Distributed via Email: March 27, 2009

The Illinois legislature kept busy this week amending and passing hundreds of bills as a major deadline approaches. Next Friday, April 3, is the deadline to have a bill considered in its house of origin. So all House bills must have a vote on the House floor and all Senate bills must have a vote on the Senate floor by the end of business next Friday to remain "alive" in the process.

Alliance lobbyists have been in the midst of negotiations on dozens of bills in trying to improve bills via amendments. Many bills were approved by committee panels earlier this spring only on the condition that bill sponsors would amend their bills to address Alliance concerns. A flood of amendments were filed on Wednesday and Thursday in a mad dash to fix bills so they could be called for a vote next week.

A bill that would shorten the probationary period for certain teachers was approved by the Senate this week and was sent to the House of Representatives for consideration. SB 123 (Demuzio, D-Carlinville) would reduce the probationary period before achieving tenure to two years instead of four years if the teacher had previously received tenure in another school district. The Alliance opposes the bill.

Several bills initiated by the Alliance were approved this week and will advance to the next chamber for consideration. The following bills were passed by the Senate:

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.

SB 1276 (Demuzio) establishes a superintendent mentoring program for new superintendents.

The following bills were approved by the House of Representatives:

HB 242 (Nekritz, D-Des Plaines) provides that the debt service extension base must be increased each year by the Consumer Price Index percentage increase for the previous calendar year, not to exceed 5%. The Alliance worked in cooperation with other local government organizations on the legislation.

HB 493 (Pritchard, R-Sycamore) allows a taxing district to add an explanation of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law to the Truth in Taxation Notice.

HB 737 (Smith, D-Canton) updates the school principal mentoring program and affects various aspects of the Illinois Distinguished Principal Leadership Institute.

RECEIVES COMMITTEE APPROVAL

Another Alliance initiative was approved by the Senate Revenue Committee and was sent to the full Senate for consideration. SB 2126 (Viverito, D-Burbank) would create a CPI (Consumer Price Index) "floor" for calculating the extension limitation under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL). It provides that the extension limitation under PTELL may be no less than 2%, even if the CPI dips well below this level as it has currently.

The following bills were approved by the Senate and were sent to the House 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.

SB 152 (Garrett) requires school boards to adopt a policy regarding management of students with life-threatening food allergies. An Alliance amendment was adopted before passage.

SB 1508 (Koehler, D-Peoria) amends the Illinois School Student Records Act to provide that nothing in the 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 school psychologist intern.

The following bills were approved by the House and were sent to the Senate for consideration:

HB 272 (Franks, D-Woodstock) requires the IHSA to prohibit athletes from using performance-enhancing drugs and implement random testing of athletes. Further the bill requires the IHSA to ensure that each athletic coach complete an educational program on the prevention of abuse of performance-enhancing substances.

HB 944 (Eddy, R-Hutsonville) disallows certification of a school district as in financial difficulty solely as a result of the failure of the county to make a distribution of property tax money on time or the failure of the Comptroller to disburse General State Aid.

HB 1313 (Senger, R-Naperville) allows for suspension or expulsion if a student has been determined to have made an explicit threat on an Internet web site against a school employee, a student, or any school-related personnel under certain conditions.

HB 2675 (Eddy) authorizes a school board to hold school or schedule teacher' institutes on school holidays under certain circumstances.

The following bills were approved by the Senate and were sent to the House for consideration.

SB 39 (Althoff, R-Crystal Lake) allows a teacher to establish credit for certain leaves of absence due to pregnancy.

SB 75 (Bond, R-Grayslake) allows for surcharges imposed for certain violations of the special school zone speed limit to be used by school districts for the Safe Routes to School Program.

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.

SB 204 (Demuzio) provides that a school board shall make school buildings available for use as civil defense shelters in cooperation with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

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.

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 following bills were approved by the House of Representatives and were sent to the Senate.

HB 613 (Eddy) 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 684 (Burns, D-Chicago) requires the ISBE to make grants 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 900 (Jakobsson, D-Champaign) requires research and the discussion of best practices to address the needs of children who are gifted and have a disability, "twice-exceptional" children.

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.

HB 973 (Chapa LaVia) provides that the Comprehensive Health Education Program shall include instruction in grades 8-12 on teen dating violence.

HB 999 (Eddy) allows a school district to establish a bank line of credit.

HB 1108 (Eddy) 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.

HB 1148 (Joyce, D-Chicago) makes changes in how a public school teacher or administrator applies to receive pension credit for previous work at a private school.

HB 1190 (Smith) clarifies which employees are eligible for the special education personnel reimbursement.

HB 1306 (Dugan, D-Bradley) removes the power of a school district or an area vocational center to enter into "other agreements" (agreements other than an installment contract and a lease purchase agreement) with a qualified provider for the purchase or lease of energy conservation measures.

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.

HB 2362 (Smith) adds contracts for transportation of special education students to the provisions providing for exceptions from bidding requirements.

HB 2530 (Holbrook, D- Belleville) allows funds to be distributed for temporary relocation expenses incurred by school districts as a result of mine subsidence and adds the replacement or reconstruction of school buildings destroyed or damaged by mine subsidence as one of the first priorities in the School Construction Grant Program.

HB 2674 (Eddy) allows a school district under the authority of a Financial Oversight Panel to appoint a district superintendent with a Type 75 certificate or a chief executive officer who has the skills of school operations and school finance.

HB 3672 (Jakobssen) provides that if an IMRF employee was in the service of more than one school district, then the sick leave days from all such employers shall be credited for pension service (currently only sick leave days from last employer).

HB 3731 (Mathias, R-Buffalo Grove) allows school boards to award high school diplomas to honorably discharged veterans who served in the armed forces of the U.S. during the Vietnam Conflict.

HB 3982 (D'Amico, D-Chicago) changes the definition of "multifunction school-activity bus" to mean a school bus manufactured for the purpose of transporting 11 to 15 persons, including the driver, whose purposes do not include transporting students to and from home or school bus stops.

HB 4038 (Schmitz, R-Batavia) authorizes 7-8 grade students to enroll in a high school course and 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.

HB 4223 (May, D-Highland Park) recommends that every occupied school building be tested every 5 years for radon and that new schools be built using radon resistant construction techniques.

*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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