Public Act 093-0859
 
SB3109 Enrolled LRB093 21189 NHT 47269 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 changing Section
2-3.13a as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.13a)  (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.13a)
    Sec. 2-3.13a. School Scholastic records; transferring
students.
    (a) The State Board of Education shall establish and
implement rules requiring all of the public schools and all
private or nonpublic elementary and secondary schools located
in this State, whenever any such school has a student who is
transferring to any other public elementary or secondary school
located in this or in any other state, to forward within 10
days of notice of the student's transfer an unofficial record
of that student's grades to the school to which such student is
transferring. Each public school at the same time also shall
forward to the school to which the student is transferring the
remainder of the student's school student records as required
by the Illinois School Student Records Act. In addition, if a
student is transferring from a public school, whether located
in this or any other state, from which the student has been
suspended or expelled for knowingly possessing in a school
building or on school grounds a weapon as defined in the Gun
Free Schools Act (20 U.S.C. 8921 et seq.), for knowingly
possessing, selling, or delivering in a school building or on
school grounds a controlled substance or cannabis, or for
battering a staff member of the school, and if the period of
suspension or expulsion has not expired at the time the student
attempts to transfer into another public school in the same or
any other school district: (i) any school student records
required to be transferred shall include the date and duration
of the period of suspension or expulsion; and (ii) with the
exception of transfers into the Department of Corrections
school district, the student shall not be permitted to attend
class in the public school into which he or she is transferring
until the student has served the entire period of the
suspension or expulsion imposed by the school from which the
student is transferring, provided that the school board may
approve the placement of the student in an alternative school
program established under Article 13A of this Code. A school
district may adopt a policy providing that if a student is
suspended or expelled for any reason from any public or private
school in this or any other state, the student must complete
the entire term of the suspension or expulsion before being
admitted into the school district. This policy may allow
placement of the student in an alternative school program
established under Article 13A of this Code, if available, for
the remainder of the suspension or expulsion. Each public
school and each private or nonpublic elementary or secondary
school in this State shall within 10 days after the student has
paid all of his or her outstanding fines and fees and at its
own expense forward an official transcript of the scholastic
records of each student transferring from that school in strict
accordance with the provisions of this Section and the rules
established by the State Board of Education as herein provided.
    (b) The State Board of Education shall develop a one-page
standard form that Illinois school districts are required to
provide to any student who is moving out of the school district
and that contains the information about whether or not the
student is "in good standing" and whether or not his or her
medical records are up-to-date and complete. As used in this
Section, "in good standing" means that the student is not being
disciplined by a suspension or expulsion, but is entitled to
attend classes. No school district is required to admit a new
student who is transferring from another Illinois school
district unless he or she can produce the standard form from
the student's previous school district enrollment. No school
district is required to admit a new student who is transferring
from an out-of-state public school unless the parent or
guardian of the student certifies in writing that the student
is not currently serving a suspension or expulsion imposed by
the school from which the student is transferring.
    (c) The State Board of Education shall, by rule, establish
a system to provide for the accurate tracking of transfer
students. This system shall, at a minimum, require that a
student be counted as a dropout in the calculation of a
school's or school district's annual student dropout rate
unless the school or school district to which the student
transferred (known hereafter in this subsection (c) as the
transferee school or school district) sends notification to the
school or school district from which the student transferred
(known hereafter in this subsection (c) as the transferor
school or school district) documenting that the student has
enrolled in the transferee school or school district. This
notification must occur within 150 days after the date the
student withdraws from the transferor school or school district
or the student shall be counted in the calculation of the
transferor school's or school district's annual student
dropout rate. A request by the transferee school or school
district to the transferor school or school district seeking
the student's academic transcripts or medical records shall be
considered without limitation adequate documentation of
enrollment. Each transferor school or school district shall
keep documentation of such transfer students for the minimum
period provided in the Illinois School Student Records Act. All
records indicating the school or school district to which a
student transferred are subject to the Illinois School Student
Records Act.
(Source: P.A. 91-365, eff. 7-30-99; 92-64, eff. 7-12-01.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2005