Sen. Heather A. Steans

Filed: 5/14/2014

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 5707

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 5707 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Sections
527-23.7 and 27A-5 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/27-23.7)
7    Sec. 27-23.7. Bullying prevention.
8    (a) The General Assembly finds that a safe and civil school
9environment is necessary for students to learn and achieve and
10that bullying causes physical, psychological, and emotional
11harm to students and interferes with students' ability to learn
12and participate in school activities. The General Assembly
13further finds that bullying has been linked to other forms of
14antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, skipping
15and dropping out of school, fighting, using drugs and alcohol,
16sexual harassment, and sexual violence. Because of the negative

 

 

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1outcomes associated with bullying in schools, the General
2Assembly finds that school districts, charter schools, and
3non-public, non-sectarian elementary and secondary schools
4should educate students, parents, and school district, charter
5school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary
6school personnel about what behaviors constitute prohibited
7bullying.
8    Bullying on the basis of actual or perceived race, color,
9religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status,
10physical or mental disability, military status, sexual
11orientation, gender-related identity or expression,
12unfavorable discharge from military service, association with
13a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual
14or perceived characteristics, or any other distinguishing
15characteristic is prohibited in all school districts, charter
16schools, and non-public, non-sectarian elementary and
17secondary schools. No student shall be subjected to bullying:
18        (1) during any school-sponsored education program or
19    activity;
20        (2) while in school, on school property, on school
21    buses or other school vehicles, at designated school bus
22    stops waiting for the school bus, or at school-sponsored or
23    school-sanctioned events or activities; or
24        (3) through the transmission of information from a
25    school computer, a school computer network, or other
26    similar electronic school equipment.

 

 

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1    (a-5) Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe upon
2any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of
3religion or religiously based views protected under the First
4Amendment to the United States Constitution or under Section 3
5of Article I of the Illinois Constitution.
6    (b) In this Section:
7    "Bullying" means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal
8act or conduct, including communications made in writing or
9electronically, directed toward a student or students that has
10or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or
11more of the following:
12        (1) placing the student or students in reasonable fear
13    of harm to the student's or students' person or property;
14        (2) causing a substantially detrimental effect on the
15    student's or students' physical or mental health;
16        (3) substantially interfering with the student's or
17    students' academic performance; or
18        (4) substantially interfering with the student's or
19    students' ability to participate in or benefit from the
20    services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.
21    Bullying, as defined in this subsection (b), may take
22various forms, including without limitation one or more of the
23following: harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking,
24physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft,
25public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation
26for asserting or alleging an act of bullying. This list is

 

 

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1meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive.
2    "Policy on bullying" means a bullying prevention policy
3that meets the following criteria:
4        (1) Includes the bullying definition provided in this
5    Section.
6        (2) Includes a statement that bullying is contrary to
7    State law and the policy of the school district, charter
8    school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or
9    secondary school and is consistent with subsection (a-5) of
10    this Section.
11        (3) Includes procedures for promptly reporting
12    bullying, including, but not limited to, identifying and
13    providing the school e-mail address (if applicable) and
14    school telephone number for the staff person or persons
15    responsible for receiving such reports and a procedure for
16    anonymous reporting; however, this shall not be construed
17    to permit formal disciplinary action solely on the basis of
18    an anonymous report.
19        (4) Consistent with federal and State laws and rules
20    governing student privacy rights, includes procedures for
21    promptly informing parents or guardians of all students
22    involved in the alleged incident of bullying and
23    discussing, as appropriate, the availability of social
24    work services, counseling, school psychological services,
25    other interventions, and restorative measures.
26        (5) Contains procedures for promptly investigating and

 

 

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1    addressing reports of bullying, including the following:
2            (A) Making all reasonable efforts to complete the
3        investigation within 10 school days after the date the
4        report of the incident of bullying was received and
5        taking into consideration additional relevant
6        information received during the course of the
7        investigation about the reported incident of bullying.
8            (B) Involving appropriate school support personnel
9        and other staff persons with knowledge, experience,
10        and training on bullying prevention, as deemed
11        appropriate, in the investigation process.
12            (C) Notifying the principal or school
13        administrator or his or her designee of the report of
14        the incident of bullying as soon as possible after the
15        report is received.
16            (D) Consistent with federal and State laws and
17        rules governing student privacy rights, providing
18        parents and guardians of the students who are parties
19        to the investigation information about the
20        investigation and an opportunity to meet with the
21        principal or school administrator or his or her
22        designee to discuss the investigation, the findings of
23        the investigation, and the actions taken to address the
24        reported incident of bullying.
25        (6) Includes the interventions that can be taken to
26    address bullying, which may include, but are not limited

 

 

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1    to, school social work services, restorative measures,
2    social-emotional skill building, counseling, school
3    psychological services, and community-based services.
4        (7) Includes a statement prohibiting reprisal or
5    retaliation against any person who reports an act of
6    bullying and the consequences and appropriate remedial
7    actions for a person who engages in reprisal or
8    retaliation.
9        (8) Includes consequences and appropriate remedial
10    actions for a person found to have falsely accused another
11    of bullying as a means of retaliation or as a means of
12    bullying.
13        (9) Is based on the engagement of a range of school
14    stakeholders, including students and parents or guardians.
15        (10) Is posted on the school district's, charter
16    school's, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or
17    secondary school's existing Internet website and is
18    included in the student handbook, and, where applicable,
19    posted where other policies, rules, and standards of
20    conduct are currently posted in the school, and is
21    distributed annually to parents, guardians, students, and
22    school personnel, including new employees when hired.
23        (11) As part of the process of reviewing and
24    re-evaluating the policy under subsection (d) of this
25    Section, contains an evaluation and reporting component to
26    assess the outcomes and effectiveness of the policy that

 

 

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1    includes, but is not limited to, frequency of
2    victimization; student, staff, and family observations of
3    safety at a school; identification of areas of a school
4    where bullying occurs; the types of bullying utilized; and
5    bystander intervention or participation. The information
6    developed as a result of the policy evaluation must be made
7    available on the Internet website of the school district,
8    charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or
9    secondary school and shared with administrators, board
10    members, school personnel, parents, guardians, and
11    students.
12        (12) Is consistent with the policies of the school
13    board, charter school, or non-public, non-sectarian
14    elementary or secondary school.
15    "Restorative measures" means a continuum of school-based
16alternatives to exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions
17and expulsions, that: (i) are adapted to the particular needs
18of the school and community, (ii) contribute to maintaining
19school safety, (iii) protect the integrity of a positive and
20productive learning climate, (iv) teach students the personal
21and interpersonal skills they will need to be successful in
22school and society, (v) serve to build and restore
23relationships among students, families, schools, and
24communities, and (vi) reduce the likelihood of future
25disruption by balancing accountability with an understanding
26of students' behavioral health needs in order to keep students

 

 

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1in school.
2    "School personnel" means persons employed by, on contract
3with, or who volunteer in a school district, charter schools,
4or non-public, non-sectarian elementary or secondary school,
5including without limitation school and school district
6administrators, teachers, school guidance counselors, school
7social workers, school counselors, school psychologists,
8school nurses, cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers,
9school resource officers, and security guards.
10    (c) (Blank).
11    (d) Each school district, charter school, and non-public,
12non-sectarian elementary or secondary school shall create, and
13maintain, and implement a policy on bullying, which policy must
14be filed with the State Board of Education. Every 2 years, each
15school district, charter school, and non-public, non-sectarian
16elementary or secondary school shall conduct a review and
17re-evaluation of its policy and make any necessary and
18appropriate revisions. Each school district and non-public,
19non-sectarian elementary or secondary school must communicate
20its policy on bullying to its students and their parent or
21guardian on an annual basis. The policy must be updated every 2
22years and filed with the State Board of Education after being
23updated. The State Board of Education shall monitor and provide
24technical support for the implementation of policies created
25under this subsection (d).
26    (e) This Section shall not be interpreted to prevent a

 

 

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1victim from seeking redress under any other available civil or
2criminal law. Nothing in this Section is intended to infringe
3upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise
4of religion or religiously based views protected under the
5First Amendment to the United States Constitution or under
6Section 3 or 4 of Article 1 of the Illinois Constitution.
7(Source: P.A. 95-198, eff. 1-1-08; 95-349, eff. 8-23-07;
895-876, eff. 8-21-08; 96-952, eff. 6-28-10.)
 
9    (105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
10    Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
11    (a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian,
12nonreligious, non-home based, and non-profit school. A charter
13school shall be organized and operated as a nonprofit
14corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
15authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
16    (b) A charter school may be established under this Article
17by creating a new school or by converting an existing public
18school or attendance center to charter school status. Beginning
19on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
20General Assembly, in all new applications submitted to the
21State Board or a local school board to establish a charter
22school in a city having a population exceeding 500,000,
23operation of the charter school shall be limited to one campus.
24The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the
2593rd General Assembly do not apply to charter schools existing

 

 

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1or approved on or before the effective date of this amendatory
2Act.
3    (b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means
4the teaching of courses through online methods with online
5instructors, rather than the instructor and student being at
6the same physical location. "Virtual-schooling" includes
7without limitation instruction provided by full-time, online
8virtual schools.
9    From April 1, 2013 through April 1, 2014, there is a
10moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with
11virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a
12school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This
13moratorium does not apply to a charter school with
14virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to
15April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter
16school with virtual-schooling components already approved
17prior to April 1, 2013.
18    On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to
19the General Assembly a report on the effect of
20virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on
21student performance, the costs associated with
22virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall
23include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
24    (c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by
25its board of directors or other governing body in the manner
26provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school

 

 

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1shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open
2Meetings Act.
3    (d) A charter school shall comply with all applicable
4health and safety requirements applicable to public schools
5under the laws of the State of Illinois.
6    (e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a
7charter school shall not charge tuition; provided that a
8charter school may charge reasonable fees for textbooks,
9instructional materials, and student activities.
10    (f) A charter school shall be responsible for the
11management and operation of its fiscal affairs including, but
12not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each
13charter school's finances shall be conducted annually by an
14outside, independent contractor retained by the charter
15school. Annually, by December 1, every charter school must
16submit to the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the
17Form 990 the charter school filed that year with the federal
18Internal Revenue Service.
19    (g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of
20this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, and
21its charter. A charter school is exempt from all other State
22laws and regulations in this the School Code governing public
23schools and local school board policies, except the following:
24        (1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this the School
25    Code regarding criminal history records checks and checks
26    of the Statewide Sex Offender Database and Statewide

 

 

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1    Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database of
2    applicants for employment;
3        (2) Sections 24-24 and 34-84A of this the School Code
4    regarding discipline of students;
5        (3) the The Local Governmental and Governmental
6    Employees Tort Immunity Act;
7        (4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit
8    Corporation Act of 1986 regarding indemnification of
9    officers, directors, employees, and agents;
10        (5) the The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
11        (6) the The Illinois School Student Records Act;
12        (7) Section 10-17a of this the School Code regarding
13    school report cards; and
14        (8) the The P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System
15    Act; and .
16        (9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying
17    prevention.
18    The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g)
19is declaratory of existing law.
20    (h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a
21school district, the governing body of a State college or
22university or public community college, or any other public or
23for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use of a
24school building and grounds or any other real property or
25facilities that the charter school desires to use or convert
26for use as a charter school site, (ii) the operation and

 

 

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1maintenance thereof, and (iii) the provision of any service,
2activity, or undertaking that the charter school is required to
3perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
4However, a charter school that is established on or after the
5effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General
6Assembly and that operates in a city having a population
7exceeding 500,000 may not contract with a for-profit entity to
8manage or operate the school during the period that commences
9on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
10General Assembly and concludes at the end of the 2004-2005
11school year. Except as provided in subsection (i) of this
12Section, a school district may charge a charter school
13reasonable rent for the use of the district's buildings,
14grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter
15school contracts with a school district shall be provided by
16the district at cost. Any services for which a charter school
17contracts with a local school board or with the governing body
18of a State college or university or public community college
19shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
20    (i) In no event shall a charter school that is established
21by converting an existing school or attendance center to
22charter school status be required to pay rent for space that is
23deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter
24agreement, in school district facilities. However, all other
25costs for the operation and maintenance of school district
26facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject

 

 

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1to negotiation between the charter school and the local school
2board and shall be set forth in the charter.
3    (j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or
4grade level.
5    (k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission,
6then the Commission charter school is its own local education
7agency.
8(Source: P.A. 97-152, eff. 7-20-11; 97-154, eff. 1-1-12;
997-813, eff. 7-13-12; 98-16, eff. 5-24-13.)
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.".