Distributed via Email: February 27, 2009

HEAVY WORKLOAD FOR LEGISLATORS

Despite the overwhelming legislative priorities this year of filling in a multi-billion dollar budget hole, paying old state bills, and addressing state infrastructure needs, pension responsibilities, and school funding – legislators have also introduced a record number of new bills. The House of Representatives, which traditionally would file about 4,000 bills in the two-year legislative cycle, have already introduced 4,088 bills in the last six weeks (and will add more to the list today). The Senate has introduced 2,354 bills. So when the bill introduction deadline finally arrives at close of business today, there will likely be over 7,000 pieces of legislation to sift through. Both chambers return to work next week to continue considering bills in committees.

HOUSE APPROVES ISBE REORGANIZATION BILL

The Illinois House of Representatives approved a bill to restructure the Illinois State Board of Education. HB 80 (Lang, D-Chicago) passed out of the House on a vote of 91-24. The bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration. For more information on the bill, please refer to last week's legislative report.

HOUSE PANEL ON SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY

A newly created committee in the House of Representatives will consider a school accountability measure next week. The House Public Policy & Accountability for Education Committee will meet next Wednesday to take testimony on HB 744 (Ryg, D-Vernon Hills). The committee will begin at 2:00 p.m. in Room 115 of the State Capitol.

The bill is identical to last year's HB 5769 which contains many of the school accountability provisions recommended by the Metropolitan Mayor's Caucus. Most of the changes focus on additional financial reporting and fiscal transparency. HB 744 does contain many changes recommended by the Alliance – changes that would make the implementation of such a plan much less burdensome on local school districts. The Alliance still opposes the bill, however, because of a provision requiring an “Education Inspector General” and a provision requiring training for school board members. Conversations and negotiations are ongoing between the Alliance and the bill sponsor.

The bill currently establishes the office of Education Inspector General within the Attorney General's office; requires school districts to use a competitive request for proposal process in selecting auditors for the annual audit, requires school boards to adopt a formal financial policy; requires school boards to develop a long-term financial plan and a 5-year capital improvement plan; requires school districts to include a "user-friendly" executive summary as part of the district's budget; and requires all school board members to complete at least 4 hours of training within one year of the effective date of this act or within one year after election to the board.

Another bill, HB 788 (Rita, D-Blue Island) is also posted for the committee. This bill, opposed by the Alliance, would allow the ISBE to certify that a school district is in “management difficulty” if the school district has been engaged in a continuing and repeated pattern of documented and substantiated mismanagement. The state board could then appoint a Management Oversight Panel for the school district that allows for the removal of the superintendent and school business official and the usurpation of the school board's decision-making authority.

GRANTS FOR DEFIBRILLATORS AVAILABLE

The Illinois Rural Health Association has announced that funding has been received by the State of Illinois to increase the availability of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) in rural areas. This grant opportunity to purchase an AED is available for eligible rural areas in Illinois as defined by current federal guidelines. However, due to the limited number of available grant awards, only schools that are on the financial watch list are eligible. For more information on this AED grant project, please contact the Illinois Rural Health Association office at 866-921-4742 or IRHA@sbcglobal.net

“HOT BILL” ACTION FROM LAST WEEK

SB 123 (Demuzio, D-Carlinville) reduces the probationary period before achieving tenure for a teacher to two years (instead of four years), if the teacher had acquired tenure previously in another school district. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the Senate Education Committee.

SB 187 (Maloney, D-Chicago), an Alliance initiative, 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). The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee.

SB 235 (Lightford, D-Chicago), an Alliance initiative, affects various aspects of the Illinois Distinguished Principal Leadership Institute. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee.

SB 1276 (Demuzio), an Alliance initiative, establishes a superintendent mentoring program. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee.

HB 250 (Joyce, D-Chicago) requires that Cook County reassess all property in the county by October 1, 2009, for which 2009 is not the general assessment year and also provides that reassessments may not be done through the application of one or more factors, mathematical or otherwise. The Cook County assessor estimates the cost to be $23 million. The bill was approved by the House Revenue and Finance Committee Subcommittee on Property Taxation and was sent to full committee.

HB 493 (Pritchard, R-Hinckley), an Alliance initiative, authorizes an additional statement to be added to the Truth in Taxation Notice for taxing districts. The bill allows the statement explaining PTELL and CPI to be added but it is not required. The bill was approved by the House Revenue and Finance Committee Subcommittee on Property Taxation and was sent to full committee.

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 as a basis for pay during leave after an absence of 30 days for child birth. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

OTHER BILL ACTION FROM LAST WEEK

HB 17 (Flowers, D-Chicago) adds commemorative holidays for school districts and requires the study of Black History to include the Gettysburg Address, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech", and President Barack Obama's victory speech. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, failed a second time in the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

HB 18 (Flowers) 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. The bill failed in the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

HB 19 (Flowers) requires the Chicago Board of Education to require that all students wash their hands before consuming any meal at school. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 78 (Cole, R-Grayslake) creates the Farm Fresh Schools Program Act to increase access to and promote the consumption of locally grown fruits and vegetables in schools. The bill contains no mandated provisions for school districts but does establish a competitive grant process for schools to participate in the program. The bill was approved by the House and was sent to the Senate.

HB 238 (Tracy, R-Quincy) provides that the Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption and Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption continues if the taxpayer becomes a resident of an assisted living facility. The bill was approved by the House Revenue and Finance Committee Subcommittee on Property Taxation and was sent to full committee for consideration.

HB 326 (Pihos), as amended, provides that nothing in the Illinois Student Records Act shall be construed to impair or limit the confidentiality of information communicated in confidence to a school social worker, school counselor, school psychologist, or intern working under the direct supervision of a school social worker, school counselor, or school psychologist. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

HB 392 (Golar, D-Chicago) makes various changes in the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Act. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

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. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

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. The bill, supported by the Alliance, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 645 (Burke, D-Chicago) allows chiropractors to provide verification when schools require a doctor's note for sick leave for employees or absence for students. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 827 (Black, R-Danville), for mobile home taxation purposes, defines “permanent foundation” and requires the Department of Revenue to adopt rules setting forth standards that county or township assessment officers must use in determining whether a dwelling is a mobile home or real property. The bill was approved by the House Revenue and Finance Committee Subcommittee on Property Taxation and was sent to full committee for consideration.

HB 944 (Eddy) disallows certification of a school district as in financial difficulty as a result of the failure of the Comptroller to disburse General State Aid, special education reimbursements, summer school payments, and transportation reimbursement. The bill, supported by the Alliance, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

HB 952 (Beiser, D-Alton) amends the Prevailing Wage Act to provide that the Act applies to the demolition of public works.  The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House Labor Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 955 (Reitz, D-Sparta), an Alliance initiative, provides that a pupil who becomes non-resident during a grading period or school term (instead of just school term) shall not be charged tuition for the remainder of the grading period in which he or she became a non-resident pupil. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

HB 972 (Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora) requires a public school to hold a moment of silence if school is in session on November 11, Veterans' Day. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 973 (Chapa LaVia) provides that the Comprehensive Health Education Program shall include instruction in grades 8-12 on teen dating violence. The bill failed to gain approval by the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

HB 987 (McCarthy, D-Orland Park) requires schools to provide transportation for pupils residing a distance of 1 mile instead of 1 ½ miles or more from school. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was referred to a sub-committee.

HB 999 (Eddy) allows a school district to establish a line of credit not to exceed 95% of the amount of property taxes most recently levied for educational, operations and maintenance, transportation or other tax levy purposes or any combination thereof. Moneys borrowed shall be applied to the purposes for which the tax or any combination of taxes may be levied (instead of purposes for which they were obtained). The bill, supported by the Alliance, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 1035 (Flider, D-Mt. Zion) requires school districts to provide instruction on disability history, people with disabilities and the disability rights movement. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

HB 1107 (Eddy), for health/life safety repairs, a school district will have the ability to use health health/life safety funds for those repairs that occur because of an emergency where prior approval from the State Board of Education was not possible because of the nature of the emergency. The bill, supported by the Alliance, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 1108 (Eddy), beginning July 1, 2009, provides that an advisory board for professional development shall be established within each region or group of regions operating as a part of an intergovernmental agreement. The board will advise the regional superintendent concerning the planning and delivery of professional development programs and services. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor.

HB 1197 (Black, R-Danville) provides that if St. Joseph-Ogden CHSD 305 has levied and the county clerk has extended the taxes for health/life safety purposes without certificates of the regional superintendent of schools and the State Board of Education, then the tax levies and extensions and expenditures by the school district are valid. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

SB 182 (Cronin, R-Elmhurst) removes the limit on the total number of charter schools that may operate at any one time. The bill was assigned to a Senate Education sub-committee.

SB 226 (Martinez, D-Chicago) makes changes to the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee.

SB 1293 (Clayborne, D-E. St. Louis) adjusts school district debt limitations for Belle Valley S.D. #119. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee.

SB 1412 (Harmon, D-Oak Park), with respect to the Early Childhood Education Block Grant, provides that not less than 11% (instead of exactly 11%) of the grant shall be used to fund programs for children ages 0-3. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee.

BILLS SCHEDULED FOR COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK

HOUSE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Wednesday, March 4, 8:00 a.m., Room 114, State Capitol

HB 1326 (Boland, D-Moline) requires school boards to adopt a policy that requires any student who is at least 18 years to register to vote in order to obtain a diploma.

HB 1361 (Rose, R-Charleston) provides that the school district can be reimbursed for transportation of pupils enrolled in early education programs when they are transported at the same time as other eligible pupils.

HB 2254 (Davis, M. D-Chicago) provides that for Chicago Public Schools, if a school fails to meet adequate yearly progress for 2 consecutive school years and is located in a violence-prone area, then the Chicago Board of Education shall require that students receive 10-15 minutes of physical activity per day, the school must have one full-time social worker on-site, and after school physical activity and academic programs be available.

HB 2258 (Verschoore, D-Rock Island) provides that a school board shall require that high school students participating in athletics have a hernia check performed before being allowed to participate. The health form must include a question of whether the student's family has a medical history of cancer. It also requires that the Comprehensive Health Education Program have instruction on testicular cancer.

HB 2291 (Miller, D-Dolton) requires each school board to assess annually the physical fitness levels of all students in grades 5, 7, and 9 and that results shall be reported on the school district's school report card along with the average number of minutes per week of physical education for each grade level.

HB 2321 (Brauer, R-Springfield) allows Rochester CUSD 3a to issue bonds with an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $18,500,000 instead of $15,000,000.

HB 2362 (Smith, D-Pekin), to the provisions providing for exceptions from the bidding requirement that certain contracts be awarded to lowest responsible bidder, adds contracts for transportation of special education students. These contracts must be advertised in the same manner as competitive bids and awarded by first considering the bidders most able to provide safety and comfort for special education students.

HB 2386 (Hernandez, D-Cicero) provides that in order to receive a high school diploma, each student entering the 9^th grade in 2010-11 and thereafter must complete at least 40 hours of community service.

HB 2448 (Miller) allows a school district, by resolution, to establish a remote educational program (i.e. an educational program delivered to students in the home or other location outside of a school building). The school district may claim students in such programs when calculating General State Aid.

HB 2508 (Pihos) provides that the required unit of instruction on genocide must include the Pontian Greek Genocide.

HB 2509 (Pihos), where regional superintendents conduct courses of instruction for school bus drivers, allows for an increase in fees for providing such courses. Of the increase in course fees, $1 shall be deposited in to a State Board of Education account for school bus safety, the Illinois Pupil Transportation Advisory Committee and the certification and conduct of educational programs and training of school bus driver instructors.

HB 2521 (Mell, D-Chicago) requires the State Board of Education to administer an Organic Farming at Schools Grant Program.

HB 2530 (Holbrook, D-Belleville) adds relocation expenses as a result of mine subsidence to the section of the School Code that provides for loans or grants to school districts for temporary relocation.

HB 2591 (Chapa LaVia) defines “virtual school” as an independent public school where the school uses technology in order to deliver a significant portion of instruction via the internet in a virtual or remote setting. It requires the virtual school to be evaluated annually and sets forth requirements and prohibitions for the virtual school and its students. Each virtual school teacher must be qualified to teach in this State under existing law; any student who meets State residency requirements may enroll.

HB 2619 (Eddy) allows Martinsville CUSD 3C to issue bonds to acquire and improve a school site and building, equipping a new school building on the site to replace all or a portion of a school building closed by the regional superintendent because of flood damage.

HOUSE STATE GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
Wednesday, March 4, 2:00 p.m., Room 114, State Capitol

HB 1335 (Schmitz, R-Batavia) provides that a school board does not have to comply with the Illinois Accessibility Code with respect to accessibility to press boxes that are 1,000 square feet or less and that are on school property.

HB 1345 (Joyce, D-Chicago) amends the Freedom of Information Act to re-define a "public record" to include the portion of a settlement agreement entered into by or on behalf of a public body that shows the total amount of any moneys or total financial value of other agreements that resulted in a financial payment to or by the public body and the amount expended by or on behalf of the public body for the prosecution, defense, or settlement of any litigation.

HB 2235 (Davis) requires the governing board of each school district, university, and community college to report to the State Board of Education or Board of Higher Education, on or before July 1 of each year, the base salary and benefits of all administrators and teachers or faculty employed by the school district, university, or community college district.

HB 2317 (Jakobsson, D-Urbana) amends the Open Meetings Act to define a "contemporaneous" meeting to exclude replies to electronic communications and requires inclusion of such a reply in the record of an open meeting.

HB 2535 (Poe, R-Springfield) increases the percentage of bio-diesel blend required to be used by a diesel powered vehicle (including school buses) owned by the State or units of local government from 2% to 5%, unless the engine is designed to operate on a higher percentage.

HB 2623 (Jakobsson) amends the Open Meetings Act to provide that the Act is not violated when, without notice or minutes, a majority of the quorum of one public body attends and discusses public business at a meeting of another public body that complies with the Act's notice and minutes requirements.

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Wednesday, March 4, 4:00 p.m., Room 409, State Capitol

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

SB 238 (Steans, D-Chicago) 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.

SB 1391 (Clayborne) requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules to provide standards for the certification of marital and family therapists employed by school boards.

SB 1508 (Koehler, D-Peoria) provides that nothing in the Illinois School Student Records Act shall be construed to impair or limit the confidentiality of information communicated in confidence to a school social worker.

SB 1521 (Frerichs, D-Gifford) allows school boards to award high school diplomas to honorably discharged veterans who served in the armed forces of the United States during the Vietnam Conflict.

SB 1557 (Delgado, D-Chicago) requires every public elementary school and high school to include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events related to the forceful removal and illegal deportation of almost 2,000,000 Mexican-American U.S. citizens during the Great Depression.

SB 1616 (Steans) provides that a private evaluator or expert retained by or on behalf a parent or guardian shall be afforded reasonable and unimpeded access to educational personnel, facilities, classrooms, and buildings and to the child for the purpose of conducting any appropriate interviews, observations, assessments, tests, or evaluations of the child and of the child's current or proposed educational program, placement, and educational environment.

SB 1645 (Delgado) requires each school board to assess annually the physical fitness levels of all students in grades 5, 7, and 9 and that results shall be reported on the school district's school report card along with the average number of minutes per week of physical education for each grade level.

SB 1658 (Lightford) provides that the period of silence that a teacher is required to observe must not exceed one minute and that it shall be an opportunity for silent reflection or meditation (instead of an opportunity for silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated activities of the day). It requires that students shall remain seated and must not engage in any activity that distracts or interferes with other students.

HOUSE JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM COMMITTEE
Wednesday, March 4, 4:00 p.m., Room 122B, State Capitol

HB 1310 (Senger, R-Naperville) amends the Safe Schools Law of the School Code to provide that a "disruptive student" includes suspension or expulsion eligible students and students against whom juvenile or criminal proceedings alleging the commission of a felony are pending (instead of just suspension or expulsion eligible students). It provides that a student against whom juvenile or criminal proceedings alleging the commission of a felony are pending may be immediately transferred to an alternative program.

*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.

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