Public Act 0859 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB3109 Enrolled LRB093 21189 NHT 47269 b

Public Act 093-0859

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section 2-3.13a as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.13a) (from Ch. 122, par. 2-3.13a)

Sec. 2-3.13a. School Scholastic records; transferring students.

(a) The State Board of Education shall establish and implement rules requiring all of the public schools and all private or nonpublic elementary and secondary schools located in this State, whenever any such school has a student who is transferring to any other public elementary or secondary school located in this or in any other state, to forward within 10 days of notice of the student's transfer an unofficial record of that student's grades to the school to which such student is transferring. Each public school at the same time also shall forward to the school to which the student is transferring the remainder of the student's school student records as required by the Illinois School Student Records Act. In addition, if a student is transferring from a public school, whether located in this or any other state, from which the student has been suspended or expelled for knowingly possessing in a school building or on school grounds a weapon as defined in the Gun Free Schools Act (20 U.S.C. 8921 et seq.), for knowingly possessing, selling, or delivering in a school building or on school grounds a controlled substance or cannabis, or for battering a staff member of the school, and if the period of suspension or expulsion has not expired at the time the student attempts to transfer into another public school in the same or any other school district: (i) any school student records required to be transferred shall include the date and duration of the period of suspension or expulsion; and (ii) with the exception of transfers into the Department of Corrections school district, the student shall not be permitted to attend class in the public school into which he or she is transferring until the student has served the entire period of the suspension or expulsion imposed by the school from which the student is transferring, provided that the school board may approve the placement of the student in an alternative school program established under Article 13A of this Code. A school district may adopt a policy providing that if a student is suspended or expelled for any reason from any public or private school in this or any other state, the student must complete the entire term of the suspension or expulsion before being admitted into the school district. This policy may allow placement of the student in an alternative school program established under Article 13A of this Code, if available, for the remainder of the suspension or expulsion. Each public school and each private or nonpublic elementary or secondary school in this State shall within 10 days after the student has paid all of his or her outstanding fines and fees and at its own expense forward an official transcript of the scholastic records of each student transferring from that school in strict accordance with the provisions of this Section and the rules established by the State Board of Education as herein provided.

(b) The State Board of Education shall develop a one-page standard form that Illinois school districts are required to provide to any student who is moving out of the school district and that contains the information about whether or not the student is "in good standing" and whether or not his or her medical records are up-to-date and complete. As used in this Section, "in good standing" means that the student is not being disciplined by a suspension or expulsion, but is entitled to attend classes. No school district is required to admit a new student who is transferring from another Illinois school district unless he or she can produce the standard form from the student's previous school district enrollment. No school district is required to admit a new student who is transferring from an out-of-state public school unless the parent or guardian of the student certifies in writing that the student is not currently serving a suspension or expulsion imposed by the school from which the student is transferring.

(c) The State Board of Education shall, by rule, establish a system to provide for the accurate tracking of transfer students. This system shall, at a minimum, require that a student be counted as a dropout in the calculation of a school's or school district's annual student dropout rate unless the school or school district to which the student transferred (known hereafter in this subsection (c) as the transferee school or school district) sends notification to the school or school district from which the student transferred (known hereafter in this subsection (c) as the transferor school or school district) documenting that the student has enrolled in the transferee school or school district. This notification must occur within 150 days after the date the student withdraws from the transferor school or school district or the student shall be counted in the calculation of the transferor school's or school district's annual student dropout rate. A request by the transferee school or school district to the transferor school or school district seeking the student's academic transcripts or medical records shall be considered without limitation adequate documentation of enrollment. Each transferor school or school district shall keep documentation of such transfer students for the minimum period provided in the Illinois School Student Records Act. All records indicating the school or school district to which a student transferred are subject to the Illinois School Student Records Act.

(Source: P.A. 91-365, eff. 7-30-99; 92-64, eff. 7-12-01.)