HB5689eng 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5689 Engrossed LRB097 19926 NHT 65872 b

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section 22-75 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/22-75 new)

Sec. 22-75. The Eradicate Domestic Violence Task Force.

(a) There is hereby created the Eradicate Domestic Violence Task Force. The Eradicate Domestic Violence Task Force shall develop a statewide effective and feasible prevention course for high school students designed to prevent interpersonal, adolescent violence based on the Step Back Program for boys and girls. The State Board of Education shall provide administrative staff and support to the task force.

(b) The Eradicate Domestic Violence Task Force shall do the following:

(1) Conduct meetings to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of statewide implementation of the curricula of the Step Back Program at Oak Park and River Forest High School, located in Cook County, Illinois, for the prevention of domestic violence.

(2) Invite the testimony of and confer with experts on relevant topics as needed.

(3) Propose content for integration into school curricula aimed at preventing domestic violence.

(4) Propose the curricula content that should be mandatory versus voluntary to best provide the desired result of eradication of domestic violence.

(5) Propose a method of training facilitators on the school curricula aimed at preventing domestic violence.

(6) Propose partnerships with anti-violence agencies to assist with the facilitator roles and the nature of the partnerships.

(7) Evaluate the approximate cost per school or school district to implement and maintain school curricula aimed at preventing domestic violence.

(8) Propose a funding source or sources to support school curricula aimed at preventing domestic violence and agencies that provide training to the facilitators, such as a fee to be charged in domestic violence, sexual assault, and related cases to be collected by the clerk of the court for deposit into a special fund in the State treasury and to be used to fund a proposed eradicate domestic violence program in the schools of this State.

(9) Propose an evaluation structure to ensure that the school curricula aimed at preventing domestic violence is effectively taught by trained facilitators.

(10) Propose a method of evaluation for the purpose of modifying the content of the curriculum over time, including whether studies of the program should be conducted by the University of Illinois' Interpersonal Violence Prevention Information Center.

(11) Recommend legislation developed by the task force, such as amending Sections 27-5 through 27-13.3 and 27-23.4 of this Code, and legislation to create a fee to be charged in domestic violence, sexual assault, and related cases to be collected by the clerk of court for deposit into a special fund in the State treasury and to be used to fund a proposed eradicate domestic violence program in the schools of this State.

(12) Produce a report of the task force's findings on best practices and policies, which shall include a plan with a phased and prioritized implementation timetable for implementation of school curricula aimed at preventing domestic violence in schools. The task force shall submit a report to the General Assembly on or before April 1, 2013 on its findings, recommendations, and implementation plan. Any task force reports must be published on the State Board of Education's Internet website on the date the report is delivered to the General Assembly.

(c) The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each appoint one co-chairperson of the Eradicate Domestic Violence Task Force. The Minority Leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives shall each appoint one member to the task force. In addition, the task force shall be comprised of the following members appointed by the State Board of Education and shall be representative of the geographic, racial, and ethnic diversity of this State:

(1) Four representatives involved with a program for high school students at a high school that is located in a municipality with a population of 2,000,000 or more and the program is a daily, 6-week to 9-week, 45-session, gender-specific, primary prevention course designed to raise awareness of topics such as dating and domestic violence, any systematic conduct that causes measurable physical harm or emotional distress, sexual assault, digital abuse, self-defense, and suicide.

(2) A representative of an interpersonal violence prevention program within a State university.

(3) A representative of a statewide nonprofit, nongovernmental, domestic violence organization.

(4) A representative of a different nonprofit, nongovernmental domestic violence organization that is located in a municipality with a population of 2,000,000 or more.

(5) A representative of a statewide nonprofit, nongovernmental, sexual assault organization.

(6) A representative of a different nonprofit, nongovernmental, sexual assault organization based in a county with a population of 3,000,000 or more.

(7) The State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee.

(8) The Chief Executive Officer of City of Chicago School District 299 or his or her designee or the President of the Chicago Board of Education or his or her designee.

(9) A representative of the Department of Human Services.

(10) A representative of a statewide, nonprofit professional organization representing law enforcement executives.

(11) A representative of the Chicago Police Department, Youth Services Division.

(12) The Clerk of the Circuit Court for the First Judicial District or his or her designee.

(d) The following underlying purposes should be liberally construed by the task force convened under this Section:

(1) Recognize that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, December 2010 Summary Report, on average 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States, equaling more than 12 million women and men.

(2) Recognize that abused children and children exposed to domestic violence in their homes may have short and long-term physical, emotional, and learning problems, including increased aggression, decreased responsiveness to adults, failure to thrive, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, hyper vigilance and hyperactivity, eating and sleeping problems, and developmental delays, according to the Journal of Interpersonal Violence and the Futures Without Violence organization.

(3) Recognize that the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority has found that children exposed to violence in the media may become numb to the horror of violence, may gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems, may imitate the violence they see, and may identify with certain characters, victims, or victimizers.

(4) Recognize that crimes and the incarceration of youth are often associated with a history of child abuse and exposure to domestic violence, according to Futures Without Violence.

(5) Recognize that the cost of prosecuting crime in this State is unnecessarily high due to a lack of prevention programs designed to eradicate domestic violence.

(6) Recognize that sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are serious and widespread public health problems for children and adults in this State.

(7) Recognize that intervention programs aimed at preventing domestic violence may yield better results than programs aimed at treating the victims of domestic violence, because treatment programs may reduce the likelihood that a particular woman will be re-victimized, but might not otherwise reduce the overall amount of domestic violence.

(8) Recognize that uniform, effective, feasible, and widespread prevention of sexual violence and intimate partner violence is a high priority in this State.

(9) Recognize that the Step Back Program at Oak Park and River Forest High School in Cook County, Illinois, is a daily, 6 to 9 week, 45-session, gender-specific, primary prevention course for high school students designed to raise awareness of topics, including dating and domestic violence, bullying and harassment, sexual assault, digital abuse, self-defense, and suicide. The Step Back Program is co-facilitated by the high school and a nonprofit, nongovernmental domestic violence prevention specialist and service provider.

(10) Develop a statewide effective prevention course for high school students based on the Step Back Program for boys and girls designed to prevent interpersonal, adolescent violence.

(e) Members of the Eradicate Domestic Violence Task Force shall receive no compensation for their participation, but may be reimbursed by the State Board of Education for expenses in connection with their participation, including travel, if funds are available.

(f) Nothing in this Section or in the prevention course is intended to infringe upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of religion or religiously based views protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or under Section 3 or 4 of Article 1 of the Illinois Constitution.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.