed only if it is found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or not in accordance with law.

In the event judicial review is instituted by a teacher, any costs of preparing and filing the record of proceedings must be paid by the teacher. If a decision of the board is adjudicated upon judicial review in favor of the teacher, then the court shall remand the matter to the board with direction for entry of an order setting the amount of back pay, lost benefits, and costs, less mitigation. The teacher may challenge the board's order setting the amount of back pay, lost benefits, and costs, less mitigation, through an expedited arbitration procedure with the costs of the arbitrator borne by the board.

(Source: P.A. 97-8, eff. 6-13-11; 98-513, eff. 1-1-14.)

(105 ILCS 5/24A-4) (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-4)

Sec. 24A-4. Development of evaluation plan.

(a) As used in this and the succeeding Sections, "teacher" means any and all school district employees regularly required to be certified under laws relating to the certification of teachers. Each school district shall develop, in cooperation with its teachers or, where applicable, the exclusive bargaining representatives of its teachers, an evaluation plan for all teachers.

(b) By no later than the applicable implementation date, each school district may shall, in good faith cooperation with its teachers or, where applicable, the exclusive bargaining representatives of its teachers, incorporate the use of data and indicators on student growth as a significant factor in rating teaching performance, into its evaluation plan for all teachers, both those teachers in contractual continued service and those teachers not in contractual continued service. The plan may shall at least meet the standards and requirements for student growth and teacher evaluation established under Section 24A-7, and specifically describe how student growth data and indicators will be used as part of the evaluation process, how this information will relate to evaluation standards, the assessments or other indicators of student performance that will be used in measuring student growth and the weight that each will have, the methodology that will be used to measure student growth, and the criteria other than student growth that will be used in evaluating the teacher and the weight that each will have.

To incorporate the use of data and indicators of student growth as a significant factor in rating teacher performance into the evaluation plan, the district shall use a joint committee composed of equal representation selected by the district and its teachers or, where applicable, the exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers. If, within 180 calendar days of the committee's first meeting, the committee does not reach agreement on the plan, then the district shall implement the model evaluation plan established under Section 24A-7 with respect to the use of data and indicators on student growth as a significant factor in rating teacher performance. The Open Meetings Act does not apply to a joint Committee as provided in Section 18 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.

Nothing in this subsection (b) shall make decisions on the use of data and indicators on student growth as a significant factor in rating teaching performance mandatory subjects of bargaining under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act that are not currently mandatory subjects of bargaining under the Act.

(c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subsection (b) of this Section, if the joint committee referred to in that subsection does not reach agreement on the plan within 90 calendar days after the committee's first meeting, a school district having 500,000 or more inhabitants shall not be required to implement any aspect of the model evaluation plan and may implement its last best proposal.

(d) The use of data and indicators for student growth shall cease to be a requirement of teacher evaluations beginning no later than the 2018-2019 school year or sooner if the school district and its teachers or, if applicable, the exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers agree. Continued use of student growth measures in the 2018-2019 school year and any subsequent school years must be agreed to by both the district and the teachers or, if applicable, the exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers. Beginning the first school year following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the joint committee referred to in subsection (b) of this Section shall meet no less than one time annually to assess and review the effectiveness of the district's evaluation plan for the purposes of continuous improvement of instruction and evaluation practices. On or after September 1, 2018, this joint committee shall develop differentiated professional development opportunities based on the outcomes of the district's evaluation plan. Professional development opportunities shall take into account on-going professional responsibilities, including regular teaching assignments, and include supports and resources the district is to provide to strengthen the district's instructional program. Nothing in Section 24A-5 of this Code prevents the district and its teachers or, if applicable, the exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers from establishing additional rating categories for school district professional development purposes.

(Source: P.A. 95-510, eff. 8-28-07; 96-861, eff. 1-15-10; 96-1423, eff. 8-3-10.)

(105 ILCS 5/24A-5) (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-5)

Sec. 24A-5. Content of evaluation plans. This Section does not apply to teachers assigned to schools identified in an agreement entered into between the board of a school district operating under Article 34 of this Code and the exclusive representative of the district's teachers in accordance with Section 34-85c of this Code.

Each school district to which this Article applies shall establish a teacher evaluation plan which ensures that each teacher in contractual continued service is evaluated at least once in the course of every 2 school years.

By no later than September 1, 2012, each school district shall establish a teacher evaluation plan that ensures that:

(1) each teacher not in contractual continued service is evaluated at least once every school year; and

(2) each teacher in contractual continued service is evaluated at least once in the course of every 2 school years. However, any teacher in contractual continued service whose performance is rated as either "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" must be evaluated at least once in the school year following the receipt of such rating.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section or any other Section of the School Code, a principal shall not be prohibited from evaluating any teachers within a school during his or her first year as principal of such school. If a first-year principal exercises this option in a school district where the evaluation plan provides for a teacher in contractual continued service to be evaluated once in the course of every 2 school years, then a new 2-year evaluation plan must be established.

The evaluation plan shall comply with the requirements of this Section and of any rules adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to this Section.

The plan shall include a description of each teacher's duties and responsibilities and of the standards to which that teacher is expected to conform, and shall include at least the following components:

(a) personal observation of the teacher in the classroom by the evaluator, unless the teacher has no classroom duties.

(b) consideration of the teacher's attendance, planning, instructional methods, classroom management, where relevant, and competency in the subject matter taught.

(c) by no later than the applicable implementation date, consideration of student growth may be as a significant factor in the rating of the teacher's performance.

(d) prior to September 1, 2012, rating of the performance of teachers in contractual continued service as either:

(i) "excellent", "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory"; or

(ii) "excellent", "proficient", "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory".

(e) on and after September 1, 2018 2012, rating of the performance of all teachers as "excellent", "proficient", or "needs improvement" shall be considered "effective" and rating of the performance of all teachers as or "unsatisfactory" shall be considered "ineffective".

(f) specification as to the teacher's strengths and weaknesses, with supporting reasons for the comments made.

(g) inclusion of a copy of the evaluation in the teacher's personnel file and provision of a copy to the teacher.

(h) prior to September 1, 2018, within 30 school days after the completion of an evaluation rating a teacher in contractual continued service as "needs improvement", development by the evaluator, in consultation with the teacher, and taking into account the teacher's on-going professional responsibilities including his or her regular teaching assignments, of a professional development plan directed to the areas that need improvement and any supports that the district will provide to address the areas identified as needing improvement.

(i) within 30 school days after completion of an evaluation rating a teacher in contractual continued service as "unsatisfactory" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "ineffective", development and commencement by the district of a remediation plan designed to correct deficiencies cited, provided the deficiencies are deemed remediable. In all school districts the remediation plan for unsatisfactory, tenured teachers shall provide for 90 school days of remediation within the classroom, unless an applicable collective bargaining agreement provides for a shorter duration. In all school districts evaluations issued pursuant to this Section shall be issued within 10 days after the conclusion of the respective remediation plan. However, the school board or other governing authority of the district shall not lose jurisdiction to discharge a teacher in the event the evaluation is not issued within 10 days after the conclusion of the respective remediation plan.

(j) participation in the remediation plan by the teacher in contractual continued service rated "unsatisfactory" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "ineffective", an evaluator, and a consulting teacher selected by the evaluator of the teacher who was rated "unsatisfactory" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "ineffective". The criteria for a which consulting teacher shall include, but not be limited to, being is an educational employee as defined in the Educational Labor Relations Act, having has at least 5 years' teaching experience, and a reasonable familiarity with the assignment of the teacher being evaluated, and having who received an "excellent" rating or, on or after September 1, 2018, an "effective" rating on his or her most recent evaluation. Where no teachers who meet these criteria are available within the district, the district shall request and the applicable regional office of education shall supply, to participate in the remediation process, an individual who meets these criteria.

In a district having a population of less than 500,000 with an exclusive bargaining agent, the bargaining agent may, if it so chooses, supply a roster of qualified teachers from whom the consulting teacher is to be selected. That roster shall, however, contain the names of at least 5 teachers, each of whom meets the criteria for consulting teacher with regard to the teacher being evaluated, or the names of all teachers so qualified if that number is less than 5. The district, in consultation with the joint committee referred to in subsection (b) of Section 24A-4 of this Code, shall select the consulting teacher from this roster. In the event of a dispute as to qualification, the State Board shall determine qualification.

(k) a mid-point and final evaluation by an evaluator during and at the end of the remediation period, immediately following receipt of a remediation plan provided for under subsections (i) and (j) of this Section. Each evaluation shall assess the teacher's performance during the time period since the prior evaluation; provided that the last evaluation shall also include an overall evaluation of the teacher's performance during the remediation period. A written copy of the evaluations and ratings, in which any deficiencies in performance and recommendations for correction are identified, shall be provided to and discussed with the teacher within 10 school days after the date of the evaluation, unless an applicable collective bargaining agreement provides to the contrary. These subsequent evaluations shall be conducted by an evaluator. The consulting teacher shall provide advice to the teacher rated "unsatisfactory" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" on how to improve teaching skills and to successfully complete the remediation plan. The consulting teacher shall participate in developing the remediation plan, but the final decision as to the evaluation shall be done solely by the evaluator, unless an applicable collective bargaining agreement provides to the contrary. Evaluations at the conclusion of the remediation process shall be separate and distinct from the required annual evaluations of teachers and shall not be subject to the guidelines and procedures relating to those annual evaluations. The evaluator may but is not required to use the forms provided for the annual evaluation of teachers in the district's evaluation plan.

(l) reinstatement to the evaluation schedule set forth in the district's evaluation plan for any teacher in contractual continued service who achieves a rating equal to or better than "satisfactory" or "proficient" in the school year following a rating of "needs improvement" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" or "unsatisfactory" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "ineffective".

(m) dismissal in accordance with subsection (d) of Section 24-12 or Section 24-16.5 or 34-85 of this Code of any teacher who fails to complete any applicable remediation plan with a rating equal to or better than a "satisfactory" or "proficient" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" rating. Districts and teachers subject to dismissal hearings are precluded from compelling the testimony of consulting teachers at such hearings under subsection (d) of Section 24-12 or Section 24-16.5 or 34-85 of this Code, either as to the rating process or for opinions of performances by teachers under remediation.

(n) After the implementation date of an evaluation system for teachers in a district as specified in Section 24A-2.5 of this Code, if a teacher in contractual continued service successfully completes a remediation plan following a rating of "unsatisfactory" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" in an annual or biennial overall performance evaluation received after the foregoing implementation date and receives a subsequent rating of "unsatisfactory" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "ineffective" in any of the teacher's annual or biennial overall performance evaluation ratings received during the 36-month period following the teacher's completion of the remediation plan, then the school district may forego remediation and seek dismissal in accordance with subsection (d) of Section 24-12 or Section 34-85 of this Code.

Nothing in this Section or Section 24A-4 shall be construed as preventing immediate dismissal of a teacher for deficiencies which are deemed irremediable or for actions which are injurious to or endanger the health or person of students in the classroom or school, or preventing the dismissal or non-renewal of teachers not in contractual continued service for any reason not prohibited by applicable employment, labor, and civil rights laws. Failure to strictly comply with the time requirements contained in Section 24A-5 shall not invalidate the results of the remediation plan.

Nothing contained in this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly repeals, supersedes, invalidates, or nullifies final decisions in lawsuits pending on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly in Illinois courts involving the interpretation of Public Act 97-8.

(Source: P.A. 97-8, eff. 6-13-11; 98-470, eff. 8-16-13; 98-648, eff. 7-1-14.)

(105 ILCS 5/24A-5.5 new)

Sec. 24A-5.5. Local appeal process for ineffective ratings. Beginning with for the first school year following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, each school district shall, in good faith cooperation with its teachers or, if applicable, through good faith bargaining with the exclusive bargaining representative of its teachers develop and implement an appeals process for "ineffective" ratings that includes, but is not limited to, an assessment of the original rating by a panel of qualified evaluators agreed to by the joint committee referred to in subsection (b) of Section 24A-4 of this Code and that has the power to reevaluate and re-rate a teacher who appeals. The joint committee shall determine the criteria for successful appeals.

(105 ILCS 5/24A-7) (from Ch. 122, par. 24A-7)

Sec. 24A-7. Rules. The State Board of Education is authorized to adopt such rules as are deemed necessary to implement and accomplish the purposes and provisions of this Article, including, but not limited to, rules (i) relating to the methods for measuring student growth (including, but not limited to, limitations on the age of useable data; the amount of data needed to reliably and validly measure growth for the purpose of teacher and principal evaluations; and whether and at what time annual State assessments may be used as one of multiple measures of student growth), (ii) defining the term "significant factor" for purposes of including consideration of student growth in performance ratings, (iii) controlling for such factors as student characteristics (including, but not limited to, students receiving special education and English Language Learner services), student attendance, and student mobility so as to best measure the impact that a teacher, principal, school and school district has on students' academic achievement, (iv) establishing minimum requirements for district teacher and principal evaluation instruments and procedures, and (v) establishing a model evaluation plan for use by school districts in which student growth shall comprise 50% of the performance rating. Notwithstanding any provision in this Section, such rules shall not preclude a school district having 500,000 or more inhabitants from using an annual State assessment as the sole measure of student growth for purposes of teacher or principal evaluations.

The rules shall be developed through a process involving collaboration with a Performance Evaluation Advisory Council, which shall be convened and staffed by the State Board of Education. Members of the Council shall be selected by the State Superintendent and include, without limitation, representatives of teacher unions and school district management, persons with expertise in performance evaluation processes and systems, as well as other stakeholders. The Performance Evaluation Advisory Council shall meet at least quarterly following the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly until June 30, 2017.

Prior to the applicable implementation date, these rules shall not apply to teachers assigned to schools identified in an agreement entered into between the board of a school district operating under Article 34 of this Code and the exclusive representative of the district's teachers in accordance with Section 34-85c of this Code.

(Source: P.A. 95-510, eff. 8-28-07; 96-861, eff. 1-15-10; 96-1423, eff. 8-3-10.)

(105 ILCS 5/34-84) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-84)

Sec. 34-84. Appointments and promotions of teachers. Appointments and promotions of teachers shall be made for merit only, and after satisfactory service for a probationary period of 3 years with respect to probationary employees employed as full-time teachers in the public school system of the district before January 1, 1998 and 4 years with respect to probationary employees who are first employed as full-time teachers in the public school system of the district on or after January 1, 1998, during which period the board may dismiss or discharge any such probationary employee upon the recommendation, accompanied by the written reasons therefor, of the general superintendent of schools and after which period appointments of teachers shall become permanent, subject to removal for cause in the manner provided by Section 34-85.

For a probationary-appointed teacher in full-time service who is appointed on or after July 1, 2013 and who receives ratings of "excellent" during his or her first 3 school terms of full-time service, the probationary period shall be 3 school terms of full-time service. For a probationary-appointed teacher in full-time service who is appointed on or after July 1, 2013 and who had previously entered into contractual continued service in another school district in this State or a program of a special education joint agreement in this State, as defined in Section 24-11 of this Code, the probationary period shall be 2 school terms of full-time service, provided that (i) the teacher voluntarily resigned or was honorably dismissed from the prior district or program within the 3-month period preceding his or her appointment date, (ii) the teacher's last 2 ratings in the prior district or program were at least "proficient" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" and were issued after the prior district's or program's PERA implementation date, as defined in Section 24-11 of this Code, and (iii) the teacher receives ratings of "excellent" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" during his or her first 2 school terms of full-time service.

For a probationary-appointed teacher in full-time service who is appointed on or after July 1, 2013 and who has not entered into contractual continued service after 2 or 3 school terms of full-time service as provided in this Section, the probationary period shall be 4 school terms of full-time service, provided that the teacher receives a rating of at least "proficient" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" in the last school term and a rating of at least "proficient" or, on or after September 1, 2018, "effective" in either the second or third school term.

As used in this Section, "school term" means the school term established by the board pursuant to Section 10-19 of this Code, and "full-time service" means the teacher has actually worked at least 150 days during the school term. As used in this Article, "teachers" means and includes all members of the teaching force excluding the general superintendent and principals.

There shall be no reduction in teachers because of a decrease in student membership or a change in subject requirements within the attendance center organization after the 20th day following the first day of the school year, except that: (1) this provision shall not apply to desegregation positions, special education positions, or any other positions funded by State or federal categorical funds, and (2) at attendance centers maintaining any of grades 9 through 12, there may be a second reduction in teachers on the first day of the second semester of the regular school term because of a decrease in student membership or a change in subject requirements within the attendance center organization.

The school principal shall make the decision in selecting teachers to fill new and vacant positions consistent with Section 34-8.1.

(Source: P.A. 97-8, eff. 6-13-11.)

(105 ILCS 5/34-85c)

Sec. 34-85c. Alternative procedures for teacher evaluation, remediation, and removal for cause after remediation.

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the board and the exclusive representative of the district's teachers are hereby authorized to negotiate and enter into an agreement to establish alternative procedures for teacher evaluation, remediation, and removal for cause after remediation, including an alternative system for peer evaluation and recommendations; provided, however, that no later than September 1, 2012: (i) any alternative procedures must include provisions whereby student performance data is a significant factor in teacher evaluation, except that, on and after September 1, 2018, such provisions may be included, and (ii) teachers are rated as "excellent", "proficient", "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory" until September 1, 2018, at which time the ratings shall be "ineffective" and "effective". Pursuant exclusively to that agreement, teachers assigned to schools identified in that agreement shall be subject to an alternative performance evaluation plan and remediation procedures in lieu of the plan and procedures set forth in Article 24A of this Code, other than subsection (d) of Section 24A-4, and alternative removal for cause standards and procedures in lieu of the removal standards and procedures set forth in Section 34-85 of this Code. To the extent that the agreement provides a teacher with an opportunity for a hearing on removal for cause before an independent hearing officer in accordance with Section 34-85 or otherwise, the hearing officer shall be governed by the alternative performance evaluation plan, remediation procedures, and removal standards and procedures set forth in the agreement in making findings of fact and a recommendation.

(b) The board and the exclusive representative of the district's teachers shall submit a certified copy of an agreement as provided under subsection (a) of this Section to the State Board of Education.

(Source: P.A. 96-861, eff. 1-15-10; 97-8, eff. 6-13-11.)

Section 10. The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act is amended by changing Section 18 as follows:

(115 ILCS 5/18) (from Ch. 48, par. 1718)

Sec. 18. Meetings. The provisions of the Open Meetings Act shall not apply to collective bargaining negotiations and grievance arbitrations conducted pursuant to this Act, including any joint committees formed under subsection (c) of Section 24-12 or subsection (b) of Section 24A-4 of the School Code.

(Source: P.A. 83-1014.)