SB1223eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB1223 Engrossed LRB100 07839 MLM 17908 b

AN ACT concerning education.

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

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Accelerated Placement Act.

Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Accelerated placement" means the placement of a student in an educational setting with curriculum that is usually reserved for students who are older or in higher grades than the student. "Accelerated placement" shall include, but need not be limited to, the following types of acceleration: early entrance to kindergarten or first grade, accelerating a student in a single subject, compacting curriculum, grade acceleration, grade telescoping, and early high school graduation.

"State Board" means the State Board of Education.

Section 10. School district responsibilities.

(a) Each school district shall have a policy that allows for accelerated placement that includes, but need not be limited to, the following components:

(1) a requirement that participation in accelerated placement is not limited to those students who have been identified as gifted and talented, but rather is open to all students who demonstrate high ability and who may benefit from accelerated placement;

(2) a transparent process for informing all families residing in the school district about the acceleration policy;

(3) a process for referral that ensures the fair, objective, and systematic evaluation of referred students and allows for multiple referrers, including a student's parents or legal guardians; other referrers may include a teacher, an administrator, a gifted education specialist, a guidance counselor, a school psychologist, the student himself or herself with the written consent of a parent or legal guardian, a peer through a district staff member who has knowledge of the referred child's abilities, or, in the case of possible early entrance, a preschool educator, pediatrician, or psychologist who knows the child;

(4) an assessment process that includes multiple valid, reliable indicators;

(5) a reasonable and transparent timeline for evaluation for possible accelerated placement;

(6) a decision-making process for accelerated placement that involves multiple persons, including a student's parents or legal guardians, rather than a sole decision-maker; other individuals involved in the decision-making process may include a superintendent's designee, principal or assistant principal from the child's current school, current teacher of the referred student, teacher at the grade level from the school to which the student may be accelerated, principal or assistant principal from the child's future school, gifted education specialist, gifted intervention specialist, school psychologist, or guidance counselor;

(7) a reasonable and transparent timeline for notifying parents and students about the results of an accelerated placement evaluation;

(8) an appeals process for decisions related to accelerated placement;

(9) a requirement that accelerated students and their parents or legal guardians be provided a written plan, a copy of which will be kept in the student's cumulative file, which shall include the type of acceleration the student will undergo and strategies to support a successful transition;

(10) an appropriate transition period for accelerated placement; and

(11) a process for a parent or legal guardian of a student to withdraw the student from accelerated placement or request a revision of the accelerated placement.

(b) Each school district shall report to the State Board the following data annually:

(1) the number of students evaluated for accelerated placement, disaggregated by race and income status;

(2) the number of students who qualified for accelerated placement, disaggregated by race and income status;

(3) the number of students evaluated for accelerated placement by type of accelerated placement; and

(4) the number of students who qualified for accelerated placement by type of accelerated placement.

Section 15. State Board Responsibilities.

(a) The State Board shall publish a report annually that includes:

(1) the number of students evaluated for accelerated placement for each school district, disaggregated by race and income status;

(2) the number of students who qualified for accelerated placement for each school district, disaggregated by race and income status;

(3) the number of students evaluated for accelerated placement by type of accelerated placement for each school district; and

(4) the number of students who qualified for accelerated placement by type of accelerated placement for each school district.

(b) The State Board shall develop and disseminate guidance to school districts regarding State testing for accelerated students before January 1, 2018.

Section 20. Rules. The State Board may adopt rules to implement this Act.

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