Full Text of HB3859 102nd General Assembly
HB3859 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022 HB3859 Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Fred Crespo SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 105 ILCS 5/14-6.01 | from Ch. 122, par. 14-6.01 |
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Amends the Children with Disabilities Articles of the School Code. Provides that the Chicago school district shall publish on the district's website any proposed changes to the district's policy and procedural manuals, which must be published on the district's website no later than 45 days before the adoption of that change, unless this would prevent the district from following State or federal laws (rather than providing that the Chicago school district shall publish on the district's website any proposed changes to its special education policies, directives, guidelines, or procedures that impact the provision of educational or related services to students with disabilities or the procedural safeguards afforded to students with disabilities or their parents or guardians made by the district or school board and providing that any policy, directive, guideline, or procedural change that impacts those provisions or safeguards that is authorized by the district's primary office overseeing special education or any other administrative office must be published on the district's website no later than 45 days before the adoption of that change). Makes other changes concerning this process. Provides that school boards shall provide (rather than immediately provide) upon request by any person
written materials and other information that indicates the specific
policies, procedures, rules, and regulations regarding the identification,
evaluation, or educational placement of children with
disabilities. Requires these materials and other information to be provided within 10 school days from the receipt of the request by the school board. Effective immediately.
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| | | FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | 5 | | 14-6.01 as follows:
| 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/14-6.01) (from Ch. 122, par. 14-6.01)
| 7 | | Sec. 14-6.01. Powers and duties of school boards. School | 8 | | boards of
one or more school districts establishing and | 9 | | maintaining any of the
educational facilities described in | 10 | | this Article shall, in connection
therewith, exercise similar | 11 | | powers and duties as are prescribed by law
for the | 12 | | establishment, maintenance, and management of other recognized
| 13 | | educational facilities. Such school boards shall include only | 14 | | eligible
children in the program and shall comply with all the | 15 | | requirements of
this Article and all rules and regulations | 16 | | established by the State
Board of Education. Such school | 17 | | boards shall accept in part-time
attendance children with | 18 | | disabilities of the types
described in Sections
14-1.02 | 19 | | through 14-1.07 who are enrolled in nonpublic schools. A
| 20 | | request for part-time attendance must be submitted by a parent | 21 | | or
guardian of the child with a disability and may be made
only | 22 | | to those public
schools located in the district where the | 23 | | child attending the nonpublic
school resides; however, nothing |
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| 1 | | in this Section shall be construed as
prohibiting an agreement | 2 | | between the district where the child resides
and another | 3 | | public school district to provide special educational
services | 4 | | if such an arrangement is deemed more convenient and
| 5 | | economical. Special education and related services must be | 6 | | provided in accordance with the student's IEP no later than 10 | 7 | | school attendance days after notice is provided to the parents | 8 | | pursuant to Section 300.503 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal | 9 | | Regulations and implementing rules adopted by the State Board | 10 | | of Education. Transportation for students in part time | 11 | | attendance shall be
provided only if required in the child's | 12 | | individualized educational program
on the basis of the child's | 13 | | disabling condition or as the
special education
program | 14 | | location may require.
| 15 | | Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, a school board | 16 | | shall post on its Internet website, if any, and incorporate | 17 | | into its student handbook or newsletter notice that students | 18 | | with disabilities who do not qualify for an individualized | 19 | | education program, as required by the federal Individuals with | 20 | | Disabilities Education Act and implementing provisions of this | 21 | | Code, may qualify for services under Section 504 of the | 22 | | federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 if the child (i) has a | 23 | | physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or | 24 | | more major life activities, (ii) has a record of a physical or | 25 | | mental impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having a physical | 26 | | or mental impairment. Such notice shall identify the location |
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| 1 | | and
phone number of the office or agent of the school district | 2 | | to whom
inquiries should be directed regarding the | 3 | | identification, assessment and
placement of such children.
| 4 | | For a school district organized under Article 34 only, | 5 | | beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, the school district | 6 | | shall, in collaboration with its primary office overseeing | 7 | | special education, publish on the school district's publicly | 8 | | available website any proposed changes to the school | 9 | | district's policy and procedural manuals, which its special | 10 | | education policies, directives, guidelines, or procedures that | 11 | | impact the provision of educational or related services to | 12 | | students with disabilities or the procedural safeguards | 13 | | afforded to students with disabilities or their parents or | 14 | | guardians made by the school district or school board. Any | 15 | | policy, directive, guideline, or procedural change that | 16 | | impacts those provisions or safeguards that is authorized by | 17 | | the school district's primary office overseeing special | 18 | | education or any other administrative office of the school | 19 | | district must be published on the school district's publicly | 20 | | available website no later than 45 days before the adoption of | 21 | | that change , unless this would prevent the school district | 22 | | from following State or federal laws . Any policy directive, | 23 | | guideline, or procedural change that impacts those provisions | 24 | | or safeguards that is authorized by the school board must be | 25 | | published on the school district's publicly available website | 26 | | no later than 30 days before the date of presentation to the |
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| 1 | | school board for adoption. The school district's website must | 2 | | allow for virtual public comments for a period of 30 days on | 3 | | proposed special education policy, directive, guideline, or | 4 | | procedural changes that impact the provision of educational or | 5 | | related services to students with disabilities or the | 6 | | procedural safeguards afforded to students with disabilities | 7 | | or their parents or guardians from the date of the | 8 | | notification of the proposed change on the website until the | 9 | | date the change is adopted by the school district or until the | 10 | | date the change is presented to the school board for adoption . | 11 | | After the period for public comment is closed, the school | 12 | | district must maintain all public comments for a period of not | 13 | | less than 2 years from the date the special education change is | 14 | | adopted. The public comments are subject to the Freedom of | 15 | | Information Act. The school board shall, at a minimum, | 16 | | advertise the notice of the change and availability for public | 17 | | comment on its website. The State Board of Education may | 18 | | clarify or add additional reporting requirements for the | 19 | | district beyond policy , directive, guideline, or procedural | 20 | | changes that impact the provision of educational or related | 21 | | services to students with disabilities or the procedural | 22 | | safeguards afforded to students with disabilities or their | 23 | | parents or guardians if the State Board determines it is in the | 24 | | best interest of the students enrolled in the district | 25 | | receiving special education services. | 26 | | School boards shall immediately provide upon request by |
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| 1 | | any person
written materials and other information that | 2 | | indicates the specific
policies, procedures, rules and | 3 | | regulations regarding the identification,
evaluation or | 4 | | educational placement of children with
disabilities under | 5 | | Section
14-8.02 of the School Code. These materials and other | 6 | | information shall be provided within 10 school days from the | 7 | | receipt of the request by the school board. Such information | 8 | | shall include information
regarding all rights and | 9 | | entitlements of such children under this Code, and
of the | 10 | | opportunity to present complaints with respect to any matter
| 11 | | relating to educational placement of the student, or the | 12 | | provision of a
free appropriate public education and to have | 13 | | an impartial due process
hearing on the complaint. The notice | 14 | | shall inform the parents or guardian
in the parents' or | 15 | | guardian's native language, unless it is clearly not
feasible | 16 | | to do so, of their rights and all procedures available | 17 | | pursuant to
this Act and federal Public Law 94-142; it shall be | 18 | | the responsibility of
the State Superintendent to develop | 19 | | uniform notices setting forth the
procedures available under | 20 | | this Act and federal Public Law 94-142, as
amended, to be used | 21 | | by all school boards. The notice shall also inform the
parents | 22 | | or guardian of the availability upon request of a list of free | 23 | | or
low-cost legal and other relevant services available | 24 | | locally to assist
parents or guardians in exercising rights or | 25 | | entitlements under this Code. For a school district organized | 26 | | under Article 34 only, the school district must make the |
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| 1 | | entirety of its special education Procedural Manual and any | 2 | | other guidance documents pertaining to special education | 3 | | publicly available, in print and on the school district's | 4 | | website, in both English and Spanish. Upon request, the school | 5 | | district must make the Procedural Manual and other guidance | 6 | | documents available in print in any other language and | 7 | | accessible for individuals with disabilities.
| 8 | | Any parent or guardian who is deaf, or does not normally | 9 | | communicate
using spoken English, who participates in a | 10 | | meeting with a representative
of a local educational agency | 11 | | for the purposes of developing an
individualized educational | 12 | | program shall be entitled to the services of
an interpreter.
| 13 | | No student with a disability or, in a school district | 14 | | organized under Article 34 of this Code, child with a learning | 15 | | disability may be denied promotion,
graduation or a general
| 16 | | diploma on the basis of failing a minimal competency test when | 17 | | such failure
can be directly related to the disabling
| 18 | | condition of the student. For the
purpose of this Act, | 19 | | "minimal competency testing" is defined as tests which
are | 20 | | constructed to measure the acquisition of skills to or beyond | 21 | | a certain
defined standard.
| 22 | | Effective July 1, 1966, high school districts are | 23 | | financially
responsible for the education of pupils with | 24 | | disabilities who
are residents in their
districts when such | 25 | | pupils have reached age 15 but may admit
children with | 26 | | disabilities into special educational facilities without
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| 1 | | regard to graduation
from the eighth grade after such pupils | 2 | | have reached the age of 14 1/2 years.
Upon a pupil with a | 3 | | disability attaining the age of 14 1/2 years,
it shall be
the | 4 | | duty of the elementary school district in which the pupil | 5 | | resides to
notify the high school district in which the pupil | 6 | | resides of the pupil's
current eligibility for special | 7 | | education services, of the pupil's current
program, and of all | 8 | | evaluation data upon which the current program is
based. After | 9 | | an examination of that information the high school district
| 10 | | may accept the current placement and all subsequent timelines | 11 | | shall be
governed by the current individualized educational | 12 | | program; or the high
school district may elect to conduct its | 13 | | own evaluation and
multidisciplinary staff conference and | 14 | | formulate its own individualized
educational program, in which | 15 | | case the procedures and timelines contained
in Section 14-8.02 | 16 | | shall apply.
| 17 | | (Source: P.A. 100-201, eff. 8-18-17; 100-1112, eff. 8-28-18; | 18 | | 101-515, eff. 8-23-19.)
| 19 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 20 | | becoming law.
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