Full Text of HB3945 98th General Assembly
HB3945ham001 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Rep. Monique D. Davis Filed: 3/31/2014
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3945
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3945 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section | 5 | | 34-18.43a as follows: | 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/34-18.43a new) | 7 | | Sec. 34-18.43a. Moratorium on school closings, | 8 | | consolidations, turnarounds, and phase-outs. | 9 | | (a) The General Assembly recognizes all of the following: | 10 | | (1) The Illinois Constitution indicates that a | 11 | | "fundamental goal of the People of the State is the | 12 | | educational development of all persons to the limits of | 13 | | their capacities". | 14 | | (2) Quality educational facilities are essential for | 15 | | fostering the maximum educational development of all | 16 | | persons through their educational experience from |
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| 1 | | prekindergarten through high school. | 2 | | (3) The public school is a major institution in | 3 | | communities that offers resources and opportunities for | 4 | | many stakeholders, including not only families with | 5 | | children who seek and deserve a quality education, but also | 6 | | the entire community that seeks educational improvement. | 7 | | (4) The equitable and efficient use of available | 8 | | facilities-related resources among different schools, | 9 | | among racial, ethnic, income, and disability groups, and | 10 | | among various types of schools is essential to maximize the | 11 | | development of quality educational facilities for all | 12 | | children, youth, and adults. | 13 | | (5) The closing or opening of schools, as well as | 14 | | school repairs, school additions, school phase-outs, | 15 | | school consolidations, school turnarounds, and school | 16 | | boundary changes, often have profound impacts on education | 17 | | in a community. These decisions should be carried out only | 18 | | according to clear system-wide criteria and with the | 19 | | genuine involvement of local school councils, parents, | 20 | | educators, and the community in decision making. | 21 | | (6) The General Assembly has previously stated that it | 22 | | intended to make the individual school in the school | 23 | | district the essential unit for educational governance and | 24 | | improvement and to place the primary responsibility for | 25 | | school governance and improvement in the hands of parents, | 26 | | teachers, and community residents at each school. A |
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| 1 | | facility policy must be consistent with these principles. | 2 | | (7) The school district has failed to address the needs | 3 | | of schools placed on academic probation and failed to | 4 | | adhere to the requirements of this Code and established | 5 | | policies regarding the closure, consolidation, turnaround, | 6 | | and phase-out of its schools. | 7 | | (b) Because of the finality of school closings, | 8 | | consolidations, turnarounds, and phase-outs and their | 9 | | wide-reaching effects, there shall be a moratorium on these | 10 | | actions in the school district beginning on the effective date | 11 | | of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, subject to | 12 | | any new set of requirements adopted by the General Assembly. | 13 | | During this moratorium period, the district shall establish | 14 | | policies that address and remedy the academic performance of | 15 | | schools in which Illinois Standards Achievement Test scores | 16 | | reflect students performing at or below 75%. These policies | 17 | | must establish clear criteria or processes for establishing | 18 | | criteria for making school facility decisions and include clear | 19 | | criteria for setting priorities with respect to school | 20 | | openings, school closings, school consolidations, school | 21 | | turnarounds, school phase-outs, school construction, school | 22 | | repairs, school modernizations, school boundary changes, and | 23 | | other related school facility decisions, including the | 24 | | encouragement of multiple community uses for school space.
| 25 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
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| 1 | | becoming law.".
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