102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB0078

 

Introduced 1/14/2021, by Rep. Mary E. Flowers

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act
105 ILCS 5/10-17a  from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a
105 ILCS 5/34-18.24

    Creates the Lead in Schools Reporting Act. Provides that on an annual basis the Department of Public Health, in coordination with local departments of public health serving the City of Chicago, shall conduct specified lead testing at public school facilities within the City. Provides that the results from such testing shall be transmitted to the State Board of Education. Provides that the Department shall notify the State Board if a detected lead level meets a level that the Department deems unsafe. Amends the School Code. Provides that the school report cards for the Chicago school district shall include lead testing results and that students in the district may transfer from one attendance center to another attendance center within or outside of the district if any lead levels at his or her current attendance center meet a level that the Department deems unsafe. Makes other changes to the provisions concerning transfers.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB0078LRB102 03779 CMG 13792 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 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Lead
5in Schools Reporting Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
8    "Lead inspector" means an individual who has been trained
9by a Department-approved training program and is licensed by
10the Department to conduct lead inspections; to sample for the
11presence of lead in paint, dust, soil, and water; and to
12conduct compliance investigations.
 
13    Section 10. Lead testing and reporting. On an annual
14basis, the Department of Public Health, in coordination with
15local departments of public health serving the City of
16Chicago, shall employ lead inspectors to test all public
17school facilities within the City of Chicago for the presence
18of lead in paint, dust, soil, and water. The results of this
19lead testing shall be transmitted to the State Board of
20Education for the purpose of inclusion in school report cards.
21The Department shall notify the State Board of Education if a
22lead level detected in the paint, dust, soil, or water at a

 

 

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1public school facility in the City of Chicago meets a level
2that the Department deems unsafe, including, but not limited
3to, the current State or federal action levels for lead in
4drinking water at the time results are transmitted by the
5Department to the State Board of Education.
 
6    Section 15. The School Code is amended by changing
7Sections 10-17a and 34-18.24 as follows:
 
8    (105 ILCS 5/10-17a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-17a)
9    Sec. 10-17a. State, school district, and school report
10cards.
11    (1) By October 31, 2013 and October 31 of each subsequent
12school year, the State Board of Education, through the State
13Superintendent of Education, shall prepare a State report
14card, school district report cards, and school report cards,
15and shall by the most economic means provide to each school
16district in this State, including special charter districts
17and districts subject to the provisions of Article 34, the
18report cards for the school district and each of its schools.
19    (2) In addition to any information required by federal
20law, the State Superintendent shall determine the indicators
21and presentation of the school report card, which must
22include, at a minimum, the most current data collected and
23maintained by the State Board of Education related to the
24following:

 

 

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1        (A) school characteristics and student demographics,
2    including average class size, average teaching experience,
3    student racial/ethnic breakdown, and the percentage of
4    students classified as low-income; the percentage of
5    students classified as English learners; the percentage of
6    students who have individualized education plans or 504
7    plans that provide for special education services; the
8    number and percentage of all students who have been
9    assessed for placement in a gifted education or advanced
10    academic program and, of those students: (i) the racial
11    and ethnic breakdown, (ii) the percentage who are
12    classified as low-income, and (iii) the number and
13    percentage of students who received direct instruction
14    from a teacher who holds a gifted education endorsement
15    and, of those students, the percentage who are classified
16    as low-income; the percentage of students scoring at the
17    "exceeds expectations" level on the assessments required
18    under Section 2-3.64a-5 of this Code; the percentage of
19    students who annually transferred in or out of the school
20    district; average daily attendance; the per-pupil
21    operating expenditure of the school district; and the
22    per-pupil State average operating expenditure for the
23    district type (elementary, high school, or unit);
24        (B) curriculum information, including, where
25    applicable, Advanced Placement, International
26    Baccalaureate or equivalent courses, dual enrollment

 

 

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1    courses, foreign language classes, school personnel
2    resources (including Career Technical Education teachers),
3    before and after school programs, extracurricular
4    activities, subjects in which elective classes are
5    offered, health and wellness initiatives (including the
6    average number of days of Physical Education per week per
7    student), approved programs of study, awards received,
8    community partnerships, and special programs such as
9    programming for the gifted and talented, students with
10    disabilities, and work-study students;
11        (C) student outcomes, including, where applicable, the
12    percentage of students deemed proficient on assessments of
13    State standards, the percentage of students in the eighth
14    grade who pass Algebra, the percentage of students who
15    participated in workplace learning experiences, the
16    percentage of students enrolled in post-secondary
17    institutions (including colleges, universities, community
18    colleges, trade/vocational schools, and training programs
19    leading to career certification within 2 semesters of high
20    school graduation), the percentage of students graduating
21    from high school who are college and career ready, and the
22    percentage of graduates enrolled in community colleges,
23    colleges, and universities who are in one or more courses
24    that the community college, college, or university
25    identifies as a developmental course;
26        (D) student progress, including, where applicable, the

 

 

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1    percentage of students in the ninth grade who have earned
2    5 credits or more without failing more than one core
3    class, a measure of students entering kindergarten ready
4    to learn, a measure of growth, and the percentage of
5    students who enter high school on track for college and
6    career readiness;
7        (E) the school environment, including, where
8    applicable, the percentage of students with less than 10
9    absences in a school year, the percentage of teachers with
10    less than 10 absences in a school year for reasons other
11    than professional development, leaves taken pursuant to
12    the federal Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, long-term
13    disability, or parental leaves, the 3-year average of the
14    percentage of teachers returning to the school from the
15    previous year, the number of different principals at the
16    school in the last 6 years, the number of teachers who hold
17    a gifted education endorsement, the process and criteria
18    used by the district to determine whether a student is
19    eligible for participation in a gifted education program
20    or advanced academic program and the manner in which
21    parents and guardians are made aware of the process and
22    criteria, 2 or more indicators from any school climate
23    survey selected or approved by the State and administered
24    pursuant to Section 2-3.153 of this Code, with the same or
25    similar indicators included on school report cards for all
26    surveys selected or approved by the State pursuant to

 

 

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1    Section 2-3.153 of this Code, and the combined percentage
2    of teachers rated as proficient or excellent in their most
3    recent evaluation;
4        (F) a school district's and its individual schools'
5    balanced accountability measure, in accordance with
6    Section 2-3.25a of this Code;
7        (G) the total and per pupil normal cost amount the
8    State contributed to the Teachers' Retirement System of
9    the State of Illinois in the prior fiscal year for the
10    school's employees, which shall be reported to the State
11    Board of Education by the Teachers' Retirement System of
12    the State of Illinois;
13        (H) for a school district organized under Article 34
14    of this Code only, State contributions to the Public
15    School Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago
16    and State contributions for health care for employees of
17    that school district;
18        (I) a school district's Final Percent of Adequacy, as
19    defined in paragraph (4) of subsection (f) of Section
20    18-8.15 of this Code;
21        (J) a school district's Local Capacity Target, as
22    defined in paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of Section
23    18-8.15 of this Code, displayed as a percentage amount;
24        (K) a school district's Real Receipts, as defined in
25    paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of Section 18-8.15 of this
26    Code, divided by a school district's Adequacy Target, as

 

 

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1    defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Section
2    18-8.15 of this Code, displayed as a percentage amount;
3        (L) a school district's administrative costs; and
4        (M) whether or not the school has participated in the
5    Illinois Youth Survey. In this paragraph (M), "Illinois
6    Youth Survey" means a self-report survey, administered in
7    school settings every 2 years, designed to gather
8    information about health and social indicators, including
9    substance abuse patterns and the attitudes of students in
10    grades 8, 10, and 12; and
11        (N) whether the school offered its students career and
12    technical education opportunities; and .
13        (O) for a school in a school district organized under
14    Article 34 of this Code, the lead levels at the school as
15    reported to the State Board of Education under the Lead in
16    Schools Reporting Act, including whether any lead levels
17    meet a level the Department of Public Health deems unsafe.
18    The school report card shall also provide information that
19allows for comparing the current outcome, progress, and
20environment data to the State average, to the school data from
21the past 5 years, and to the outcomes, progress, and
22environment of similar schools based on the type of school and
23enrollment of low-income students, special education students,
24and English learners.
25    As used in this subsection (2):
26    "Administrative costs" means costs associated with

 

 

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1executive, administrative, or managerial functions within the
2school district that involve planning, organizing, managing,
3or directing the school district.
4    "Advanced academic program" means a course of study to
5which students are assigned based on advanced cognitive
6ability or advanced academic achievement compared to local age
7peers and in which the curriculum is substantially
8differentiated from the general curriculum to provide
9appropriate challenge and pace.
10    "Gifted education" means educational services, including
11differentiated curricula and instructional methods, designed
12to meet the needs of gifted children as defined in Article 14A
13of this Code.
14    For the purposes of paragraph (A) of this subsection (2),
15"average daily attendance" means the average of the actual
16number of attendance days during the previous school year for
17any enrolled student who is subject to compulsory attendance
18by Section 26-1 of this Code at each school and charter school.
19    (3) At the discretion of the State Superintendent, the
20school district report card shall include a subset of the
21information identified in paragraphs (A) through (E) of
22subsection (2) of this Section, as well as information
23relating to the operating expense per pupil and other finances
24of the school district, and the State report card shall
25include a subset of the information identified in paragraphs
26(A) through (E) and paragraph (N) of subsection (2) of this

 

 

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1Section. The school district report card shall include the
2average daily attendance, as that term is defined in
3subsection (2) of this Section, of students who have
4individualized education programs and students who have 504
5plans that provide for special education services within the
6school district.
7    (4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
8Section, in consultation with key education stakeholders, the
9State Superintendent shall at any time have the discretion to
10amend or update any and all metrics on the school, district, or
11State report card.
12    (5) Annually, no more than 30 calendar days after receipt
13of the school district and school report cards from the State
14Superintendent of Education, each school district, including
15special charter districts and districts subject to the
16provisions of Article 34, shall present such report cards at a
17regular school board meeting subject to applicable notice
18requirements, post the report cards on the school district's
19Internet web site, if the district maintains an Internet web
20site, make the report cards available to a newspaper of
21general circulation serving the district, and, upon request,
22send the report cards home to a parent (unless the district
23does not maintain an Internet web site, in which case the
24report card shall be sent home to parents without request). If
25the district posts the report card on its Internet web site,
26the district shall send a written notice home to parents

 

 

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1stating (i) that the report card is available on the web site,
2(ii) the address of the web site, (iii) that a printed copy of
3the report card will be sent to parents upon request, and (iv)
4the telephone number that parents may call to request a
5printed copy of the report card.
6    (6) Nothing contained in Public Act 98-648 repeals,
7supersedes, invalidates, or nullifies final decisions in
8lawsuits pending on July 1, 2014 (the effective date of Public
9Act 98-648) in Illinois courts involving the interpretation of
10Public Act 97-8.
11(Source: P.A. 100-227, eff. 8-18-17; 100-364, eff. 1-1-18;
12100-448, eff. 7-1-19; 100-465, eff. 8-31-17; 100-807, eff.
138-10-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18; 100-1121, eff. 1-1-19; 101-68,
14eff. 1-1-20; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; revised 9-9-19.)
 
15    (105 ILCS 5/34-18.24)
16    Sec. 34-18.24. Transfer of students.
17    (a) The board shall establish and implement a policy
18governing the transfer of a student from one attendance center
19to another within the school district upon the request of the
20student's parent or guardian. A student may not transfer to
21any of the following attendance centers, except by change in
22residence if the policy authorizes enrollment based on
23residence in an attendance area, if subsection (e) applies, or
24unless approved by the board on an individual basis:
25        (1) An attendance center that exceeds or as a result

 

 

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1    of the transfer would exceed its attendance capacity.
2        (2) An attendance center for which the board has
3    established academic criteria for enrollment in compliance
4    with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act or the federal
5    Individuals with Disabilities Education Act if the student
6    does not meet the criteria.
7        (3) Any attendance center if the transfer would
8    prevent the school district from meeting its obligations
9    under a State or federal law, including the federal
10    Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; court order; ,
11    or consent decree applicable to the school district.
12(b) The board shall establish and implement a policy governing
13the transfer of students within the school district from a
14persistently dangerous attendance center to another attendance
15center in that district that is not deemed to be persistently
16dangerous. In order to be considered a persistently dangerous
17attendance center, the attendance center must meet all of the
18following criteria for 2 consecutive years:
19        (1) Have greater than 3% of the students enrolled in
20    the attendance center expelled for violence-related
21    conduct.
22        (2) Have one or more students expelled for bringing a
23    firearm to school as defined in 18 U.S.C. 921.
24        (3) Have at least 3% of the students enrolled in the
25    attendance center exercise the individual option to
26    transfer attendance centers pursuant to subsection (c) of

 

 

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1    this Section.
2    (c) A student may transfer from one attendance center to
3another attendance center within the district if the student
4is a victim of a violent crime as defined in Section 3 of the
5Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act. The violent crime
6must have occurred on school grounds during regular school
7hours or during a school-sponsored event.
8    (d) (Blank).
9    (e) A student may transfer from one attendance center to
10another attendance center within or outside of the district if
11any lead levels at his or her current attendance center meet a
12level the Department of Public Health deems unsafe.
13(Source: P.A. 100-1046, eff. 8-23-18.)