Distributed via Email: December 3, 2009

GOVERNOR SIGNS MORE BILLS

Governor Pat Quinn has begun taking action on some of the 50 bills that were sent to him after passage in the legislative Veto Session in October. A couple of education-related bills have been signed into law. The governor will continue to deliberate over the 34 bills still on his desk and bills will be signed in the upcoming weeks.

SB 932 (DeLeo, D-Chicago) provides that the secretary of state shall suspend a school bus driver permit for 3 years if the permit holder fails to perform a post-trip inspection in accordance with the school district or private school bus company inspection policy. It requires a school bus to have an operating digital two-way radio while the school bus driver is in possession of a school bus, and the device must be turned on and adjusted in a manner that would alert the school bus driver of an incoming communication request. The bill is now Public Act 96-0818, effective Nov. 17, 2009.

SB 2188 (Clayborne, D-E. St. Louis) states that if a taxing body cannot issue bonds because of a court action, this delay does not count against the time limits for bond issuance set forth in the law. The bill is now Public Act 96-0826, effective Nov. 25, 2009.

The following bills are pending the governor’s action:

SB 1371 (Crotty, D-Oak Forest) makes clarifications to the law that requires school districts and other entities to have access to an AED at all outdoor physical fitness facilities. It more clearly states that school districts only must provide the AED and trained AED user at outside athletic facilities if the activity is directly supervised by an employee (not maintenance or security personnel) of the school district and specifically exempts any activity or program that is organized by a private or not-for-profit organization and supervised by a person who is not employed by the school district.

HB 806 (Fortner, R-West Chicago), based upon an assessment of a child's readiness, allows children 5 years of age due to be 6 years by December 31, who have attended a state-certified, private preschool through kindergarten to be enrolled in the first grade. The bill also allows the Department of Human Services to operate a "Gateways to Opportunity" program, a comprehensive professional development system the goal of which is to support a diverse, stable, and quality workforce for settings serving children and youth.

CHARTER AUTHORIZER TASK FORCE SEEKS INFORMATION

Alliance partners and the Large Unit District Association (LUDA) have been requested to provide a presentation on charter schools for the Illinois Independent Charter School Authorizer Task Force. The task force was created in Public Act 96-0105 and charged with:

• Compiling a comparative analysis of charter school authorizing practices across the United States;
• Conducting an assessment of the capacity of school districts in this state to authorize charter schools;
• Assessing the ability and interest of this state’s public universities in serving as charter school authorizers;
• Analyzing the capacity of the state board as a charter school authorizer; and
• Making recommendations as to the amount of funding necessary to operate an independent authorizer and the system of support, at the state board or otherwise, necessary for any independent authorizer to operate successfully.

In light of the work of the task force and the request made of our organizations, Alliance member input is needed. Please take a few moments and respond to the following questions:

School District Name:

Contact Person:

Please return your responses to: dsullivan@iasb.com

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FOIA LAW

As a follow-up to the last Alliance Legislative Report (96-38), revisions to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) are effective Jan. 1, 2010. The extensive changes to FOIA are a huge concern among school officials across the state. The next issue of PRESS (the IASB’s school policy service) will contain a rewritten FOIA policy and procedures, a revised policy on the Open Meetings Act, plus other material needing revisions after the legislative session. It is expected that this PRESS issue will be available on the PRESS website for downloading by next week.

Adopting an updated policy by Jan. 1, 2010 is a good goal, but it is not legally necessary, provided the district complies with the revised FOIA on and after Jan. 1. A board may waive its policy requiring multiple readings of a policy before adoption if it feels the necessity to adopt a revised FOIA policy before Jan. 1, 2010. Otherwise, a board may wait to adopt the revised FOIA policy until it has time to review it.

Complying with the revised FOIA is the bigger issue. PRESS material will make compliance easier but the board’s attorney should be consulted for specific advice. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office (AG Office) is aware of the concerns over whether evaluations are exempt from a FOIA request. Other compliance information is available from a Frequently Asked Questions publication concerning FOIA on the AG Office’s website. It will be updated about once a week based upon questions it receives. The FAQ is available here. More information about FOIA and OMA is available on the AG website.

School boards will need to make some appointments in December or early January. Amendments to the Open Meetings Act (OMA) require each board to designate at least one employee or member to receive training on compliance with OMA. The board must submit the names of the designated individual(s) to the AG Office. The designated individual(s) must successfully complete an electronic training curriculum administered by the AG Office by July 1, 2010. The OMA does not specify duties for the designated individual(s) who have received training but presumably they would assist the board in its OMA compliance efforts.

The revised FOIA requires each board to designate one or more officials or employees to act as its Freedom of Information officer(s). The Freedom of Information officer receives FOIA requests and issues timely responses among other duties. Each Freedom of Information officer must, by July 1, 2010, successfully complete an electronic training curriculum administered by the AG Office.

These and other requirements will be covered more fully in the December PRESS issue.

UPDATE ON PENDING ISSUES

RACE TO THE TOP

As was reported in Alliance Legislative Report (96-34), there have been ongoing discussions about the State of Illinois applying for "Race to the Top" funds from the federal Department of Education. Not every state will receive "Race to the Top" funds. In order to receive a grant, the state would have to implement a host of stringent education reforms that apply to all school districts, though not all school districts in the state would be eligible to receive a share of the grant funding. School districts would have to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that certain reforms would be put in place before being eligible to receive "Race to the Top" funding. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will soon be distributing specific information about Illinois’ grant application process. The ISBE will also be introducing legislation regarding "Race to the Top" reforms in January.

The Alliance has had representation at all of the "Race to the Top" meetings with the ISBE.

PENSION SYSTEM MODERNIZATION TASK FORCE

This task force has issued its report, though it contains no real consensus or proposed legislative changes. Legislation, however, will be introduced in January by individual legislators to propose changes to the state’s public employee pension systems, including the Teachers’ Retirement System. The report can be found on the IEA website here.

Since about half of the members of the task force represented employee groups, and the other half represented business interests, there was a distinct diversity of opinion. A minority report can be found here.

The Alliance has had representation at all of the meetings of the task force.

PROPERTY TAX REFORM AND RELIEF TASK FORCE

HB 664, approved in 2007, became Public Act 95-0644 and created this task force to conduct a study of the property tax system in Illinois and investigate methods of reducing the reliance on property taxes and alternative methods of funding. The group continues to meet as it puts the finishing touches on its report. The Alliance recommended someone who was appointed to the task force: Stuart Whitt from Whitt Law LLC.

P-20 COUNCIL

In 2007, the Governor signed into law a bill to create the P-20 Council. Public Act 95-0626 established the council to study and make recommendations concerning education at all levels to avoid fragmentation of policies, promote improved teaching and learning, and continue to cultivate and demonstrate strong accountability and efficiency. This week, Governor Quinn announced the members of the council and stated that the group will be involved in policy issues, including the "Race to the Top" grant process. The Alliance had two appointments to the council: Michael D. Johnson, Executive Director Emeritus of IASB and the superintendent from McLean County Unit School District 5, Gary Niehaus.

ILLINOIS SCHOOL FINANCE ADEQUACY INITIATIVE TASK FORCE

This panel, coordinated by National-Louis University and chaired by former State Senator Miguel del Valle, is looking at various school funding models for Illinois. Michael Johnson sits on this task force for the Alliance.

This 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 Illinois Statewide School Management Alliance.

Alliance Legislative Reports are Cosponsored by IASB and:
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