Rep. Cynthia Soto
Filed: 4/2/2009
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 363
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 363 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section | ||||||
5 | 34-18.37 as follows: | ||||||
6 | (105 ILCS 5/34-18.37 new) | ||||||
7 | Sec. 34-18.37. Establishing an equitable and effective | ||||||
8 | school facility development process. | ||||||
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 | including the entire community that seeks educational | ||||||
7 | improvement. | ||||||
8 | (4) The equitable and efficient use of available | ||||||
9 | facilities-related resources among different schools and | ||||||
10 | among racial, ethnic, income, and disability groups is | ||||||
11 | essential to maximize the development of quality | ||||||
12 | educational facilities for all children, youth, and | ||||||
13 | adults. These factors vary according to the needs of each | ||||||
14 | school community, are vitally impacted by | ||||||
15 | facilities-related decisions, and, therefore, should | ||||||
16 | include the school community's voice to the greatest extent | ||||||
17 | possible in all current and future uses of the school | ||||||
18 | building. | ||||||
19 | (5) School openings, school closings, school | ||||||
20 | consolidations, school turnarounds, school phase-outs, | ||||||
21 | school construction, school repairs, school | ||||||
22 | modernizations, school boundary changes, and other related | ||||||
23 | school facility decisions often have profound impacts on | ||||||
24 | education in a community. These decisions must be carried | ||||||
25 | out
only according to clear systemwide criteria and with | ||||||
26 | genuine involvement of local school councils, parents, |
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1 | educators, and the community in decision-making. | ||||||
2 | (6) The General Assembly has previously stated that it | ||||||
3 | intended to make the individual school in the City of | ||||||
4 | Chicago the essential unit for educational governance and | ||||||
5 | improvement and to place the primary responsibility for | ||||||
6 | school governance and improvement in the hands of parents, | ||||||
7 | teachers, and community residents at each school. A school | ||||||
8 | facility policy must be consistent with these principles. | ||||||
9 | (b) To ensure that the intent of the General Assembly is | ||||||
10 | carried out in a fair and equitable manner and to establish | ||||||
11 | educationally sound and fiscally responsible criteria for | ||||||
12 | related facilities planning, the following process shall apply | ||||||
13 | to the school district: | ||||||
14 | (1) A Special Joint Chicago Education Facilities | ||||||
15 | Committee shall be established within 30 days after the | ||||||
16 | effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General | ||||||
17 | Assembly and shall consist of 4 members of the House of | ||||||
18 | Representatives' Elementary & Secondary Education | ||||||
19 | Committee, 4 members of the Senate's Education Committee, | ||||||
20 | and 4 representatives of school community organizations | ||||||
21 | with past involvement in school facility issues. The | ||||||
22 | Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint the 4 | ||||||
23 | members of the House Elementary and Secondary Committee, 2 | ||||||
24 | of whom shall be Republicans and 2 of whom shall be | ||||||
25 | Democrats. The Speaker of the House shall appoint one of | ||||||
26 | the 4 appointed House members as Co-Chairperson of the |
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1 | Committee. The Speaker of the House shall appoint one | ||||||
2 | representative of each of 2 school community organizations | ||||||
3 | with past involvement in Chicago school facility issues as | ||||||
4 | committee members. The President of the Senate shall | ||||||
5 | appoint the 4 members of the Senate Education Committee, 2 | ||||||
6 | of whom shall be Republicans and 2 of whom shall be | ||||||
7 | Democrats. The President of the Senate shall appoint one of | ||||||
8 | the 4 appointed Senate members as a Co-Chairperson of the | ||||||
9 | Committee. The President of the Senate shall appoint one | ||||||
10 | representative of each of 2 school community organizations | ||||||
11 | with past involvement in Chicago school facility issues as | ||||||
12 | committee members. Additionally, the chief executive | ||||||
13 | officer of the school district or his or her designee, a | ||||||
14 | representative from the Chicago Teachers Union, and a | ||||||
15 | representative from the Chicago Principals Association | ||||||
16 | shall serve on the Committee. | ||||||
17 | (2) The Committee shall call on independent experts, as | ||||||
18 | needed, to gather and analyze pertinent information on a | ||||||
19 | pro bono basis, provided that such experts shall have no | ||||||
20 | previous or on-going financial interest in school facility | ||||||
21 | issues related to the school district. The Committee shall | ||||||
22 | secure pro bono expert assistance within 30 days after the | ||||||
23 | establishment of the Committee. | ||||||
24 | (3) The Committee shall be empowered to gather further | ||||||
25 | evidence in the form of testimony or documents or other | ||||||
26 | materials. |
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1 | (4) The Committee, with the help of the independent | ||||||
2 | experts, shall analyze past Chicago experiences and data | ||||||
3 | with respect to school openings, school closings, school | ||||||
4 | consolidations, school turnarounds, school phase-outs, | ||||||
5 | school construction, school repairs, school | ||||||
6 | modernizations, school boundary changes, and other related | ||||||
7 | school facility decisions on their students. The Committee | ||||||
8 | shall consult widely with stakeholders, including public | ||||||
9 | officials, about these facility issues and their related | ||||||
10 | costs and shall examine relevant best practices from other | ||||||
11 | school systems for dealing with these issues | ||||||
12 | systematically and equitably. These initial investigations | ||||||
13 | shall include opportunities for input from local | ||||||
14 | stakeholders through hearings, focus groups, and | ||||||
15 | interviews. | ||||||
16 | (5) The Committee shall prepare a draft policy by | ||||||
17 | September 30, 2009 describing how these issues can be | ||||||
18 | addressed effectively based upon educationally sound and | ||||||
19 | fiscally responsible practices. | ||||||
20 | (6) The Committee shall hold hearings in separate | ||||||
21 | relevant areas of the school district at times that shall | ||||||
22 | maximize school community participation to obtain comments | ||||||
23 | on the draft policy. The final hearing shall take place no | ||||||
24 | later than 30 days prior to the completion of the final | ||||||
25 | draft to be presented to the General Assembly for approval. | ||||||
26 | The final proposed policy shall be made available to the |
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1 | public in the school district at least 7 days before formal | ||||||
2 | introduction in the General Assembly. | ||||||
3 | (7) The Committee shall prepare a final proposed | ||||||
4 | policy, which may be introduced in the form of legislation | ||||||
5 | by a member of the General Assembly and may address the | ||||||
6 | issues, standards, and procedures set forth in this | ||||||
7 | Section. The legislation may address issues of system-wide | ||||||
8 | criteria for ensuring clear priorities, equity, and | ||||||
9 | efficiency. | ||||||
10 | (8) Without limitation, the legislation may establish | ||||||
11 | significant decision-making roles for key stakeholders, | ||||||
12 | including the individual school and community; require | ||||||
13 | clear criteria or processes for establishing criteria for | ||||||
14 | making school facility decisions; and include clear | ||||||
15 | criteria for setting priorities with respect to school | ||||||
16 | openings, school closings, school consolidations, school | ||||||
17 | turnarounds, school phase-outs, school construction, | ||||||
18 | school repairs, school modernizations, school boundary | ||||||
19 | changes, and other related school facility decisions, | ||||||
20 | including the encouragement of multiple community uses for | ||||||
21 | school space. | ||||||
22 | (9) Without limitation, the legislation may seek to | ||||||
23 | establish criteria for student mobility; the transferring | ||||||
24 | of students to lower performing schools; teacher mobility; | ||||||
25 | insufficient notice to and the lack of inclusion in | ||||||
26 | decision-making of local school councils, parents, and |
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1 | community members about school facility decisions; and | ||||||
2 | costly facilities-related expenditures due to poor | ||||||
3 | educational and facilities planning. | ||||||
4 | (c) The Board of Education shall provide administrative | ||||||
5 | support to the Committee.
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6 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
7 | becoming law.".
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