Delivered via email: August 27, 2021
Illinois General Assembly Returning to Capitol to Address Maps, Pressing Issues
The Illinois General Assembly is returning to Springfield for a Special Session to address inconsistencies with the previously passed legislative district maps. With every decennial census, the General Assembly must redraw legislative district maps to ensure Illinois residents have roughly equal representation in the legislature. Due to a delay in the United States Census figures, the majority in the House and Senate created maps with less reliable, but available data. The final Census figures came out this summer and the General Assembly is reconvening to bring legislative reapportionment back in line with Census population figures.
Among other issues that could be addressed in the brief session, scheduled for August 31, is a fix to a new unemployment insurance law that allows school support personnel to receive unemployment due to the impacts of COVID-19. The General Assembly appropriated money for the associated unemployment expenses, but there was an error in the language that would allow that money to be spent on the new benefits. The sponsors of the underlying law, Representative Jay Hoffman (D-Belleville) and Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora), have been working with IASB, IASA, and Illinois ASBO to address the issue. The legislative language that will fix the issue has not yet been filed; IASB will keep you informed of changes as they occur on this important issue.
Governor Signs Impactful Education Bills
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D-Chicago) has signed many bills into law that will impact school districts. While the Governor still has a limited amount of time to decide to veto or sign bills on his desk, many important issues are now law. A complete listing of gubernatorial action will be listed in the IASB New Laws publication in January. To date this year, Governor Pritzker has signed over 500 bills into law while only issuing a few vetoes.
Curriculum
HB 234 (Hernandez, E., D-Cicero) provides that, beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, every public high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction on media literacy. PA 102-0055, Effective Date: July 9, 2021
HB 376 (Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview) requires every public elementary school and high school to include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of Asian American history. PA 102-0044, Effective Date: January 1, 2022
SB 654 (Peters, D-Chicago) Provides that play time shall be for all students in kindergarten through grade 5. Requires play time to be for at least 30 minutes on any school day that is 5 clock hours or longer in length. PA 102-0357, Effective Date August 13, 2021
SB 818 (Villivalam, D-Chicago) requires school districts that deliver comprehensive sexual health education to utilize a standards-based sex education course for grades 6-12, and they may provide age and developmentally appropriate consent education for kindergarten through grade 5. It also includes school disclosure, parental requests, and notice of program. Allows school districts to collaborate with public health departments to identify a point of contact for inquiries and comments about course instruction and materials. PA 102-0522, Effective Date: August 20, 2021
SB 2354 (Rezin, R-Morris) adds forensic speech to the list of options to fulfill the language arts graduation requirement. PA 102-0551, Effective Date: January 1, 2022
Funding
SB 813 (Johnson, D-Waukegan), with respect to the Evidence-Based Funding formula, provides that, in recognition of the impact of COVID-19, the definition of "Average Student Enrollment" or "ASE" shall be adjusted for calculations for fiscal years 2022 through 2024. PA 102-0033, Effective Date: July 25, 202
Health
HB 102 (Carroll, D-Northbrook) requires schools to adopt an anaphylactic policy developed by the ISBE and IDPH. PA 102-0413, Effective Date: August 20, 2021
HB 576 (LaPointe, D-Chicago) provides that absence for cause by illness shall include the mental or behavioral health of a student. PA 102-0266, Effective January 1, 2022
SB 1577 (Martwick, D-Chicago) allows students to be absent up to five days for mental or behavioral health without a medical note and shall be allowed to make up any school work missed. PA 102-0321, Effective January 1, 2022
Holidays
HB 169 (Didech, D-Buffalo Grove) requires superintendents to develop and distribute information about absence for religious purposes, how the school should be notified by parents, and the process for making up school work missed. PA 102-0406, Effective Date: August 19, 2021
HB 3922 (Ford, D-Chicago) establishes Juneteenth National Freedom Day be observed as a school holiday. PA 102-0014, Effective Date: January 1, 2022
SB 564 (Ellman, D-Naperville) adds January 17, the birthday of Muhammad Ali, to the list of commemorative holidays and requires the teaching of the contributions made by Muslims and Muslim Americans to society as part of U.S. History. PA 102-0411, Effective Date: January 1, 2022
Labor & Staffing
HB 12 (Costa-Howard, D-Lombard) requires school districts and other educational institutions to grant Family Medical Leave to employees who have been employed for 12 months and worked at least 1,000 hours in the previous 12 months. PA 102-0335, Effective January 1, 2022
HB 816 (Mussman, D-Schaumburg) rewrites parental leave of absence for birth or adoption of a child and allows paid sick leave to be used for up to 30 days of leave, also providing days do not have to be taken consecutively, immediately after birth or adoption, and disallows the district from counting any day in which school is not in session. PA 102-0275, Effective August 6, 2021
HB 3582 (Gabel, D-Evanston) provides that victims and family members of victims of crimes of violence are also subject to the Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act allowing them access to certain employee leave of absences. PA 102-0487, Effective Date: January 1, 2022
Pensions
HB 2569 (Windhorst, R-Harrisburg) extends the provision allowing retired teachers to return to teaching without penalty until June 30, 2024. It also requires schools to post vacancies on the district’s website and in an online database. It also allows for a substitute teacher under this section to extend the 90-day period if they were ill after they were hired as a long-term substitute teacher. PA 102-0440, Effective Date: August 20, 2021
SB 1646 (McClure, R-Springfield) In a provision that requires an employer to make an additional contribution to the system for certain salary increases greater than 6%, excludes salary increases resulting from teaching summer school on or after May 1, 2021 and before September 15, 2022. PA 102-0525, Effective Date: August 20, 2021
SB 1989 (Joyce, D-Park Forest) extends the sunset date to 2023 allowing retired teachers to return to work up to 120 days or 600 hours per year without impairing retirement status. PA 102-0537, Effective Date: August 20, 2021
Property Taxes
HB 571 (Carroll, D-Northbrook) requires municipalities to provide additional information in the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) annual report submitted to the Comptroller and taxing districts. PA 102-0127, Effective Date: July 23, 2021
SB 508 (Hastings, D-Frankfort), the omnibus property taxation bill also provides that a taxing district's aggregate extension base shall be adjusted whenever an assessment increase or decrease due to the issuance of a certificate of error, a decision of the board of review, or a decision of the Property Tax Appeal Board. PA 102-0519, Effective Date: August 20, 2021
Safety
HB 2400 (Hirschauer) sets forth several limitations, requirements, and notice requirements regarding school safety drills. PA 102-0395, Effective Date: August 16, 2021
SB 698 (Villivalam, D-Chicago) disallows school bus driver applicants to be licensed if they have been convicted of certain crimes including aggravated domestic battery or specified offenses under the Liquor Control Act. PA 102-0299, Effective Date: August 6, 2021
SB 2357 (DeWitte, R-West Dundee) requires the school board, instead of the State Superintendent, to promptly notify the board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) when the school board has been notified that a teacher has been convicted of any felony offense. It also provides for school district notification to the State Superintendent when a teacher terminates employment. PA 102-0552, Effective Date: January 1, 2022
Special Education
HB 40 (Hurley, D-Chicago) provides that a student whose 22nd birthday occurs during the school year is eligible for special education services through the end of the school year. PA 102-0172, Effective Date: July 28, 2021
HB 290 (Hirschauer, D-West Chicago) requires school districts to distribute to special education parents the Department of Human Service (IDHS) guide “Understanding PUNS: A guide to Prioritization for Urgency of Need for Services.” PA 102-0057, Effective Date: July 9, 2021
HB 452 (Mussman, D-Schaumburg) requires school districts to notify parents of the existence of schools that provide specialized services for a child who is deaf, blind, or who has an orthopedic impairment. PA 102-0264, Effective Date: August 6, 2021 and some provisions January 1, 2022
Students
HB 156 (Hernandez, B., D-Aurora) Provides that menstrual hygiene products shall be made available in bathrooms of school buildings that are open for student use in grades 4-12. HB 156 PA 102-0340, Effective January 1, 2022
HB 160 (Didech, D-Buffalo Grove) requires schools to excuse students participating in religious fasting from physical education courses. PA 102-0405, Effective Date: August 19, 2021
HB 219 (Carroll, D-Northbrook) requires Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to create a grant program for schools to implement school-wide behavioral interventions. Limits a school district’s use of timeout and physical restraint used only under certain circumstances and provides for certain prohibitions and information provided to parents. PA 102-0339, Effective Date: August 13, 2021
HB 3223 (Moeller, D-Elgin) allows a student who is a victim of gender-based violence to transfer schools immediately if the student’s continued attendance at the original school poses a risk to the student’s mental or physical well-being or safety. It also provides that a student’s disclosure of his/her status as a parent, expectant parent, or victim of gender-based violence be a mitigating circumstance in any suspension or expulsion proceeding. Many other requirements for school districts are also included affecting homebound instruction, student absences/truancy, staff training, review/revision of policies and procedures, complaint procedures, confidentiality, and student accommodations and services. PA 102-0466, Effective Date: July 1, 2025
SB 817 (Simmons, D-Chicago) provides that a school uniform or dress code policy adopted by a school board or local school council shall not include or apply to hairstyles, including hairstyles historically associated with race, ethnicity, or hair texture. SB 817 PA 102-0360, Effective January 1, 2022
Teachers
HB 18 (Scherer, D-Decatur) changes the timeline for teacher evaluations from every two years to every three years and requires that the excellent or proficient rating is observed at least once every two years. PA 102-0252, Effective January 1, 2022
SB 808 (Murphy, D-Des Plaines) In order to obtain a license under the Article, a student-teacher candidate may not be required to videotape himself or herself or his or her students in a classroom setting. PA 102-0301, Effective Date: August 6, 2021