Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for HB1561

Amends the School Safety Drill Act. Requires all school boards of school districts to develop threat assessment protocols and to create threat assessment teams. Provides that the threat assessment team shall include specified personnel and other members. Provides that a threat assessment protocol adopted by the school board shall be a public document and be posted on the school district's website. Provides that a school board shall create the threat assessment team within 30 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act and adopt an initial threat assessment protocol within 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory Act. Provides that a school district may share information concerning a clear and present danger with another school district and creates a conforming exemption in the Illinois School Student Records Act. Creates exemptions for the work of the threat assessment team in the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Effective immediately.

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Counties Code. Provides that counties may impose a tax to be used exclusively for school facility purposes, school resources officers, or mental health professionals (rather than exclusively for school facility purposes). Adds referendum language to levy, reduce, or discontinue the tax. Amends the Innovation Development and Economy Act and the School Construction Law to make conforming changes. Amends the School Code to make conforming changes and to provide that if a school district having a population of less than 500,000 inhabitants determines that it is necessary for school security purposes and the related protection and safety of pupils and school staff to hire a school resource officer or that personnel costs for school counselors, mental health experts, or school resource officers are necessary, the district may levy a tax or issue bonds as provided under a provision in the Code authorizing a school board to levy a tax or to borrow money and issue bonds for fire prevention, safety, energy conservation, accessibility, school security, and specified repair purposes if funds are not needed for those other purposes. Amends the School Safety Drill Act. Requires each school district to implement a threat assessment procedure that may be part of a school board policy on targeted school violence and prevention and that must include the creation of a threat assessment team; provides for the team's membership. Requires each school district, at its annual meeting to review each school building's emergency and crisis response plans, protocols, and procedures, to review the procedures regarding its threat assessment team. Creates an exemption for the work of the threat assessment team in the Freedom of Information Act. Effective immediately.

With regard to a school district's threat assessment procedure, removes a provision requiring the policy on targeted school violence and prevention that directs the implementation of a threat assessment procedure to be a public document and to be posted on the school district's website with other school district policies. Makes conforming changes.

Provides that each school district must implement a threat assessment procedure that may be part of a school board policy on targeted school violence prevention (rather than school violence and prevention). Provides that a regional behavioral threat assessment and intervention team utilized by a school district must include mental health professionals and representatives from State, county, and local law enforcement agencies (rather than mental health professionals, a representative from the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System, a safety education officer from the Department of State Police, and local law enforcement representatives) and removes a provision requiring the members to complete the training courses offered by Western Illinois University's Office of Public Safety.

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