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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 Sections
51A-4, 10-20.30, 10-21.4, and 34-8 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/1A-4)  (from Ch. 122, par. 1A-4)
7    Sec. 1A-4. Powers and duties of the Board.
8    A. (Blank).
9    B. The Board shall determine the qualifications of and
10appoint a chief education officer, to be known as the State
11Superintendent of Education, who may be proposed by the
12Governor and who shall serve at the pleasure of the Board and
13pursuant to a performance-based contract linked to statewide
14student performance and academic improvement within Illinois
15schools. Upon expiration or buyout of the contract of the State
16Superintendent of Education in office on the effective date of
17this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, a State
18Superintendent of Education shall be appointed by a State Board
19of Education that includes the 7 new Board members who were
20appointed to fill seats of members whose terms were terminated
21on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
22General Assembly. Thereafter, a State Superintendent of
23Education must, at a minimum, be appointed at the beginning of

 

 

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1each term of a Governor after that Governor has made
2appointments to the Board. A performance-based contract issued
3for the employment of a State Superintendent of Education
4entered into on or after the effective date of this amendatory
5Act of the 93rd General Assembly must expire no later than
6February 1, 2007, and subsequent contracts must expire no later
7than February 1 each 4 years thereafter. No contract shall be
8extended or renewed beyond February 1, 2007 and February 1 each
94 years thereafter, but a State Superintendent of Education
10shall serve until his or her successor is appointed. Each
11contract entered into on or before January 8, 2007 with a State
12Superintendent of Education must provide that the State Board
13of Education may terminate the contract for cause, and the
14State Board of Education shall not thereafter be liable for
15further payments under the contract. With regard to this
16amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, it is the intent
17of the General Assembly that, beginning with the Governor who
18takes office on the second Monday of January, 2007, a State
19Superintendent of Education be appointed at the beginning of
20each term of a Governor after that Governor has made
21appointments to the Board. The State Superintendent of
22Education shall not serve as a member of the State Board of
23Education. The Board shall set the compensation of the State
24Superintendent of Education who shall serve as the Board's
25chief executive officer. The Board shall also establish the
26duties, powers and responsibilities of the State

 

 

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1Superintendent, which shall be included in the State
2Superintendent's performance-based contract along with the
3goals and indicators of student performance and academic
4improvement used to measure the performance and effectiveness
5of the State Superintendent. The State Board of Education may
6delegate to the State Superintendent of Education the authority
7to act on the Board's behalf, provided such delegation is made
8pursuant to adopted board policy or the powers delegated are
9ministerial in nature. The State Board may not delegate
10authority under this Section to the State Superintendent to (1)
11nonrecognize school districts, (2) withhold State payments as a
12penalty, or (3) make final decisions under the contested case
13provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act unless
14otherwise provided by law.
15    C. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education
16shall encompass all duties delegated to the Office of
17Superintendent of Public Instruction on January 12, 1975,
18except as the law providing for such powers and duties is
19thereafter amended, and such other powers and duties as the
20General Assembly shall designate. The Board shall be
21responsible for the educational policies and guidelines for
22public schools, pre-school through grade 12 and Vocational
23Education in the State of Illinois. The Board shall analyze the
24present and future aims, needs, and requirements of education
25in the State of Illinois and recommend to the General Assembly
26the powers which should be exercised by the Board. The Board

 

 

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1shall recommend the passage and the legislation necessary to
2determine the appropriate relationship between the Board and
3local boards of education and the various State agencies and
4shall recommend desirable modifications in the laws which
5affect schools.
6    D. Two members of the Board shall be appointed by the
7chairperson to serve on a standing joint Education Committee, 2
8others shall be appointed from the Board of Higher Education, 2
9others shall be appointed by the chairperson of the Illinois
10Community College Board, and 2 others shall be appointed by the
11chairperson of the Human Resource Investment Council. The
12Committee shall be responsible for making recommendations
13concerning the submission of any workforce development plan or
14workforce training program required by federal law or under any
15block grant authority. The Committee will be responsible for
16developing policy on matters of mutual concern to elementary,
17secondary and higher education such as Occupational and Career
18Education, Teacher Preparation and Certification, Educational
19Finance, Articulation between Elementary, Secondary and Higher
20Education and Research and Planning. The joint Education
21Committee shall meet at least quarterly and submit an annual
22report of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the
23State Board of Education, the Board of Higher Education, the
24Illinois Community College Board, the Human Resource
25Investment Council, the Governor, and the General Assembly. All
26meetings of this Committee shall be official meetings for

 

 

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1reimbursement under this Act. On the effective date of this
2amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Joint
3Education Committee is abolished.
4    E. Five members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. A
5majority vote of the members appointed, confirmed and serving
6on the Board is required to approve any action, except that the
77 new Board members who were appointed to fill seats of members
8whose terms were terminated on the effective date of this
9amendatory act of the 93rd General Assembly may vote to approve
10actions when appointed and serving.
11    Using the most recently available data, the Board shall
12prepare and submit to the General Assembly and the Governor on
13or before January 14, 1976 and annually thereafter a report or
14reports of its findings and recommendations. Such annual report
15shall contain a separate section which provides a critique and
16analysis of the status of education in Illinois and which
17identifies its specific problems and recommends express
18solutions therefor. Such annual report also shall contain the
19following information for the preceding year ending on June 30:
20each act or omission of a school district of which the State
21Board of Education has knowledge as a consequence of scheduled,
22approved visits and which constituted a failure by the district
23to comply with applicable State or federal laws or regulations
24relating to public education, the name of such district, the
25date or dates on which the State Board of Education notified
26the school district of such act or omission, and what action,

 

 

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1if any, the school district took with respect thereto after
2being notified thereof by the State Board of Education. The
3report shall also include the statewide high school dropout
4rate by grade level, sex and race and the annual student
5dropout rate of and the number of students who graduate from,
6transfer from or otherwise leave bilingual programs. The
7Auditor General shall annually perform a compliance audit of
8the State Board of Education's performance of the reporting
9duty imposed by this amendatory Act of 1986. A regular system
10of communication with other directly related State agencies
11shall be implemented.
12    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall
13be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker,
14the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
15Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
16Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Council, as
17required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
18Act, and filing such additional copies with the State
19Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly
20as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State
21Library Act.
22    F. Upon appointment of the 7 new Board members who were
23appointed to fill seats of members whose terms were terminated
24on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
25General Assembly, the Board shall review all of its current
26rules in an effort to streamline procedures, improve

 

 

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1efficiency, and eliminate unnecessary forms and paperwork.
2(Source: P.A. 95-626, eff. 6-1-08; 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)
 
3    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.30)
4    Sec. 10-20.30. No pass-no play policy. Beginning with the
51998-99 school year, the school board of each school district
6that maintains any of grades 9 through 12 shall establish,
7implement, and enforce a uniform and consistent policy under
8which a student in any of those grades who fails to maintain a
9specified minimum grade point average or a specified minimum
10grade in each course in which the student is enrolled or both
11is suspended from further participation in any
12school-sponsored or school-supported athletic or
13extracurricular activities for a specified period or until a
14specified minimum grade point average or minimum grade or both
15are earned by the student. Each school board shall adopt a
16policy as required by this Section not later than one year
17after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 and
18shall concurrently file a copy of that policy with the State
19Board of Education. After the policy has been in effect for one
20year, the school board shall file a report with the State Board
21of Education setting forth the number and length of suspensions
22imposed under the policy during the period covered by the
23report. If the school board already has a policy that is
24consistent with the requirements of this Section in effect on
25the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, it shall

 

 

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1file a copy of that policy with the State Board of Education
2within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act
3and shall file the annual report required under this Section 12
4months thereafter.
5(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
6    (105 ILCS 5/10-21.4)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.4)
7    Sec. 10-21.4. Superintendent - Duties. Except in districts
8in which there is only one school with less than four teachers,
9to employ a superintendent who shall have charge of the
10administration of the schools under the direction of the board
11of education. In addition to the administrative duties, the
12superintendent shall make recommendations to the board
13concerning the budget, building plans, the locations of sites,
14the selection, retention and dismissal of teachers and all
15other employees, the selection of textbooks, instructional
16material and courses of study. However, in districts under a
17Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for
18violating a financial plan, the duties and responsibilities of
19the superintendent in relation to the financial and business
20operations of the district shall be approved by the Panel. In
21the event the Board refuses or fails to follow a directive or
22comply with an information request of the Panel, the
23performance of those duties shall be subject to the direction
24of the Panel. The superintendent shall also notify the State
25Board of Education, the board and the chief administrative

 

 

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1official, other than the alleged perpetrator himself, in the
2school where the alleged perpetrator serves, that any person
3who is employed in a school or otherwise comes into frequent
4contact with children in the school has been named as a
5perpetrator in an indicated report filed pursuant to the Abused
6and Neglected Child Reporting Act, approved June 26, 1975, as
7amended. The superintendent shall keep or cause to be kept the
8records and accounts as directed and required by the board, aid
9in making reports required by the board, and perform such other
10duties as the board may delegate to him.
11    In addition, each year at a time designated by the State
12Superintendent of Education, each superintendent shall report
13to the State Board of Education the number of high school
14students in the district who are enrolled in accredited courses
15(for which high school credit will be awarded upon successful
16completion of the courses) at any community college, together
17with the name and number of the course or courses which each
18such student is taking.
19    The provisions of this section shall also apply to board of
20director districts.
21    Notice of intent not to renew a contract must be given in
22writing stating the specific reason therefor by April 1 of the
23contract year unless the contract specifically provides
24otherwise. Failure to do so will automatically extend the
25contract for an additional year. Within 10 days after receipt
26of notice of intent not to renew a contract, the superintendent

 

 

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1may request a closed session hearing on the dismissal. At the
2hearing the superintendent has the privilege of presenting
3evidence, witnesses and defenses on the grounds for dismissal.
4The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a district
5under a Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for
6violating a financial plan.
7(Source: P.A. 97-256, eff. 1-1-12.)
 
8    (105 ILCS 5/34-8)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-8)
9    Sec. 34-8. Powers and duties of general superintendent. The
10general superintendent of schools shall prescribe and control,
11subject to the approval of the board and to other provisions of
12this Article, the courses of study mandated by State law,
13textbooks, educational apparatus and equipment, discipline in
14and conduct of the schools, and shall perform such other duties
15as the board may by rule prescribe. The superintendent shall
16also notify the State Board of Education, the board and the
17chief administrative official, other than the alleged
18perpetrator himself, in the school where the alleged
19perpetrator serves, that any person who is employed in a school
20or otherwise comes into frequent contact with children in the
21school has been named as a perpetrator in an indicated report
22filed pursuant to the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act,
23approved June 26, 1975, as amended.
24    The general superintendent may be granted the authority by
25the board to hire a specific number of employees to assist in

 

 

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1meeting immediate responsibilities. Conditions of employment
2for such personnel shall not be subject to the provisions of
3Section 34-85.
4    The general superintendent may, pursuant to a delegation of
5authority by the board and Section 34-18, approve contracts and
6expenditures.
7    Pursuant to other provisions of this Article, sites shall
8be selected, schoolhouses located thereon and plans therefor
9approved, and textbooks and educational apparatus and
10equipment shall be adopted and purchased by the board only upon
11the recommendation of the general superintendent of schools or
12by a majority vote of the full membership of the board and, in
13the case of textbooks, subject to Article 28 of this Act. The
14board may furnish free textbooks to pupils and may publish its
15own textbooks and manufacture its own apparatus, equipment and
16supplies.
17    In addition, in January of each year, the general
18superintendent of schools shall report to the State Board of
19Education the number of high school students in the district
20who are enrolled in accredited courses (for which high school
21credit will be awarded upon successful completion of the
22courses) at any community college, together with the name and
23number of the course or courses which each such student is
24taking.
25    The general superintendent shall also have the authority to
26monitor the performance of attendance centers, to identify and

 

 

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1place an attendance center on remediation and probation, and to
2recommend to the board that the attendance center be placed on
3intervention and be reconstituted, subject to the provisions of
4Sections 34-8.3 and 8.4.
5    The general superintendent, or his or her designee, shall
6conduct an annual evaluation of each principal in the district
7pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the Board and the Board
8approved principal evaluation form. The evaluation shall be
9based on factors, including the following: (i) student academic
10improvement, as defined by the school improvement plan; (ii)
11student absenteeism rates at the school; (iii) instructional
12leadership; (iv) effective implementation of programs,
13policies, or strategies to improve student academic
14achievement; (v) school management; and (vi) other factors,
15including, without limitation, the principal's communication
16skills and ability to create and maintain a student-centered
17learning environment, to develop opportunities for
18professional development, and to encourage parental
19involvement and community partnerships to achieve school
20improvement.
21    Effective no later than September 1, 2012, the general
22superintendent or his or her designee shall develop a written
23principal evaluation plan. The evaluation plan must be in
24writing and shall supersede the evaluation requirements set
25forth in this Section. The evaluation plan must do at least all
26of the following:

 

 

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1        (1) Provide for annual evaluation of all principals
2    employed under a performance contract by the general
3    superintendent or his or her designee, no later than July
4    1st of each year.
5        (2) Consider the principal's specific duties,
6    responsibilities, management, and competence as a
7    principal.
8        (3) Specify the principal's strengths and weaknesses,
9    with supporting reasons.
10        (4) Align with research-based standards.
11        (5) Use data and indicators on student growth as a
12    significant factor in rating principal performance.
13(Source: P.A. 95-496, eff. 8-28-07; 96-861, eff. 1-15-10.)
 
14    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.11 rep.)
15    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.144 rep.)
16    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.25a rep.)
17    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.26 rep.)
18    Section 10. The School Code is amended by repealing
19Sections 2-3.11, 2-3.144, 10-20.25a, and 10-20.26.
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.