Distributed via Email: March 6, 2009

KEY COMMITTEES WORK IN CAPITOL

As dozens of standing legislative committees waded through hundreds of bills this week in the Capitol, other key ad hoc panels also proceeded to work on their specific issues. In the Senate, the Committee on Deficit Reduction convened for the first time to look for ways to cut state spending in an effort to balance the budget. In the House, the Joint Committee on Government Reform this week unveiled its plan to reform the Freedom of Information Act. This panel was established in the wake of the Rod Blagojevich scandal.

Legislators return to Springfield next week to resume considering bills in committee.

ALLIANCE TESTIFIES BEFORE SENATORS

The School Management Alliance was one of eight groups invited to testify before the Senate Committee on Deficit Reduction. The topic for the hearing was "Education Funding in the State Budget". Dr. Brent Clark, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Administrators, explained to the panel the school district spending pressures of special education and unfunded mandates. Written testimony, including a long list of newly enacted mandates on school districts, was submitted to the Senate committee as well.

SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY THE TOPIC OF HEARING

A new House committee, the Committee on Public Policy and Accountability, met this week to discuss proposed school accountability measures. The bills, outlined in the last Alliance Legislative Report (96-05), include many provisions for increased school district financial reporting, provisions for an "Education Inspector General", and mandatory school board member training.

Alliance lobbyists provided testimony in opposition to the proposals as currently drafted, but offered to work with the bill sponsors’ to improve the bills and to allow for better school district implementation. The Alliance outlined the long list of current school district accountability laws already in place in Illinois. No vote was taken and the bills were assigned to a sub-committee for further study. The key sponsor of the legislation, Representative Kathleen Ryg (D-Vernon Hills), stated on the record that she does not intend to cause an unfunded mandate and that her bill will not be further considered unless it is accompanied by a substantial new commitment of state funds for public K-12 education.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO FOIA UNVEILED

A result of hearings by the Joint Committee on Government Reform, an amendment was filed this week that would re-write the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Representative Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) filed the amendment to HB 1370. The bill would:

• Re-define "public body" (school districts are still included)
• Re-define "public record"
• Require "immediate" action on requests (instead of acting "promptly")
• Require public bodies to designate an FOIA officer
• Delete several of the exemptions of the FOIA found in the current Act
• Impose a fine on governmental bodies if they willfully and intentionally fail to comply with FOIA (fines from $100 up to $1,000)
• Protect government employees from retaliation by supervisors if the employee wants to properly disclose public information but feels that the supervisors do not want to comply
• Authorize judges to order units of local government to pay attorneys’ fees for anyone who goes to court to fight the denial of disclosing public records and ultimately wins the case

The amendment has not yet been scheduled for a hearing in the House.

HOUSE COMMITTEE TO TAKE TESTIMONY ON BUDGET

The House Appropriations Committee for Elementary and Secondary Education will convene next week to hear from education advocates and their thoughts on the Fiscal Year 2010 education budget. The committee will convene on Tuesday, March 10, at 1 p.m. in Room 118 of the State Capitol. Please consider coming to Springfield and making your case to the House budget leaders.

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. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the Senate Education Committee.

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. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee.

HB 272 (Franks, D-Woodstock) requires the IHSA to prohibit a student from participating in an athletic competition sponsored or sanctioned by the association unless the student agrees not to use certain performance-enhancing substances, and, if the student its enrolled in high school, the student submits to random testing for the presence of these substances. The bill also requires high school coaches to complete an educational program on the prevention of abuse of performance-enhancing substances and to complete a proficiency exam. An amendment provides a funding source for the program. Another amendment is expected to remove Alliance concerns. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor.

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. In response to Alliance concerns, the bill was held in the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee for further modifications.

HB 628 (Osterman, D-Chicago), as amended, provides that the parent, an independent educational evaluator, or an expert retained by or on behalf of a parent or child must be afforded access of sufficient duration and extent to educational personnel, facilities, classrooms, and buildings and to the child in order to conduct an evaluation of the child, the child's performance, the child's current educational program, placement, or environment, or any proposed educational program, placement, or environment. A parent or guardian who is a prevailing party in an impartial due process hearing or in a civil action may recover from an opposing party reasonable expert witness costs incurred (instead of if the expert witness contributed to the relief obtained) by the parent or guardian. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor.

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). The bill was defeated in the House Juvenile Justice Reform Committee.

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. The bill, opposed by the Alliance, was approved by the House State Government Administration Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 2235 (Davis,M., D-Chicago) 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. The bill was approved by the House State Government Administration Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 21 (Flowers, D-Chicago), as amended, 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. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 163 (Tryon, R-Crystal Lake), as amended, provides that when a public body or other entity covered by the Act has awarded work to a contractor without a public bid, contract or project specification, such public body or other entity shall provide the contractor with written notice on the purchase order related to the work to be done or on a separate document indicating that not less than the prevailing rate of wages as found by the public body or Department of Labor or determined by the court on review shall be paid to all laborers, workers, and mechanics performing work on the project. The bill was amended and approved by the House Labor Committee and sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 380 (Nekritz, D-Northbrook) requires each school board employing an employee who is an elected trustee of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund to 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 IMRF board. The bill was approved by the House and was sent to the Senate for consideration.

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. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives and sent the Senate.

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 and sent to the Senate for consideration.

HB 684 (Burns, D-Chicago) requires the State Board of Education to make grants, subject to appropriation, for funding community schools. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 740 (Smith, D-Canton) 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. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 979 (Coulson, R-Glenview) provides that for students with an Individualized Education Plan at the age of 14 ½, the IEP must include measurable postsecondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments and information that is related to training, education, employment and independent living skills. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 1132 (Jakobsson, D-Urbana) amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act to provide that in those cases in which the Child Protective Service Unit has made a final determination that a report is "indicated" or "unfounded", DCFS shall provide written notification of the final determination to the subjects of the report and to the alleged perpetrator, parents, personal guardian or legal guardian of the alleged child victim, and other persons required to receive notice by regular U.S. mail. The bill was approved by the House Human Services Committee and was sent to the House floor.

HB 1332 (Boland, D-Moline) requires that each agency of State government and each unit of local government ensure that the U.S. flag flown at the building is manufactured in the United States. The bill was approved by the House State Government Administration Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

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. The bill was approved by the House State Government Administration Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

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. 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 2254 (Davis, M) 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. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 2321 (Brauer, R-Springfield) allows Rochester CUSD 3a to issue bonds with an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $18.5 million instead of $15 million. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor.

HB 2362 (Smith), 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. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 2448 (Miller, D-Calumet City) 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 bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 2508 (Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn) provides that the required unit of instruction on genocide must include the Pontian Greek Genocide. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB 2509 (Pihos), where regional superintendents conduct courses of instruction for school bus drivers, allows for an increase in fees for providing such courses. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

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

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. The bill was approved by the House State Government Administration Committee and was sent to the House floor.

HB 2619 (Eddy, R-Hutsonville) as amended, 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. The bill was approved by the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee and was sent to the House floor for consideration.

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. The bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and was sent to the Senate floor.

BILLS SCHEDULED FOR COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK

SENATE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE,
Tuesday, March 10, 1p.m., Room 212, State Capitol

SB 1665 (Jacobs, D-Moline) requires the Comprehensive Health Education Program to include

information about cancer and requires IHSA to include a question asking whether a student has a family history of cancer on any pre-participation examination form given to students participating or seeking to participate in interscholastic athletics. It allows the IHSA to require that a testicular examination be conducted as a part of any physical required for a male student's participation in interscholastic athletics.

SB 2048 (Kotowski, D-Park Ridge) requires schools to develop a plan, agreed to by parents, for any student that needs to receive any medication during school hours or if the student provides any sufficient proof of diagnosis of a condition or illness necessitating assistance with administering any medication to the student. Requires the school principal (absent a school nurse) to appoint, supervise, and coordinate the training of a designated health care aide to perform the tasks necessary to assist a student in accordance with the plan.

HOUSE ELECTIONS & CAMPAIGN REFORM COMMITTEE
Tuesday, March 10, 4p.m., Room 122B, State Capitol

HB 918 (Boland) sets the minimum number of petition signatures for a local public question at 8% of the number of votes cast by registered voters in the governmental unit in the most recent gubernatorial election (now, 10% of the registered voters in the governmental unit).

HB 922 (Boland) makes the minimum petition signature requirement for local public questions 6% of the total votes cast for all gubernatorial candidates at the most recent gubernatorial election by the voters of the political subdivision (now, 8% of such votes with respect to questions at elections in 2008 and, with respect to questions at elections in 2009 and later, 11% of the total ballots cast by voters in the political subdivision at the most recent regular election).

HB 1111 (Boland), beginning Jan. 1, 2011, permits an election authority to accept in-person voter registrations on the day of the consolidated primary election and the day of the consolidated election.

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Tuesday, March 10, 6 p.m., Room 409, State Capitol

SB 1675 (Murphy, R-Palatine) requires all 7^th graders and all high school students enrolled in U.S. History to view the Congressional Medal of Honor film made by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Compliance is not required if the Society charges the school district a fee for the film.

SB 1796 (Lightford, D-Maywood) establishes the Illinois Hope and Opportunity Pathways through Education (IHOPE) Program to develop a comprehensive system in this State to re-enroll significant numbers of high school dropouts in programs that will enable them to earn their high school diploma.

SB 1828 (Steans, D-Chicago) a State Board of Education initiative that creates the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act. It requires the ISBE, the Illinois Community College Board, and the Board of Higher Education to jointly establish and maintain a longitudinal data system by entering into one or more agreements that link early learning, elementary, and secondary school student unit records with institution of higher learning student unit records.

SB 1850 (Harmon, D-Oak Park) allows the Chicago Board of Education to contract with third parties for services otherwise performed by employees, excluding (instead of including) those in a bargaining unit.

SB 1853 (Link, D-Vernon Hills) allows a school district to contract for administrative services or alternative facilities in order to comply with the requirements of the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code.

SB 1882 (Cronin, R-Elmhurst) establishes a task force to explore and examine all duties of the State Board of Education and regional offices of education in order to determine which duties and responsibilities a regional office of education could more appropriately and efficiently deliver to school districts.

SB 1884 (Burzynski, R-DeKalb) allows a school board to excuse pupils in grades 9 through 12 who are in a dual credit/graduation program from engaging in physical education courses.

SB 1885 (Hultgren, R-Winfield) provides 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).

SB 1956 (Demuzio, D-Carlinville) makes changes with respect to days that are used for an in-service training program for teachers and parent-teacher conferences regarding the compilation of average daily clock hours standard.

SB 1957 (Demuzio) makes changes to the requirements and reporting dates for the school breakfast program.

SB 1977 (Meeks, D-Chicago) makes numerous changes throughout the School Code, including changes to the Childhood Hunger Relief Act, the School Safety Drill Act, the Truants Alternative and Optional Education Program, the inspection and review of school facilities, State aid claims, teacher dismissal reports, driver safety courses, the summer food service provisions, etc.

SB 1984 (Lightford) provides that a charter school shall comply with all provisions of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act.

SB 2014 (Demuzio) provides that a school district shall afford students one opportunity (instead of 2 opportunities) to take the Prairie State Achievement Examination beginning as late as practical during the spring (instead of second) semester of grade 11.

SB 2071 (Haine, D-Alton) contains ISBE’s teacher misconduct proposal regarding the reporting and monitoring of teachers convicted of felony offenses.

SB 2119 (Steans) Creates a task force to develop strategies to allow for the innovation, intervention, and restructuring of schools, including those that need comprehensive or focused intervention.

SB 2220 (Lightford) removes a provision in the School Code that allows a school district to transport not more than 15 students to and from an interscholastic athletic or other interscholastic or school-sponsored activity in a van.

SB 2266 (Lauzen, R-Aurora) requires the IHSA, in conjunction with its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, to develop and implement a program of random testing for steroids of individual athletes participating in interscholastic athletic programs under IHSA's purview.

SB 2268 (Lauzen) establishes the Autism Scholarship Program to permit the parent of a qualified special education child the choice to send the child to a special education program, instead of the one operated by or for the school district in which the child is entitled to attend school.

SB 2270 (Cronin) requires school districts to annually submit to the State Board of Education an itemized salary compensation report for every certificated employee in the district, including teachers, administrators, and the district superintendent.

SB 2277 (Cronin) creates a task force to study the impact of carrying and transporting student textbooks and textbook weight on the health of Illinois students within the kindergarten through grade 12.

HOUSE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Wednesday, March 11, 8 a.m., Room 114, State Capitol

HB 481 (Burns) creates an independent, State-level, charter school authorizing entity working in collaboration with the State Board of Education. The commission has the authority to grant charter school applications.

HB 2673 (Brady, R-Bloomington), subject to appropriation, creates a curricular mandate to provide instruction in violence prevention and conflict resolution as a part of social-emotional learning standards and reflecting the Children’s Mental Health Act of 2003 for all students pre-kindergarten through 8 and peer mediation programs for grades 4-12.

HB 2674 and HB 2675 (Eddy) authorizes a school board after a public hearing, to hold school or schedule teacher’ institutes, parent-teacher conferences, or staff development on certain school holidays if the reason for the holiday is recognized through instructional activities on another day before or after that day.

HB 2676 (Eddy) allows a school district to petition to the State Board of Education to establish a Financial Oversight Panel for the district and allows the ISBE to establish a Financial Oversight Panel without petition from a district.

HB 3673 (Gordon, J. D-Peoria), when determining Available Local Resources for General State Aid, provides that the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Taxes paid to each district during the calendar year one year (instead of two years) before the calendar year in which a school year begins, divided by Average Daily Attendance, shall be added to the local property tax revenues per pupil.

HB 3731 (Mathias, R-Buffalo Grove) allows school boards to award diplomas to honorably discharged veterans who served in the Vietnam Conflict.

HB 3743 (Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora) establishes the Illinois Virtual School as a statewide virtual school to teach grades K-12 and to be funded through an annual State appropriation to meet operations and capital needs. The bill further defines fees, accountability, access and equity, Board of Trustees, board powers and transition.

HB 3771 (Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates) requires each school board to itemize all compensation benefits for district superintendents and report this information to the State Board of Education which shall make the information available to the public.

HB 3775 (Acevedo, D-Chicago), identical to HB 2362 that passed out of committee on March 4, makes changes 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 3799 (Dugan, D-Bradley) requires the State Board of Education to create a low-interest revolving loan program for school districts to renovate, rehabilitate, or upgrade existing facilities to incorporate environmentally friendly or energy-efficient building materials or alternative energy devices.

HB 3880 (Cultra, R-Onarga) provides that the amount to be distributed from the County Sales Tax for School Facilities to each regional superintendent is the amount collected from all counties prorated to each county based on the average daily attendance of pupils resident in the county.

HB 3881 (Cultra) amends the Child Care Act and Adoption Act to add religious institutions to the term description of "child welfare agency".

HB 3883 (Gordon, J.) is a curricular mandate requiring all high school students to complete 60 hours of community service before receiving a diploma.

HB 3914 (Flowers) is a curricular mandate to provide instruction on the operation of all-terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycles in grades K-12. The mandate may be included in the instruction of social studies, American government, driver education or other appropriate courses of study.

HB 4038 (Schmitz) authorizes 7-8 grade students to enroll in a high school course. It allows participation where the student attends school so long as the course is taught by a certified high school teacher who teaches in a high school where the student will attend and no high school students are enrolled in the course.

HB 4039 (Stephens, R-Highland), with respect to the State scholar program, provides that an applicant is eligible to be designated a State Scholar if he or she is a resident of this State attending a Department of Defense school.

HB 4117 (Mulligan, R-Des Plaines), with respect to the purpose of the Grow Your Own Teacher Education Initiative, provides that preparing highly skilled, committed teachers to teach in hard-to-staff schools includes preparing teachers to teach within the Department of Juvenile Justice School District.

HB 4194 (Wait, R-Belvidere) is an unfunded mandate that provides that school bus drivers must complete a semi-annual (rather than annual) refresher course to maintain a valid school bus driver permit.

HB 4223 (May, D-Highwood) provides that each school board shall require that all schools annually test for the presence of radon.

HB 4318 (Vershoore, D-Rock Island) provides that a school board shall require that high school students participating in sports have a hernia check performed before being allowed to participate. Also, the bill provides that a school board shall require that any pre-participation physical examination form a student must have completed before participating in sports include the question of whether the student's family has a medical history of cancer. Additionally, the legislation requires that the Comprehensive Health Education Program must include, in grades 9 through 12, instruction on testicular cancer.

HB 4323 (McAsey, D-Crest Hill) defines "school district" to mean a school district or joint agreement. The legislation provides that, for purposes only of determining a joint agreement's eligibility for an entity included in a school construction project grant or a school maintenance project grant, a joint agreement shall be deemed eligible if one or more of its member school districts satisfy the grant index criteria. The bill also provides that the amount of a school construction project grant to an eligible joint agreement shall be determined on a case-by-case basis, based on the needs of the joint agreement in its entirety (instead of using the grant index to calculate the amount).

HB 4324 (Vershoore) provides that a school board may, by resolution, adopt an alternative school calendar for a 4-day school week, which must be approved by the State Board of Education.

*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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