Rep. Nicholas K. Smith

Filed: 3/26/2019

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2205

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2205 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
534-230 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/34-230)
7    Sec. 34-230. School action public meetings and hearings.
8    (a) By October 1 of each year, the chief executive officer
9shall prepare and publish guidelines for school actions. The
10guidelines shall outline the academic and non-academic
11criteria for a school action. These guidelines shall be created
12with the involvement of local school councils, parents,
13educators, and community organizations. These guidelines, and
14each subsequent revision, shall be subject to a public comment
15period of at least 21 days before their approval.
16    (b) The chief executive officer shall announce all proposed

 

 

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1school actions to be taken at the close of the current academic
2year consistent with the guidelines by December 1 of each year.
3    (c) On or before December 1 of each year, the chief
4executive officer shall publish notice of the proposed school
5actions.
6        (1) Notice of the proposal for a school action shall
7    include a written statement of the basis for the school
8    action, an explanation of how the school action meets the
9    criteria set forth in the guidelines, and a draft School
10    Transition Plan identifying the items required in Section
11    34-225 of this Code for all schools affected by the school
12    action. The notice shall state the date, time, and place of
13    the hearing or meeting. For a school closure only, 8 months
14    after notice is given, the chief executive officer must
15    publish on the district's website a full financial report
16    on the closure that includes an analysis of the closure's
17    costs and benefits to the district.
18        (2) The chief executive officer or his or her designee
19    shall provide notice to the principal, staff, local school
20    council, and parents or guardians of any school that is
21    subject to the proposed school action.
22        (3) The chief executive officer shall provide written
23    notice of any proposed school action to the State Senator,
24    State Representative, and alderman for the school or
25    schools that are subject to the proposed school action.
26        (4) The chief executive officer shall publish notice of

 

 

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1    proposed school actions on the district's Internet
2    website.
3        (5) The chief executive officer shall provide notice of
4    proposed school actions at least 30 calendar days in
5    advance of a public hearing or meeting. The notice shall
6    state the date, time, and place of the hearing or meeting.
7    No Board decision regarding a proposed school action may
8    take place less than 60 days after the announcement of the
9    proposed school action.
10    (d) The chief executive officer shall publish a brief
11summary of the proposed school actions and the date, time, and
12place of the hearings or meetings in a newspaper of general
13circulation.
14    (e) The chief executive officer shall designate at least 3
15opportunities to elicit public comment at a hearing or meeting
16on a proposed school action and shall do the following:
17        (1) Convene at least one public hearing at the
18    centrally located office of the Board.
19        (2) Convene at least 2 additional public hearings or
20    meetings at a location convenient to the school community
21    subject to the proposed school action.
22    (f) Public hearings shall be conducted by a qualified
23independent hearing officer chosen from a list of independent
24hearing officers. The general counsel shall compile and publish
25a list of independent hearing officers by November 1 of each
26school year. The independent hearing officer shall have the

 

 

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1following qualifications:
2        (1) he or she must be a licensed attorney eligible to
3    practice law in Illinois;
4        (2) he or she must not be an employee of the Board; and
5        (3) he or she must not have represented the Board, its
6    employees or any labor organization representing its
7    employees, any local school council, or any charter or
8    contract school in any capacity within the last year.
9    The independent hearing officer shall issue a written
10report that summarizes the hearing and determines whether the
11chief executive officer complied with the requirements of this
12Section and the guidelines.
13    The chief executive officer shall publish the report on the
14district's Internet website within 5 calendar days after
15receiving the report and at least 15 days prior to any Board
16action being taken.
17    (g) Public meetings shall be conducted by a representative
18of the chief executive officer. A summary of the public meeting
19shall be published on the district's Internet website within 5
20calendar days after the meeting.
21    (h) If the chief executive officer proposes a school action
22without following the mandates set forth in this Section, the
23proposed school action shall not be approved by the Board
24during the school year in which the school action was proposed.
25(Source: P.A. 97-473, eff. 1-1-12; 97-474, eff. 8-22-11;
2697-813, eff. 7-13-12; 97-1133, eff. 11-30-12.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2becoming law.".