State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
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90_SB0568

      105 ILCS 5/24-11          from Ch. 122, par. 24-11
      105 ILCS 5/34-84          from Ch. 122, par. 34-84
          Amends the School Code.  Provides that all  teachers  who
      are  first  employed by a school district on or after July 1,
      1997 and  who  have  not  already  entered  into  contractual
      continued  service  shall  have a 4 year probationary period.
      Effective July 1, 1997.
                                                     SRS90S0013KSsa
                                               SRS90S0013KSsa
 1        AN ACT to amend the  School  Code  by  changing  Sections
 2    24-11 and 34-84.
 3        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:
 5        Section 5.   The  School  Code  is  amended  by  changing
 6    Sections 24-11 and 34-84 as follows:
 7        (105 ILCS 5/24-11) (from Ch. 122, par. 24-11)
 8        Sec.  24-11.   Boards  of  Education  -  Boards of School
 9    Inspectors - Contractual continued service. As used  in  this
10    and  the succeeding Sections of this Article, "teacher" means
11    any or all school district employees regularly required to be
12    certified  under  laws  relating  to  the  certification   of
13    teachers,   "board"   means  board  of  directors,  board  of
14    education or board of school inspectors, as the case may  be,
15    and "school term" means that portion of the school year, July
16    1 to the following June 30, when school is in actual session.
17    This Section and Sections 24-12 through 24-16 of this Article
18    apply  only  to  school  districts  having  less than 500,000
19    inhabitants.
20        Any teacher who has been employed in any  district  as  a
21    full-time  teacher for a probationary period of 2 consecutive
22    school terms shall enter upon contractual  continued  service
23    unless given written notice of dismissal stating the specific
24    reason  therefor, by certified mail, return receipt requested
25    by the employing board at least 60 days  before  the  end  of
26    such  period; except that for a teacher who is first employed
27    by a school district on or after July 1, 1997 and who has not
28    before that date already entered upon  contractual  continued
29    service,  the  probationary  period  shall  be  4 consecutive
30    school terms before the teacher may  enter  upon  contractual
31    continued   service.    For   the   purpose   of  determining
                            -2-                SRS90S0013KSsa
 1    contractual continued service, the  first  probationary  year
 2    shall be any full time employment from a date before November
 3    1 through the end of the school year.  If, however, a teacher
 4    has  not had one school term of full-time teaching experience
 5    before the beginning of such  probationary  period,  the  The
 6    employing  board  may at its option extend the teacher's such
 7    probationary period for one additional school term by  giving
 8    the  teacher written notice by certified mail, return receipt
 9    requested at least 60 days before the end of the last  second
10    school  term  of  the  teacher's  probationary  period  of  2
11    consecutive  school terms referred to above. Such notice must
12    state the reasons for the one year extension and must outline
13    the corrective actions  which  the  teacher  should  take  to
14    satisfactorily complete probation.
15        Any full-time teacher who is completing the first year of
16    the probationary period described in the preceding paragraph,
17    or  any  teacher employed on a full-time basis not later than
18    January 1 of the school term, shall  receive  written  notice
19    from  the  employing board at least 60 days before the end of
20    any school term whether or not he will be re-employed for the
21    following school term.  If  the  board  fails  to  give  such
22    notice,  the  employee  shall  be  deemed reemployed, and not
23    later than the close of the  then  current  school  term  the
24    board  shall  issue  a  regular  contract  to the employee as
25    though the board had reemployed him in the usual manner.
26        Contractual continued service shall  continue  in  effect
27    the  terms  and  provisions  of the contract with the teacher
28    during the last  school  term  of  the  probationary  period,
29    subject  to  this  Act  and  the  lawful  regulations  of the
30    employing board. This Section and succeeding Sections do  not
31    modify any existing power of the board except with respect to
32    the procedure of the discharge of a teacher and reductions in
33    salary as hereinafter provided. Contractual continued service
34    status  shall not restrict the power of the board to transfer
                            -3-                SRS90S0013KSsa
 1    a teacher to a position which the  teacher  is  qualified  to
 2    fill   or  to  make  such  salary  adjustments  as  it  deems
 3    desirable, but unless reductions in  salary  are  uniform  or
 4    based  upon some reasonable classification, any teacher whose
 5    salary is reduced shall be entitled to a notice and a hearing
 6    as hereinafter provided in the case of certain dismissals  or
 7    removals.
 8        The  employment  of any teacher in a program of a special
 9    education joint agreement established under Section  3-15.14,
10    10-22.31  or  10-22.31a  shall  be  under this and succeeding
11    Sections of this Article.   For  purposes  of  attaining  and
12    maintaining   contractual  continued  service  and  computing
13    length of continuing service as referred to in  this  Section
14    and  Section 24-12, employment in a special educational joint
15    program shall  be  deemed  a  continuation  of  all  previous
16    certificated  employment  of  such  teacher  for  such  joint
17    agreement  whether  the employer of the teacher was the joint
18    agreement,  the  regional  superintendent,  or  one  of   the
19    participating districts in the joint agreement.
20        Any  teacher  employed  after July 1, 1987 as a full-time
21    teacher in a program of a special education joint  agreement,
22    whether  the  program is operated by the joint agreement or a
23    member district on behalf  of  the  joint  agreement,  for  a
24    probationary period of two consecutive years shall enter upon
25    contractual   continued   service  in  all  of  the  programs
26    conducted by  such  joint  agreement  which  the  teacher  is
27    legally  qualified  to hold; except that for a teacher who is
28    first employed on or after July 1, 1997 in  a  program  of  a
29    special education joint agreement and who has not before that
30    date  already  entered  upon contractual continued service in
31    all of the programs conducted by the joint agreement that the
32    teacher is legally qualified to hold, the probationary period
33    shall be 4 consecutive years before the teacher  enters  upon
34    contractual  continued  service in all of those programs.  In
                            -4-                SRS90S0013KSsa
 1    the event of  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  programs  or
 2    positions  in the joint agreement, the teacher on contractual
 3    continued service shall be eligible  for  employment  in  the
 4    joint  agreement  programs  for  which the teacher is legally
 5    qualified in order of greater length of continuing service in
 6    the  joint  agreement  unless  an   alternative   method   of
 7    determining  the  sequence  of  dismissal is established in a
 8    collective  bargaining  agreement.   In  the  event  of   the
 9    dissolution  of a joint agreement, the teacher on contractual
10    continued service who is legally qualified shall be  assigned
11    to  any  comparable  position  in a member district currently
12    held by a  teacher  who  has  not  entered  upon  contractual
13    continued  service  or held by a teacher who has entered upon
14    contractual  continued  service  with   shorter   length   of
15    contractual continued service.
16        The  governing  board  of  the  joint  agreement,  or the
17    administrative district, if so authorized by the articles  of
18    agreement  of  the  joint agreement, rather than the board of
19    education of a school district, may carry out employment  and
20    termination  actions  including dismissals under this Section
21    and Section 24-12.
22        For purposes of this  and  succeeding  Sections  of  this
23    Article,  a  program of a special educational joint agreement
24    shall be defined as instructional, consultative, supervisory,
25    administrative, diagnostic, and related  services  which  are
26    managed  by  the special educational joint agreement designed
27    to service two or more districts which  are  members  of  the
28    joint agreement.
29        Each  joint  agreement  shall  be  required  to  post  by
30    February 1, a list of all its employees in order of length of
31    continuing   service   in  the  joint  agreement,  unless  an
32    alternative method of determining a sequence of dismissal  is
33    established in an applicable collective bargaining agreement.
34        The  employment  of  any  teacher  in a special education
                            -5-                SRS90S0013KSsa
 1    program authorized by Section 14-1.01 through 14-14.01, or  a
 2    joint   educational   program   established   under   Section
 3    10-22.31a, shall be under this and the succeeding Sections of
 4    this   Article,   and  such  employment  shall  be  deemed  a
 5    continuation of the previous employment of  such  teacher  in
 6    any   of  the  participating  districts,  regardless  of  the
 7    participation of other districts in the program. Any  teacher
 8    employed  as  a  full-time  teacher  in  a  special education
 9    program prior to September 23, 1987 in which 2 or more school
10    districts  participate  for  a  probationary  period   of   2
11    consecutive  years  shall  enter  upon  contractual continued
12    service in each of the participating  districts,  subject  to
13    this  and the succeeding Sections of this Article, and in the
14    event of the termination of the program shall be eligible for
15    any vacant position in any of such districts for  which  such
16    teacher is qualified.
17    (Source: P.A. 85-1163; 85-1209; 85-1440.)
18        (105 ILCS 5/34-84) (from Ch. 122, par. 34-84)
19        Sec.  34-84.   Appointments  and  promotions of teachers.
20    Appointments and promotions of teachers  shall  be  made  for
21    merit only, and after satisfactory service for a probationary
22    period  of  3  years  with  respect to probationary employees
23    employed as full-time teachers in the public school system of
24    the district before July 1, 1997 and 4 years with respect  to
25    probationary  employees  who  are first employed as full-time
26    teachers in the public school system of the  district  on  or
27    after July 1, 1997 (during which period the board may dismiss
28    or   discharge   any  such  probationary  employee  upon  the
29    recommendation, accompanied by the written reasons  therefor,
30    of  the  general  superintendent  of schools) appointments of
31    teachers shall become permanent, subject to removal for cause
32    in the manner provided by Section 34-85.
33        As used in this Article, "teachers"  means  and  includes
                            -6-                SRS90S0013KSsa
 1    all  members  of  the  teaching  force  excluding the general
 2    superintendent and principals.
 3        There shall be no reduction  in  teachers  because  of  a
 4    decrease  in  student  membership  or  a  change  in  subject
 5    requirements  within the attendance center organization after
 6    the 20th day following the first  day  of  the  school  year,
 7    except   that:    (1)  this  provision  shall  not  apply  to
 8    desegregation positions, special education positions, or  any
 9    other positions funded by State or federal categorical funds,
10    and  (2)  at  attendance  centers maintaining any of grades 9
11    through 12, there may be a second reduction  in  teachers  on
12    the  first  day  of the second semester of the regular school
13    term because of a decrease in student membership or a  change
14    in   subject   requirements   within  the  attendance  center
15    organization.
16        The school principal shall make the decision in selecting
17    teachers to fill new and  vacant  positions  consistent  with
18    Section 34-8.1.
19    (Source: P.A. 88-338; 88-511; 89-15, eff. 5-30-95.)
20        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect July
21    1, 1997.

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