HB5481eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5481 Engrossed LRB100 18725 AXK 33959 b

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 adding Sections 2-3.136a, 10-20.67, and 34-18.60 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/2-3.136a new)

Sec. 2-3.136a. Class size publication. No later than December 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, the State Board of Education shall make available on its Internet website the information collected under subsection (d) of Sections 10-20.67 and 34-18.60 of this Code.

(105 ILCS 5/10-20.67 new)

Sec. 10-20.67. Class size reporting and reduction goals.

(a) The General Assembly finds that limiting class sizes is an evidence-based practice that greatly benefits the educational development of students enrolled in public schools. The General Assembly also finds that decades of research support the following conclusions:

(1) Increasing class sizes is detrimental to a student's educational outcomes.

(2) The benefits of smaller classes are greater for low-income children, children of color, and young children.

(3) Class size effects are persistent and the cost of decreasing class sizes is offset by the future social and educational cost savings.

(4) The benefits of small class sizes include not only improving student academic achievement, but also enhancing social-emotional outcomes and improved school culture.

(b) The purposes of this Section are (i) to inform others about class size policy by having accurate data of class sizes in Illinois public schools and (ii) to set class size targets for classes in kindergarten through grade 12.

(c) In this Section:

"Class" means a setting in which organized instruction of academic course content is regularly provided to a group of students for a given scheduled period of time.

"Class instructor" means a teacher who has been assigned to teach students in a class at a public school.

"Class section" means a single class where a class instructor is assigned to teach more than one class per school day.

"Class size" means the number of students in a class who appear on the class roster and for whom the class instructor is primarily responsible and accountable.

"Pupil-teacher ratio" means the total number of students in a school divided by the total number of teachers working in that school.

"Teacher" means an individual instructing students at a public school.

"Total caseload" means the total number of students taught by a class instructor assigned to multiple class sections, summed across all those assigned class sections.

(d) No later than day 60 of instruction in each school year, a school board shall report for kindergarten through grade 12 classes all of the following information to the State Board of Education:

(1) The total number of teachers actively employed within a school district, listed by individual school.

(2) The pupil-teacher ratios for each school district.

(3) The number of class instructors, by grade level and subject, in every school district.

(4) For teachers assigned to teach multiple class sections, the class size of each class section and the total caseload, listed by teacher.

(5) For teachers assigned to a single class, the class size for that class, listed by teacher.

(e) The goal of the General Assembly is to make adequate provisions to ensure that, by the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, the following class size goals are met:

(1) Class size shall not exceed 18 students for a class of kindergarten students or a class of multi-grade students that includes kindergarten students.

(2) Class size shall not exceed 22 students for a class that includes students in grades 1 through 5.

(3) Class size shall not exceed 25 students for a class that includes students in grades 6 through 12.

(4) The total caseload per teacher for teachers assigned as class instructors for multiple class sections shall not exceed 150 students.

(105 ILCS 5/34-18.60 new)

Sec. 34-18.60. Class size reporting and reduction goals.

(a) The General Assembly finds that limiting class sizes is an evidence-based practice that greatly benefits the educational development of students enrolled in public schools. The General Assembly also finds that decades of research support the following conclusions:

(1) Increasing class sizes is detrimental to a student's educational outcomes.

(2) The benefits of smaller classes are greater for low-income children, children of color, and young children.

(3) Class size effects are persistent and the cost of decreasing class sizes is offset by the future social and educational cost savings.

(4) The benefits of small class sizes include not only improving student academic achievement, but also enhancing social-emotional outcomes and improved school culture.

(b) The purposes of this Section are (i) to inform others about class size policy by having accurate data of class sizes in Illinois public schools and (ii) to set class size targets for classes in kindergarten through grade 12.

(c) In this Section:

"Class" means a setting in which organized instruction of academic course content is regularly provided to a group of students for a given scheduled period of time.

"Class instructor" means a teacher who has been assigned to teach students in a class at a public school.

"Class section" means a single class where a class instructor is assigned to teach more than one class per school day.

"Class size" means the number of students in a class who appear on the class roster and for whom the class instructor is primarily responsible and accountable.

"Pupil-teacher ratio" means the total number of students in a school divided by the total number of teachers working in that school.

"Teacher" means an individual instructing students at a public school.

"Total caseload" means the total number of students taught by a class instructor assigned to multiple class sections, summed across all those assigned class sections.

(d) No later than day 60 of instruction in each school year, the board shall report for kindergarten through grade 12 classes all of the following information to the State Board of Education:

(1) The total number of teachers actively employed within the district, listed by individual school.

(2) The pupil-teacher ratios for the district.

(3) The number of class instructors, by grade level and subject, in every school district.

(4) For teachers assigned to teach multiple class sections, the class size of each class section and the total caseload, listed by teacher.

(5) For teachers assigned to a single class, the class size for that class, listed by teacher.

(e) The goal of the General Assembly is to make adequate provisions to ensure that, by the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, the following class size goals are met:

(1) Class size shall not exceed 18 students for a class of kindergarten students or a class of multi-grade students that includes kindergarten students.

(2) Class size shall not exceed 22 students for a class that includes students in grades 1 through 5.

(3) Class size shall not exceed 25 students for a class that includes students in grades 6 through 12.

(4) The total caseload per teacher for teachers assigned as class instructors for multiple class sections shall not exceed 150 students.