101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB1941

 

Introduced 2/15/2019, by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/2-3.162
105 ILCS 5/2-3.176 new

    Amends the School Code. With respect to school discipline improvement plans, makes changes to how the State Board of Education determines the top 20% of school districts, when notification is given that a plan must be submitted, which school districts are required to submit a plan, the timeframe for school board approval of a plan and submission of that plan to the State Board, and when additional annual progress reports are required. Establishes the Safe Schools and Healthy Learning Environments Grant Program and grants under the program. Sets forth requirements for grant applicants and provisions for the distribution of funds appropriated for the program. Requires the State Board of Education to issue a yearly report on the results of the program in cooperation with school districts participating in the program. Provides that the State Board may adopt any rules necessary for the program. Effective July 1, 2019.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1941LRB101 09893 AXK 54995 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
52-3.162 and by adding Section 2-3.176 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.162)
7    Sec. 2-3.162. Student discipline report; school discipline
8improvement plan.
9    (a) On or before October 31, 2015 and on or before October
1031 of each subsequent year, the State Board of Education,
11through the State Superintendent of Education, shall prepare a
12report on student discipline in all school districts in this
13State, including State-authorized charter schools. This report
14shall include data from all public schools within school
15districts, including district-authorized charter schools. This
16report must be posted on the Internet website of the State
17Board of Education. The report shall include data on the
18issuance of out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and
19removals to alternative settings in lieu of another
20disciplinary action, disaggregated by race and ethnicity,
21gender, age, grade level, whether a student is an English
22learner, incident type, and discipline duration.
23    (b) The State Board of Education shall analyze the data

 

 

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1under subsection (a) of this Section on an annual basis and
2determine the top 20% of school districts qualifying under any
3of for the following metrics:
4        (1) Total number of out-of-school suspensions divided
5    by the total district enrollment by the last school day in
6    September for the year in which the data was collected,
7    multiplied by 100.
8        (2) Total number of out-of-school expulsions divided
9    by the total district enrollment by the last school day in
10    September for the year in which the data was collected,
11    multiplied by 100.
12        (3) Racial disproportionality, defined as the
13    overrepresentation of students of color or white students
14    in comparison to the total number of students of color or
15    white students on October 1st of the school year in which
16    data are collected, with respect to the use of
17    out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, which must be
18    calculated using the same method as the U.S. Department of
19    Education's Office for Civil Rights uses.
20    The analysis must be based on data collected over 3
21consecutive school years, beginning with the 2014-2015 school
22year.
23    (c) On or before October 31, 2019 and on or before October
2431 of each subsequent year, the State Board of Education shall
25notify each school district Beginning with the 2017-2018 school
26year, the State Board of Education shall require each of the

 

 

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1school districts that are identified in the top 20% of any of
2the metrics described in this subsection (b) of this Section
3for 3 consecutive school years that the school district must
4submit a plan in conformance with subsection (d) of this
5Section.
6    (d) School districts identified in the top 20% of any of
7the metrics described in subsection (b) of this Section for 3
8consecutive school years must, in a manner prescribed by the
9State Board of Education, submit a plan to the State Board of
10Education that identifies to submit a plan identifying the
11strategies the school district will implement to reduce the use
12of exclusionary disciplinary practices or racial
13disproportionality or both, if applicable. School districts
14that no longer meet the criteria described in any of the
15metrics described in this subsection (b) for 3 consecutive
16years shall no longer be required to submit a plan.
17    This plan may be combined with any other improvement plans
18required under federal or State law.
19    The plan must be approved at a public school board meeting
20no later than 90 days after notification from the State Board
21of Education pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section and
22must be posted on the school district's Internet website.
23Within one calendar year after the school board's approval of
24the plan, the school district shall submit to the State Board
25of Education, in a manner prescribed by the State Board of
26Education, and post on the district's Internet website a

 

 

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1progress report describing the implementation of the plan and
2the results achieved. Additional annual progress reports shall
3be required until a school district no longer meets the
4criteria in any of the metrics described in subsection (b) of
5this Section for 3 consecutive school years.
6    (e) The calculation of the top 20% of any of the metrics
7described in this subsection (b) of this Section shall exclude
8all school districts, State-authorized charter schools, and
9special charter districts that issued fewer than a total of 10
10out-of-school suspensions or expulsions, whichever is
11applicable, during the school year. The calculation of the top
1220% of the metric described in subdivision (3) of this
13subsection (b) of this Section shall exclude all school
14districts with an enrollment of fewer than 50 white students or
15fewer than 50 students of color.
16    The plan must be approved at a public school board meeting
17and posted on the school district's Internet website. Within
18one year after being identified, the school district shall
19submit to the State Board of Education and post on the
20district's Internet website a progress report describing the
21implementation of the plan and the results achieved.
22(Source: P.A. 99-30, eff. 7-10-15; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15;
23100-863, eff. 8-14-18.)
 
24    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.176 new)
25    Sec. 2-3.176. Safe Schools and Healthy Learning

 

 

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1Environments Grant Program.
2    (a) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation,
3is authorized to award competitive grants on an annual basis
4under a Safe Schools and Healthy Learning Environments Grant
5Program. The goal of this grant program is to promote school
6safety and healthy learning environments by providing schools
7with additional resources to implement restorative
8interventions and resolution strategies as alternatives to
9exclusionary discipline, and to address the full range of
10students' intellectual, social, emotional, physical,
11psychological, and moral developmental needs.
12    (b) To receive a grant under this program, a school
13district must submit with its grant application a plan for
14implementing evidence-based and promising practices that are
15aligned with the goal of this program. The application may
16include proposals to (i) hire additional school support
17personnel, including, but not limited to, restorative justice
18practitioners, school psychologists, school social workers,
19and other mental and behavioral health specialists; (ii) use
20existing school-based resources, community-based resources, or
21other experts and practitioners to expand alternatives to
22exclusionary discipline, mental and behavioral health
23supports, wraparound services, or drug and alcohol treatment;
24and (iii) provide training for school staff on trauma-informed
25approaches to meeting students' developmental needs,
26addressing the effects of toxic stress, restorative justice

 

 

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1approaches, conflict resolution techniques, and the effective
2utilization of school support personnel and community-based
3services. For purposes of this subsection (b), "promising
4practices" means practices that present, based on preliminary
5information, potential for becoming evidence-based practices.
6    Grant funds shall not be used to increase the use of
7school-based law enforcement or security personnel. Nothing in
8this Section shall prohibit school districts from involving law
9enforcement personnel when necessary and allowed by law.
10    (c) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation
11for the grant program, shall annually disseminate a request for
12applications to this program, and funds shall be distributed
13annually. The criteria to be considered by the State Board of
14Education in awarding the funds shall be (i) the average ratio
15of school support personnel to students in the target schools
16over the preceding 3 school years, with priority given to
17applications with a demonstrated shortage of school support
18personnel to meet student needs; and (ii) the degree to which
19the proposal articulates a comprehensive approach for reducing
20exclusionary discipline while building safe and healthy
21learning environments. Priority shall be given to school
22districts that meet the metrics under subsection (b) of Section
232-3.162 of this Code.
24    (d) The State Board of Education, subject to appropriation
25for the grant program, shall produce an annual report on the
26program in cooperation with the school districts participating

 

 

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1in the program. The report shall include available quantitative
2information on the progress being made in reducing exclusionary
3discipline and the effects of the program on school safety and
4school climate. This report shall be posted on the State Board
5of Education's website by October 31 of each year, beginning in
62020.
7    (e) The State Board of Education may adopt any rules
8necessary for the implementation of this program.
 
9    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
102019.