Public Act 101-0088
 
HB2272 EnrolledLRB101 05121 AXK 50133 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
34-18 as follows:
 
    (105 ILCS 5/34-18)  (from Ch. 122, par. 34-18)
    Sec. 34-18. Powers of the board. The board shall exercise
general supervision and jurisdiction over the public education
and the public school system of the city, and, except as
otherwise provided by this Article, shall have power:
        1. To make suitable provision for the establishment and
    maintenance throughout the year or for such portion thereof
    as it may direct, not less than 9 months, of schools of all
    grades and kinds, including normal schools, high schools,
    night schools, schools for defectives and delinquents,
    parental and truant schools, schools for the blind, the
    deaf and persons with physical disabilities, schools or
    classes in manual training, constructural and vocational
    teaching, domestic arts and physical culture, vocation and
    extension schools and lecture courses, and all other
    educational courses and facilities, including
    establishing, equipping, maintaining and operating
    playgrounds and recreational programs, when such programs
    are conducted in, adjacent to, or connected with any public
    school under the general supervision and jurisdiction of
    the board; provided that the calendar for the school term
    and any changes must be submitted to and approved by the
    State Board of Education before the calendar or changes may
    take effect, and provided that in allocating funds from
    year to year for the operation of all attendance centers
    within the district, the board shall ensure that
    supplemental general State aid or supplemental grant funds
    are allocated and applied in accordance with Section 18-8,
    18-8.05, or 18-8.15. To admit to such schools without
    charge foreign exchange students who are participants in an
    organized exchange student program which is authorized by
    the board. The board shall permit all students to enroll in
    apprenticeship programs in trade schools operated by the
    board, whether those programs are union-sponsored or not.
    No student shall be refused admission into or be excluded
    from any course of instruction offered in the common
    schools by reason of that student's sex. No student shall
    be denied equal access to physical education and
    interscholastic athletic programs supported from school
    district funds or denied participation in comparable
    physical education and athletic programs solely by reason
    of the student's sex. Equal access to programs supported
    from school district funds and comparable programs will be
    defined in rules promulgated by the State Board of
    Education in consultation with the Illinois High School
    Association. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
    Article, neither the board of education nor any local
    school council or other school official shall recommend
    that children with disabilities be placed into regular
    education classrooms unless those children with
    disabilities are provided with supplementary services to
    assist them so that they benefit from the regular classroom
    instruction and are included on the teacher's regular
    education class register;
        2. To furnish lunches to pupils, to make a reasonable
    charge therefor, and to use school funds for the payment of
    such expenses as the board may determine are necessary in
    conducting the school lunch program;
        3. To co-operate with the circuit court;
        4. To make arrangements with the public or quasi-public
    libraries and museums for the use of their facilities by
    teachers and pupils of the public schools;
        5. To employ dentists and prescribe their duties for
    the purpose of treating the pupils in the schools, but
    accepting such treatment shall be optional with parents or
    guardians;
        6. To grant the use of assembly halls and classrooms
    when not otherwise needed, including light, heat, and
    attendants, for free public lectures, concerts, and other
    educational and social interests, free of charge, under
    such provisions and control as the principal of the
    affected attendance center may prescribe;
        7. To apportion the pupils to the several schools;
    provided that no pupil shall be excluded from or segregated
    in any such school on account of his color, race, sex, or
    nationality. The board shall take into consideration the
    prevention of segregation and the elimination of
    separation of children in public schools because of color,
    race, sex, or nationality. Except that children may be
    committed to or attend parental and social adjustment
    schools established and maintained either for boys or girls
    only. All records pertaining to the creation, alteration or
    revision of attendance areas shall be open to the public.
    Nothing herein shall limit the board's authority to
    establish multi-area attendance centers or other student
    assignment systems for desegregation purposes or
    otherwise, and to apportion the pupils to the several
    schools. Furthermore, beginning in school year 1994-95,
    pursuant to a board plan adopted by October 1, 1993, the
    board shall offer, commencing on a phased-in basis, the
    opportunity for families within the school district to
    apply for enrollment of their children in any attendance
    center within the school district which does not have
    selective admission requirements approved by the board.
    The appropriate geographical area in which such open
    enrollment may be exercised shall be determined by the
    board of education. Such children may be admitted to any
    such attendance center on a space available basis after all
    children residing within such attendance center's area
    have been accommodated. If the number of applicants from
    outside the attendance area exceed the space available,
    then successful applicants shall be selected by lottery.
    The board of education's open enrollment plan must include
    provisions that allow low income students to have access to
    transportation needed to exercise school choice. Open
    enrollment shall be in compliance with the provisions of
    the Consent Decree and Desegregation Plan cited in Section
    34-1.01;
        8. To approve programs and policies for providing
    transportation services to students. Nothing herein shall
    be construed to permit or empower the State Board of
    Education to order, mandate, or require busing or other
    transportation of pupils for the purpose of achieving
    racial balance in any school;
        9. Subject to the limitations in this Article, to
    establish and approve system-wide curriculum objectives
    and standards, including graduation standards, which
    reflect the multi-cultural diversity in the city and are
    consistent with State law, provided that for all purposes
    of this Article courses or proficiency in American Sign
    Language shall be deemed to constitute courses or
    proficiency in a foreign language; and to employ principals
    and teachers, appointed as provided in this Article, and
    fix their compensation. The board shall prepare such
    reports related to minimal competency testing as may be
    requested by the State Board of Education, and in addition
    shall monitor and approve special education and bilingual
    education programs and policies within the district to
    assure that appropriate services are provided in
    accordance with applicable State and federal laws to
    children requiring services and education in those areas;
        10. To employ non-teaching personnel or utilize
    volunteer personnel for: (i) non-teaching duties not
    requiring instructional judgment or evaluation of pupils,
    including library duties; and (ii) supervising study
    halls, long distance teaching reception areas used
    incident to instructional programs transmitted by
    electronic media such as computers, video, and audio,
    detention and discipline areas, and school-sponsored
    extracurricular activities. The board may further utilize
    volunteer non-certificated personnel or employ
    non-certificated personnel to assist in the instruction of
    pupils under the immediate supervision of a teacher holding
    a valid certificate, directly engaged in teaching subject
    matter or conducting activities; provided that the teacher
    shall be continuously aware of the non-certificated
    persons' activities and shall be able to control or modify
    them. The general superintendent shall determine
    qualifications of such personnel and shall prescribe rules
    for determining the duties and activities to be assigned to
    such personnel;
        10.5. To utilize volunteer personnel from a regional
    School Crisis Assistance Team (S.C.A.T.), created as part
    of the Safe to Learn Program established pursuant to
    Section 25 of the Illinois Violence Prevention Act of 1995,
    to provide assistance to schools in times of violence or
    other traumatic incidents within a school community by
    providing crisis intervention services to lessen the
    effects of emotional trauma on individuals and the
    community; the School Crisis Assistance Team Steering
    Committee shall determine the qualifications for
    volunteers;
        11. To provide television studio facilities in not to
    exceed one school building and to provide programs for
    educational purposes, provided, however, that the board
    shall not construct, acquire, operate, or maintain a
    television transmitter; to grant the use of its studio
    facilities to a licensed television station located in the
    school district; and to maintain and operate not to exceed
    one school radio transmitting station and provide programs
    for educational purposes;
        12. To offer, if deemed appropriate, outdoor education
    courses, including field trips within the State of
    Illinois, or adjacent states, and to use school educational
    funds for the expense of the said outdoor educational
    programs, whether within the school district or not;
        13. During that period of the calendar year not
    embraced within the regular school term, to provide and
    conduct courses in subject matters normally embraced in the
    program of the schools during the regular school term and
    to give regular school credit for satisfactory completion
    by the student of such courses as may be approved for
    credit by the State Board of Education;
        14. To insure against any loss or liability of the
    board, the former School Board Nominating Commission,
    Local School Councils, the Chicago Schools Academic
    Accountability Council, or the former Subdistrict Councils
    or of any member, officer, agent or employee thereof,
    resulting from alleged violations of civil rights arising
    from incidents occurring on or after September 5, 1967 or
    from the wrongful or negligent act or omission of any such
    person whether occurring within or without the school
    premises, provided the officer, agent or employee was, at
    the time of the alleged violation of civil rights or
    wrongful act or omission, acting within the scope of his
    employment or under direction of the board, the former
    School Board Nominating Commission, the Chicago Schools
    Academic Accountability Council, Local School Councils, or
    the former Subdistrict Councils; and to provide for or
    participate in insurance plans for its officers and
    employees, including but not limited to retirement
    annuities, medical, surgical and hospitalization benefits
    in such types and amounts as may be determined by the
    board; provided, however, that the board shall contract for
    such insurance only with an insurance company authorized to
    do business in this State. Such insurance may include
    provision for employees who rely on treatment by prayer or
    spiritual means alone for healing, in accordance with the
    tenets and practice of a recognized religious
    denomination;
        15. To contract with the corporate authorities of any
    municipality or the county board of any county, as the case
    may be, to provide for the regulation of traffic in parking
    areas of property used for school purposes, in such manner
    as is provided by Section 11-209 of The Illinois Vehicle
    Code, approved September 29, 1969, as amended;
        16. (a) To provide, on an equal basis, access to a high
    school campus and student directory information to the
    official recruiting representatives of the armed forces of
    Illinois and the United States for the purposes of
    informing students of the educational and career
    opportunities available in the military if the board has
    provided such access to persons or groups whose purpose is
    to acquaint students with educational or occupational
    opportunities available to them. The board is not required
    to give greater notice regarding the right of access to
    recruiting representatives than is given to other persons
    and groups. In this paragraph 16, "directory information"
    means a high school student's name, address, and telephone
    number.
        (b) If a student or his or her parent or guardian
    submits a signed, written request to the high school before
    the end of the student's sophomore year (or if the student
    is a transfer student, by another time set by the high
    school) that indicates that the student or his or her
    parent or guardian does not want the student's directory
    information to be provided to official recruiting
    representatives under subsection (a) of this Section, the
    high school may not provide access to the student's
    directory information to these recruiting representatives.
    The high school shall notify its students and their parents
    or guardians of the provisions of this subsection (b).
        (c) A high school may require official recruiting
    representatives of the armed forces of Illinois and the
    United States to pay a fee for copying and mailing a
    student's directory information in an amount that is not
    more than the actual costs incurred by the high school.
        (d) Information received by an official recruiting
    representative under this Section may be used only to
    provide information to students concerning educational and
    career opportunities available in the military and may not
    be released to a person who is not involved in recruiting
    students for the armed forces of Illinois or the United
    States;
        17. (a) To sell or market any computer program
    developed by an employee of the school district, provided
    that such employee developed the computer program as a
    direct result of his or her duties with the school district
    or through the utilization of the school district resources
    or facilities. The employee who developed the computer
    program shall be entitled to share in the proceeds of such
    sale or marketing of the computer program. The distribution
    of such proceeds between the employee and the school
    district shall be as agreed upon by the employee and the
    school district, except that neither the employee nor the
    school district may receive more than 90% of such proceeds.
    The negotiation for an employee who is represented by an
    exclusive bargaining representative may be conducted by
    such bargaining representative at the employee's request.
        (b) For the purpose of this paragraph 17:
            (1) "Computer" means an internally programmed,
        general purpose digital device capable of
        automatically accepting data, processing data and
        supplying the results of the operation.
            (2) "Computer program" means a series of coded
        instructions or statements in a form acceptable to a
        computer, which causes the computer to process data in
        order to achieve a certain result.
            (3) "Proceeds" means profits derived from
        marketing or sale of a product after deducting the
        expenses of developing and marketing such product;
        18. To delegate to the general superintendent of
    schools, by resolution, the authority to approve contracts
    and expenditures in amounts of $10,000 or less;
        19. Upon the written request of an employee, to
    withhold from the compensation of that employee any dues,
    payments or contributions payable by such employee to any
    labor organization as defined in the Illinois Educational
    Labor Relations Act. Under such arrangement, an amount
    shall be withheld from each regular payroll period which is
    equal to the pro rata share of the annual dues plus any
    payments or contributions, and the board shall transmit
    such withholdings to the specified labor organization
    within 10 working days from the time of the withholding;
        19a. Upon receipt of notice from the comptroller of a
    municipality with a population of 500,000 or more, a county
    with a population of 3,000,000 or more, the Cook County
    Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the
    Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago
    Transit Authority, or a housing authority of a municipality
    with a population of 500,000 or more that a debt is due and
    owing the municipality, the county, the Cook County Forest
    Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the
    Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago
    Transit Authority, or the housing authority by an employee
    of the Chicago Board of Education, to withhold, from the
    compensation of that employee, the amount of the debt that
    is due and owing and pay the amount withheld to the
    municipality, the county, the Cook County Forest Preserve
    District, the Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan
    Water Reclamation District, the Chicago Transit Authority,
    or the housing authority; provided, however, that the
    amount deducted from any one salary or wage payment shall
    not exceed 25% of the net amount of the payment. Before the
    Board deducts any amount from any salary or wage of an
    employee under this paragraph, the municipality, the
    county, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the
    Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation
    District, the Chicago Transit Authority, or the housing
    authority shall certify that (i) the employee has been
    afforded an opportunity for a hearing to dispute the debt
    that is due and owing the municipality, the county, the
    Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park
    District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the
    Chicago Transit Authority, or the housing authority and
    (ii) the employee has received notice of a wage deduction
    order and has been afforded an opportunity for a hearing to
    object to the order. For purposes of this paragraph, "net
    amount" means that part of the salary or wage payment
    remaining after the deduction of any amounts required by
    law to be deducted and "debt due and owing" means (i) a
    specified sum of money owed to the municipality, the
    county, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the
    Chicago Park District, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation
    District, the Chicago Transit Authority, or the housing
    authority for services, work, or goods, after the period
    granted for payment has expired, or (ii) a specified sum of
    money owed to the municipality, the county, the Cook County
    Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District, the
    Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the Chicago
    Transit Authority, or the housing authority pursuant to a
    court order or order of an administrative hearing officer
    after the exhaustion of, or the failure to exhaust,
    judicial review;
        20. The board is encouraged to employ a sufficient
    number of certified school counselors to maintain a
    student/counselor ratio of 250 to 1 by July 1, 1990. Each
    counselor shall spend at least 75% of his work time in
    direct contact with students and shall maintain a record of
    such time;
        21. To make available to students vocational and career
    counseling and to establish 5 special career counseling
    days for students and parents. On these days
    representatives of local businesses and industries shall
    be invited to the school campus and shall inform students
    of career opportunities available to them in the various
    businesses and industries. Special consideration shall be
    given to counseling minority students as to career
    opportunities available to them in various fields. For the
    purposes of this paragraph, minority student means a person
    who is any of the following:
        (a) American Indian or Alaska Native (a person having
    origins in any of the original peoples of North and South
    America, including Central America, and who maintains
    tribal affiliation or community attachment).
        (b) Asian (a person having origins in any of the
    original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the
    Indian subcontinent, including, but not limited to,
    Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan,
    the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam).
        (c) Black or African American (a person having origins
    in any of the black racial groups of Africa). Terms such as
    "Haitian" or "Negro" can be used in addition to "Black or
    African American".
        (d) Hispanic or Latino (a person of Cuban, Mexican,
    Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish
    culture or origin, regardless of race).
        (e) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (a person
    having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii,
    Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands).
        Counseling days shall not be in lieu of regular school
    days;
        22. To report to the State Board of Education the
    annual student dropout rate and number of students who
    graduate from, transfer from or otherwise leave bilingual
    programs;
        23. Except as otherwise provided in the Abused and
    Neglected Child Reporting Act or other applicable State or
    federal law, to permit school officials to withhold, from
    any person, information on the whereabouts of any child
    removed from school premises when the child has been taken
    into protective custody as a victim of suspected child
    abuse. School officials shall direct such person to the
    Department of Children and Family Services, or to the local
    law enforcement agency if appropriate;
        24. To develop a policy, based on the current state of
    existing school facilities, projected enrollment and
    efficient utilization of available resources, for capital
    improvement of schools and school buildings within the
    district, addressing in that policy both the relative
    priority for major repairs, renovations and additions to
    school facilities, and the advisability or necessity of
    building new school facilities or closing existing schools
    to meet current or projected demographic patterns within
    the district;
        25. To make available to the students in every high
    school attendance center the ability to take all courses
    necessary to comply with the Board of Higher Education's
    college entrance criteria effective in 1993;
        26. To encourage mid-career changes into the teaching
    profession, whereby qualified professionals become
    certified teachers, by allowing credit for professional
    employment in related fields when determining point of
    entry on teacher pay scale;
        27. To provide or contract out training programs for
    administrative personnel and principals with revised or
    expanded duties pursuant to this Act in order to assure
    they have the knowledge and skills to perform their duties;
        28. To establish a fund for the prioritized special
    needs programs, and to allocate such funds and other lump
    sum amounts to each attendance center in a manner
    consistent with the provisions of part 4 of Section 34-2.3.
    Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to require any
    additional appropriations of State funds for this purpose;
        29. (Blank);
        30. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or
    any other law to the contrary, to contract with third
    parties for services otherwise performed by employees,
    including those in a bargaining unit, and to layoff those
    employees upon 14 days written notice to the affected
    employees. Those contracts may be for a period not to
    exceed 5 years and may be awarded on a system-wide basis.
    The board may not operate more than 30 contract schools,
    provided that the board may operate an additional 5
    contract turnaround schools pursuant to item (5.5) of
    subsection (d) of Section 34-8.3 of this Code, and the
    governing bodies of contract schools are subject to the
    Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act;
        31. To promulgate rules establishing procedures
    governing the layoff or reduction in force of employees and
    the recall of such employees, including, but not limited
    to, criteria for such layoffs, reductions in force or
    recall rights of such employees and the weight to be given
    to any particular criterion. Such criteria shall take into
    account factors including, but not be limited to,
    qualifications, certifications, experience, performance
    ratings or evaluations, and any other factors relating to
    an employee's job performance;
        32. To develop a policy to prevent nepotism in the
    hiring of personnel or the selection of contractors;
        33. (Blank); and
        34. To establish a Labor Management Council to the
    board comprised of representatives of the board, the chief
    executive officer, and those labor organizations that are
    the exclusive representatives of employees of the board and
    to promulgate policies and procedures for the operation of
    the Council.
    The specifications of the powers herein granted are not to
be construed as exclusive but the board shall also exercise all
other powers that they may be requisite or proper for the
maintenance and the development of a public school system, not
inconsistent with the other provisions of this Article or
provisions of this Code which apply to all school districts.
    In addition to the powers herein granted and authorized to
be exercised by the board, it shall be the duty of the board to
review or to direct independent reviews of special education
expenditures and services. The board shall file a report of
such review with the General Assembly on or before May 1, 1990.
(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15; 100-465, eff. 8-31-17;
100-1046, eff. 8-23-18.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2020