102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5241

 

Introduced 1/31/2022, by Rep. Keith R. Wheeler

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/2-3.25o

    Amends the School Code. Prior to changing the recognition status of a nonpublic elementary or secondary school, requires the State Superintendent of Education to schedule a conference between the chief administrator of the nonpublic school and representatives of the State Board of Education to discuss issues concerning compliance. Requires the nonpublic school to submit a corrective action plan to the State Superintendent of Education; sets forth procedures concerning the school's corrective action plan. Provides that if the nonpublic school does not submit a plan or submits a plan that is not capable of being approved, the school's recognition status shall be removed. Sets forth provisions concerning the appeal process. Effective immediately.


LRB102 22694 CMG 31840 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5241LRB102 22694 CMG 31840 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
52-3.25o as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.25o)
7    Sec. 2-3.25o. Registration and recognition of non-public
8elementary and secondary schools.
9    (a) Findings. The General Assembly finds and declares (i)
10that the Constitution of the State of Illinois provides that a
11"fundamental goal of the People of the State is the
12educational development of all persons to the limits of their
13capacities" and (ii) that the educational development of every
14school student serves the public purposes of the State. In
15order to ensure that all Illinois students and teachers have
16the opportunity to enroll and work in State-approved
17educational institutions and programs, the State Board of
18Education shall provide for the voluntary registration and
19recognition of non-public elementary and secondary schools.
20    (b) Registration. All non-public elementary and secondary
21schools in the State of Illinois may voluntarily register with
22the State Board of Education on an annual basis. Registration
23shall be completed in conformance with procedures prescribed

 

 

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1by the State Board of Education. Information required for
2registration shall include assurances of compliance (i) with
3federal and State laws regarding health examination and
4immunization, attendance, length of term, and
5nondiscrimination, including assurances that the school will
6not prohibit hairstyles historically associated with race,
7ethnicity, or hair texture, including, but not limited to,
8protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists, and
9(ii) with applicable fire and health safety requirements.
10    (c) Recognition. All non-public elementary and secondary
11schools in the State of Illinois may voluntarily seek the
12status of "Non-public School Recognition" from the State Board
13of Education. This status may be obtained by compliance with
14administrative guidelines and review procedures as prescribed
15by the State Board of Education. The guidelines and procedures
16must recognize that some of the aims and the financial bases of
17non-public schools are different from public schools and will
18not be identical to those for public schools, nor will they be
19more burdensome. The guidelines and procedures must also
20recognize the diversity of non-public schools and shall not
21impinge upon the noneducational relationships between those
22schools and their clientele.
23    (c-2) Corrective action plan. The State Board of Education
24shall adopt rules to administer this subsection (c-2). Prior
25to changing a non-public school's recognition status, the
26State Superintendent of Education shall schedule a conference

 

 

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1with the chief administrator of the non-public school to
2discuss any noncompliance issues with representatives of the
3State Board. Within 60 days following the conference, the
4school shall submit to the State Superintendent a corrective
5action plan that conforms to the requirements identified by
6the State Superintendent that are needed to correct the issues
7of noncompliance that may cause the removal of the school's
8recognition status. The State Superintendent shall respond to
9the submission of the plan within 15 days after receiving the
10plan.
11    The State Superintendent shall approve the plan if the
12plan:
13        (1) specifies steps to be taken by the school that are
14    directly related to the area or areas of noncompliance;
15        (2) provides evidence that the school has the
16    resources and the ability to take the steps described
17    without giving rise to other areas of noncompliance that
18    may lead to the removal of recognition status; and
19        (3) specifies a timeline for the correction of the
20    area or areas of noncompliance that is demonstrably linked
21    to the factors leading to the noncompliance and the
22    timeline is not longer than needed to correct the
23    identified issues of noncompliance.
24    The State Superintendent shall notify the school if the
25school's plan is not approved. If a plan is not submitted or if
26a plan that is not capable of being approved is received within

 

 

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160 days after the school's conference with the State Board,
2the school's recognition status shall be removed.
3    During any time a plan for corrective action is in effect,
4if the State Superintendent determines that the agreed upon
5corrective actions are not being implemented in accordance
6with the plan or the underlying areas of noncompliance are not
7being remedied, the recognition status of the non-public
8school shall be removed. The chief administrator of the school
9may appeal this decision by submitting a written statement of
10appeal within 14 days after receiving notification of the
11removal of recognition status to the State Superintendent.
12Within 30 days after receipt of the appeal, the State
13Superintendent or a designee must convene a hearing to review
14all pertinent information, including the procedures that led
15to the recognition status removal. Representatives of the
16school must have an opportunity to present evidence at the
17hearing demonstrating that the school is complying with the
18requirements for recognition.
19    No later than 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing,
20the State Superintendent must inform the school's chief
21administrator of the State Superintendent's decision. If there
22is no change to the school's recognition status, the school
23does not need to take any further action. If the school's
24recognition status is removed and the school wishes to regain
25its recognition status, the school must follow the procedures
26identified in this Section to become recognized.

 

 

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1    The decision of the State Superintendent is a final
2administrative decision. No non-public school shall be subject
3to removal of recognition status without going through the
4process identified in this subsection (c-2).
5    (c-5) Prohibition against recognition. A non-public
6elementary or secondary school may not obtain "Non-public
7School Recognition" status unless the school requires all
8certified and non-certified applicants for employment with the
9school, after July 1, 2007, to authorize a fingerprint-based
10criminal history records check as a condition of employment to
11determine if such applicants have been convicted of any of the
12enumerated criminal or drug offenses set forth in Section
1321B-80 of this Code or have been convicted, within 7 years of
14the application for employment, of any other felony under the
15laws of this State or of any offense committed or attempted in
16any other state or against the laws of the United States that,
17if committed or attempted in this State, would have been
18punishable as a felony under the laws of this State.
19    Authorization for the check shall be furnished by the
20applicant to the school, except that if the applicant is a
21substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one
22non-public school, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time
23employment positions with more than one non-public school (as
24a reading specialist, special education teacher, or
25otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee
26seeking employment positions with more than one non-public

 

 

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1school, then only one of the non-public schools employing the
2individual shall request the authorization. Upon receipt of
3this authorization, the non-public school shall submit the
4applicant's name, sex, race, date of birth, social security
5number, fingerprint images, and other identifiers, as
6prescribed by the Illinois State Police, to the Illinois State
7Police.
8    The Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of
9Investigation shall furnish, pursuant to a fingerprint-based
10criminal history records check, records of convictions,
11forever and hereafter, until expunged, to the president or
12principal of the non-public school that requested the check.
13The Illinois State Police shall charge that school a fee for
14conducting such check, which fee must be deposited into the
15State Police Services Fund and must not exceed the cost of the
16inquiry. Subject to appropriations for these purposes, the
17State Superintendent of Education shall reimburse non-public
18schools for fees paid to obtain criminal history records
19checks under this Section.
20    A non-public school may not obtain recognition status
21unless the school also performs a check of the Statewide Sex
22Offender Database, as authorized by the Sex Offender Community
23Notification Law, for each applicant for employment, after
24July 1, 2007, to determine whether the applicant has been
25adjudicated a sex offender.
26    Any information concerning the record of convictions

 

 

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1obtained by a non-public school's president or principal under
2this Section is confidential and may be disseminated only to
3the governing body of the non-public school or any other
4person necessary to the decision of hiring the applicant for
5employment. A copy of the record of convictions obtained from
6the Illinois State Police shall be provided to the applicant
7for employment. Upon a check of the Statewide Sex Offender
8Database, the non-public school shall notify the applicant as
9to whether or not the applicant has been identified in the Sex
10Offender Database as a sex offender. Any information
11concerning the records of conviction obtained by the
12non-public school's president or principal under this Section
13for a substitute teacher seeking employment in more than one
14non-public school, a teacher seeking concurrent part-time
15employment positions with more than one non-public school (as
16a reading specialist, special education teacher, or
17otherwise), or an educational support personnel employee
18seeking employment positions with more than one non-public
19school may be shared with another non-public school's
20principal or president to which the applicant seeks
21employment. Any unauthorized release of confidential
22information may be a violation of Section 7 of the Criminal
23Identification Act.
24    No non-public school may obtain recognition status that
25knowingly employs a person, hired after July 1, 2007, for whom
26an Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation

 

 

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1fingerprint-based criminal history records check and a
2Statewide Sex Offender Database check has not been initiated
3or who has been convicted of any offense enumerated in Section
421B-80 of this Code or any offense committed or attempted in
5any other state or against the laws of the United States that,
6if committed or attempted in this State, would have been
7punishable as one or more of those offenses. No non-public
8school may obtain recognition status under this Section that
9knowingly employs a person who has been found to be the
10perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of a minor under 18
11years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II of the
12Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
13    In order to obtain recognition status under this Section,
14a non-public school must require compliance with the
15provisions of this subsection (c-5) from all employees of
16persons or firms holding contracts with the school, including,
17but not limited to, food service workers, school bus drivers,
18and other transportation employees, who have direct, daily
19contact with pupils. Any information concerning the records of
20conviction or identification as a sex offender of any such
21employee obtained by the non-public school principal or
22president must be promptly reported to the school's governing
23body.
24    Prior to the commencement of any student teaching
25experience or required internship (which is referred to as
26student teaching in this Section) in any non-public elementary

 

 

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1or secondary school that has obtained or seeks to obtain
2recognition status under this Section, a student teacher is
3required to authorize a fingerprint-based criminal history
4records check. Authorization for and payment of the costs of
5the check must be furnished by the student teacher to the chief
6administrative officer of the non-public school where the
7student teaching is to be completed. Upon receipt of this
8authorization and payment, the chief administrative officer of
9the non-public school shall submit the student teacher's name,
10sex, race, date of birth, social security number, fingerprint
11images, and other identifiers, as prescribed by the Illinois
12State Police, to the Illinois State Police. The Illinois State
13Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall furnish,
14pursuant to a fingerprint-based criminal history records
15check, records of convictions, forever and hereinafter, until
16expunged, to the chief administrative officer of the
17non-public school that requested the check. The Illinois State
18Police shall charge the school a fee for conducting the check,
19which fee must be passed on to the student teacher, must not
20exceed the cost of the inquiry, and must be deposited into the
21State Police Services Fund. The school shall further perform a
22check of the Statewide Sex Offender Database, as authorized by
23the Sex Offender Community Notification Law, and of the
24Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth
25Database, as authorized by the Murderer and Violent Offender
26Against Youth Registration Act, for each student teacher. No

 

 

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1school that has obtained or seeks to obtain recognition status
2under this Section may knowingly allow a person to student
3teach for whom a criminal history records check, a Statewide
4Sex Offender Database check, and a Statewide Murderer and
5Violent Offender Against Youth Database check have not been
6completed and reviewed by the chief administrative officer of
7the non-public school.
8    A copy of the record of convictions obtained from the
9Illinois State Police must be provided to the student teacher.
10Any information concerning the record of convictions obtained
11by the chief administrative officer of the non-public school
12is confidential and may be transmitted only to the chief
13administrative officer of the non-public school or his or her
14designee, the State Superintendent of Education, the State
15Educator Preparation and Licensure Board, or, for
16clarification purposes, the Illinois State Police or the
17Statewide Sex Offender Database or Statewide Murderer and
18Violent Offender Against Youth Database. Any unauthorized
19release of confidential information may be a violation of
20Section 7 of the Criminal Identification Act.
21    No school that has obtained or seeks to obtain recognition
22status under this Section may knowingly allow a person to
23student teach who has been convicted of any offense that would
24subject him or her to license suspension or revocation
25pursuant to Section 21B-80 of this Code or who has been found
26to be the perpetrator of sexual or physical abuse of a minor

 

 

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1under 18 years of age pursuant to proceedings under Article II
2of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
3    Any school that has obtained or seeks to obtain
4recognition status under this Section may not prohibit
5hairstyles historically associated with race, ethnicity, or
6hair texture, including, but not limited to, protective
7hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.
8    (d) Public purposes. The provisions of this Section are in
9the public interest, for the public benefit, and serve secular
10public purposes.
11    (e) Definition. For purposes of this Section, a non-public
12school means any non-profit, non-home-based, and non-public
13elementary or secondary school that is in compliance with
14Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at
15which satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of this Code.
16(Source: P.A. 102-360, eff. 1-1-22; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21;
17revised 10-4-21.)
 
18    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19becoming law.