Public Act 0626 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB1648 Enrolled LRB095 08340 NHT 31869 b

Public Act 095-0626

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 1A-4 and adding Section 22-45 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/1A-4) (from Ch. 122, par. 1A-4)

Sec. 1A-4. Powers and duties of the Board.

A. (Blank).

B. The Board shall determine the qualifications of and appoint a chief education officer, to be known as the State Superintendent of Education, who may be proposed by the Governor and who shall serve at the pleasure of the Board and pursuant to a performance-based contract linked to statewide student performance and academic improvement within Illinois schools. Upon expiration or buyout of the contract of the State Superintendent of Education in office on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, a State Superintendent of Education shall be appointed by a State Board of Education that includes the 7 new Board members who were appointed to fill seats of members whose terms were terminated on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly. Thereafter, a State Superintendent of Education must, at a minimum, be appointed at the beginning of each term of a Governor after that Governor has made appointments to the Board. A performance-based contract issued for the employment of a State Superintendent of Education entered into on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly must expire no later than February 1, 2007, and subsequent contracts must expire no later than February 1 each 4 years thereafter. No contract shall be extended or renewed beyond February 1, 2007 and February 1 each 4 years thereafter, but a State Superintendent of Education shall serve until his or her successor is appointed. Each contract entered into on or before January 8, 2007 with a State Superintendent of Education must provide that the State Board of Education may terminate the contract for cause, and the State Board of Education shall not thereafter be liable for further payments under the contract. With regard to this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, it is the intent of the General Assembly that, beginning with the Governor who takes office on the second Monday of January, 2007, a State Superintendent of Education be appointed at the beginning of each term of a Governor after that Governor has made appointments to the Board. The State Superintendent of Education shall not serve as a member of the State Board of Education. The Board shall set the compensation of the State Superintendent of Education who shall serve as the Board's chief executive officer. The Board shall also establish the duties, powers and responsibilities of the State Superintendent, which shall be included in the State Superintendent's performance-based contract along with the goals and indicators of student performance and academic improvement used to measure the performance and effectiveness of the State Superintendent. The State Board of Education may delegate to the State Superintendent of Education the authority to act on the Board's behalf, provided such delegation is made pursuant to adopted board policy or the powers delegated are ministerial in nature. The State Board may not delegate authority under this Section to the State Superintendent to (1) nonrecognize school districts, (2) withhold State payments as a penalty, or (3) make final decisions under the contested case provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act unless otherwise provided by law.

C. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education shall encompass all duties delegated to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction on January 12, 1975, except as the law providing for such powers and duties is thereafter amended, and such other powers and duties as the General Assembly shall designate. The Board shall be responsible for the educational policies and guidelines for public schools, pre-school through grade 12 and Vocational Education in the State of Illinois. The Board shall analyze the present and future aims, needs, and requirements of education in the State of Illinois and recommend to the General Assembly the powers which should be exercised by the Board. The Board shall recommend the passage and the legislation necessary to determine the appropriate relationship between the Board and local boards of education and the various State agencies and shall recommend desirable modifications in the laws which affect schools.

D. Two members of the Board shall be appointed by the chairperson to serve on a standing joint Education Committee, 2 others shall be appointed from the Board of Higher Education, 2 others shall be appointed by the chairperson of the Illinois Community College Board, and 2 others shall be appointed by the chairperson of the Human Resource Investment Council. The Committee shall be responsible for making recommendations concerning the submission of any workforce development plan or workforce training program required by federal law or under any block grant authority. The Committee will be responsible for developing policy on matters of mutual concern to elementary, secondary and higher education such as Occupational and Career Education, Teacher Preparation and Certification, Educational Finance, Articulation between Elementary, Secondary and Higher Education and Research and Planning. The joint Education Committee shall meet at least quarterly and submit an annual report of its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to the State Board of Education, the Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Community College Board, the Human Resource Investment Council, the Governor, and the General Assembly. All meetings of this Committee shall be official meetings for reimbursement under this Act. On the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, the Joint Education Committee is abolished.

E. Five members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. A majority vote of the members appointed, confirmed and serving on the Board is required to approve any action, except that the 7 new Board members who were appointed to fill seats of members whose terms were terminated on the effective date of this amendatory act of the 93rd General Assembly may vote to approve actions when appointed and serving.

The Board shall prepare and submit to the General Assembly and the Governor on or before January 14, 1976 and annually thereafter a report or reports of its findings and recommendations. Such annual report shall contain a separate section which provides a critique and analysis of the status of education in Illinois and which identifies its specific problems and recommends express solutions therefor. Such annual report also shall contain the following information for the preceding year ending on June 30: each act or omission of a school district of which the State Board of Education has knowledge as a consequence of scheduled, approved visits and which constituted a failure by the district to comply with applicable State or federal laws or regulations relating to public education, the name of such district, the date or dates on which the State Board of Education notified the school district of such act or omission, and what action, if any, the school district took with respect thereto after being notified thereof by the State Board of Education. The report shall also include the statewide high school dropout rate by grade level, sex and race and the annual student dropout rate of and the number of students who graduate from, transfer from or otherwise leave bilingual programs. The Auditor General shall annually perform a compliance audit of the State Board of Education's performance of the reporting duty imposed by this amendatory Act of 1986. A regular system of communication with other directly related State agencies shall be implemented.

The requirement for reporting to the General Assembly shall be satisfied by filing copies of the report with the Speaker, the Minority Leader and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the President, the Minority Leader and the Secretary of the Senate and the Legislative Council, as required by Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization Act, and filing such additional copies with the State Government Report Distribution Center for the General Assembly as is required under paragraph (t) of Section 7 of the State Library Act.

F. Upon appointment of the 7 new Board members who were appointed to fill seats of members whose terms were terminated on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, the Board shall review all of its current rules in an effort to streamline procedures, improve efficiency, and eliminate unnecessary forms and paperwork.

(Source: P.A. 93-1036, eff. 9-14-04.)

(105 ILCS 5/22-45 new)

Sec. 22-45. Illinois P-20 Council.

(a) The General Assembly finds that preparing Illinoisans for success in school and the workplace requires a continuum of quality education from preschool through graduate school. This State needs a framework to guide education policy and integrate education at every level. A statewide coordinating council to study and make recommendations concerning education at all levels can avoid fragmentation of policies, promote improved teaching and learning, and continue to cultivate and demonstrate strong accountability and efficiency. Establishing an Illinois P-20 Council will develop a statewide agenda that will move the State towards the common goals of improving academic achievement, increasing college access and success, improving use of existing data and measurements, developing improved accountability, promoting lifelong learning, easing the transition to college, and reducing remediation. A pre-kindergarten through grade 20 agenda will strengthen this State's economic competitiveness by producing a highly-skilled workforce. In addition, lifelong learning plans will enhance this State's ability to leverage funding.

(b) There is created the Illinois P-20 Council. The Illinois P-20 Council shall include all of the following members:

(1) The Governor or his or designee, to serve as chairperson.

(2) Four members of the General Assembly, one appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the President of the Senate, and one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.

(3) Six at-large members appointed by the Governor as follows:

(A) one representative of civic leaders;

(B) one representative of local government;

(C) one representative of trade unions;

(D) one representative of nonprofit organizations or foundations;

(E) one representative of parents' organizations; and

(F) one education research expert.

(4) Five members appointed by statewide business organizations and business trade associations.

(5) Six members appointed by statewide professional organizations and associations representing pre-kindergarten through grade 20 teachers, community college faculty, and public university faculty.

(6) Two members appointed by associations representing local school administrators and school board members.

(7) One member representing community colleges, appointed by the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents.

(8) One member representing 4-year independent colleges and universities, appointed by a statewide organization representing private institutions of higher learning.

(9) One member representing public 4-year universities, appointed jointly by the university presidents and chancellors.

(10) Ex-officio members from the following State agencies, boards, commissions, and councils:

(A) The State Superintendent of Education or his or her designee.

(B) The Executive Director of the Board of Higher Education or his or her designee.

(C) The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Community College Board or his or her designee.

(D) The Executive Director of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission or his or her designee.

(E) The Co-chairpersons of the Illinois Workforce Investment Board or their designee.

(F) The Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity or his or her designee.

(G) The Chairperson of the Illinois Early Learning Council or his or her designee.

(H) The President of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy or his or her designee. Ex-officio members shall have no vote on the Illinois P-20 Council.

Appointed members shall serve for staggered terms expiring on July 1 of the first, second, or third calendar year following their appointments or until their successors are appointed and have qualified. Staggered terms shall be determined by lot at the organizing meeting of the Illinois P-20 Council.

Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments, and any member so appointed shall serve during the remainder of the term for which the vacancy occurred.

(c) The Illinois P-20 Council shall be funded through State appropriations to support staff activities, research, data-collection, and dissemination. The Illinois P-20 Council shall be staffed by the Office of the Governor, in coordination with relevant State agencies, boards, and commissions. The Illinois Education Research Council shall provide research and coordinate research collection activities for the Illinois P-20 Council.

(d) The Illinois P-20 Council shall have all of the following duties:

(1) To make recommendations to do all of the following:

(A) Coordinate pre-kindergarten through grade 20 (graduate school) education in this State through working at the intersections of educational systems to promote collaborative infrastructure.

(B) Coordinate and leverage strategies, actions, legislation, policies, and resources of all stakeholders to support fundamental and lasting improvement in this State's public schools, community colleges, and universities.

(C) Better align the high school curriculum with postsecondary expectations.

(D) Better align assessments across all levels of education.

(E) Reduce the need for students entering institutions of higher education to take remedial courses.

(F) Smooth the transition from high school to college.

(G) Improve high school and college graduation rates.

(H) Improve the rigor and relevance of academic standards for college and workforce readiness.

(I) Better align college and university teaching programs with the needs of Illinois schools.

(2) To advise the Governor, the General Assembly, the State's education and higher education agencies, and the State's workforce and economic development boards and agencies on policies related to lifelong learning for Illinois students and families.

(3) To articulate a framework for systemic educational improvement that will enable every student to meet or exceed Illinois learning standards and be well-prepared to succeed in the workforce and community.

(4) To provide an estimated fiscal impact for implementation of all Council recommendations.

(e) The chairperson of the Illinois P-20 Council may authorize the creation of working groups focusing on areas of interest to Illinois educational and workforce development, including without limitation the following areas:

(1) Preparation, recruitment, and certification of highly qualified teachers.

(2) Mentoring and induction of highly qualified teachers.

(3) The diversity of highly qualified teachers.

(4) Funding for highly qualified teachers, including developing a strategic and collaborative plan to seek federal and private grants to support initiatives targeting teacher preparation and its impact on student achievement.

(5) Highly effective administrators.

(6) Illinois birth through age 3 education, pre-kindergarten, and early childhood education.

(7) The assessment, alignment, outreach, and network of college and workforce readiness efforts.

(8) Alternative routes to college access.

(9) Research data and accountability.

The chairperson of the Illinois P-20 Council may designate Council members to serve as working group chairpersons. Working groups may invite organizations and individuals representing pre-kindergarten through grade 20 interests to participate in discussions, data collection, and dissemination.

(110 ILCS 205/9.10 rep.)

Section 10. The Board of Higher Education Act is amended by repealing Section 9.10.