Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB0578
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Full Text of SB0578  98th General Assembly

SB0578sam001 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant

Filed: 4/15/2013

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 578

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 578 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, a State
2Superintendent of Education shall be appointed by a State Board
3of Education that includes the 7 new Board members who were
4appointed to fill seats of members whose terms were terminated
5on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
6General Assembly. Thereafter, a State Superintendent of
7Education must, at a minimum, be appointed at the beginning of
8each term of a Governor after that Governor has made
9appointments to the Board. A performance-based contract issued
10for the employment of a State Superintendent of Education
11entered into on or after the effective date of this amendatory
12Act of the 93rd General Assembly must expire no later than
13February 1, 2007, and subsequent contracts must expire no later
14than February 1 each 4 years thereafter. No contract shall be
15extended or renewed beyond February 1, 2007 and February 1 each
164 years thereafter, but a State Superintendent of Education
17shall serve until his or her successor is appointed. Each
18contract entered into on or before January 8, 2007 with a State
19Superintendent of Education must provide that the State Board
20of Education may terminate the contract for cause, and the
21State Board of Education shall not thereafter be liable for
22further payments under the contract. With regard to this
23amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, it is the intent
24of the General Assembly that, beginning with the Governor who
25takes office on the second Monday of January, 2007, a State
26Superintendent of Education be appointed at the beginning of

 

 

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1each term of a Governor after that Governor has made
2appointments to the Board. The State Superintendent of
3Education shall not serve as a member of the State Board of
4Education. The Board shall set the compensation of the State
5Superintendent of Education who shall serve as the Board's
6chief executive officer. The Board shall also establish the
7duties, powers and responsibilities of the State
8Superintendent, which shall be included in the State
9Superintendent's performance-based contract along with the
10goals and indicators of student performance and academic
11improvement used to measure the performance and effectiveness
12of the State Superintendent. The State Board of Education may
13delegate to the State Superintendent of Education the authority
14to act on the Board's behalf, provided such delegation is made
15pursuant to adopted board policy or the powers delegated are
16ministerial in nature. The State Board may not delegate
17authority under this Section to the State Superintendent to (1)
18nonrecognize school districts, (2) withhold State payments as a
19penalty, or (3) make final decisions under the contested case
20provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act unless
21otherwise provided by law.
22    C. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education
23shall encompass all duties delegated to the Office of
24Superintendent of Public Instruction on January 12, 1975,
25except as the law providing for such powers and duties is
26thereafter amended, and such other powers and duties as the

 

 

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1General Assembly shall designate. The Board shall be
2responsible for the educational policies and guidelines for
3public schools, pre-school through grade 12 and Vocational
4Education in the State of Illinois. The Board shall analyze the
5present and future aims, needs, and requirements of education
6in the State of Illinois and recommend to the General Assembly
7the powers which should be exercised by the Board. The Board
8shall recommend the passage and the legislation necessary to
9determine the appropriate relationship between the Board and
10local boards of education and the various State agencies and
11shall recommend desirable modifications in the laws which
12affect schools.
13    D. Two members of the Board shall be appointed by the
14chairperson to serve on a standing joint Education Committee, 2
15others shall be appointed from the Board of Higher Education, 2
16others shall be appointed by the chairperson of the Illinois
17Community College Board, and 2 others shall be appointed by the
18chairperson of the Human Resource Investment Council. The
19Committee shall be responsible for making recommendations
20concerning the submission of any workforce development plan or
21workforce training program required by federal law or under any
22block grant authority. The Committee will be responsible for
23developing policy on matters of mutual concern to elementary,
24secondary and higher education such as Occupational and Career
25Education, Teacher Preparation and Certification, Educational
26Finance, Articulation between Elementary, Secondary and Higher

 

 

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1Education and Research and Planning. The joint Education
2Committee shall meet at least quarterly and submit an annual
3report of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the
4State Board of Education, the Board of Higher Education, the
5Illinois Community College Board, the Human Resource
6Investment Council, the Governor, and the General Assembly. All
7meetings of this Committee shall be official meetings for
8reimbursement under this Act. On the effective date of this
9amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Joint
10Education Committee is abolished.
11    E. Five members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. A
12majority vote of the members appointed, confirmed and serving
13on the Board is required to approve any action, except that the
147 new Board members who were appointed to fill seats of members
15whose terms were terminated on the effective date of this
16amendatory act of the 93rd General Assembly may vote to approve
17actions when appointed and serving.
18    Using the most recently available data, the Board shall
19prepare and submit to the General Assembly and the Governor on
20or before January 14, 1976 and annually thereafter a report or
21reports of its findings and recommendations. Such annual report
22shall contain a separate section which provides a critique and
23analysis of the status of education in Illinois and which
24identifies its specific problems and recommends express
25solutions therefor. Such annual report also shall contain the
26following information for the preceding year ending on June 30:

 

 

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1each act or omission of a school district of which the State
2Board of Education has knowledge as a consequence of scheduled,
3approved visits and which constituted a failure by the district
4to comply with applicable State or federal laws or regulations
5relating to public education, the name of such district, the
6date or dates on which the State Board of Education notified
7the school district of such act or omission, and what action,
8if any, the school district took with respect thereto after
9being notified thereof by the State Board of Education. The
10report shall also include the statewide high school dropout
11rate by grade level, sex and race and the annual student
12dropout rate of and the number of students who graduate from,
13transfer from or otherwise leave bilingual programs. The
14Auditor General shall annually perform a compliance audit of
15the State Board of Education's performance of the reporting
16duty imposed by this amendatory Act of 1986. A regular system
17of communication with other directly related State agencies
18shall be implemented.
19    The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall
20be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker,
21the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of
22Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the
23Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Council, as
24required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization
25Act, and filing such additional copies with the State
26Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly

 

 

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1as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State
2Library Act.
3    F. Upon appointment of the 7 new Board members who were
4appointed to fill seats of members whose terms were terminated
5on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd
6General Assembly, the Board shall review all of its current
7rules in an effort to streamline procedures, improve
8efficiency, and eliminate unnecessary forms and paperwork.
9(Source: P.A. 95-626, eff. 6-1-08; 95-793, eff. 1-1-09.)
 
10    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.30)
11    Sec. 10-20.30. No pass-no play policy. Beginning with the
121998-99 school year, the school board of each school district
13that maintains any of grades 9 through 12 shall establish,
14implement, and enforce a uniform and consistent policy under
15which a student in any of those grades who fails to maintain a
16specified minimum grade point average or a specified minimum
17grade in each course in which the student is enrolled or both
18is suspended from further participation in any
19school-sponsored or school-supported athletic or
20extracurricular activities for a specified period or until a
21specified minimum grade point average or minimum grade or both
22are earned by the student. Each school board shall adopt a
23policy as required by this Section not later than one year
24after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997 and
25shall concurrently file a copy of that policy with the State

 

 

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1Board of Education. After the policy has been in effect for one
2year, the school board shall file a report with the State Board
3of Education setting forth the number and length of suspensions
4imposed under the policy during the period covered by the
5report. If the school board already has a policy that is
6consistent with the requirements of this Section in effect on
7the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, it shall
8file a copy of that policy with the State Board of Education
9within 90 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act
10and shall file the annual report required under this Section 12
11months thereafter.
12(Source: P.A. 90-548, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
13    (105 ILCS 5/10-21.4)  (from Ch. 122, par. 10-21.4)
14    Sec. 10-21.4. Superintendent - Duties. Except in districts
15in which there is only one school with less than four teachers,
16to employ a superintendent who shall have charge of the
17administration of the schools under the direction of the board
18of education. In addition to the administrative duties, the
19superintendent shall make recommendations to the board
20concerning the budget, building plans, the locations of sites,
21the selection, retention and dismissal of teachers and all
22other employees, the selection of textbooks, instructional
23material and courses of study. However, in districts under a
24Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for
25violating a financial plan, the duties and responsibilities of

 

 

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1the superintendent in relation to the financial and business
2operations of the district shall be approved by the Panel. In
3the event the Board refuses or fails to follow a directive or
4comply with an information request of the Panel, the
5performance of those duties shall be subject to the direction
6of the Panel. The superintendent shall also notify the State
7Board of Education, the board and the chief administrative
8official, other than the alleged perpetrator himself, in the
9school where the alleged perpetrator serves, that any person
10who is employed in a school or otherwise comes into frequent
11contact with children in the school has been named as a
12perpetrator in an indicated report filed pursuant to the Abused
13and Neglected Child Reporting Act, approved June 26, 1975, as
14amended. The superintendent shall keep or cause to be kept the
15records and accounts as directed and required by the board, aid
16in making reports required by the board, and perform such other
17duties as the board may delegate to him.
18    In addition, each year at a time designated by the State
19Superintendent of Education, each superintendent shall report
20to the State Board of Education the number of high school
21students in the district who are enrolled in accredited courses
22(for which high school credit will be awarded upon successful
23completion of the courses) at any community college, together
24with the name and number of the course or courses which each
25such student is taking.
26    The provisions of this section shall also apply to board of

 

 

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1director districts.
2    Notice of intent not to renew a contract must be given in
3writing stating the specific reason therefor by April 1 of the
4contract year unless the contract specifically provides
5otherwise. Failure to do so will automatically extend the
6contract for an additional year. Within 10 days after receipt
7of notice of intent not to renew a contract, the superintendent
8may request a closed session hearing on the dismissal. At the
9hearing the superintendent has the privilege of presenting
10evidence, witnesses and defenses on the grounds for dismissal.
11The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a district
12under a Financial Oversight Panel pursuant to Section 1A-8 for
13violating a financial plan.
14(Source: P.A. 97-256, eff. 1-1-12.)
 
15    (105 ILCS 5/34-8)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-8)
16    Sec. 34-8. Powers and duties of general superintendent. The
17general superintendent of schools shall prescribe and control,
18subject to the approval of the board and to other provisions of
19this Article, the courses of study mandated by State law,
20textbooks, educational apparatus and equipment, discipline in
21and conduct of the schools, and shall perform such other duties
22as the board may by rule prescribe. The superintendent shall
23also notify the State Board of Education, the board and the
24chief administrative official, other than the alleged
25perpetrator himself, in the school where the alleged

 

 

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1perpetrator serves, that any person who is employed in a school
2or otherwise comes into frequent contact with children in the
3school has been named as a perpetrator in an indicated report
4filed pursuant to the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act,
5approved June 26, 1975, as amended.
6    The general superintendent may be granted the authority by
7the board to hire a specific number of employees to assist in
8meeting immediate responsibilities. Conditions of employment
9for such personnel shall not be subject to the provisions of
10Section 34-85.
11    The general superintendent may, pursuant to a delegation of
12authority by the board and Section 34-18, approve contracts and
13expenditures.
14    Pursuant to other provisions of this Article, sites shall
15be selected, schoolhouses located thereon and plans therefor
16approved, and textbooks and educational apparatus and
17equipment shall be adopted and purchased by the board only upon
18the recommendation of the general superintendent of schools or
19by a majority vote of the full membership of the board and, in
20the case of textbooks, subject to Article 28 of this Act. The
21board may furnish free textbooks to pupils and may publish its
22own textbooks and manufacture its own apparatus, equipment and
23supplies.
24    In addition, in January of each year, the general
25superintendent of schools shall report to the State Board of
26Education the number of high school students in the district

 

 

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1who are enrolled in accredited courses (for which high school
2credit will be awarded upon successful completion of the
3courses) at any community college, together with the name and
4number of the course or courses which each such student is
5taking.
6    The general superintendent shall also have the authority to
7monitor the performance of attendance centers, to identify and
8place an attendance center on remediation and probation, and to
9recommend to the board that the attendance center be placed on
10intervention and be reconstituted, subject to the provisions of
11Sections 34-8.3 and 8.4.
12    The general superintendent, or his or her designee, shall
13conduct an annual evaluation of each principal in the district
14pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the Board and the Board
15approved principal evaluation form. The evaluation shall be
16based on factors, including the following: (i) student academic
17improvement, as defined by the school improvement plan; (ii)
18student absenteeism rates at the school; (iii) instructional
19leadership; (iv) effective implementation of programs,
20policies, or strategies to improve student academic
21achievement; (v) school management; and (vi) other factors,
22including, without limitation, the principal's communication
23skills and ability to create and maintain a student-centered
24learning environment, to develop opportunities for
25professional development, and to encourage parental
26involvement and community partnerships to achieve school

 

 

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1improvement.
2    Effective no later than September 1, 2012, the general
3superintendent or his or her designee shall develop a written
4principal evaluation plan. The evaluation plan must be in
5writing and shall supersede the evaluation requirements set
6forth in this Section. The evaluation plan must do at least all
7of the following:
8        (1) Provide for annual evaluation of all principals
9    employed under a performance contract by the general
10    superintendent or his or her designee, no later than July
11    1st of each year.
12        (2) Consider the principal's specific duties,
13    responsibilities, management, and competence as a
14    principal.
15        (3) Specify the principal's strengths and weaknesses,
16    with supporting reasons.
17        (4) Align with research-based standards.
18        (5) Use data and indicators on student growth as a
19    significant factor in rating principal performance.
20(Source: P.A. 95-496, eff. 8-28-07; 96-861, eff. 1-15-10.)
 
21    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.11 rep.)
22    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.144 rep.)
23    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.25a rep.)
24    (105 ILCS 5/10-20.26 rep.)
25    Section 10. The School Code is amended by repealing

 

 

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1Sections 2-3.11, 2-3.144, 10-20.25a, and 10-20.26.
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.".