Sen. Chapin Rose

Filed: 5/17/2017

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1482

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1482, AS AMENDED,
3by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4following:
 
5    "Section 5. The Education for Homeless Children Act is
6amended by changing Sections 1-10, 1-15, 1-20, and 1-25 as
7follows:
 
8    (105 ILCS 45/1-10)
9    Sec. 1-10. Choice of schools.
10    (a) In this Section, "best interest" means that all
11decisions are made with the ultimate goal of fostering and
12encouraging a child's happiness, security, mental health, and
13emotional development into young adulthood.
14    (b) When a child loses permanent housing and becomes a
15homeless person within the meaning of Section 1-5 5, or when a
16homeless child changes his or her temporary living

 

 

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1arrangements, the school district shall, pursuant to a best
2interest determination under the federal Every Student
3Succeeds Act the parents or guardians of the homeless child
4shall have the option of either:
5        (1) continue continuing the child's education in the
6    school of origin for as long as the child remains homeless
7    or, if the child becomes permanently housed, until the end
8    of the academic year during which the housing is acquired;
9    or
10        (2) notify the enrolling the child in any school that
11    nonhomeless students who live in the attendance area in
12    which the child or youth is actually living are eligible to
13    attend, in which case the school district for that school
14    shall immediately enroll the child or youth in that school
15    at the beginning of the next academic semester. However, if
16    the child's parent or guardian disagrees with this
17    enrollment decision, he or she may appeal that decision to
18    the regional superintendent of schools, stating, in
19    writing, the reasons why continuing the child's education
20    in the school of origin is in the child's best interest. If
21    such an appeal is made, enrollment may not occur until and
22    unless the regional superintendent orders such enrollment.
23(Source: P.A. 88-634, eff. 1-1-95; revised 10-25-16.)
 
24    (105 ILCS 45/1-15)
25    Sec. 1-15. Transportation to school of origin. Subject to

 

 

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1the provisions of Article 29 of the School Code, if a child
2becomes a homeless child or if a homeless child changes his or
3her temporary living arrangements, and if the homeless child's
4parents or guardians decide to continue the child's education
5in the school of origin, the parents or guardians shall make a
6good faith effort to provide or arrange for transportation to
7and from the school of origin, including authorizing relatives,
8friends, or a program for homeless persons to provide the child
9with transportation to and from the school of origin. If
10transportation to and from the school of origin is not provided
11in that manner, it shall be provided in the following manner:
12        (1) if the homeless child continues to live in the
13    school district in which the school of origin is located,
14    the child's transportation to and from the school of origin
15    shall be provided or arranged by the school district in
16    which the school of origin is located consistent with the
17    requirements of Article 29 of the School Code; and
18        (2) if the homeless child's living arrangements in the
19    school district of origin terminate and the child, though
20    continuing his or her education in the school of origin,
21    begins living in another school district, the school
22    district of origin and the school district in which the
23    homeless child is living shall meet to apportion the
24    responsibility and costs for providing the child with
25    transportation to and from the school of origin. If the
26    school districts are unable to agree, the responsibility

 

 

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1    and costs for transportation shall be shared equally.
2    If a parent or guardian chooses to have the child attend
3the school of origin, that parent or guardian, a teacher of the
4child, and the principal or his or her designee from the school
5of origin may meet at the option of the parent or the school to
6evaluate whether that travel is in the best interest of the
7child's development and education as compared to the
8development and education available in attending the school
9nearest the child's abode. The meeting shall also include
10consideration of the best interests of the homeless family at
11its current abode. A parent may bring a representative of his
12or her choice to the meeting. The meeting shall be convened
13upon notice of the parent's or guardian's intent to have the
14child attend the school of origin and shall reconvene at the
15end of each academic semester to determine the continued best
16interest if travel time is longer than one hour each way.
17(Source: P.A. 88-634, eff. 1-1-95; 88-686, eff. 1-24-95.)
 
18    (105 ILCS 45/1-20)
19    Sec. 1-20. Enrollment. If the parents or guardians of a
20homeless child or youth choose or if it has been determined,
21due to the best interests of the child, that it is necessary to
22enroll the child in a school other than the school of origin,
23that school immediately shall enroll the homeless child or
24youth even if the child or youth is unable to produce records
25normally required for enrollment, such as previous academic

 

 

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1records, medical records, proof of residency, or other
2documentation. Proof of residency may be established by having
3the contact information of a shelter for persons displaced due
4to financial hardship, abuse, or neglect where the child is
5staying. Nothing in this Section subsection shall prohibit
6school districts from requiring parents or guardians of a
7homeless child to submit an address or such other contact
8information as the district may require from parents or
9guardians of nonhomeless children. It shall be the duty of the
10enrolling school to immediately contact the school last
11attended by the child or youth to obtain relevant academic and
12other records. If the child or youth must obtain immunizations,
13it shall be the duty of the enrolling school to promptly refer
14the child or youth for those immunizations.
15(Source: P.A. 88-634, eff. 1-1-95; 88-686, eff. 1-24-95.)
 
16    (105 ILCS 45/1-25)
17    Sec. 1-25. Ombudspersons; dispute resolution; civil
18actions.
19    (a) Each regional superintendent of schools shall appoint
20an ombudsperson who is fair and impartial and familiar with the
21educational rights and needs of homeless children to provide
22resource information and resolve disputes at schools within his
23or her jurisdiction relating to the rights of homeless children
24under this Act. If a school denies a homeless child enrollment
25or transportation, it shall immediately refer the child or his

 

 

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1or her parent or guardian to the ombudsperson and provide the
2child or his or her parent or guardian with a written statement
3of the basis for the denial. The child shall be admitted and
4transported to the school chosen by the parent or guardian
5until final resolution of the dispute. The ombudsperson shall
6convene a meeting of all parties and attempt to resolve the
7dispute within 5 school days after receiving notice of the
8dispute, if possible.
9    (a-5) Whenever a child and his or her parent or guardian
10who initially share the housing of another person due to loss
11of housing, economic hardship, or a similar hardship continue
12to share the housing, a school district may, after the passage
13of an academic semester and each semester 18 months and
14annually thereafter, conduct a review as to whether such
15hardship continues to exist. The district may, at the time of
16review, request information from the parent or guardian to
17reasonably establish the hardship, and sworn affidavits or
18declarations may be sought and provided. If, upon review, the
19district determines that the family no longer suffers such
20hardship, it may notify the family in writing and begin the
21process of dispute resolution as set forth in this Act. Any
22change required as a result of this review and determination
23shall be effective solely at the close of the school year. Any
24person who knowingly or willfully presents false information
25regarding the hardship of a child in any review under this
26subsection (a-5) shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.

 

 

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1    (b) Any party to a dispute under this Act may file a civil
2action in a court of competent jurisdiction to seek appropriate
3relief. In any civil action, a party whose rights under this
4Act are found to have been violated shall be entitled to
5recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
6    (c) If a dispute arises, the school district shall inform
7parents and guardians of homeless children of the availability
8of the ombudsperson, sources of low cost or free legal
9assistance, and other advocacy services in the community.
10(Source: P.A. 94-235, eff. 7-14-05.)".