Distributed via Email: February 12, 2009

The spring legislative session of the 96^th General Assembly began in earnest this week as dozens of bills were considered in committees in both the House and Senate. Both chambers return to the Capitol next Wednesday for more committee action.

BILL ACTION THIS WEEK

HB 43 (Arroyo, D-Chicago) provides that on a school day when children are present and a potential hazard exists because of the close proximity of the motorized traffic, vehicles must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk rather than merely yielding the right-of-way. The bill was approved by the House Vehicle and Safety Committee and was sent to the full House.

HB 72 (D’Amico, D-Chicago) prohibits a person, regardless of age, to use a wireless telephone in a school speed zone or a construction or maintenance speed zone. The bill was approved by the House Vehicle and Safety Committee and was sent to the full House for consideration.

HB 156 (Pritchard, R-Hinckley), regarding the safety purposes for which surcharges imposed for certain violations of the special school zone speed limit may be used by school districts, it provides that those purposes include the Safe Routes to School Program and safety programs within the School Safety and Educational Improvement Block Grant Program. The bill was approved by the House Vehicle and Safety Committee and was sent to the full House for consideration.

HB 281 (Bellock, R-Westmont) requires that the State Board of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Public Health, develop and make available to each school board guidelines for the management of students with life-threatening food allergies and requires school boards to implement a policy based on these guidelines no later than Jan. 1, 2011. The bill was presented in the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee but no vote was taken.

HB 288 (Fritchey, D-Chicago) changes the title of the Silent Reflection and Student Prayer Act and allows a teacher to conduct (instead of requiring a teacher to observe) a brief period of silence at the opening of every school day with the participation of all pupils assembled. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the full House.

HB 308 (Madigan, D-Chicago) moves the date of the governor’s state budget Address to March 18 (instead of Feb. 18). The bill was approved by the Senate and will be sent to the governor.

HB 325 (Fortner, R-West Chicago), regarding a school district that forms a part of a Cook County school unit that was under the jurisdiction and authority of the township treasurer and trustees of schools of a township at the time those offices were abolished, it allows the school treasurer to also be a member of the school board (now prohibited). The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the full House.

HB 337 (Pritchard) only allows a school board to excuse pupils enrolled in grades 11 and 12 from engaging in physical education courses for ongoing participation in a marching band program (instead of allowing pupils in grades 9 through 12 enrolled in a marching band program for credit to be excused). The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the full House.

HB 353 (Winters, R-Shirley), regarding the sign required to be on the rear of school buses indicating the telephone number of the owner of the school bus, it deletes language providing that the sign shall indicate that the number is to be called to report erratic driving by the school bus driver. It adds language requiring that the sign shall be in the form "TO COMMENT ON MY DRIVING, CALL (area code and telephone number of school bus owner)". It does not require a change in the sign until the next time the bus owner was going to replace the sign. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and will be sent to the Senate for consideration.

SB 30 (Steans, D-Chicago) provides that on a school day when children are present and a potential hazard exists because of the close proximity of the motorized traffic, vehicles must stop and yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk rather than merely yielding the right-of-way. The bill was approved by the Senate Transportation Committee and was sent to the full Senate for consideration.

SB 35 (Garrett, D-Lake Forest) provides that for paid sick leave for adoption or placement for adoption, the school board may require that the teacher or other employee provide evidence that the formal adoption process is underway, and such leave is limited to 30 days unless a longer leave has been negotiated with the exclusive bargaining representative. It also provides that a school board may require a certificate from a physician as a basis for pay during leave after an absence of 30 days for child birth. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the full Senate for consideration.

SB 79 (Link, D-Vernon Hills) requires grantees under the Preschool for All Children program to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the appropriate local Head Start agency no later than 3 months after the award of a grantee's grant under the program. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the full Senate for consideration.

SB 152 (Garrett) requires that the State Board of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Public Health, develop and make available to each school board guidelines for the management of students with life-threatening food allergies and requires school boards to implement a policy based on these guidelines no later than Jan. 1, 2011. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the full Senate for consideration.

SB 153 (Garrett) requires that a school board that employs a person who is an elected trustee on the board of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) shall make available to the elected trustee at least 20 days of paid leave of absence per year for the purpose of attending meetings of the Fund's Board of Trustees, committee meetings of the board, and seminars regarding issues for which the board is responsible. IMRF must reimburse the school district for the actual cost of hiring a substitute employee during such leaves of absence. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the full Senate for consideration.

BILLS SCHEDULED FOR COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK

*House committees have been officially scheduled for next week while the Senate committees have not been. Listed below are Senate committees that we expect to meet and the bills likely to be considered.

HOUSE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Thursday, Feb. 19, 8 a.m., Room 114, State Capitol

HB 18 (Flowers, D-Chicago) allows the Chicago Board of Education to implement a program similar to the Challenge Day organization to establish common bonds between youth of various backgrounds and ethnicities.

HB 19 (Flowers) requires the Chicago Board of Education to require that all students wash their hands with an antiseptic soap or detergent before consuming any meal at school and shall establish nationally accepted standards and provide facilities, materials, and supervision necessary to implement this requirement.

HB 27 (Flowers) requires the Department of Public Health to establish a 3-year pilot program for Chicago public schools requiring an electrocardiogram (EKG) test for the athletic physical for student athletes.

HB 33 (Flowers) requires Chicago public schools to have all K-8 schools provide recess that must be at least 10 minutes in length and must occur once in the middle of each morning. It also requires that the principal must ensure that students are given the opportunity to engage in physical exercise during each recess.

HB 209 (Golar, D-Chicago) provides that if a charter school fails to fulfill any of the part of the charter then the local school board or the State Board of Education (if it granted the charter) shall notify the charter school in writing of non-renewal or revocation and the charter school must then submit a plan to rectify the problem and implement the plan. If the charter school fails to rectify the problem, then the charter must be revoked or not renewed.

HB 363 (Soto, D-Chicago), for Chicago public schools, creates a Special Joint Chicago Facilities sub-committee to discuss school closings, openings, repairs, additions, school phase-outs, consolidations and boundary changes.

HB 392 (Golar) makes various changes in the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act.

HB 401 (Davis, M., D-Chicago) provides that a charter school may not employ anyone in an instructional position or any paraprofessional or school-related personnel who are not state-certified and highly qualified as defined in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

HB 421 (Davis, M.) prohibits a charter school from establishing or operating a contract school.

HB 449 (Ford, D-Chicago) requires the State Board of Education to establish a standard student expulsion policy that applies to each school district. School boards would be required to provide a copy of the district’s pupil discipline policy to the parents of each pupil.

HB 473 (Mitchell, J., R-Rock Falls) allows a school district that receives proceeds from the school facilities county sales tax to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with a municipality to share those proceeds.

HB 475 (Winters, R-Rockford), regarding textbook and other fee waivers, changes the reference for eligibility from children eligible under the Community School Lunch Program to children eligible under the federal National School Lunch Act.

HB 495 (Mathias, R-Buffalo Grove) requires that the mandatory school facility inspections currently required of the Regional Superintendent of Schools be overseen by the Regional Superintendent but carried out by an independent third party, not associated with the school’s design or construction, that has a minimum of 6,000 hours of relevant training.

HB 538 (Jefferson, D-Rockford) requires each school board with schools in low-income and high violence areas to have at least 1 full-time social worker available for students and must offer at least one course in art. If an elementary school, it must also have a gymnasium available for recess and have at least 1 recess per school day.

HB 548 (Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn) provides that for paid sick leave for adoption or placement for adoption, the school board may require that the teacher or other employee provide evidence that the formal adoption process is underway, and such leave is limited to 30 days unless a longer leave has been negotiated with the exclusive bargaining representative. It also provides that a school board may require a certificate from a physician, advanced practice nurse, physician assistant, or spiritual adviser or practitioner as a basis for pay during leave after an absence of 30 days for birth.

HB 557 (Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora) places elementary and secondary education facilities under the Interference with a Public Institution of Higher Education Act. A person commits interference with a public institution of education by denying school personnel or visitors freedom of movement at the institution; use of property or facilities; right of ingress or egress; interference with the duties; pursuit of activities as determined by the institution or knowingly occupying any building or property after due notice to depart. The infraction constitutes a Class 3 felony with up to 10 years imprisonment and prosecution for intimidation.

HB 605 (Yarbrough, D-Broadview) extends the deadline set for the Ensuring Success in School Task Force to Dec. 1, 2009.

HB 613 (Eddy, R-Hutsonville) provides that the acceptance of bids sealed by a bidder and the opening of these bids at a public bid opening may be permitted by an electronic process.

HB 628 (Osterman, D-Chicago) provides that a private evaluator or expert retained by a parent shall be afforded reasonable and unimpeded access to educational personnel, facilities, classrooms and buildings – and to the child – for the purpose of participation in a special education student’s proposed educational program and placement. It also allows the same for the child’s parent or guardian.

HB 640 (Black, R-Danville) requires that all children in 3^rd and 7^th grades of any public, private, or parochial school to have a scoliosis screening.

HB 645 (Burke, D-Chicago), regarding schools require a doctor’s note for sick leave for employees or absence for students, allows chiropractors to provide verification.

HB 684 (Burns, D-Chicago) requires the State Board of Education to make grants, subject to appropriation, for funding community schools.

HB 725 (Watson, R-Jacksonville) encourages school boards to implement American Sign Language (ASL) courses into school foreign language curriculum.

HB 737 (Smith, D-Canton), an Alliance initiative, affects various aspects of the Illinois Distinguished Principal Leadership Institute.

HB 739 (Smith) requires the State Board of Education to provide financial incentives to school districts that participate in energy conservation.

HB 740 (Smith) requires the State Board of Education to establish a 2-year pilot program to assist in the creation and promotion of green career and technical education programs in public secondary schools.

HB 806 (Fortner, R-West Chicago) provides that children who have attended a state-certified, private preschool and continued their education at that school through kindergarten, and who will attain age 6 on or before December 31, may attend first grade upon commencement of such term.

HB 809 (Fortner), regarding school districts that enter into joint agreements for special education services, removes the petition requirement for removal or addition if all members adopt concurring resolutions. It also provides that the contract of a director of a joint agreement program may not be offered or accepted for less than 1 year or more than 3 years.

HB 835 (Coulson, R-Glenview) provides that the determination of eligibility for special education must be made and the IEP must be completed within 60 calendar days from the date of written parental consent for both pre-kindergarten students and for all other special education students.

HB 836 (Coulson) provides that determination of special education service eligibility and the IEP meeting shall be completed within 60 calendar (instead of school) days from the date of written parental consent.

HOUSE JUDICIARY – CIVIL LAW COMMITTEE
Thursday, Feb. 19, 8 a.m., Room C-1, Stratton Office Building

HB 279 (Bellock) includes elementary and secondary schools in the provisions of the Illinois Human Rights Act prohibiting sexual harassment.

HOUSE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Thursday, Feb. 19, 10:30 a.m., Room 118, State Capitol

HB 618 (Ford) requires that all receipts from the Illinois Lottery are to be distributed to each school district based upon the proportion of lottery sales in that school district in relation to statewide lottery sales.

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

SB 102 (Trotter, D-Chicago) prohibits public school cafeterias from using vegetable oils containing trans fats.

SB 144 (Demuzio, D-Carlinville) requires school boards to make school buildings available for use as civil defense shelters for all persons and to cooperate with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, local organizations for civil defense, disaster relief organizations, and federal agencies concerned with civil defense.

SB 182 (Cronin, R-Elmhurst) removes the limit on the total number of charter schools that may operate at any one time.

SB 186 (Lightford, D-Maywood) requires the Cook County Board to provide the regional superintendent of schools with a suitable office with necessary furniture and office supplies.

SB 187 (Maloney, D-Chicago) allows for a chief school business official endorsement if, among other conditions, the certificate holder has 2 years of university-approved practical experience (as an alternative to requiring 2 years of administrative experience in school business management).

SB 226 (Martinez, D-Chicago) makes various changes to the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative.

SB 235 (Lightford) provides that principals hired on or after July 1, 2008 may participate in a second year of mentoring through the new principal mentoring program if it is determined by the State Superintendent of Education that sufficient funding exists for such participation. It removes a provision requiring the completion of a survey of progress and provides that the master principal designation program includes mentoring master level principals.

SB 238 (Steans) establishes the Illinois Charter Public School Commission as an independent, State-level, charter school authorizing entity working in collaboration with the State Board of Education.

SB 261 (Noland, D-Elgin), in provisions concerning sick leave for education support personnel (ESP), it provides that if an ESP does not use the full amount of annual leave allowed, the unused amount shall be allowed to accumulate to a minimum available leave of 240 (instead of 180) days at full pay. If an ESP is subject to a reduction in force, the school district shall maintain on its records all accumulated sick leave days, which must be re-credited to the employee at the time of recall. If the employee is not recalled, then the district shall pay the employee, at the expiration of the recall period, the cash value for all accumulated sick leave at the daily rate of pay at the time of the layoff.

SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

SJRCA 9 (Cronin) proposes to change the Illinois Constitution to allow for the recall of elected officials, including: all executive branches (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, and comptroller), judges, members of the General Assembly, and elected officers of units of local governments and school districts.

*The legislative report is written and edited by the lobbyists of the Illinois Association of School Boards to provide information to the members of the organizations that comprise the Statewide School Management Alliance.

General Assembly Bill Text/Status

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